The Data Collection Software Buyer's Guide
Looking for the right data collection software?
Get actionable steps to make sure you’re thinking of the right criteria when looking for a solution.
Introduction
Over the past decade, leaders in business, culture, politics, and global organizations are aligned on one thing: Data is king.
From multinational companies to influential nonprofit organizations and NGOs to universities and hallowed institutions of research and culture: Everyone wants to be guided by accurate, complete data in their decision-making and best practices. You cannot read an impact report, a business plan, an article, or even a LinkedIn post without the author citing statistics or listing supportive data points.
Despite this real respect for data, at SurveyCTO, we’ve noticed something: A gap often persists between the ideal of a data-driven organization or company, and reality.
Data might be king, but it doesn’t put itself on the throne automatically. It has to be collected, and then cleaned, analyzed, and reported on to be useful. And those steps are where organizations and companies get stuck.
Too many end up relying on secondary data sources because primary data collection—that is, collecting data yourself—feels too onerous. If an organization is collecting primary data, they often use outdated methods to do so, like paper forms or simplistic, inflexible online form builders. Then they suffer the negative downstream effects of incomplete information, siloed data, and datasets that are difficult to analyze, and therefore, impossible to get real value from.
Fortunately, many organizations who collect data do eventually come to realize that they need to up their data collection game—and what’s who this buyer’s guide is for!
Once you’ve decided to get better data, the next challenge becomes obvious: Choosing data collection software!
The right data collection software is foundational to getting the kind of high-quality data that drives success, achieves goals, guides change, sets policies, and unlocks untapped potential so that you can scale.
In this guide, we’re going to get you over the common barriers to selecting great data collection software for in-house primary data collection by walking you through everything you need to know to choose software that fits your needs.
We’ll cover:
➡️ The different types of software available
➡️ The considerations and questions you MUST think about to avoid problems later
➡️ Key features to look for when you’re evaluating different tools
➡️ Insights from our own experience and research, as well as from leaders who have successfully transformed their organizations and companies through the right data collection software
This guide’s recommendations are based on:
- Deep institutional knowledge of both research best practices, and the current landscape of digital data collection software
- Internal surveys from our user base on a huge variety of data-related topics
- Case studies from organizations who have transformed their practices through digital data collection
- Conversations with partner organizations to glean their personal insights and hard-won recommendations based on lived experience
Ready to dive in? Let’s first get on the same page about the meaning of data collection in the next section.
What we mean by "data collection"
Before we dive into talking about software to collect data, let’s define what data collection actually is:
Data collection is the process by which you obtain or record information in a structured way that enables analysis and interpretation. Data can be collected through observation or inquiry, and documented in a variety of formats.
This might sound like a really broad definition, and it is—and that is intentional.
Here’s the reality: Many organizations and companies are actively engaged in various types of data collection without actually calling it data collection.
If you run surveys, questionnaires, or evaluations, you probably already describe your work as a type of data collection.
But if you:
- Conduct inspections
- Administer and document healthcare for patients
- Manage supply chains
- Administer educational assessments
- Measure the inputs and outputs of equipment like clean cookstoves
- Track volunteers
- Manage inventory
- Maintain logs for quality control
- Conduct opinion polls
…or engage in any other activity that involves gathering data intentionally, congratulations: You are also a data collector, and this guide is also for you.
Data collection spans a much wider spectrum of work than many realize, and no matter what you collect data on, using the right data collection software is sure to improve processes and results.
Now that we’re on the same page about what data collection is, let’s continue to the next section.
Why you should go digital—fully digital
In December 2024, we ran a survey for over 800 SurveyCTO users.
We asked them about where they were at in their digital data collection journey: Fully digital, fully pen-and-paper, or a mix.
Their responses:
Given that the survey was with SurveyCTO (a digital platform) users, we didn’t expect the percentage of fully paper-based users would be very high.
However, we were surprised that 34% of users of our survey software still relied on some form of paper-based data collection in their workflows.
We hypothesize that many of you are also in this middle ground.
Perhaps you use Google Forms for customer satisfaction surveys, but you still store evaluations on paper checklists.
Or maybe patients at your clinic fill out paper forms every time they visit, then scan and upload to your database.
Often, organizations with field teams collect data on paper while working on the ground to provide essential services, and later digitize that data into Excel or another database.
