Enketo
Enketo develops an open-source, offline-capable web form engine for survey data collection, built on OpenRosa XForms standards. The platform serves humanitarian agencies, clinical researchers, election monitors, and academic institutions, reaching hundreds of thousands of users daily through integrated partner platforms such as KoboToolbox, ODK, and OpenClinica.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Enketo does
Enketo, operating as Enketo LLC and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, develops and maintains an open-source web form engine for offline-capable survey data collection. The core product, Enketo Smart Paper, is delivered through two technical components: Enketo Express (a Node.js web application for hosting forms) and Enketo Core (a framework-agnostic JavaScript library for embedding the form engine). Forms are rendered in any modern browser without installation, leverage Service Workers and IndexedDB to function offline after initial load, and conform to the OpenRosa XForms and XLSForm standards for interoperability. Supporting components include a custom OpenRosa XPath Evaluator (delivering up to 750x performance gains over the prior engine), a REST API for integration, themes (Grid Theme, Pages Mode), and a rich widget library covering geo, signature, draw, autocomplete, image map, and Likert widgets. End users include humanitarian agencies, clinical researchers, election monitors, academic institutions, and GIS organizations; the platform reaches hundreds of thousands of daily data collectors indirectly through integrated partner platforms including KoboToolbox, ODK, OpenClinica, Ona, Survey123 for ArcGIS, Medic, and LSHTM Open Research Kits.
The company's business model is built on a 100% open-source (Apache 2.0) distribution strategy combined with sponsor-funded development rather than direct end-user monetization. Enketo LLC historically operated a paid hosted service at enketo.org, but this offering was deprecated by 2025 and the website now serves as content only. Current revenue, to the extent it exists, derives from a small set of recurring development sponsors — OpenClinica, KoboToolbox, Medic, Survey123/Esri, DIAL, iMMAP, Santa Fe Institute, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — who fund feature development, bug fixes, and ongoing maintenance. The company is privately held with 1-10 employees and has not raised venture or private equity capital. Project stewardship has transferred twice: from founder Martijn van de Rijdt to the ODK team in August 2021, and from ODK to KoboToolbox in March 2025. Enketo LLC is therefore best characterized as a lean stewardship entity for an open-source standard whose commercial value is largely captured by the larger platforms that embed it.
Enketo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Enketo
- Legal name
- Enketo LLC
- Website
- https://enketo.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Enketo develops an open-source, offline-capable web form engine for survey data collection, built on OpenRosa XForms standards. The platform serves humanitarian agencies, clinical researchers, election monitors, and academic institutions, reaching hundreds of thousands of users daily through integrated partner platforms such as KoboToolbox, ODK, and OpenClinica.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Enketo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open-source web form engine and data collection platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Electronic Data Capture (EDC) Platforms (HLACAOAA)
Keywords
Where Enketo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Enketo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Open-source Software: Enketo is 100% open-source software (Apache 2.0 license); all source code available on GitHub; development funded by sponsors and contributors
- Sponsor-funded Development: Feature development and maintenance funded by commercial sponsors including OpenClinica, KoboToolbox, Medic, Survey123/Esri, Ona, and others who pay for bug fixes, new features, and ongoing maintenance
- Former Paid Hosting Service: Previously offered paid hosting service at enketo.org with subscription plans (free and paid tiers); service has been deprecated as of 2025
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Plan (deprecated) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Paid Plans (deprecated) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Enketo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Enketo develops and maintains an open-source web-based form engine (Enketo Smart Paper / Enketo Express) that renders OpenRosa XForms surveys in any modern browser, with full offline support after initial load. The platform is embedded as the form-filling layer in data collection systems such as KoboToolbox, ODK, Ona, OpenClinica, and Survey123 for ArcGIS, and is licensed under Apache 2.0.
Product overview
Enketo is an open-source web form engine and data collection platform built around the OpenRosa ecosystem. The core product, Enketo Smart Paper (delivered via Enketo Express web application), enables offline-capable surveys that work without internet on any device with a modern browser. The product portfolio includes the Enketo Core JavaScript library for embedding form engines, the OpenRosa XPath Evaluator for high-performance form logic, and various themes (Grid Theme, Pages Mode). Enketo integrates with multiple OpenRosa platforms including ODK Central, KoboToolbox, Ona, OpenClinica, and Survey123 for ArcGIS. The platform is 100% open-source under Apache2 license and was originally created in 2009, with maintenance transitioned from Martijn van de Rijdt to ODK (2021) and then to KoboToolbox (2025).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Enketo Smart Paper Web-based survey and data collection tool that works online and offline on any device with a modern browser, providing form-filling with smart logic, skip logic, validation, and print-friendly output for humanitarian, research, and field teams.
- Enketo Express Node.js web application for hosting Enketo web forms, supporting offline-capable forms, multi-language UI, multiple themes, API integration, and authentication. Can be self-hosted or used as a managed service.
- Enketo Core JavaScript form engine library (no JS frameworks) that can be embedded as a building block to create Enketo-powered applications, containing the form parser, logic evaluator, and UI rendering components.
- OpenRosa XPath Evaluator High-performance XPath evaluator library with native browser XPath leverage and full ODK XForms spec compliance, delivering up to 750x faster loading on complex forms compared to the prior JavaScript-only evaluator.
- Enketo API REST API (v2) for integrating OpenRosa-compliant data servers with Enketo Express, supporting survey retrieval, submission, instance editing, cache management, and authentication via API key.
- Enketo as a Service Managed hosting and support services for Enketo Express, available through ODK and KoboToolbox, including development, hosting, and customization services.
