Free Online Voting Tools: What the Free Tiers Allow

Yes, you can run an online vote for free, as long as the group is small or the vote does not need strict secrecy. Dedicated voting tools such as ElectionBuddy and OpaVote offer free tiers for small elections. Form and survey tools such as Tally and LimeSurvey are free or have generous free tiers, but they are built for opinion polls rather than secret ballots. This page lists the free options, their documented limits and when it is worth paying. Status October 2026; free tiers change often.

Free tiers at a glance

Tool	Type	What is free	Ballot secrecy	Good for
ElectionBuddy	Election software	Small elections, up to 20 eligible voters according to the provider	Anonymous voting options	Committee or small club elections
OpaVote	Election software	Small elections, according to third-party sources	Secret ballot	Ranked-choice and STV votes in small groups
Tally	Form builder	Forms and submissions, with paid extras	Depends on settings, no voter register	Opinion polls, nominations, feedback
LimeSurvey	Survey software, open source	Cloud: small monthly response quota; self-hosted: free software	Anonymised responses option, token lists	Surveys, polls with access codes
Live polling tools	Audience polling	Limited participants or polls per event	Usually anonymous, no eligibility check	Quick votes during meetings

Dedicated voting tools with a free tier

ElectionBuddy states a free tier for up to 20 eligible voters. It includes features such as candidate profiles, abstentions and email notices. Above that, plans are priced by the number of eligible voters, not by those who actually vote. That makes the free tier a realistic option for boards, committees and small clubs.

OpaVote focuses on counting methods such as ranked-choice voting and the single transferable vote. A free tier for small elections exists, according to third-party sources. If your rules prescribe a preferential method, this is one of the few free ways to run it online. Our explainer on ranked-choice voting shows how the count works.

Form and survey tools

Tally is a form builder that markets a generous free plan with unlimited forms and submissions, with some features reserved for paid plans. It is good for opinion polls, nominations or feedback. For voting it lacks a voter register: anyone with the link can respond, and preventing double voting takes extra work.

LimeSurvey is open-source survey software. You can install it yourself at no licence cost, or use the provider’s cloud version, which according to its help centre includes a small free monthly response quota. LimeSurvey can restrict a survey to a list of participants with unique access codes and can store responses in anonymised form. That brings it closer to a vote, but configuration needs care. See our guide to anonymous polls for the settings that matter.

Live polling during meetings

For quick, open votes during a meeting, free tiers of live polling tools are often enough. Mentimeter limits its free plan by participants per month, and Slido limits polls per event, according to their published plans. These tools do not check eligibility, so they suit procedural votes and opinion checks rather than elections.

When free is good enough

• a small committee or board elects its chair;
• a club wants an opinion poll before a decision;
• a group needs a ranked vote on a name, a date or a project;
• the result is not contested and nobody expects a formal audit.

When you should pay

• the election is contested or could be challenged;
• your membership exceeds the free tier;
• you need printed access codes, several languages or support on election day;
• your rules or supervisory body expect documentation or certification;
• you need a data processing agreement that meets your data protection standards.

At that point, our online voting software comparison is the next step.

Tips for using free tools responsibly

1. Read the limits on the provider’s current price page, not on a comparison site.
2. Check what administrators can see before promising anyone a secret ballot.
3. Use unique access codes where possible, so that each member votes once.
4. Do not upload more personal data than needed. A name and email address are usually enough.
5. Export the result and keep it with the minutes, as free accounts may delete data after a period.

If you only need to find a date for the next meeting, a scheduling poll is the simpler tool. For broader questionnaires, see the survey tools comparison.