# XM for Strategy & Research Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is XM for Strategy & Research the right Survey solution for you? Explore 426 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/72396/Strategy-and-Research/reviews --- XM for Strategy & Research 4.7 (426) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/72396/Strategy-and-Research/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 15th, 2026 # Reviews of XM for Strategy & Research Ease of use 4.4 Customer Service 4.6 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Flexible advanced survey creation 98% positive reviews out of 45 Most reviewers find survey design highly intuitive, with robust logic, branching, and customizable templates for diverse needs. High and unclear pricing 64% negative reviews out of 42 Most users comment pricing is expensive, with additional costs, limited free features, and unclear billing frustrating many organizations. Versatile professional survey platform 97% positive reviews out of 30 Most reviewers describe Qualtrics surveys as easy to build, distribute, analyze, and customize for various research purposes. Kayla S Campaign Manager, 10,001+ employees. "Qualtrics made it easy for me to gather information on students I advised." Complex and slow navigation 69% negative reviews out of 32 Most reviewers indicate navigation is cumbersome, with slow performance, excessive clicking, and unintuitive interface complicating usage. Chandan K Director, 10,001+ employees. "The set up takes a lot of cache memory and hijack the speed of the processor. If you are using a lot of multilayered applications at once, you are prone to face some disruptions for sure." Continuous user-driven enhancements 100% positive reviews out of 28 Reviewers appreciate feedback and improvement, noting regular updates and collaborative features enhance productivity and reliability. Recurring software glitches 72% negative reviews out of 29 Most users report bugs and issues, including glitches, unreliable updates, lag, and occasional crashes affecting workflow efficiency. ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 426 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Ginger S. Graduate Student Academic Advisor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Flexible, Powerful Tool with a Learning Curve" July 9, 2025 4.0 Overall, using Qualtrics XM has been a positive experience. Mostly I and my team used it for collecting basic data, however, when I had the opportunity to use it for research data collection, I was impressed with the flexibility of the settings and logic to deploy a high-level, IRB-approved survey. It just took some time to learn it, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Pros Qualtrics XM is a powerful, flexible tool that can perform funtions as basic as a survey on lunch preferences to research surveys with IRB-required anonymity. The variety of question types, delivery methods, collaboration options, and export settings make Qualtrics a versatile tool for a wide variety of settings. Cons Due to its capacity for high-level performance, many of the tools, options, and settings are not intuitive. Significant time and effort along with thorough training are needed to make use of all the features available to Qualtrics XM users. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Market Research Market Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "By far the best survey platform out there." April 20, 2026 5.0 Very positive--not major complaints, and the customer service team is also very knowledgable and timely in responding to your resquests. Pros By far the best survey platform out there. A comprehensive suite inclusive of survey design, survey outreach, panel management, and analytics. Cons The biggest pain point is that you cannot tag your panelists to different topics. You can only overwrite existing information. Alternatives considered [Decipher](https://www.capterra.com/p/188720/Decipher/) Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research Simply a more comprehensive and a much much easier product to use. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Survey Research Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good product held by poor support and reporting options" February 10, 2026 3.0 Good tool for collection data, mediocre (at best) for reporting and analysis of results. Terrible customer support - I cannot stress this enough Pros Advanced survey logic, routing, skip logic. Advanced question types, workflows, survey distribution methods Cons Poor customer service. Poor reliability, changes nad updates are made in a haphazard manner. Reporting (even the Results Dashboard) is lacking in functionality. Alternatives considered [Blue](https://www.capterra.com/p/125028/Blue-Surveys/)[QuestionPro](https://www.capterra.com/p/135455/QuestionPro/)[Zoho Survey](https://www.capterra.com/p/131426/Zoho-Survey/)[SurveyMonkey](https://www.capterra.com/p/253516/SurveyMonkey/) Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research It seemed like the best product for our needs at the time and the price was reasonable. Review Source TA Tahir A. Manager Market Research Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "XM for Strategy " March 3, 2025 5.0 it is considered a powerful tool for market research and strategic insights generation across various industries. Pros I like the was we can