Zonka Feedback has come a long way. What started as a kiosk-based feedback tool for physical locations has grown into a full customer experience platform with surveys, automations, and multi-channel distribution. If you are evaluating Zonka, you are probably running a business where in-person feedback matters---hospitality, healthcare, retail, or multi-location services.
But here is the question nobody in the Zonka sales process will answer honestly: is Zonka Feedback the right fit for your specific needs in 2026, or are there better options?
We have spent considerable time analyzing Zonkaโs feature set, pricing structure, and real-world performance. This review covers what Zonka does well, where it falls short, exactly what it costs, and the five best alternatives if it does not check every box for your business.
Full disclosure: we built Customer Echo, which competes in this space. We will be honest about where Zonka beats us and where we think we offer a better solution. You can judge for yourself.
Credit where it is due. Zonka has several genuine strengths that have earned it a loyal customer base.
Zonka was built from the ground up for businesses that need to collect feedback at multiple physical locations. Hotels, restaurant chains, hospitals, airports, and retail stores were the original target audience, and it shows. The platform makes it straightforward to deploy surveys across dozens or hundreds of sites and compare performance between them.
Location-based dashboards let managers see their own siteโs feedback without being overwhelmed by company-wide data. Regional and corporate managers get rollup views that highlight underperformers and surface location-specific issues.
This is where Zonka truly shines. Its offline mode allows tablets and kiosks to collect feedback without an internet connection. Responses are stored locally and sync automatically when connectivity returns. If you operate in environments with unreliable internet---remote retail locations, outdoor event venues, or healthcare facilities with restricted WiFi---this capability is genuinely hard to find elsewhere.
The kiosk mode transforms any iPad or Android tablet into a dedicated feedback terminal. You can lock the device to a single survey, set up idle screens with your branding, and automatically reset between respondents. For businesses that want a physical feedback station at their reception desk, checkout counter, or waiting room, Zonkaโs kiosk implementation is among the best in the market.
Zonka supports all the standard customer experience survey types: NPS, CSAT, CES, and custom surveys. Each comes with purpose-built dashboards, trend tracking, and follow-up automation. The NPS implementation is particularly solid, with segmentation by promoter/passive/detractor and automated workflows triggered by score ranges.
The survey builder itself is flexible. You get conditional logic, question branching, piping, and a variety of question types including rating scales, multiple choice, open text, and matrix questions. It is not as visually polished as Typeform, but it is more functionally complete for CX use cases.
Zonka integrates with a respectable list of tools: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, and more. The Salesforce and HubSpot integrations allow two-way data sync, meaning you can trigger surveys based on CRM events and push feedback data back into contact records. For teams that live in their CRM, this is valuable.
The API is well-documented and capable enough for custom integrations, though it does not match the depth of enterprise platforms like Qualtrics.
Zonka offers full white-labeling on higher-tier plans. Custom domains, branded emails, your logo everywhere, no Zonka branding visible to your customers. For agencies and consultancies that resell feedback services, or brands that want a seamless experience, white-labeling is a meaningful differentiator.
No platform is perfect, and Zonka has some real limitations that you should understand before committing.
This is Zonkaโs most significant gap in 2026. The platform offers text analytics and word clouds, which were impressive five years ago but feel dated now. You get basic sentiment detection (positive, negative, neutral) and keyword frequency analysis, but you do not get the contextual understanding that modern NLP engines provide.
For example, if a customer writes โThe room was clean but the noise from the hallway made it impossible to sleep,โ Zonkaโs text analytics will tell you โcleanโ and โnoiseโ are frequently mentioned words. Customer Echoโs intelligence engine understands that the sentiment on cleanliness is positive while the sentiment on noise is negative, and categorizes them as separate operational themes.
When you are processing hundreds or thousands of feedback responses per month, this difference in analytical depth translates directly into how quickly you can identify and fix problems. Manual reading does not scale, and basic word clouds do not replace it.
Compared to market leaders like SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics, Zonka has a smaller user community. This means fewer third-party tutorials, templates, and integrations. If you encounter an unusual use case, you are more likely to be relying on Zonkaโs support team directly rather than finding a community-sourced solution.
Zonkaโs documentation is adequate but not comprehensive. Some advanced features require contacting support to understand fully, which can slow down implementation for technical teams who prefer self-service documentation.
