Close your survey when you're done collecting responses
To close a survey in SurveyMonkey, open the survey, click the Collect Responses tab, and select Stop Collecting. The survey will no longer accept new responses, though you can still view and download the data you've already gathered. You can reopen it later if you change your mind.
Closing a survey is useful when you've reached your target number of responses, need to make changes before sending it again, or simply want to stop accepting answers. The process takes about 30 seconds and doesn't delete any of your data.
Many people confuse closing with deleting. Closing is temporary — it stops new responses but keeps everything in your account. Deleting removes the survey permanently. For most situations, closing is the safer choice because you can always reopen the survey later without losing anything.
Key Takeaways
- Click the Collect Responses tab and then Stop Collecting to close your survey to new responses.
- Closing a survey keeps all your existing responses intact — nothing is deleted or lost.
- You can reopen a closed survey at any time by clicking Start Collecting again.
- A closed survey still appears in your account and can be edited, shared, or analyzed without accepting new answers.
- The survey link stops working when you close, so people who try to access it will see a message that the survey is no longer open.
Step-by-step: closing your survey
Log into your SurveyMonkey account and find the survey you want to close. Click on the survey title to open it.
Once inside the survey, look for the Collect Responses tab near the top of the page. Click it. You'll see a blue button labeled Stop Collecting — click that button. SurveyMonkey will ask you to confirm; click Stop Collecting again in the confirmation box.
That's it. Your survey is now closed. The link will no longer work if someone tries to access it, and the survey will no longer show in your collector list as active. You'll see a status indicator showing the survey is closed.
What happens to your data when you close
All responses you've already received stay in your account. You can still view them, download them, and run analysis on them. Closing the survey doesn't touch any of that data. Your response counts, answer text, and any charts or reports you've built all remain exactly as they were.
If you had shared the survey link with people, that link will stop working once you close the survey. Anyone who tries to click it will see a message saying the survey is no longer open. This is helpful if you want to make sure no one else can add responses while you're reviewing what you have or preparing to make changes.
You can still share the survey after closing it — for example, to show someone the results or to let them review the questions. But they won't be able to submit new responses unless you reopen it first.
Reopening a closed survey
If you close a survey and then decide you want to collect more responses, you can reopen it. Go back to the survey, click Collect Responses, and click Start Collecting. The survey will accept new responses again.
When you reopen a survey, the old link works again. Any new responses will be added to your existing data, so you'll have one combined dataset with all responses from both periods. This is useful if you want to run a survey in phases or collect additional feedback after a break.
Closing vs. deleting: what's the difference
Closing stops new responses from coming in but keeps the survey and all its data in your account. You can view it, edit it, and reopen it whenever you want. Deleting removes the survey entirely from your account — the questions, the responses, and everything else disappear and cannot be recovered.
If you're unsure whether you'll need the survey again, close it instead of deleting it. Closing is reversible; deleting is not. You can always delete a closed survey later if you're certain you don't need it, but you cannot recover a deleted survey.
Why you might want to close a survey
You've reached the number of responses you need. Once you have enough data to analyze, closing prevents stray responses from skewing your results or adding noise to your dataset.
You want to edit the survey before sending it again. You can't edit a survey while it's actively collecting responses — you have to close it first, make your changes, and then reopen it. This protects your data consistency by preventing new responses from coming in while you're modifying questions or answer options.
You're taking a break. If you're pausing data collection for a few weeks or months, closing keeps the survey from accidentally staying open and collecting unwanted responses in the meantime. It also signals to anyone who has the link that the survey is no longer active.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I close a survey and keep the link active?
No. When you close a survey, the link stops working. If you want people to see a message but not submit responses, you would need to reopen the survey and add a note at the top explaining it's closed — but that still allows submissions. The simplest approach is to close it and reopen only when you're ready for more responses.
What if I close a survey by accident?
You can reopen it immediately by clicking Collect Responses and then Start Collecting. Your data is still there, and the survey will work again. There's no penalty for closing and reopening, and it takes the same 30 seconds to reverse.
Do people get notified when I close a survey?
No. People who received the survey link won't get a notification that it's closed. They'll only learn about they try to click the link and see the "survey closed" message.
Can I close a survey on the free plan?
Yes. Closing surveys works the same way on all SurveyMonkey plans, including the free version. There are no restrictions based on your account type.
Will my survey settings change if I close and reopen it?
No. Your survey questions, answer options, logic rules, and all other settings stay exactly the same. Only the response collection status changes. When you reopen it, everything is ready to go.