see how the research is communicated Cons There could be more indepth information given on the research Alternatives considered [UrbanBound](https://www.capterra.com/p/222664/UrbanBound/) Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research allowing researchers to transform complex data into easily Review Source Andrew P. Project Manager Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Designed to Advance your metrics" September 3, 2019 5.0 This tools is fantastic for working with our Faculty and Researchers. They expect in-depth analysis and appreciate the power of Qualtrics. Our staff and administrative personnel have all learned to use Qualtrics and most of my co-workers find it easy to use and can adapt it to their various needs. This is a great option for anyone looking for a variety of analytics for surveying, and can be adapted to simpler projects as well. Pros The most useful part of Qualtrics is the depth of analytics you receive on your surveys, questionnaires, and other tools. In real time, as you develop your surveys you are given insights into how your data can be analyzed. It is designed to help you get the data you need back without asking unnecessary questions. The menu for building out surveys is very easy to use and the number of options and variety in types of questions gives you the ability to develop them exactly how you want. Conditional formatting is easy to implement, and there are many ways to incorporate other media into your survey/questionnaire. The surveys are built to be compatible in mobile without any additional design input as well. Cons At times Qualtrics is a more powerful tool than you need. I find that there are some users who adapt to Qualtrics quickly, but others simply do not need it. If you are asking straight-forward surveys and only need basic analysis, you can find easier and lower cost tools. Some people can be overwhelmed by the options and the "analysis" that come with the variety of question-types. That being said, this can be a one-size-fits-all solution, but there will be some training and trial and error involved. Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) Conditional logic and analysis was not as simple, required additional add-ins, and did not provide us the flexibility we needed. Review Source Nadir S. College House Dean Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Data Collection and Analysis Made Easy" April 21, 2021 5.0 We have used Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey for larger surveys (50-100 questions) about students' experiences and Qualtrics makes manipulating the date very simple. It's easy to filter and export the data if you want to use Excel to do a bit more digging. Pros I primarily use SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and Qualtrics for surveying my students. Qualtrics is adopted by our University on a wider scale and we have access to all features. Qualtrics is a very capable, easy to use tool. There are a lot of helpful resources online that can be used to make the most of the features. Cons If you are looking for a short and quick form to collect simple data, like signups, that don't require any data analysis, it is often easier to set it up in Google Forms or O365 than in Qualtrics. Qualtrics needs many more clicks for a simple survey than other (free) options. Switched from [SurveyMonkey](https://www.capterra.com/p/253516/SurveyMonkey/) SurveyMonkey was an individual license and in some ways it was not as feature-rich as Qualtrics. When other departments switched to Qualtrics, we did too, so we could save money on licensing. Review Source CC Connor C. Data Analyst Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Has most of what you need, missing a lot of extensive options for customization" March 16, 2026 4.0 Overall we like Qualtrics and it gives us everything we need to draft and send out surveys for our company Pros I like how it is optimized for creating normal surveys. For most of your projects, you don’t need to spend extra time on things that should be easy because they made it easy to do those things. Cons There are not enough customization options for some of our projects, and when using personalized links, the survey expires a week or so after being opened with no ability to change the duration before it expires Review Source Renee L. HR Coordinator Computer & Network Security Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Fantastic tool" August 7, 2025 5.0 Overall XM makes collecting and visualizing data super easy. The interface makes it easy to construct complex questions that have many layers to them; with all the features and options they provide users, surveys are far easier to execute than with other products. Pros XM has a great offering of features with their tool, I think they lead the industry with this. The data visualization options and the survey builder makes composing complex surveys and sharing the data a breeze. Cons The only negative I can really say is the cost for XM. It's a fantastic tool and I understand that the subscription price is a reflection of that. Review Source SH Shir H. Social Media Manager Pharmaceuticals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simplify data collection from target groups directly" December 29, 2024 5.0 Qualtrics XM made setting up and publishing surveys easier and faster, enabling us to expand our marketing research deployment and