Quantifiable outcome
- Forms with large internal select lists improved from over 5 minutes to 0.4 seconds (750x improvement)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Enketo
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Enketo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
AI capability7 records
Feature10 records
Enketo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- KoboToolboxflagshipKoboToolbox officially took over maintenance and development of Enketo in March 2025. KoboToolbox has been a key user and sponsor of Enketo since the early days, investing in creating Enketo Express for offline data collection. They now have full responsibility for Enketo's future development.
- ODK (Open Data Kit)flagshipODK took over leadership of Enketo project in August 2021 from Martijn van de Rijdt. The ODK team (Yaw Anokwa, Hélène Martin, Trevor Schmidt) made significant improvements to performance, security, and maintainability. ODK stewardship continued until KoboToolbox takeover in 2025.
- OpenClinicaflagshipOpenClinica is the major sponsor of Enketo and directly responsible for many features. Uses Enketo throughout its clinical trial platform. Funded significant development including encryption support, XPath evaluator improvements, widgets (signature, draw), and ongoing maintenance.
- MediccoreMedic uses Enketo in their mobile data collection tools for Community Health Workers. Created the new XPath evaluator that significantly improved performance. Contributed code, funding, and played key role in Enketo's development.
- Survey123 / EsricoreEsri uses Enketo Core as the form engine powering Survey123 for ArcGIS. Sponsored development of widgets, features, and improvements including repeat functionality, autocomplete, and custom geo widget integration.
- OnacoreOna uses Enketo Express as part of their data management platform. Founded by former Columbia University colleagues who played significant role in Enketo's development and design. Contributes code, sponsorship, feedback, and translations.
- WHO (World Health Organization)coreSponsored development through agreement with Ona including multiple improvements and new features. Also funded through LSHTM Open Research Kits for global health research.
- SDRC (Siddha Development Research and Consultancy)minorIndian consultancy that developed ODK Aggregate integration with Enketo API and promotes Enketo adoption in their projects.
- Columbia University / Sustainable Engineering LabcoreInitial host organization for Enketo development; founders worked together at SEL at Columbia; provided significant development, design, and support.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Enketo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Open Data Kit (ODK): ODK is the canonical OpenRosa platform that Enketo was originally created to complement; ODK stewarded Enketo from 2021–2025 and ODK Central integrates Enketo via API. Same ecosystem, same standards, same users.
- KoboToolbox: KoboToolbox is a humanitarian data collection platform built on OpenRosa that uses Enketo as its built-in web form engine and now maintains Enketo development as of March 2025. Direct overlap in form-rendering, OpenRosa compliance, and target users (NGOs, researchers, field staff).
- SurveyCTO: SurveyCTO is an OpenRosa-compatible data collection platform widely used in academic research and impact evaluation — a direct OpenRosa ecosystem peer for research-grade survey workflows.
- Medic: Medic builds mobile data collection tools for Community Health Workers and uses Enketo as its form engine; contributed the high-performance OpenRosa XPath evaluator. Overlaps directly in health-focused offline data collection.
- Ona: Ona is an OpenRosa data management platform that uses Enketo Express as its web form engine. Founded by former Columbia University Sustainable Engineering Lab colleagues of Enketo's founders.
- CommCare (Dimagi): Dimagi's CommCare is a leading mobile data collection and case management platform for frontline health workers in low-resource settings — the same core use case as Enketo (via Medic and ODK), though CommCare uses its own form engine.
- OpenClinica: OpenClinica is a clinical trial EDC platform and Enketo's largest sponsor, integrating Enketo throughout its platform. Both serve clinical research data capture with offline-capable, standards-compliant forms.
Regional players
- FormAssembly: FormAssembly is a web-based form builder for enterprise compliance and Salesforce-integrated workflows; comparable web form rendering technology but commercial/Salesforce-centric rather than OpenRosa/humanitarian.
Emerging players
- LSHTM Open Research Kits: LSHTM ORK is the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine's Open Research Kits platform using Enketo for global health research. Same OpenRosa foundation, narrower institutional focus.
Broad incumbents
- Survey123 for ArcGIS (Esri): Esri's Survey123 uses Enketo Core as its web form engine for the ArcGIS platform. Massive enterprise GIS vendor, but its web form capability specifically depends on Enketo for OpenRosa compliance.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Enketo social profiles
Digital presenceEnketo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Enketo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Enketo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Enketo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Enketo
What does Enketo do?
Enketo develops and maintains an open-source web-based form engine (Enketo Smart Paper / Enketo Express) that renders OpenRosa XForms surveys in any modern browser, with full offline support after initial load. The platform is embedded as the form-filling layer in data collection systems such as KoboToolbox, ODK, Ona, OpenClinica, and Survey123 for ArcGIS, and is licensed under Apache 2.0.
Is Enketo a public or private company?
Enketo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Enketo founded?
Enketo was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Enketo based?
Enketo is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does Enketo make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Open-source Software is the primary driver. The others are sponsor-funded Development and former Paid Hosting Service.
Who are Enketo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Open Data Kit (ODK), KoboToolbox, SurveyCTO, Medic, Ona, CommCare (Dimagi) and OpenClinica. FormAssembly is listed as a regional player. LSHTM Open Research Kits is listed as an emerging player. Survey123 for ArcGIS (Esri) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Enketo have an API?
Yes. Enketo Express exposes a REST API (v2) for integrating with OpenRosa-compliant servers. The API supports authentication via API key as username in Authorization header. Endpoints include: survey retrieval (online-only, offline-capable, single-submit, preview, read-only views), survey deactivation and cache flushing, instance editing and viewing, and survey listing/number queries. OpenRosa APIs are also followed: OpenRosa Request API, Form Submission API, Form Discovery API, Authentication API, and MetaDataSchema. Developer documentation is at apidocs.enketo.org/v2.
What industry is Enketo in?
Enketo's product category is Open-source web form engine and data collection platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAOAA, Electronic Data Capture (EDC) Platforms. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.