Survey vs Questionnaire: What’s the Difference and When to Use Each?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten an email with a ‘quick survey’ attached, only to open it up and be greeted by a million open-ended essay questions. You think to yourself ‘This is no survey!’ But then… what exactly is the difference between questionnaire and survey?

Survey vs Questionnaire: Understanding the Distinction

What is a survey?

A survey is a tool used to collect specific data points and metrics from respondents through structured, standardized questions. The difference between questionnaire and survey often lies in the question format. A survey typically includes multiple choice, rating scale, or other closed-ended questions, ensuring quantifiable results. So, when considering the difference between questionnaire and survey, the key factor is the structure and the data you aim to gather.

And what about a questionnaire?

On the other hand, a questionnaire features open-ended, freeform questions, allowing respondents to share subjective feedback, opinions, and insights in their own words. Understanding the difference between questionnaire and survey comes down to how you collect information. A survey questionnaire might be used in a survey vs questionnaire situation to gather both closed and open-ended responses, blending the advantages of both formats.

If you’re still unclear about the survey and questionnaire difference, it’s important to consider the purpose of the tool. The difference between questionnaire and survey is also in their applications—surveys and questionnaires are often used in various fields, from market research to academic studies. To summarize the difference between questionnaire and survey, it’s mainly about how the questions are presented and what type of data is being sought.

When to Utilize Them?

Surveys excel in capturing precise data to gauge metrics such as customer satisfaction scores, product feature preferences, and employee engagement levels. When considering the difference between questionnaire and survey, you’ll find that surveys often rely on checkboxes, star ratings, and ranking scales to collect quantifiable data. The survey versus questionnaire distinction lies in the closed-ended nature of surveys, which allow for easier analysis of data points.

On the other hand, questionnaires prove invaluable for exploratory purposes, particularly when seeking raw customer feedback to enhance a product or comprehend broader opinions and motivations. If you’re asking, “Is a survey a questionnaire?” the answer is no—the two serve different purposes. Questionnaires shine with long-form free-response fields and expansive prompts, offering a more qualitative approach. The difference between questionnaire and survey is mainly in the depth of feedback and data you collect.

In short, knowing the difference between questionnaire and survey allows you to choose the right tool: use surveys for precise data and questionnaires for deeper, qualitative insights.

Key Differences: Survey vs Questionnaire

Here’s a breakdown highlighting the key difference between questionnaire and survey:

The difference between questionnaire and survey lies in these aspects—if you’re after quantitative data, a survey is the right choice. But for qualitative data, the survey versus questionnaire debate often leads you to choose a questionnaire for deeper exploration.

Quiz: Survey VS Questionnaire – Which One Fits Your Needs?

Uncertain about whether a survey form or a questionnaire is the right choice for your upcoming data collection project? Understanding the difference between questionnaire and survey can be tricky, but this brief 5-question quiz will help you decide! It’ll only take about a minute of your time to determine whether a survey or a questionnaire best suits your needs.

Let your results guide you to the appropriate online form format. As evident, this quiz resembles more of a survey. It’s an online form created using PlatoForms. Tools like PlatoForms empower you to effortlessly build either a survey or a questionnaire, depending on your specific needs.

Building Survey or Questionnaire with PlatoForms is Simple

No matter which type of form you require, PlatoForms streamlines the process for you. Here’s how:

• Convert existing PDFs: Convert your PDF surveys or questionnaires into online fillable forms effortlessly using our online conversion feature. Simply upload your PDF, and PlatoForms will do the rest.

• Create from scratch: With our user-friendly editor, you can easily craft custom surveys or questionnaires tailored to your needs. Design your form with ease, incorporating various question types and formatting options.

• Versatile sharing options: Embed your forms directly onto websites for seamless accessibility, or share them via email with your audience. Our platform also integrates seamlessly with apps like Make or Zapier for enhanced automation and connectivity.

  Read more: Elevate Your Workflows with PlatoForms & Make Integration

• Streamlined data collection: Say goodbye to the hassle of manual data entry. PlatoForms automates the process, ensuring that responses are efficiently captured and organized for your analysis.

• Comprehensive features: Enjoy a range of features designed to streamline your form-building process, including conditional logic, response validation, and customizable notifications.

With PlatoForms, form creation and data collection become a hassle-free endeavor, allowing you to focus on deriving valuable insights from your surveys and questionnaires.

Introducing PlatoForms’ AI Form Builder: Faster Forms, Smarter Insights

Still deciding between a survey or a questionnaire? No matter which you choose, one thing’s for sure—you don’t want to waste time manually building it. That’s where PlatoForms’ AI Form Builder comes in. Simply upload your existing PDF, and our AI-powered tool instantly transforms it into a fillable online form—saving you hours of work.

Whether you’re creating a structured survey with multiple-choice questions or a freeform questionnaire to gather open-ended feedback, our AI form creator adapts to your format and preserves your layout. No technical setup, no formatting errors—just a clean, usable online form ready to share. It’s especially helpful when you need to iterate quickly between survey-style data collection and more exploratory questionnaires.

By automating the form conversion process, PlatoForms’ AI form builder helps you focus on what really matters: collecting meaningful data and making informed decisions. The difference between a survey and a questionnaire might come down to intent—but with AI, the creation process is effortless either way.

How to Create survey Or Questionnaire with PlatoForms

1. Create a new form: Log in to your PlatoForms account, follow the instructions here to create your online form.

2. Add questions: Use the form builder to add questions and select appropriate question types (such as text fields, dropdowns, and etc.).

3. Set conditional logic: Utilize conditional logic to automatically show or hide specific questions based on the respondent’s answers. For example, if the respondent selects “Yes,” display additional questions; if “No,” hide those questions.

4. Customize form fields: Use form fields to add titles, paragraphs, separators, and other elements to enhance the readability and structure of your form.

5. Design form style: Choose suitable colors, fonts, and layouts to make your form look professional and appealing. For more details, see Design web PDF form.

6. Share the form: Share the form link by embedding it on a website or sending it via email, allowing respondents easy access to your survey or questionnaire.

   Read more: Embed Forms With a Simple Copy-Paste URL

New Feature Alert: Create Charts and Download PDF Reports for Submission Data

We’re excited to introduce a new feature that makes it easier than ever to visualize and share submission data. With just a few clicks, you can generate customizable reports with charts and export them as PDFs.

Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Generate Reports with Charts: Go to the Submission page, select a form, and click Charts > Create a New Report. Choose fields like Dropdown, Choice, Picture Choice, Rating, Slider, and Table to include in your report.

2️⃣ Customize Charts: Select from 6 chart types—Column, Bar, Pie, Line, Treemap, and Doughnut—and adjust titles, colors (including custom palettes), and widths. Add more charts for additional fields at any time.

3️⃣ Export as PDF: Once your report is ready, click the ⋮ menu > Export PDF to download it for easy sharing or archiving.

For step-by-step instructions, check out our user guide — Generate submission reports.

In Conclusion

Understanding the difference between questionnaire and survey is essential for selecting the right tool to gather meaningful data. Questionnaires excel in gathering more qualitative, in-depth insights through open-ended responses, while surveys are ideal for collecting precise, quantifiable information using closed-ended questions.

PlatoForms simplifies the creation of both types of forms with a range of customizable options, including conditional logic, versatile sharing features, and seamless integration with apps like Make and Zapier. Whether you’re conducting market research, evaluating customer satisfaction, or seeking employee feedback, PlatoForms makes it easy to design and share surveys or questionnaires tailored to your needs. Start optimizing your data collection process today with PlatoForms—sign up here!!