But no matter what your hybrid workflow looks like, we want you to know that there are serious pros to going fully digital for data collection, when facilitated by the right software:
- Get data faster. There’s no way around it, going digital saves you time
- Streamlined processes let you operate digital workflows at scale while saving resources
- A one-time investment to set up new data collection software that then reduces costs over time with its resource-saving
- Improved data accuracy and consistency. Going digital eliminates much human error, leading to better results
- Enhanced reporting and analysis capabilities
- Real-time data syncing when the Internet is available for data collected offline
- Interoperability with external datasets and platforms, leading to increased data accessibility and relevance
Data collection software is a tool or platform created specifically for the systemic capture and management of data. These tools can be designed to gather data from a wide range of sources, from surveys to sensors, to digital interactions, or they can be designed for specific methods of data collection.
We get it: There are very real reasons why organizations get stuck in their digital transformation, and end up continuing to rely on paper forms and spreadsheets, or poor-fit, low-quality digital tools:
- Low organizational digital literacy
- Lack of time, talent and resources needed to make the full transition to digital data collection
- The need for staff training on new digital tools may seem or overwhelming or too time-consuming
- Lack of resources for researching and selecting data collection software
In this guide, it’s that last point that we want to address and solve for.
We believe that data collection software evaluation and selection is an overlooked barrier to the fully digital workflows you could be benefiting from.
We’re here to remove the resources barrier and fast-track you to picking the right data collection software.
First, let’s get more specific about the types of data collection software you can consider in the next section.
For more in-depth discussions on why you should be fully digital, explore these articles:
What are the different types of data collection software?
There’s a lot of software in the world.
The sheer volume of platforms designed for data collection can feel daunting. This is especially true when you consider how many different industries are actually collecting data and how many different ways there are to collect data!
Broadly speaking, data collection software falls into two primary buckets: online survey platforms and mobile or field data collection platforms.
| Platform type | Attribute | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile data collection apps | Overview |
|
| Examples | SurveyCTO, Fulcrum, KoboToolbox, CommCare | |
| Pros |
| |
| Cons |
| |
| Online survey platforms | Overview | Online survey platforms let you create and deploy surveys as well as collect responses via a web browser. |
| Examples | SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, Jotform, Alchemer | |
| Pros |
| |
| Cons |
|
It’s true that sometimes, platforms will fully cover multiple types of data collection.
For example, SurveyCTO is a mobile data collection platform that also offers web surveys.
But, in general, data collection softwares are optimized for one or the other.
This means that in most cases, you’ll want to choose a software that is built primarily for the type of data collection you do. It could also mean choosing a software built for both your type (mobile or web-based) and your industry (i.e., monitoring & evaluation, medical care).
In other words:
If most of your data collection comes through online interactions, like website visitors filling out short surveys to better help your company meet their needs, you probably need an online form builder.
And if you engage in any type of field data collection, whether that’s on-site inspections, logging in-person observations, or conducting surveys as personal interviews, you should look for mobile data collection software.
SurveyCTO’s robust case management and offline features were essential for our tax project, which required tracking interactions with thousands of respondents across multiple visits in a low-connectivity environment. Its reliability and flexibility made high-quality data collection possible, even in the most challenging field conditions.
Read ODEKA’s case study to learn how the right data collection software transformed their field data collection.
The data collection category you’re not thinking about: Open-source vs. SaaS
Beyond these broad categories, another consideration for your data collection software is open-source vs. software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools.
Open-source data collection tools rely on source codes that are publicly available for anyone to use and distribute. These tools rely on open licensing models that encourage collaboration, transparency, and adaptability. Crucially, part of the ethos behind open source tools is that they are free and accessible to anyone.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools, by comparison, are cloud-based platforms that enable data collection through a subscription model. This software is provided to users by a company, and users can access it without needing to install, host, or manage the underlying infrastructure. Their maintenance is provided as part of your subscription.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the pros and cons of open-source vs. SaaS data collection tools:
| Platform type | Category | Attribute | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS data collection tools | Cost | Pros |
|
| Cons |
|
||
| Infrastructure and control | Pros |
|
|
| Support | Pros |
|
|
| Open-source data collection tools | Cost | Pros |
|
| Cons |
|
||
| Infrastructure and control | Pros |
|
|
| Support | Cons |
|
Next, let’s move from the types of data collection software to essential and specific things you want to think about in your buying journey.
Want to learn more about open source vs. SaaS tools?
Read Free Isn’t Always Free on our blog.
