SurveyMonkey is quick and familiar for surveys. When a study collects health data over time, needs consent and must show who changed what, Capture provides the controls a general survey tool does not.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Tests
5
Hands-on
4
To confirm
1
Capture vs SurveyMonkey: the short version
0
sales calls needed to start building
1
audit trail across EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization
Free
sandbox with every feature, no time limit
EU + US
hosting in Frankfurt or N. Virginia
The comparison
A satisfaction survey of clinic staff and a questionnaire sent to trial participants look similar, but they carry different obligations. Once responses are identifiable health information, privacy agreements, access control and security matter; once they are trial data, so do audit trails, scheduled follow-up and consent records.
Capture handles both levels: identifying data segregated from answers, questionnaires scheduled with windows and reminders, and every change recorded. See HIPAA-compliant survey tools for research.
What to compare
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Identity separation | Minimum necessary access | Names at the site; coded IDs for researchers and sponsors |
| Scheduling | Repeat visits and diaries | Visit anchors, windows and reminders by email or SMS |
| Audit trail | Who changed what, when and why | Field-level, append-only, with user, time, old and new value and reason |
| Signatures | Consent and investigator sign-off | Verified eConsent; re-authenticated investigator signatures |
| Data checks | Clean data at entry | Range and custom-value edit checks raise auto-queries |
| Cost | Budget for small studies | Free sandbox; no setup fee; pay only when you go live |
This table shows Capture's answers only. Ask SurveyMonkey for theirs, and confirm current capabilities and terms directly with them.
Compliance controls
Every change is written to an append-only, hash-chained audit trail with user, time, old and new value and reason. Electronic signatures require password re-authentication and carry a meaning statement. Roles separate sites, and identifying data is segregated from study data at the database layer.
Weight changed 68.0 to 68.5 kg
Site coordinator · Reason: Transcription error
Query Q-0014 answered on Weight
Site coordinator · Reason: Source checked
Vital signs form locked
Data manager · Reason: Visit cleaned
Longitudinal studies
Each visit is anchored to screening, a milestone, an earlier visit, a fixed study day or a date recorded on a form, with a window and an enforcement mode. Questionnaires follow the schedule, reminders go out by email or SMS, and the status overview shows every participant against every visit.
Window -3 / +3 days around the anchored target date
Soft window
Stays available with a protocol deviation flag
Hard window
Locks outside the window
Warning only
Stays available with a warning
Auto-close
Marked missed when the window closes
Describe it or upload it, and let the AI draft the questions in the free sandbox.
Fit
SurveyMonkey is often the right tool for quick, anonymous or low-risk surveys, feedback forms and questionnaires that are not trial data.
Capture fits research that collects identifiable health data over time, needs consent, or may support regulatory decisions.
Identity and access
Site coordinators see participant names; researchers and sponsor-side users work with coded IDs. Identifying data is segregated at the database layer, sites see only their own participants, and data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit, hosted in the EU or US.
Site coordinator
Jane Peterson
DOB: 04-Mar-1978
Subject 01-004
Sees direct identifiersResearcher
Subject 01-004
DOB: withheld
Coded ID only
Sees coded ID onlySame record, two roles. Row-level security enforces the split.
Switching
Export the questions from your current tool and upload them, or describe the form; Capture's AI drafts it for your review, and you add codes, edit checks and a schedule. Keep data already collected in its original export, documented, and start new collection from a defined date.
Check your ethics approval covers the new system and any change to how participants receive questionnaires.
Evaluation
Agreements, access control and hosting checked.
Schedules, windows and reminders needed.
Audit trail with reasons required.
Consent or investigator sign-off needed.
Site separation and roles needed.
Part 11 or GCP expectations apply.
All comparisons
Every comparison uses the same approach: what to test, where each option fits, and Capture's own answers. See all of them on the comparisons hub at /compare.
It depends on the plan and agreement. Check which plans offer a business associate agreement and how your organisation configures it.
Not for regulated trial data without careful checks of audit trails, signatures, scheduling and access control.
Yes, for studies that need trial-grade controls.
Yes. The free sandbox includes every feature with sample data, no credit card and no time limit. You pay only when you go live.
From public positioning and the criteria teams tell us matter. We state only Capture's own capabilities as fact; confirm SurveyMonkey's current offering with them.
Keep exploring
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