7 Best Alternatives to Qualtrics in 2026

Why look beyond Qualtrics

Qualtrics is recognized for its comprehensive suite of experience management (XM) products, covering customer, employee, product, and brand experiences. Its platform is designed to support large-scale enterprise deployments with advanced analytics, AI capabilities, and deep integration options. However, organizations may seek alternatives due to several factors. Some smaller businesses or those with less complex survey needs might find Qualtrics' enterprise-focused pricing and feature set to be more than required, leading them to look for more cost-effective or simpler solutions. Other organizations might prioritize specific functionalities, such as tighter integration with a particular CRM or ITSM system, or require a platform with a different approach to data privacy, regional compliance, or industry-specific templates. Furthermore, companies with existing vendor relationships may prefer to consolidate their software stack with a provider offering a broader suite of integrated business applications that include experience management capabilities.

Top alternatives ranked

1. 1. ServiceNow — Unifying IT, employee, and customer workflows

   ServiceNow offers a cloud-based platform for digital workflows that extend beyond traditional IT service management (ITSM) to include employee workflows (HRSD) and customer workflows (CSM). Its strength lies in automating complex processes across departments, making it an alternative for organizations seeking to integrate experience data directly into operational workflows. While not a direct competitor in market research, ServiceNow's Customer Service Management (CSM) module includes capabilities for case management, self-service portals, and feedback collection, allowing businesses to capture and act on customer sentiment within their service operations. For employee experience, ServiceNow HRSD provides tools for onboarding, service delivery, and employee feedback. The platform's low-code/no-code development environment enables customization and integration with existing enterprise systems, focusing on operationalizing insights gained from feedback rather than solely on extensive survey design or advanced statistical analysis.

   • Best for: Enterprises looking to integrate feedback and experience data directly into IT, HR, or customer service operational workflows.
   • ServiceNow profile page
   • ServiceNow official site

2. 2. Zendesk — Customer service and support experience

   Zendesk is a customer service platform that provides tools for ticket management, live chat, self-service knowledge bases, and customer feedback. While primarily a customer support solution, Zendesk includes robust features for collecting and acting on customer feedback, making it an alternative for organizations focused specifically on improving the customer service experience. Its survey tools, integrated within the support workflow, allow businesses to gather feedback at various touchpoints, such as after a support interaction or during a customer's journey through a self-service portal. Zendesk's strength lies in its ability to connect feedback directly to service operations, enabling agents and managers to understand customer sentiment in context and take action quickly. The platform also offers an open API and integrations with a wide range of business applications, supporting a connected customer experience ecosystem.

   • Best for: Organizations prioritizing customer service feedback and integrating experience data directly into support operations.
   • Zendesk profile page
   • Zendesk official site

3. 3. HubSpot — Integrated CRM, marketing, and service platform

   HubSpot provides a comprehensive suite of tools for customer relationship management (CRM), marketing, sales, and customer service. Its Service Hub includes customer feedback functionality, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES) surveys, integrated directly into the CRM. This integration allows businesses to link feedback data to individual customer records, providing a holistic view of the customer journey and enabling personalized follow-up actions. HubSpot's platform is designed to be user-friendly, catering to small to medium-sized businesses and growth-focused enterprises looking for an all-in-one solution. While it may not offer the depth of highly specialized market research or advanced statistical analysis found in Qualtrics, its strength lies in connecting feedback directly to marketing, sales, and service activities, fostering a more integrated approach to experience management.

   • Best for: Small to medium businesses and enterprises seeking an integrated platform for CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service with built-in feedback capabilities.
   • HubSpot profile page
   • HubSpot official site

4. 4. Workday HCM — Employee experience within human capital management

   Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) is an enterprise cloud application that unifies HR, payroll, talent management, and workforce planning. While not a dedicated experience management platform like Qualtrics, Workday's focus on employee experience is embedded throughout its HCM suite. It offers capabilities for continuous feedback, sentiment analysis, and employee surveys within the context of HR processes, such as performance reviews, learning and development, and talent acquisition. This allows organizations to gather insights into the employee journey at various touchpoints, directly impacting HR strategies and operational improvements. Workday's strength lies in providing a comprehensive HCM solution where employee feedback is integrated into core HR functions, making it suitable for large enterprises that want to manage their workforce and employee experience from a single system of record, rather than using a separate survey platform.

   • Best for: Large enterprises that require integrated employee feedback and experience management within a comprehensive human capital management system.
   • Workday HCM profile page
   • Workday official site

5. 5. Oracle NetSuite — Integrated business management with customer insights

   Oracle NetSuite is a cloud-based business management suite that integrates ERP, CRM, professional services automation (PSA), and e-commerce. While not a primary experience management platform, NetSuite's CRM module includes functionalities for customer relationship tracking, service management, and some basic capabilities for gathering customer feedback. Its strength lies in providing a unified platform for managing various aspects of a business, where customer interactions and feedback can be linked to sales, marketing, and service processes. For companies already utilizing NetSuite for their core business operations, leveraging its built-in CRM and reporting tools for customer insights can offer an integrated alternative to a standalone survey platform. This approach is particularly beneficial for mid-market to enterprise companies seeking to consolidate their business applications and gain a holistic view of their customer relationships within a single system.