Essential considerations when selecting data collection software
Congratulations: You’re getting closer to choosing your tool.
The next section will cover the essential questions buyers should be able to answer before committing to a software solution.
1. What is your budget?
Finding a tool in your budget is definitely necessary—just be sure you’re calculating the full cost of ownership when you evaluate the cost of a tool.
Consideration: Remember, tools that are “free” and don’t have subscription fees aren’t truly free when you factor in the manpower and time needed to customize the tool to fit your specifications or identify and patch any security vulnerabilities—all of which usually involves having IT or development resources on hand.
2. How do you collect data?
Do you typically collect data through in-person methods like computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) or audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI)? Do you operate surveys over the phone through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI)? Or is it through digital means, like email surveys or WhatsApp polls?
Consideration: Factor in your data collection method. Your method will determine if you need your data collection software to offer a mobile application, offline surveys, or features like integrated GPS data collection.
3. What is the scale of your data collection needs?
Factors like how many data points you need to collect, how many subjects you’ll collect data on, whether you’ll collect data on the same subjects over time, or if your data collection will be managed by many teams in different areas or countries all influence the type of tool that best suits your needs.
Consideration: If your data collection needs are more straightforward, you might want a simpler solution. If your needs are more complex, with data collection happening in many locations or data collection that’s more longitudinal in nature, you might want a tool with supporting functionality.
4. How much customization do you need?
Different software platforms will offer varying levels to which you can make their application, and your data collection instruments, unique.
Consideration: Do you want your software to offer white labeling so that you can match your exact branding? Do you want to use complex survey techniques, like skip logic or choice filters or conjoint analysis? You’ll want a tool that offers these types of capabilities and more for maximum flexibility. On the other hand, if you have simpler data collection needs that can be served by most out-of-the-box solutions and features, you can likely meet your needs with a less sophisticated (and less expensive) tool!
5. What are the integration options?
If you need data to flow between your data collection software and other data management platforms, you’ll want a tool that offers seamless integrations with other systems.
Consideration: Do you need to use Zapier to alert respondents to their interviews in the field? Do you need to visualize, analyze, or report on data through tools like PowerBI or Stata? Does your organization need primary data to be populated in CRMs like Salesforce? Think about your downstream data needs, and what kind of reporting and analytics you use. The right data collection software can provide quick and seamless integrations with tools you already use.
6. What level of data security do you need?
Secure software should always be a high priority—but there are security measures that are specific to certain workflows.
Consideration: What kind of data are you collecting? If you’re gathering something like employee engagement feedback, you will have different security needs from organizations running surveys on sensitive topics. Do you have multiple data collection teams that should not have visibility into other teams’ projects? If so, you will want the ability to restrict account access to forms and data based on teams. The method of data collection is also highly important here—if your team gathers data in the field on mobile devices, you will want your software to offer measures like end-to-end, at-rest, and in-transit encryption so that data is protected throughout the entire collection process.
7. What is your team's level of technical expertise?
One of the most important considerations is thinking about how a tool will fit your team’s technical capacity.
Consideration: Is your team highly-resourced, with IT support in place? Or is your staff composed of people with skillsets in other areas, with varying levels of technical acumen? If your team’s skills are more basic, you’ll want software that’s user-friendly enough for non-technical team members to use off the shelf. On the other hand, if you have a team with technical expertise, what software will allow them to build the advanced applications and systems that enhance your workflow and goals?
In the end, we’re a small team with big goals, and every productivity win counts. We’re happy we can focus on gathering the data and turning it into justice insights.
Now, let’s look at the actual features you need to think about. The features you need will depend on your data collection objectives.
Key features and functionality to evaluate in data collection software
More than anything, you need data collection software that will meet your projects’ needs. Exploring features is often one of the first things buyers do when starting their journey.
For this part of the journey, we encourage you to think high-level, in terms of capabilities and functionality as well as native plug-and-play features. While built-in features do facilitate an especially seamless user experience, it’s important to look at what platforms enable you to do overall as you make your evaluation. You should also think about the long-term needs of your organization and whether or not a tool offers the flexibility to customize and scale as you do.
Based on our experience, the below are the 7 core capabilities you should evaluate for and compare across tools in your buyer’s journey:
1. The right data collection method support
Evaluate for: Software that fully supports your data collection method, whether that’s email surveys, computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI), computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) through a mobile app, or audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI).
If there’s a chance you might need multiple methods in the future, a tool that provides support for multiple types of data collection is a must!
