Quick answer
Yes — for the part of SurveyMonkey covered on this page, Hearback is a one-time-purchase alternative. It costs $79 once, while SurveyMonkey lists from $25/mo. Self-hosted feedback + NPS widget with an inbox, dashboard and CSV export — unlimited responses. It is not a 1:1 replacement for everything SurveyMonkey does — the honest limits are spelled out below.
The verdict
Switch to Hearback if the slice of SurveyMonkey you actually pay for is the slice Hearback covers — and a $79 one-time price beats from $25/mo for as long as you use it.
Stay with SurveyMonkey if this sounds like you — SurveyMonkey distributes surveys anywhere — email, links, social, panels — with logic branching and benchmarking data. Hearback is an on-site widget; it does not do panel distribution or complex survey logic.
Head to head
| Hearback | SurveyMonkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 once | from $25/mo |
| Where it runs | Your own machine | Vendor cloud (hosted service) |
| Renewal | None — the license never expires | Recurring — access ends when you stop paying |
| 5-year cost | $79 | ~$1,500 |
About SurveyMonkey: SurveyMonkey is a survey platform with templates, logic and analysis. Team plans list from $25/user/mo billed annually (about $300/user/yr); individual plans are priced higher per month.
Where SurveyMonkey still wins
SurveyMonkey distributes surveys anywhere — email, links, social, panels — with logic branching and benchmarking data. Hearback is an on-site widget; it does not do panel distribution or complex survey logic.
Where Hearback wins
If your surveys live on your website, Hearback embeds feedback and NPS widgets with one line of code, captures page context automatically, and collects everything in a self-hosted inbox with CSV export. $79 once, no response limits, no per-user seats.
- Price, permanently. $79 once versus from $25/mo for as long as you use it. There is no renewal, no seat count and no tier gate.
- One-line embed. A single script tag. Self-contained JS + CSS in a shadow DOM, so your site's styles never leak in and the widget never leaks out.
- Feedback form. 1–5 emoji rating, Issue / Idea / Praise category, message, optional reply email.
The math
SurveyMonkey lists from $25/mo. Hearback is $79, paid once:
- After 1 year: Hearback has cost you $79 total — SurveyMonkey has cost ~$300.
- After 3 years: Hearback is still $79 — the subscription is at ~$900.
- After 5 years: Hearback is still $79 — the subscription is at ~$1,500.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/feedback-widget-mvp. $79 buys the packaged version, 1-click setup and updates.
Does it do heatmaps or session recordings?
No — and we'll be straight about that. Heatmaps and recordings are Hotjar's other half, and Hearback doesn't attempt them. If you need to watch session replays, keep Hotjar. If what you actually use is surveys and feedback, Hearback covers it for 1/12th of one year's bill.
Are responses really unlimited?
Yes — they're rows in your own SQLite file. Hotjar's entry plan caps you at 500 survey responses a month; your disk is the only cap here.
Will the widget break my site's styles?
No — everything renders inside a shadow DOM, so your CSS and the widget's can't touch each other. The whole thing is ~9 KB of dependency-free vanilla JS.
Try Hearback — $79, one time
Or get Hearback plus every other app in the suite: the OneTimeSuite bundle is currently $97, one time.