continuously feed the database. Pros Qualtrics XM provides us with excellent services. We can create any survey, I loved the ease of integrating it into social media ads or promotional messages across all communication channels. I loved how Qualtrics XM makes the questions within the form clear and organized and enables respondents to navigate and record answers easily. I loved its ability to screen respondents and ensure they are real and from within the target group. Cons There are no negatives at all. With Qualtrics XM everything is easy and data collection is straightforward. Review Source AA Amr A. Senior Lecturer in Marketing Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent survey tool" March 24, 2025 5.0 Pros It's user friendly and very easy to set up surveys Cons The expert review score can sometime be confusing Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Business Intelligence Analyst Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Strategy and Research User in Higher Education" June 20, 2024 5.0 My overall experience with Strategy and Research has been excellent. I have used several other form/survey platforms and this remains my go-to platform for conducting qualitative research that is adaptive and branded appropriately. Pros I like the depth of customization in Survey and Research. An author has many options and robust documentation at their fingertips to help create an adaptive, responsive form to meet their business needs. Cons There is a bit of a learning curve to the platform. Leaning into the documentation and the community helps navigate that initially until you feel comfortable. Review Source GDD Grace DiDomenico D. Lab Manager Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Survey platform with the most functionality, although drawbacks for some research designs." January 4, 2018 4.0 Pros Out of the all the survey platforms I have tried (survey monkey, wufoo, google forms etc.), Qualtrics has the most flexibility and functionality, without compromising the intuitive, user-friendly layout. Building surveys is painless, and when building more complicated surveys, I never hesitate to call the support team because of the short wait time and COMPREHENSIVE, USEFUL HELP. Qualtrics allows our lab to create, share and score surveys EFFICIENTLY. With the \`Library, we can store surveys, blocks, and questions, which can be copied, edited or referenced in future projects. We have a personal libraries, and shared lab library. \`Scoring saves us days of data cleaning. We can score a survey multiple times for different categories we create (ex. categories like Depression Score, Hopelessness Subscale Score). We also can customize the point value of the question items. This is important when the Likert Scale does not follow 1-5, or when a question needs to be reverse coded. When we need more advanced/customizable calculations we use embedded data (ex. converting sum to word labels depending on cutoffs). With scoring features, data can be expertorted and ready for analysis with VERY MINIMAL data cleaning. Before I explain the cons, I want to lead with saying support is always open and grateful for feedback and has even reached out to speak with me about what features I would like to be added. Cons Although useful, scoring is cumbersome, and confusing. 1. 'Scoring' does not automatically set the items point value based on how it is recoded (items need to be reverse coded when inputting AND scoring). 3. Scoring does not stay with a survey when added to library 4. Scoring also has glitched numerous times not allowing me to create new scoring categories. Support has yet to reach out to me about a solution (over 8mns later). Embedded data (ED) also causes issues. 1. ED is case sensitive, so you must be very careful when inputting ED in logic or piped text. Often my logic is not working, or data is wrong, simply because I have an extra space at the end of my ED. Qualtrics should add the ability to choose ED you set from a dropdown eliminating this problem 3. ED has glitches for me not allowing me to view certain dropdown options in Survey Flow (also unexplained by Support) Survey flow is also quite cumbersome. When working with a complex survey (a lot of logic/branches/ED) it is hard to navigate. Survey Flow should have a side bar of levels for easier management. Survey flow would also benefit from having a 'checker' for incorrect logic or ED, keeping me from having to use the trial and error method. Other features I would like to see to the platform, 1. conditional formatting for email triggers. 2. ability to breakdown a survey report by individual 3. ability to link surveys reports together to look at data over time (ex. weekly report of anxiety symptoms). Review Source VR Verified Reviewer User Acquisition Specialist Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very Advanced Market Research Solution" August 5, 2023 5.0 I had a great time using Qualtrics as part of my previous job. We used it a lot to gauge market response for new products, features, and all sorts of other stuff. It barely takes any time to get to grips with it, it's easy to integrate with other tools, and I think it's reporting features are a lot more advanced than some of the other tools in the market. Pros I liked the ability to embed custom CSS into the surveys. That, and the abundance of other customization options were a fantastic addition for us. Cons The interface could do with a touch up. I think it looks a lot older compared to some of the other XM tools Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director Management Consulting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Powerful Survey Platform" July 9, 2023 5.0 Core product for our work streams on customer research projects Pros Very easy to use out of the box, but also possible to achieve very impressive results through more advanced techniques Cons Not sure if it is possible, but it would be great to have some kind of a live feed into external software such as Tableau or even Excel Review Source Kathleen C. Data Analyst Utilities Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent experiences with Qualtrics!" July 16, 2018 5.0 An easy to use system that not only collects data, but allows us to also create reports - both reports that we can export, and reports that we can share via link. Pros This software is very easy to use. When working with people with various skill levels, it's nice to have a system that anyone can learn. We really like the variety of question types and the ability to create custom reports from the data. Customer service is also outstanding - whenever I've had an issue, they've been able to talk me through it fairly quickly. The support reps are very well trained. The support site is also great. I also know from past experience that Qualtrics does look at suggestions sent by users , and I appreciate that they have implemented changes to the system based on user feedback. Because of that, I always encourage people to let Qualtrics know if there's an issue or if there's a feature they'd like to see. Cons We're a non-profit and it's a little pricey; I wish they had smaller packages for non-profits and small organizations, or monthly options for some features (i.e. SMS messaging - we only need this a few times a year.) Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Research Assistant Government Administration Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Powerful Surveying Tool" July 15, 2021 5.0 Awesome. Qualtrics has provided reputability and security to our data collections. Pros The features that allow branching in surveying is powerful. This allows you to collect data from distinct groups of people all in one survey. The basic data reports generated by the software provide real time updates on progress and basic understanding of the data immediately. I appreciate all of the customization options in both the survey and report functions. Cons If you are just collecting emails addresses, t-shirt sizes, etc. you should use something simpler and quicker, like Google forms. It is just not fast and user-friendly for simple surveying. Also, it does not always give data outputs in excel, etc. in a super convenient way. You definitely have to do some data clean up. It takes awhile to learn all of the features, but once you learn them, Qualtrics is a powerful tool. Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) increased options and functionality Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Senior Research Assistant Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Powerful survey tool with user-friendly interface" August 20, 2018 5.0 Pros The functionality of Qualtrics has dramatically improved over the past five years. There is now much more flexibility in customization, saving questions to blocks and libraries, analysis and reporting, and even appearance. There is a big range of question types and lots of options for customization for each question, and it's easy to drag-and-drop to rearrange the survey. There are some powerful analysis tools and you can easily download your data in different formats (CSV, TSV, SPSS, XML, etc.). The user/survey-taker side is clear and has been problem-free for our needs. Cons Can sometimes run into issues with scrolling and saving changes to surveys when using Qualtrics on my iPad. Review Source Sharon H. Independent Business Owner Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I have been using this program for about 5 years and find it to be essential to my business. " July 13, 2018 5.0 I am able to conduct research for customers that I used to contract for. It helps my business and keeps me up to date on a number of new methodologies. I am focusing on B2B customers now and this is a very helpful tool for both conducting surveys and analyzing the data. Pros Software is fairly intuitive and support group is great at answering questions quickly. Customer support has really improved over the years. You just have to call to get a person quickly. Generally very knowledgeable. Cons Takes some time to get familiar with the software. Online chat is slow probably due to lack of staffing. If you want help you have to call. They add new things constantly, hard to keep up, but that is actually a good thing. Review Source JW Jamie W. Onboarding Manager Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Best Survey and Strategy Tool Out There" June 9, 2024 5.0 I love Strategy & Research, it makes survey creation and data collecting very easy. I am currently only testing it out, but my company launches start-up businesses so I see high potential for offering these services to our clients as it will be a very valuable resource for strategy creation when going to market. Pros Qualtrics Strategy & Research platform is so easy to use. It offers so many customizable options. There are unlimited ways to form and design questions to optimize answers and feedback. The best part is, Qualtrics analyzes and summarizes the data for you. It is extremely helpful for market research and understanding your customers. I also love how the survey appears to the survey takers because it has each question come up after the other so the survey takers aren't easily distracted or overwhelmed by the long surveys. Cons I am not unsatisfied with any aspect of the platform, as it is very easy to use, post, and send surveys with. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Mechanical Engineer Semiconductors Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Qualtrics surveys offer a good experience." March 1, 2023 5.0 Pros It’s easy to take surveys on this site. There is a large variety of options. Cons I don’t have any issues with this software. It rarely, if ever, crashes. Review Source Martin O. Adjunct Instructor Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "This software helps me tremendously with our university departmental data. I highly recommend it!" March 15, 2018 5.0 Ease of use and good reporting. Pros It is intuitive. The data and analysis and reporting features are very helpful and easy to use. Sharing is nice. Integration with other products is useful as well. Cons As much as I like new features that are rolled out regularly, it is nearly always an additional cost and very costly at that. I see cool things and then realize that it is going to take a big meeting with our university to even consider the huge cost. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Information Systems Specialist Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Survey Tool" August 28, 2019 5.0 Overall, Qualtrics Research Core is a great survey tool. It can handle a lot of users and a lot of responses. It has a lot of advanced features. It is pricey but it is mostly worth the price. Pros Qualtrics is a great survey tool and can be used for many purposes. My whole organization uses it in many different ways. There are a ton of great features and it is easy to learn how to use. Cons It is very expensive and Qualtrics is not good at letting users know when they change something. Review Source DO Dan O. Equipment Manager Fine Art Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Useful Online Survey software perfect for Social Distancing" April 29, 2021 5.0 For my job I collect student equipment requests which can then be filled and placed into lockers for contactless pickups. Being able to have students fill in a survey online has been vital to my job during the pandemic. Doing the same thing through email would have been a nightmare and would not be as thorough. Pros The ability to customize the questions and their format is great. Tons of options multiple choice, blank fields, etc. Once the data is collected you again get to format it to your workflow. I export to Excel to use and add to the data being collected as I see fit. I can then easily share that with colleagues when needed. Cons There are some features that seemed hard to find to me. The name of some of the features are also not intuitive so looking them up is not easy, and could use some work to refine and make it better. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Senior Learning Technologist Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Powerful enterprise-level research tool" September 30, 2019 5.0 We use Qualtrics as the go-to data-gathering tool for academic research. It is easy enough for non-technical staff to learn and deploy basic surveys yet powerful enough to allow for complex large scale data gathering by specialist teams. The ease of the graphical results makes it a quick win to show to senior teams. Pros Qualtrics is a powerful, enterprise-level research and data-gathering tool. The functionality has everything you need to design, distribute, and analyse data for research. The design tools include guidance on how to improve questions. The flow options are extremely comprehensive allowing for complexity on the back end to make the user-end more logical and a better experience. The distribution tools allow automation and customisation so you can just rely on the system to manage it for you. The on-screen report customisation and display are extremely helpful and export to other statistical software means you can have full control. Cons The is little to fault in this software. It would be ideal if it had some integration into third-party tools to allow for greater integration out of the box. Review Source Daniel H. Knowledge & Information Manager Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Always Excellent Customer Service!!!" October 18, 2018 5.0 For many years utilizing this software, it has only improved! The ease of use and flexibility it second to none! Its collaboration features are great. It functions well with other programs for data analysis. Pros Ease of use, Great Help / Knowledge Base information. Cons N/A I have not been able to find any issues that would make me change from using Qualtrics! Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [AB Testing](https://www.capterra.com/ab-testing-software/)[Market Research](https://www.capterra.com/market-research-software/)[Qualitative Data Analysis](https://www.capterra.com/qualitative-data-analysis-software/) ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.