2. Ease of use
Evaluate for: Interface design, platform learning curve, user-friendliness of native features, and accessibility for teams with varying levels of technical expertise.
Native features to look for:
- Online form designers and spreadsheet-based form building options such as through Google Sheets or Excel both have advantages. Many teams prefer having both as an option!
- Templates and sample forms to get started quickly
- Low-code expressions for simplified survey programming, meaning non-developers can create forms
- Bonus: Features like AI-powered form design tools that facilitate the creation of best-practice surveys
3. Customizability
Evaluate for: Ability to tailor forms with survey logic like relevance and constraints as well as tailor data collection workflows to specific use cases and industries.
Native features to look for:
- Field plug-ins: Your needs will change as you scale. Find a platform that provides extensibility by letting you expand on and customize your forms, form fields, and workflows.
- White labeling: Branding your forms or surveys with your company’s logos, imagery, messaging, etc. can be a powerful way to further your impact, and in some cases, can be necessary or required.
- Multi-language support: This type of customization can significantly increase your survey’s reach and open up new markets. It can also be absolutely necessary to achieve your goals.
4. Mobile and offline-optimized
If your data collection happens on-site and in-person, your software should provide a mobile application that enables you to conduct interviews and fill out forms on mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets.
Evaluate for: Make sure that the mobile application enables offline data collection at the level your projects require. Offline data collection on mobile devices refers to the local storage of data on those devices until it can be synced to cloud-based servers or transferred to the hard drives of computers or laptops.
Be aware that there are different levels of offline functionality. For example, if you need standard offline data collection, i.e. the ability for data to sync once you’re back online, you will find more tools that offer this ability.
If you need to conduct end-to-end, complex workflows that rely on the transfer of data from one form to another while offline, you will need a tool with more advanced offline features.
Native features to look for:
- Standard offline data collection functionality that lets you capture data without internet and sync back to servers once back online
- Advanced offline data collection functionality that lets you run data quality checks offline or pull data from one form into another to enable data systems like case management and other multi-form workflows no matter where you work
- Mobile survey applications that enable you to create survey apps, deploy them to mobile devices, and take them with you to collect data on the go
- Desktop applications that allow you to sync responses from multiple accounts to local storage so you can export and process data flexibly with workspace-based project organization
5. Data monitoring and quality tools
Evaluate for: Functionality that lets you use your data collection software to set up data quality checks, get informed of data quality violations, view incoming data, and securely share subsets of data with other team members and stakeholders.
Native features to look for:
- Automated data quality checks
- Review & corrections workflow
- Data Explorer
- Integration with Google Sheets (enables high-frequency data quality checks)
- Options that can be incorporated into forms to ensure data quality, like constraints, preventing duplicate entries, and speed limit alerts
6. End-to-end encryption and other security features
Data security management is one of the most important tasks of any company or organization that collects data. With data breaches being increasingly common and user privacy more at risk than ever, look for platforms that not only offer features to protect your data, but also incorporate data protection into their own guiding principles, so that you know every product decision is made with your data security in mind.
Evaluate for: A platform that fundamentally understands that only people who legitimately need to see private data should be able to access it!
- End-to-end, at-rest, in-transit encryption
- SSO/SSL options
- Data residency options / GDPR, SOC 2, and HIPAA compliance
- Granular user access controls
- And other survey security features
7. Integrates with other digital tools
It’s important to recognize that your data collection platform is but one tool in your overall tech stack. The seamless integration of different tools promotes data interoperability within your own organization and between companies, nonprofits, NGOs, and governments, leading to greater data-driven impact for all.
Evaluate for: Software that does not promise to do everything data-related, but instead, easily integrates with other platforms like CRM systems, analytics software like Stata, reporting platforms like PowerBI, and any other tool or system you need for downstream data work.
Native features to look for:
-
- Plug and play integrations that let you directly automate data flows between your data collection software and other systems—no custom coding or development knowledge required
- A rest API that enables you to build your own custom integrations and data-based applications for maximum platform flexibility and efficiency
8. Support for complex workflows
Do you go beyond basic, standalone forms or surveys?
Often, this looks like collecting data on the same subjects over time, which can mean longitudinal data collection through multiple surveys on the same respondents.
