KoboToolbox vs Monival

KoboToolbox is a survey and data collection platform for gathering information online or offline. Forms can include skip logic, validation, guidance, translations, GPS, and multimedia data. Collection is available through KoboCollect or web forms on iOS and desktop devices. The platform provides response analytics and API access, and teams can own members’ projects with role-based permissions for Owners, Admins, and Members. It works with Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS, and Stata, with direct integrations for TolaData and monday.com. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit using SHA-256 with RSA, alongside project-level key encryption. The platform also offers SSO and GDPR compliance. Data hosting is available in 28 countries or on a customer’s own infrastructure. The Community plan is free for nonprofits and includes 5,000 submissions per month and 1 GB of storage. Starter is $21 a month, Professional is $129 a month, and Teams is $249 a month. The maker says the platform is used by 35,000+ organizations across 220+ countries and territories, with 25M+ surveys collected per month.

Monival is a monitoring and evaluation platform for collecting field data offline, tracking indicators, running evaluations, managing compliance and budgets, and reporting in real time. It is designed for NGOs, research institutions, and government monitoring programmes. Its Android and iOS Data Collect app stores submissions on the device and syncs them when connectivity returns. Monival imports XLSForms from ODK and KoboToolbox, but repeat groups, conditional logic, constraints, calculations, and per-question translations do not transfer. Data can be exported as CSV or XLSX, sent through a REST API or webhooks, or accessed through an OData-shaped feed for Power BI and Excel. Organisation-scoped records and server-enforced roles control access to functions including form design, submission review, financial data, and administration. Traffic between web, mobile sync, and API is encrypted over HTTPS; collected media is stored on Monival's servers. The free Community plan is billed forever and allows up to three forms, 100 submissions per month, and five enumerators. Pro is listed at $1,500 per year.