While Zonkaโs dashboards are functional, they lack the customization depth that data-driven teams expect. Custom report building is limited---you can filter and segment, but creating truly bespoke dashboards with custom visualizations requires exporting data to a BI tool.
Cross-channel reporting is another weak point. If you collect feedback through kiosks, email, and web forms, comparing performance across these channels within Zonka is not as intuitive as it should be. The data is there, but the reporting layer does not make cross-channel analysis easy.
For businesses where Google reviews drive customer acquisition, Zonkaโs Google Business integration is disappointing. You cannot route satisfied customers to leave Google reviews or intercept dissatisfied customers before they post negative reviews publicly. This is a feature that platforms like Customer Echo have built as a core capability, and its absence in Zonka is notable for any business that depends on local search visibility.
Zonkaโs interface is functional but not modern. The design feels like it was last refreshed several years ago. Navigating between features can require more clicks than expected, and the learning curve for new team members is steeper than simpler tools. This is not a dealbreaker, but in a market where competitors are investing heavily in user experience, it is worth noting.
Customer Echo combines multi-channel collection with advanced NLP analysis, case management, and Google Business integration. See how it compares.
Zonkaโs pricing has changed several times, and the current structure can be confusing. Here is what you actually need to know as of early 2026.
Zonka offers a free plan that is limited to 3 surveys, 100 responses per month, and basic features. It is useful for testing the platform but not practical for ongoing business use. No automations, no integrations, no white-labeling.
The Starter plan unlocks unlimited surveys and up to 2,500 responses per month. You get basic reporting, email distribution, and web surveys. NPS, CSAT, and CES survey types are included. However, you do not get offline mode, kiosk capabilities, or advanced automations at this tier.
This is where Zonka starts to become genuinely useful. The Professional plan adds offline mode, kiosk functionality, workflow automations, and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier. You get 10,000 responses per month and team collaboration features.
The Growth plan adds white-labeling, advanced reporting, and 25,000 responses per month. This tier is designed for agencies and larger organizations that need custom branding and more sophisticated data analysis.
For large organizations with complex requirements, Zonka offers custom enterprise agreements. These include dedicated account management, custom integrations, SLA guarantees, and unlimited responses. Pricing is typically negotiated based on volume and feature requirements.
Here is what the pricing page does not make obvious: many of Zonkaโs most valuable features are locked behind the Professional plan or higher. If you need offline mode and kiosk capabilities---which are arguably Zonkaโs biggest differentiators---you are looking at a minimum of $99/month. That is competitive but not cheap, especially when you consider that some of those capabilities are available elsewhere at lower price points or bundled differently.
Additionally, response limits can catch growing businesses off guard. If you are a multi-location business collecting feedback at 20+ sites, 2,500 responses per month on the Starter plan may not be enough, pushing you to the Professional tier quickly.
| Feature | Zonka Feedback | Customer Echo | SurveyMonkey | Typeform | Qualtrics | SurveySparrow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Analysis | Basic (word clouds) | Advanced NLP | Basic | None | Advanced | Basic |
| QR Code Collection | Yes | Built-in | No | No | Limited | Yes |
| Voice Feedback | No | Whisper-powered | No | No | No | No |
| Offline/Kiosk Mode | Yes (best-in-class) | No | No | No | Limited | Yes |
| Case Management | Limited | Built-in | No | No | Yes | No |
| Google Business Integration | Minimal | Native | No | No | No | No |
| NPS/CSAT/CES | All three | All three | Yes | Limited | All three | All three |
| White-Labeling | Yes ($199+ plan) | No | No | Yes ($83+ plan) | Yes | Yes |
| Starting Price | $49/mo | $49/mo | $25/mo | $25/mo | Custom ($$$$) | $19/mo |
| Best For | Kiosk/offline feedback | AI + QR + voice | Simple surveys | Beautiful forms | Enterprise CX | Conversational surveys |
If your primary frustration with Zonka is the limited depth of its AI analysis, Customer Echo is the most direct upgrade. The platform was built around a core thesis: collecting feedback is the easy part; understanding it and acting on it is where most businesses fail.