Complex workflows can also look like:
- Periodic evaluations of the same facilities over time
- Ongoing on-site inspections
- Seeing recurring patients at clinics
- Following up on program feedback
Evaluate for: Sophisticated functionality that enables you to link forms together, use data collected in previous forms or through other platforms in new forms, and aggregate data from different sources into cohesive datasets.
Native features to look for:
- Principle-driven artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities
- Flexible dataset customization
- Case management
- Advanced offline functionality that enables the above features to work offline in the field
Here's what professionals have to say about their non-negotiables in data collection software:
The ACASI tool has been a game changer in the PHASE survey—this allowed willing participants a safe place to provide us with sensitive information regarding their sexual behaviour that would have been extremely uncomfortable to obtain through face-to-face interviews.
The case management element of the SurveyCTO CATI starter kit enables enumerators to conduct a respondent wise survey with easy tracking of respondents for multiple survey rounds.
SurveyCTO’s offline case management was a key ingredient of our data collection strategy for the Afghanistan Health Survey. It allowed male and female enumerators to update and share household data in real time without internet access, something not many tools could reliably offer at this scale. This functionality meant we could honour cultural norms, maximize data quality, and complete thousands of household surveys efficiently.
How to select the best data collection software for you
As you research data collection software, use this checklist to guide you:
Step 1: Identify your needs
- Define your goals and the problems you want to solve (e.g., streamline field data collection, automate surveys)
- List non-negotiable features and functionality
- Have your team make a checklist to ensure you don’t miss out on identifying and testing critical features
Step 2: Create a list of everything you need to consider
- Type of software that works best for you
- Features and functionality and how they align with your needs
- Your budget
- Your team’s technical skills
- Do desktop research, check reviews, and see what AI tools recommend for options that fit your criteria
Step 3: Create a shortlist of options: You’re getting closer—it’s time to get a list of software together and prepare for testing
Step 4: Test the software: Try demos or free trials to evaluate the software’s usability and how well it fits your organization’s needs. If possible, use the new tool as part of an actual survey or ask survey platforms if they offer paid pilots so that organizations can see how their tool performs in real life.
Step 5: Get team feedback: Involve the team members who will be using the software in the decision-making process to ensure the tool fits their actual workflows.
Step 6: Make the decision: Once the team is aligned, choose the tool that fits your needs, budget, and goals best.
Want a breakdown of the top mobile data collection platforms? Explore our article “Getting started with data collection apps: 7 to choose from.”
Final tips
With this data collection software buyer’s guide, you now have the tools to:
✅ Identify your data collection needs
✅ Find software that matches the m
✅ Evaluate which options best fit your unique needs
✅ Determine which option will facilitate the smoothest integration with your existing technology stack
Ultimately, you and your team are the ones who know what will work best for you. As you start your journey, here are two final tips to guide you:
- Learn from real users. Google Reviews, G2, GetApp, Capterra, and similar review sites can give you insight into how people who use a platform really feel about it, with all its pros and cons.
- Pick what’s right for you. Other opinions are valuable, but only you and your team know how important certain features are vs. others, and what is non-negotiable for you to do your best work.
Table of Contents
Frequently asked questions
What is data collection software?
Data collection software is a catch-all for the digital tools used to gather, organize, and export information. Typically, such software automates processes and acts as a digital replacement for paper forms. This leads to quicker data collection and analysis.
How is data collected digitally using data collection software?
Typically, data collection software relies on forms. These can be surveys or questionnaires, or forms that get filled out for on-site inspections, doctor visits, or any other activity requiring data to be collected and aggregated digitally.
Can the software be used to collect data in remote areas, or places without internet access?
Yes! Some data collection software, like SurveyCTO, offer offline functionality that enables data to be stored locally on the devices it is collected on, then exported to computers or synced to cloud-based servers when internet is available.
What offline functionality does SurveyCTO offer?
SurveyCTO provides robust offline functionality for every user. This starts with our foundational offline data collection abilities that allow organizations to capture data on mobile devices even without connectivity via our mobile app, SurveyCTO Collect. When your devices are back online, captured data is synced automatically back to the server for use.
For more involved data collection projects that require multiple forms, datasets, or devices to relay data between each other offline, our advanced offline features make that possible so that you can continue operating as if you were still online. Get more details about how we enable fully offline data collection workflows.
What are some popular data collection software options for primary data collection?
Data collection software ranges from online form builders like Google Forms, Jotform, and SurveyMonkey to full-service platforms like Qualtrics or Commcare to platforms designed for mobile and field data collection, like SurveyCTO.