Platform comparison
SMAAT vs Samply
Full disclosure: Samply and SMAAT were both created by Yury Shevchenko at the University of Konstanz. They solve different problems. Samply is a focused notification scheduler — you bring your own survey tool and Samply takes care of sending push notifications to participants. SMAAT is a complete ESM platform that owns the whole pipeline: survey builder, cognitive tasks, scheduler, mobile app, compliance dashboards, and encrypted data storage. The right choice depends on whether you want one tool or a stack.
Researched and last updated: 27 May 2026. We try to keep this comparison factual. If you spot an inaccuracy, email info@open-lab.online and we'll update it.
Samply
Lightweight, open notification scheduler for experience-sampling research, hosted by the University of Konstanz.
Typical academic price: Free for academic use; donations welcomed
Visit Samply →SMAAT
Open, EU-hosted research platform with integrated survey-and-cognitive-task builder and built-in compliance monitoring.
Typical academic price: Pro €63/mo academic, billed annually (€756/yr); Free tier (1 study / 5 participants)
See SMAAT pricing →Samply is free in part because the underlying notification delivery costs are low. SMAAT covers survey builder, mobile app maintenance, encrypted storage, and compliance tooling — which is where the SaaS pricing reflects ongoing infrastructure.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | SMAAT | Samply |
|---|---|---|
| What it provides | Full ESM platform: survey builder, cognitive tasks, scheduler, mobile app, compliance dashboard, encrypted storage, data export. | Notification scheduling only. You bring your own survey tool (LimeSurvey, Qualtrics, custom). |
| Mobile app | iOS + Android participant app (App Store, Google Play). Participants open surveys inside SMAAT. | iOS + Android participant app for receiving notifications; the actual survey opens in the browser. |
| Survey builder | Visual survey builder with 13+ question types including Likert, slider, sorting, swipe/tap, file upload, AI chat. | Not included — you compose surveys in your own tool of choice and link them in the notification. |
| Cognitive tasks | Built-in library of validated cognitive tasks (Stroop, n-back, go/no-go, flanker, etc.). | Not included. |
| Sensor data collection | GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, pedometer, barometer. | Not included. |
| Notification schedule types Samply's geofencing implementation (Shevchenko & Reips, 2023, Behavior Research Methods) informs SMAAT's design. | Fixed-time, random-within-window, interval, event-based, geofenced. | Fixed-time, random-within-window, interval, event-based, geofenced. |
| Compliance monitoring | Real-time dashboards, inactivity flags, automated alerts (Basic+). | Notification delivery logs are available; response-rate tracking depends on your survey tool. |
| Data storage | Encrypted at rest in the EU. Optional public/private key end-to-end encryption with researcher-held private key. | Samply forwards survey opens to your URL — survey responses live in your survey tool, not in Samply. |
| Hosting | DigitalOcean, Frankfurt (Germany). | University of Konstanz infrastructure (EU). |
| Pricing | Free tier + €30–€390/mo paid tiers (30% academic discount). | Free for academic use. |
| Setup effort | Higher up-front: design the survey in SMAAT, configure schedule, encryption, sensors. Once built, everything is in one place. | Lower up-front if you already use a survey tool. You pair Samply with your existing stack. |
| Best for | Researchers who want a complete EU-hosted toolchain in one platform, including compliance monitoring and cognitive tasks. | Researchers who already have a preferred survey tool and only need a reliable notification scheduler. |
When to pick Samply
Pick Samply when you already have a survey tool you love (Qualtrics, LimeSurvey, custom) and you only need a robust open-source notification scheduler to drive participants to it. Samply also remains the right call for purely notification-focused methodological work and for teams that don't need survey + sensor + storage in one place.
When to pick SMAAT
Pick SMAAT when you want the full pipeline — survey builder, cognitive tasks, mobile app, scheduler, compliance dashboard, encrypted storage — in one EU-hosted platform. SMAAT is also the right call when end-to-end encryption with a researcher-held key, automated compliance alerts, or a public template library matter to your study or your institution's procurement office.
Sources
Still deciding?
Bring the question to a 20-minute call. We'll walk through your study design and tell you honestly whether SMAAT fits.