# XM for Strategy & Research Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is XM for Strategy & Research the right Survey solution for you? Explore 425 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 (425) [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 Ginger S Graduate Student Academic AdvisorEducation Management, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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.“ July 9, 2025 CC Connor C Data AnalystNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “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“ March 16, 2026 JW Jamie W Onboarding ManagerMarketing and Advertising, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “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.“ June 9, 2024 Toni M Director of Market ResearchMarket Research, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The biggest pain point is that you cannot tag your panelists to different topics.“ April 20, 2026 KS Kayla S Campaign ManagerHigher Education, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It also made it possible for visits and events to have students sign themselves up as well as guests with a trigger email going to both of them from our team letting them know who to contact with further questions and attach a map of our campus!“ June 16, 2023 Chandan K DirectorInformation Technology and Services, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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.“ August 5, 2024 Brad C Business Intelligence AnalystHigher Education, 5,001 - 10,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I like the depth of customization in Survey and Research.“ June 20, 2024 Toni M Director of Market ResearchMarket Research, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “You can only overwrite existing information.“ April 20, 2026 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 425 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 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 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 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 DA Dawood A. Quality Assurance Quality Control Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Integrated automation for all phases of surveys" March 11, 2022 5.0 Qualtrics Core XM has contributed to automating all stages of opinion polls, from preparing and creating the survey to collecting data and preparing it for the beginning of the analysis process. I have been able to increase the number of targeted customers with surveys and I am no longer afraid of emptying the data, as we get it ready, and the reports have also provided us with a lot of important information, especially with regard to the target groups. The quality control process has improved for us. Pros Qualtrics Core XM is an integrated platform for preparing and sending polls of all kinds, as it enables you with simple steps to enter the survey questions in one of the ready-made templates that it provides and then send the links to the targeted and challenged individuals based on the contact list you have selected. With ease, the person receiving a link after clicking on it will answer the questions. Qualtrics Core XM will show you through the collected data the number of respondents from the sample you selected, and prepare the data tables collected from them to make it easy for you to export them to a statistical program to start the analysis. Cons I like Qualtrics Core XM very much and I don't find many negatives in it, as it is easy to use for everyone and in simple steps you can complete your task, we just need more ready-made templates with more modern designs, as well as giving more flexibility to coordinate backgrounds and texts. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Digital Marketing Manager Real Estate Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I highly recommend using Qualtrics as a marketing strategy tool" April 13, 2022 5.0 We will be able to convert our potential customers into customers who use our services and appreciate our marketing campaigns with the help of Qualtrics CoreXM, which can be used in any industry or situation. You can use this method for a variety of research projects since it makes it possible for any organization to gather and analyze information about how consumers perceive products and services to take targeted decisions based on that information. Pros It's a lot more user-friendly, flexible, and powerful than most other survey applications out there. In addition, the customer service representatives are always open to fresh suggestions and eager to help. Qualtrics surveys can be adjusted in several ways, from the form questions' structure and layout to the aesthetics. Customer and market research are two of its primary applications. Using Qualtrics email tool, an automatic Salesforce integration, social media posting, and Marketo emails, we distribute surveys to our customers and prospects. However, we also utilize it for internal purposes, such as surveys on the effectiveness of projects and departments, preferences of employees, and RSVPs for events. Cons I'm not sure how useful the new product lines are yet, but Qualtrics has been working hard to extend its product range. The Qualtrics insights summit is a great place to meet academics from all over the world. I simply wish they would place more attention on research and less on bringing in high-profile speakers. The help offered by Qualtrics may be better. It can be hard to find help in the community. To get assistance, I nearly always must use an online chat or email. Review Source VM Virginia M. Social/Clinical Research Specialist Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I've been using Qualtrics for over a year and all I can say is WOW!" November 27, 2017 5.0 The product is intuitive, easy to use, and the online training videos made the system easy to learn as well. Implementation went very smoothly