Surveys · alternatives
Alternatives to Microsoft Forms
21 surveys tools sit alongside Microsoft Forms in this directory. Below is what separates each from Microsoft Forms on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Microsoft Forms starts at
- Free
Why people look past Microsoft Forms
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Microsoft Forms entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
Microsoft Forms publishes 4 tiers, from Free up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the Microsoft Forms pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Powerful forms get more done
- Publishes an entry price of $39/month, where Microsoft Forms does not.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately.
- 5 tiers to Microsoft Forms's 4.
Powerful forms made easy
- Publishes an entry price of $24/month, where Microsoft Forms does not.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately.
Turn feedback into action
- Publishes an entry price of 99/month, where Microsoft Forms does not.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately.
- 2 tiers to Microsoft Forms's 4.
Offline-first data collection for humanitarian, development and research field work
- Publishes an entry price of $21/month, where Microsoft Forms does not.
- Sold on a Per month by submission count model rather than Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately.
- 5 tiers to Microsoft Forms's 4.
Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality
- Publishes an entry price of $225/month, where Microsoft Forms does not.
- Sold on a Per month by submission volume model rather than Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately.
- 5 tiers to Microsoft Forms's 4.
Survey and experience management platform with a permanently free tier capped at 200 responses
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately.
Every Microsoft Forms alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Forms (this page) | Free | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | 4 | |
| JotformA real product rather than a bundled utility, with proper form logic, payments and a large template library | Free, then $39/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Cognito FormsBetter when forms need calculations, conditional pricing and workflow rather than simple data collection | Free, then $24/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| SurveyMonkeyStronger survey methodology, question banks and analysis for research rather than internal data gathering | Free, then 99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| KoboToolbox | Free, then $21/month | Per month by submission count | 5 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| SurveyCTO | Free, then $225/month | Per month by submission volume | 5 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| QuestionPro | Free | Per user per month | 4 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Sogolytics | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| SurveyLegend | Free, then $15/month | Per month by responses per survey | 4 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| LimeSurvey | Free | Open source, with paid cloud hosting | 2 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Tally | Free, then $29/month | Free tier, paid for branding and team features | 2 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Zoho Survey | Free | Free tier, then per user per month | 2 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Fillout | Free, then $15/month | Per month by response count | 6 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Google Forms | Free | Included with Google Workspace, not sold separately | 4 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Paperform | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Medallia | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Device Magic | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Zonka Feedback | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Qualtrics CoreXM | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Alchemer | On request | Tiered annual subscription published on the vendor site | - | vs Microsoft Forms |
| Formstack | On request | Tiered monthly subscription published on the vendor site; HIPAA-capable plans priced separately | - | vs Microsoft Forms |
| GetFeedback | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Microsoft Forms |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Microsoft Forms badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (14)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Jotform , Free, then $39/month
- Cognito Forms , Free, then $24/month
- SurveyMonkey , Free, then 99/month
- KoboToolbox , Free, then $21/month
- SurveyCTO , Free, then $225/month
- QuestionPro , Free
- Sogolytics , Free
- SurveyLegend , Free, then $15/month
What you would be giving up
Microsoft Forms is most often brought in for internal surveys and quizzes inside an organisation that already pays for microsoft 365 and does not want a second vendor contract, education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in excel without procurement approval, quick polls inside microsoft teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything else, any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is required. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Microsoft Forms is broadly right and the question is cost, the Microsoft Forms pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Surveys category lists everything the directory holds, and best surveys tools ranks them.
Microsoft Forms runs on web, ios, android. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Microsoft Forms alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Microsoft Forms?
- 21 other surveys tools are listed in this directory, led by Jotform, Cognito Forms, SurveyMonkey, KoboToolbox. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Microsoft Forms?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Jotform, Cognito Forms, SurveyMonkey, KoboToolbox, SurveyCTO.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Microsoft Forms?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Microsoft Forms?
- Microsoft Forms is most often brought in for internal surveys and quizzes inside an organisation that already pays for microsoft 365 and does not want a second vendor contract, education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in excel without procurement approval, quick polls inside microsoft teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything else, any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is required. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Microsoft Forms?
- None of the surveys tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Microsoft Forms alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Surveys, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Microsoft Forms against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Microsoft Forms covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every surveys tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Surveys category, 21 tools beside Microsoft Forms. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.