   • Best for: Mid-market to enterprise companies using NetSuite for ERP and CRM, seeking to integrate customer feedback within their existing business management suite.
   • Oracle NetSuite profile page
   • Oracle NetSuite official site

6. 6. Salesforce Sales Cloud — CRM with extensible feedback capabilities

   Salesforce Sales Cloud is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform focused on sales automation, lead management, and forecasting. While not a dedicated experience management platform, Salesforce's extensive ecosystem and customization capabilities allow for the integration of various survey and feedback tools, including its own native feedback features through Salesforce Surveys or third-party app exchange solutions. This approach enables organizations to connect customer feedback directly to sales and service processes, enriching customer profiles and informing sales strategies. For businesses already deeply invested in the Salesforce ecosystem, extending its capabilities to include comprehensive experience management can be a strategic move. The platform's strength lies in its flexibility and the ability to build a 360-degree view of the customer, incorporating feedback data alongside transactional and interaction history.

   • Best for: Enterprises deeply embedded in the Salesforce ecosystem that want to integrate customer feedback with their sales and service operations.
   • Salesforce Sales Cloud profile page
   • Salesforce official site

7. 7. SAP S/4HANA — ERP with integrated business processes and analytics

   SAP S/4HANA is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite designed for large enterprises, integrating core business processes like finance, manufacturing, logistics, and human resources. While SAP offers dedicated experience management solutions through SAP Customer Experience (CX) products and integrations with Qualtrics, SAP S/4HANA itself provides capabilities for operational data analysis that can inform experience strategies. For organizations heavily reliant on SAP for their core business operations, leveraging its embedded analytics and reporting can provide insights into operational efficiency that indirectly impact customer and employee experiences. This approach is suitable for enterprises seeking to connect operational performance data with experience data, making it an alternative for those who prefer to keep data within their existing SAP landscape and build out experience capabilities through integration rather than a standalone platform.

   • Best for: Large enterprises with an extensive SAP footprint seeking to integrate experience insights with their core operational and financial data.
   • SAP S/4HANA profile page
   • SAP official site

Side-by-side

How to pick

Selecting an alternative to Qualtrics requires evaluating your organization's specific needs, existing technology stack, and strategic objectives for experience management. Consider the following decision-tree approach:

1. Define your primary experience management focus:

   • If your main goal is to improve customer service interactions and support workflows, prioritize platforms like Zendesk or ServiceNow (CSM) which embed feedback directly into operational processes.
   • For comprehensive employee experience management integrated with HR functions, especially in large enterprises, Workday HCM is a strong contender.
   • If you need a holistic view of the customer across marketing, sales, and service for SMBs to mid-market, consider HubSpot due to its integrated CRM capabilities.
   • For broad market research, product feedback, or brand tracking with deep analytics, and if Qualtrics' specific features are not meeting needs, other dedicated survey platforms (not listed here but general alternatives) might be more suitable. However, if your need is to integrate these insights into existing enterprise operations, consider the extensibility of platforms like Salesforce Sales Cloud.

2. Evaluate your existing enterprise software ecosystem:

   • Are you heavily invested in a particular vendor's suite? For instance, if you rely on ServiceNow for IT and HR workflows, leveraging its CSM or HRSD modules for feedback might offer better integration and data flow.
   • If Salesforce is your core CRM, explore its native survey capabilities or AppExchange integrations to keep customer feedback within your existing sales and service data.
   • For companies using Oracle NetSuite for ERP and CRM, its integrated approach to customer data could be more efficient than a separate XM platform.
   • Organizations with a significant SAP footprint might prioritize solutions that integrate seamlessly with SAP S/4HANA or other SAP CX offerings for operational data correlation.

3. Consider the scale and complexity of your feedback programs:

   • For enterprises with complex, multi-channel feedback requirements and advanced analytics needs, a platform with robust API access and integration capabilities will be crucial.
   • If your needs are simpler, focusing on transactional feedback or specific employee surveys, a more streamlined solution might be more cost-effective and easier to implement.

4. Assess integration requirements:

   • How critical is it to integrate feedback data with your CRM, ERP, ITSM, or HRIS? Platforms like ServiceNow, HubSpot, Workday HCM, and Salesforce Sales Cloud offer strong native integrations within their broader suites, which can be a significant advantage over standalone survey tools.

5. Review pricing models and total cost of ownership (TCO):

   • Qualtrics typically operates on an enterprise pricing model. Alternatives may offer different pricing structures, including tiered plans or usage-based models, which could better align with your budget and usage patterns. Consider not just licensing costs but also implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance.