KoboToolbox

What KoboToolbox does

KoboToolbox is a data collection platform for surveys carried out in the field, mainly by social-impact organizations and researchers. It is maintained by Kobo Inc., and its repository carries the badge of a verified Digital Public Good.

Forms are built either in the web Formbuilder or as XLSForm spreadsheets, which suit long questionnaires with many conditions. There are more than 25 question types, including text, choices, photos, audio and GPS locations, with skip logic, calculations, validation rules and translations into several languages. Data collectors fill in forms online or offline, in a browser on any device or in the KoboCollect Android app, and send their submissions to the server when they are back online.

Data analysis and management

Collected data can be shown in custom reports and interactive maps, and exported to XLS, CSV, KML, GeoJSON or a ZIP of media files. Audio answers can be transcribed and translated automatically, and qualitative analysis tools help code open answers into themes. Permissions and sharing can be set per user, and teams can be managed centrally. A REST API (version 2, with Swagger documentation) gives programmatic access to forms and submissions.

Self-hosting KoboToolbox

The application code lives in the kpi repository (the former KoboCAT component was merged into it in 2024). A full installation uses kobo-install, a Python 3.12+ script that asks a few questions, writes the configuration and starts the kobo-docker containers. The README lists Linux (tested on Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04) or macOS, Docker with Compose V2, and port 80, plus 443 if you use its Let’s Encrypt proxy. The back end runs PostgreSQL, MongoDB and Redis behind NGINX, and a public server needs several subdomains and an SMTP server. Setup sizes PostgreSQL and the application workers from the detected CPUs and memory; the README gives no minimum hardware figures.

Plan upgrades carefully. Production installs should track release branches, and the installer README lists several releases that needed manual steps, most recently a MongoDB 8 upgrade for releases from July 2026 onward.

Hosted version

Kobo Inc. runs two public servers with the same features: a Global server and a European Union server for organizations that need or prefer EU hosting. Projects cannot be shared between the two, so collaborators must use the same server. New accounts get the free Community Plan, with monthly quotas for submissions, storage and automatic transcription and translation, and can upgrade to paid plans.

Limitations

KoboToolbox is built for structured data collection, not for branded marketing forms, lead capture or one-question-at-a-time surveys. The mobile app is Android-only, although web forms work offline in a browser. Self-hosting means running a multi-container stack with three databases and following the upgrade notes closely. For a lighter Apache-licensed server built on the same XLSForm standard, compare ODK Central.

Who it suits

KoboToolbox suits NGOs, aid and development agencies, researchers and public bodies running surveys in the field, especially offline and on mobile devices, who want a free hosted option (including an EU server) or full control on their own infrastructure.