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Build a survey

A survey asks many people the same questions so you can count the answers: an employee pulse check, a member survey, a community needs assessment or a post-course evaluation. Unlike a feedback form tied to one experience, a survey is usually sent to a whole group at once and analyzed in aggregate.

Build this formStart from a template

Reviewed

Survey
  • Rating questions on a 1–5 scale (radio buttons, one group per question)
  • Multiple-choice questions (checkboxes where several answers are allowed)
  • Single-choice questions (dropdown or radio buttons)
  • Branching follow-ups (fields shown by condition on an earlier answer)
  • Demographic questions (optional dropdowns, with a 'prefer not to say' option)
  • One open comment question (multi-line text with a character limit)

Why it works

Survey, explained

Write questions you can analyze. Fixed choices and rating scales export as values you can count and average; open text is valuable but slow to read at scale, so limit it to one or two questions. Branching keeps the survey short for each person by skipping sections that don't apply.

Because the form is laid out on a page, the same survey can be printed for people who prefer paper and typed in later, which helps when you survey groups who don't all fill forms on phones.

Recommended fields

Fields to include

  1. 1Rating questions on a 1–5 scale (radio buttons, one group per question)
  2. 2Multiple-choice questions (checkboxes where several answers are allowed)
  3. 3Single-choice questions (dropdown or radio buttons)
  4. 4Branching follow-ups (fields shown by condition on an earlier answer)
  5. 5Demographic questions (optional dropdowns, with a 'prefer not to say' option)
  6. 6One open comment question (multi-line text with a character limit)

How to do it

Build a survey in 4 steps

  1. 1A flat PDF

  2. 2Place fields

  3. 3A fillable PDF

  1. 1

    Build the survey

    Group related questions on the same page, give every field a clear export name, and add conditions so follow-ups only appear when relevant.

  2. 2

    Publish it

    Publish and send the link by email or chat, embed it on an intranet page, or print the QR code on posters.

  3. 3

    Collect answers

    Respondents answer in a browser without an account. Watch the response count and send a reminder before you close.

  4. 4

    Export and analyze

    Export to CSV or XLSX. Each field becomes a column named after its export name, ready for pivot tables or charts.

In the app

What building it looks like

Create form mode: a palette of field types on the left (signature, text, date, initials, checkbox, radio, dropdown, number, formula) and the invoice's fields outlined in blue on the page
  1. Pick a field type, then click the page — or drag it
  2. Detect fields finds the boxes and lines on a flat PDF
  3. Every field keeps a label, a name and its own rules

The editor in Create form mode. Sample content; names and companies are fictional.

Start from a template

Templates that fit

Survey: questions people ask

Can respondents stay anonymous?

Leave out name, email and identifying demographic fields, and responses won't be tied to names in your export. If you promise anonymity, check the privacy page for what is logged on submission.

Can I stop people from answering twice?

Forms don't limit one response per person. If duplicates matter, ask for an email address and remove duplicates in the export.

Does PDFBetter make charts of the results?

No. Export the answers and chart them in a spreadsheet.

How many responses can I collect?

The Free plan includes 1 live form and 50 responses a month, Pro 10 live forms and 1,000 responses, and Business unlimited live forms and 10,000 responses.