Why choose Customer Echo over Zonka:
Where Zonka beats Customer Echo:
Zonkaโs offline kiosk mode is genuinely best-in-class. If you need tablets collecting feedback in environments without internet connectivity, Zonka handles this better. Customer Echoโs QR-based approach requires the customerโs phone to have connectivity, which is not always available in every environment.
Pricing: Starting at $49/month with AI analysis, multi-channel feedback collection, and case management included.
SurveyMonkey is the tool most people think of when they hear โonline survey.โ It has been around since 1999, and its template library and brand recognition are unmatched. If your needs are straightforward---create a survey, send it out, look at the results---SurveyMonkey does this with minimal friction.
Why choose SurveyMonkey over Zonka:
Where Zonka beats SurveyMonkey:
SurveyMonkey has no offline mode, no kiosk capabilities, no QR code collection, and very basic AI analysis. If you need physical location feedback or sophisticated CX measurement, SurveyMonkey is too limited. For a deeper dive, see our SurveyMonkey alternatives guide.
Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans start at $25/user/month. Team plans from $75/user/month.
Typeform wins on aesthetics. Its one-question-at-a-time interface makes surveys feel like conversations, and the visual customization options are the best in the market. If brand experience is paramount and you want your feedback forms to reflect the same care as your product design, Typeform delivers.
Why choose Typeform over Zonka:
Where Zonka beats Typeform:
Typeform has no AI analysis, no offline mode, no kiosk capabilities, no NPS/CSAT tracking, and no case management. It is a form builder, not a CX platform. If you need to measure and manage customer experience rather than just collect data, Typeform leaves major gaps.
Pricing: Free tier (10 responses/month). Basic plan at $25/month. Business plan at $83/month.
Qualtrics is the enterprise standard for experience management. If your organization has a dedicated CX team, substantial budget, and complex research needs, Qualtrics offers unmatched depth across survey methodology, statistical analysis, and compliance certifications.
Why choose Qualtrics over Zonka:
Where Zonka beats Qualtrics:
Price. Qualtrics enterprise contracts start at five figures annually, often reaching $50,000-$150,000+/year. For SMBs and mid-market companies, Qualtrics is overkill both in complexity and cost. Zonka gives you 80% of the CX measurement functionality at a fraction of the price. See our detailed best feedback tools comparison for more context.
Pricing: Custom pricing only. Expect $1,500+/month minimum.
SurveySparrow positions itself as a more affordable alternative to Typeform with additional CX features baked in. It offers both conversational and classic survey formats, recurring surveys, and basic QR code support---making it a viable Zonka alternative for budget-conscious teams.
Why choose SurveySparrow over Zonka:
Where Zonka beats SurveySparrow:
Zonkaโs kiosk mode is more mature, its offline capabilities are more reliable, and its CX analytics dashboards are more sophisticated. SurveySparrowโs AI analysis is also basic---word clouds and basic sentiment, similar to Zonkaโs limitations. If you need best-in-class kiosk feedback with solid reporting, Zonka is the better choice.
Pricing: Free tier available. Starts at $19/month for individuals. Business plans from $79/month.
Customer Echo gives you AI-powered analysis, voice feedback, QR code collection, and automated case management. Everything Zonka does, plus the intelligence layer.
Choosing a feedback platform is not about finding the tool with the most features. It is about finding the tool that matches how your business actually operates and what you need to learn from customers.
Here is a decision framework:
Zonka Feedback is a competent CX platform that has earned its reputation in the kiosk and offline feedback space. If your primary use case involves collecting feedback on tablets at physical locations without internet connectivity, Zonka remains one of the strongest options available.
But the feedback industry has moved forward significantly since Zonka built its core product. AI-powered analysis, voice feedback, and intelligent review routing have become table stakes for businesses that want to do more than just collect data. In these areas, Zonka lags behind newer platforms that were built with these capabilities as foundational features rather than afterthoughts.
If you are currently evaluating Zonka, take advantage of free trials from the alternatives listed above. Deploy real surveys to real customers and compare not just the collection experience, but the quality of insights each platform surfaces from the same data. The tool that helps you understand your feedback fastest is the one that will deliver the most value.
Wondering how Customer Echoโs AI stacks up against Zonkaโs text analytics? Start a free trial and run both side by side. We are confident the difference will speak for itself.
Run Customer Echo alongside your current feedback tool. The same customer data, dramatically better insights. Free trial, no credit card required.