thanks to the Qualtrics employees that worked with us on setting up single-sign on and our more complex surveys. The surveys look modern, and the questions are versatile (which makes it more fun to take surveys). In my opinion, this has led to higher response rates, overall. It's also easy to analyze the data and send out reports. Pros The intuitive, user-friendly interface makes building surveys a breeze. There are many different question types to choose from so it's easy to find one to fit your needs, and additional survey options (such as branching, embedded data, customized messages, email triggers, and more) make the instrument very versatile. Qualtrics is also modern looking and mobile friendly, and I have seen survey response rates increase since its inception. I have had the pleasure of working with several Qualtrics employees during implementation and found them to be extremely helpful and professional. No matter what I ask, they deliver, and quickly too! Even when I think I have a problem they can't solve, they come up with a solution that works. I also appreciate that the product is constantly evolving and making improvements based on customer feedback. Cons Depending on the amount of data, the Report interface can be slow to load. Also, when exporting reports to a word document or PDF, the graphs sometimes appear blurry and can be difficult to read. Review Source Dana J. VP of Research Market Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Our tool-of-choice in research" December 7, 2021 5.0 Our overall experience with Qualtrics is excellent. I contact their customer service department frequently by phone and email, and they are the best! They solve my issues every time. Pros Surveys are easy to program and the reporting feature allows me to simply distribute a link to our team to quickly view the results, including charts and tables. Cons Some of the data setups in the crosstabs feature could be improved. Review Source Ryan O. Software Architect Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Qualtrics Gets It" January 18, 2019 5.0 We leverage the Qualtrics Research Platform to drive key decisions for the overall direction of our organization, assess the needs and well being of those associated to our organization and on and on. We truly cover the full spectrum of use with this product and it has been absolutely critical in the decision making process and in helping us drive forward in our work. Qualtrics simply has it together. Pros Qualtrics is well run from top to bottom. Their products are excellent, intuitive and are capable of supporting customers of all variations. Unlike so many companies that get one thing right and then drop the ball in another area, Qualtrics excels at every level. Their software is excellent, their integration support and API is excellent and their support is hands down the absolute best in the tech industry. There's really no question in my mind why they were gobbled up before they could complete their IPO. Cons Because I typically have to deal with low level interaction with Qualtrics (APIs etc.) my ONLY complaint is that they have a lot of undocumented features. However, their support is THE BEST and they always help me through finding those features when I need them. Review Source Chad Ian P. Personnel Psychologist Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent Platform" April 26, 2018 5.0 In this day and age, having mobile-friendly administration of data is key. This massive organization uses many data collection products/vendors, but Qualtrics is the only that I know of which works mobile administration into processes so easily Pros The analytics options for performing certain data manipulations in the system before exporting data makes developing reports a very quick process. I love the chat-based support function as well. Cons I find it odd that when removing (decrementing) cases from data sets, as I always do to remove preview data, that the time that the system takes to update numbers is rather long. I chatted with product support one day and was given a work-around (i.e., add an embedded data survey block in survey flows), but is still odd. Review Source Debbie L. Professor Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great survey software!" December 28, 2020 5.0 Overall, I found that Qualtrics is a solid survey program. It can do just about anything that you would want in a survey program. It has plenty of features and it is easy to use. If you get stuck on something, their customer service will walk you through it. They also have a lot of great literature for you to find the answer yourself. Pros This is probably the most popular survey program on the market and for good reasons. It has the ability to design surveys with a ton of options for questions -- multiple choice, short answer, longer answer. You can randomize questions, organize the survey by blocks, use decision trees. It is easy to use and the customer service is amazing. They will also recruit panels of participants for you. It is easy to download the data into excel or other usable formats. Cons I haven't found much yet. I am still learning how to use it, but most things are pretty intuitive. The one thing I would say that I don't like is that even though they will recruit panels of participants for you that match particular characteristics, they are relatively pricey. Review Source MN Mark N. Analytics Manager Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A powerful survey tool with useful bolt-ons" May 11, 2023 4.0 Performed admirably as a survey tool but reporting and analysis didn't meet our needs and cost ultimately led us to switch platform again. Pros Comprehensive survey build and management tool Cons Reporting and analysis tools not as easy to use / powerful Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research cost/feature comparison 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 ## 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.