Maahir M&E vs ODK

The reference implementation of XLSForm and the most capable open-source collector.

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Executive overviewOctober 2026

Enrolled

18,240

of 20,900 target

Completion

87%

target 85%

Placement

62%

target 60%

At risk

institutes

Punjab · Batch 392%

Sindh · Skills of Tomorrow74%

Punjab · Takamol58%

Executive overview · October 2026

Pick ODK if

You want full XLSForm specification compliance and nothing else
Self-hosting on your own infrastructure is a hard requirement
You are an ODK expert and want to own the whole stack

Pick Maahir if

A visual form builder your non-technical team can use
M&E management, dashboards and reporting
AI in the workflow
Enterprise controls: SSO, white-label, audit trails

The honest note

ODK is the most technically capable collector anywhere, and the community around it is a genuine asset. Maahir M&E imports and exports the same XLSForms and adds the platform for everything after the submission: indicators, dashboards, reports and cases.

Compare with others

KoboToolboxThe free, open-source field collection tool most NGOs already run.SurveyCTOThe strongest research-grade collection platform, with encrypted submissions and offline case transfer.CommCareThe pioneer of real case management for frontline workers.DevResultsExcellent programme management: maps, budgets, workplans, milestones and results frameworks.

A census enumerator in Bangladesh holding the tablet they collect household data on — Every record starts with one person and one tablet.

The programme being measured: a classroom in Padang.

Two apprentices at a bench in a vocational training workshop while an instructor points at a checklist on the wall — The bench a monitoring visit checks.

A field data collector outside a rural concrete school building, working through a checklist on a tablet — Collecting it with no signal, outside a village school.

Stop stitching together five tools

Start with one project, free. Import a survey you already run and see how much faster the next report takes.

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No card, no countdown, and your data stays yours.