Free user onboarding survey template
Catch the people who got stuck in their first ten minutes.
- 5 questions
- Single page
- 2 conditional
- Free, unlimited responses
Opens in your dashboard with the whole form in front of you. Nothing is created until you say so. Keep it, restyle it, or pick a different one.
Updated October 7, 2026
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Ships in Soft · 26 to choose from
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What this user onboarding survey asks, and why
Send this a day or two after signup. The first question asks whether the user managed to get set up. People who got stuck are asked where it went wrong; people who are up and running are asked what helped most. Each group sees only its own question, so neither has to answer something that doesn't apply. Everyone then says roughly how long setup took and whether they expected to find anything they didn't. The stuck answers are the ones to read first, because they point to the exact screen where new users drop out.
- Questions
- 5, 1 required, 2 conditional
- Format
- Single page
- Theme
- Soft, or any of 26
- Cost
- Free, no response cap
The 5 questions it asks
In order, with their field types and why each one is there. Edit, reorder or delete any of them once it's yours.
- Did you manage to get set up?Multiple choice · Yes, I'm up and running, Partly, No, I got stuckRequired
The branching question. Its answer decides which follow-up appears, so each person is only asked about the experience they had.
- Where did it go wrong?Long textConditional
Shown only to people who answered 'No, I got stuck'. Their answer points at the exact step that is losing new users.
- What helped most?Long textConditional
Shown to people who got up and running. Worth keeping whatever they name, because it is working.
- How long did it take?Multiple choice · Under 5 minutes, 5–15 minutes, Longer than that +1Optional
How long setup took, including 'I gave up'. A rise in that answer is the clearest sign onboarding has got harder.
- Anything you expected to find and didn't?Long textOptional
Catches expectations your marketing set that the product did not meet, which a setup question would never surface.
2 questions are conditional. They only appear when an earlier answer calls for them, so most people answer 3, not 5.
Built for these jobs, and easy to bend to yours
- SaaS onboarding
- App first-run
- Trial activation
- Self-serve setup flows
Ways to adapt it
In-app after the first session
Embed the form on a 'Getting started' page or link it from the welcome email so it reaches people in context.
For a trial
Add a question about whether they plan to buy, and send it a few days before the trial ends.
For a mobile app
Switch the layout to one question per screen, which suits people answering from a phone notification.
How to get good answers from a user onboarding survey
- 1
Send it within two days of signup
Setup problems are forgotten quickly. Ask while the first session is still fresh and people can name the exact screen that stopped them.
- 2
Read 'Where did it go wrong?' every week
This is the most actionable answer the form collects. Group the responses by the step they mention and fix the most common one first.
- 3
Do not ask what you can measure
If your product already records which steps people complete, ask about the why instead. The form's value is the explanation, not the funnel.
- 4
Reply to the people who got stuck
Add an optional email question and offer help. A user rescued at setup is often more loyal than one who never had a problem.
After you publish
Where the responses go next
Alert the onboarding owner
On Pro, send every response to a Slack channel so whoever owns onboarding sees the stuck users the same day.
Measure the share who got set up
The breakdown of the first question shows how many new users succeeded, partly succeeded or got stuck.
Compare cohorts
Export each month's responses to CSV and compare the answers before and after you change the setup flow.
User Onboarding Survey: common questions
Still deciding?
Rating, NPS, ranking and matrix questions, with completion analytics on every plan.
What should an onboarding survey ask?
Whether people managed to get set up, where it went wrong if not, and how long it took. This template branches so each person is asked only about their own experience.
How does the branching work?
Answering 'No, I got stuck' reveals 'Where did it go wrong?', and answering 'Yes, I'm up and running' reveals 'What helped most?'. Show/hide rules like these are free on every plan.
When should I send an onboarding survey?
Within a day or two of signup. Later than that, people who got stuck have often stopped using the product and will not reply.
Can I add the user's account ID?
Add a short-text question for it, or include an email question, so you can match each response to the account that sent it.
How do I know if onboarding is improving?
Watch the share of people answering 'Yes, I'm up and running' and the share answering 'I gave up' to the time question. Both should move after a fix.
Related templates
- NPS SurveyThe 0–10 question, on its own screen, exactly as it should be asked.3 questions · One question at a time
- CSAT SurveyCustomer satisfaction measured one question at a time, without a wall of text.3 questions · One question at a time
- Product-Market Fit SurveyThe Sean Ellis test, which tells you whether you have product-market fit.6 questions · Multi-step
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