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Surveys · head to head

Google Forms vs Hootsuite

Google Forms logo

Google Forms

Surveys

Survey tool bundled with Google Workspace that cannot be disabled separately from Drive and Docs

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Hootsuite logo

Hootsuite

Marketing

Save time and grow on social media

From
$99/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Forms has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Google Forms forms has no service toggle of its own and is governed by the Drive and Docs service, so an administrator cannot disable it for an organisational unit without also disabling Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive for those same users.; Hootsuite no free tier available; minimum cost is $99/user/year annually
  • They diverge on capability: Google Forms covers Bundled with every Workspace edition, Hootsuite covers Content scheduling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Forms and Hootsuite actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Forms and Hootsuite differ
AttributeGoogle FormsHootsuite
Starting priceFree$99/year
Pricing modelIncluded with Google Workspace, not sold separatelyUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategorySurveysMarketing
FoundedUnknown2008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Google Forms

  • Bundled with every Workspace edition
  • Linked Sheets responses
  • Per-unit external sharing controls
  • Auto-close
  • Gemini assistance
  • Locked mode quizzes

Only in Hootsuite

  • Content scheduling
  • Social inbox
  • Content calendar
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Social listening
  • Team collaboration
  • Approval workflows
  • Bulk scheduling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Google Forms

  • Schools and universities running quizzes and collecting coursework where Workspace is already the standardnot Hootsuite
  • Internal data collection that must land in a Google Sheet for onward analysis without any export stepnot Hootsuite
  • Organisations that want a form tool with zero incremental cost and no procurement conversationnot Hootsuite
  • Simple public surveys where no respondent sign-in is required and no file uploads are involvednot Hootsuite

Hootsuite

  • Social media schedulingnot Google Forms
  • Community managementnot Google Forms
  • Social advertisingnot Google Forms
  • Analytics & reportingnot Google Forms
  • Team collaborationnot Google Forms

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Google Forms

  • Forms has no service toggle of its own and is governed by the Drive and Docs service, so an administrator cannot disable it for an organisational unit without also disabling Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive for those same users.
  • Data Regions covers Forms only for data at rest and not during processing, Business Starter gets no data regions at all, and Forms is excluded from client-side encryption and unmentioned in Assured Controls, so the residency guarantees are weaker than for Gmail or Drive.
  • Google Vault has no Forms-specific retention rule, hold or export, reaching forms only as Drive files, which means survey responses are reliably retainable only when they are routed to a linked Google Sheet.
  • Adding a file upload question requires every respondent to sign in to a Google account, which destroys anonymity and excludes anyone without one, and uploaded files consume the form owner personal Drive quota rather than an organisational pool.
  • File uploads are disabled when a form lives in a shared drive, so the ownership pattern that survives a staff departure and the upload feature are mutually exclusive, and a deleted owner Drive files are recoverable for only twenty days.

Hootsuite

  • No free tier available; minimum cost is $99/user/year annually
  • Monthly billing significantly more expensive than annual (20-30% premium)
  • Advanced data export via SFTP available only to Enterprise tier customers

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Forms

Free
  • Personal Google accountFree
    • Free with any personal Google account
    • 300 pieces of content per form, counting questions, descriptions, images and videos
    • 75 sections per form
  • Google Workspace Business Starter$undefined/year
    • Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
    • No data regions coverage at all at this tier
    • Forms governed by the Drive and Docs service toggle
  • Business Standard, Business Plus, Frontline Standard, Education Standard, Enterprise Essentials$undefined/year
    • Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
    • Fundamental data regions, one organisation-wide at-rest policy
    • Forms covered at rest only, not during processing
  • Frontline Plus, Enterprise Plus, or the Data Regions add-on$undefined/year
    • Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
    • Enterprise data regions with per-unit and per-group policies
    • Forms still excluded from client-side encryption and unnamed in Assured Controls

Hootsuite

$99/year

No published plan breakdown. See the Hootsuite review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Google Forms if

  • You need bundled with every workspace edition.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want linked sheets responses.
Google Forms review

Choose Hootsuite if

  • You need content scheduling.
  • You also want social inbox.
Hootsuite review

Questions people ask

Is Google Forms or Hootsuite better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Forms starts at Free and Hootsuite at $99/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Forms or Hootsuite?
Google Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Forms and $99/year for Hootsuite.
Does Google Forms or Hootsuite run on more platforms?
Google Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Hootsuite runs on Web.
Can I use Google Forms for free?
Yes. Google Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hootsuite starts at $99/year.
What is Google Forms best used for?
Google Forms is most often used for schools and universities running quizzes and collecting coursework where workspace is already the standard, internal data collection that must land in a google sheet for onward analysis without any export step, organisations that want a form tool with zero incremental cost and no procurement conversation, simple public surveys where no respondent sign-in is required and no file uploads are involved. Of those, schools and universities running quizzes and collecting coursework where workspace is already the standard and internal data collection that must land in a google sheet for onward analysis without any export step are not what Hootsuite is typically brought in for.
What can Google Forms do that Hootsuite cannot?
Google Forms covers Bundled with every Workspace edition, Linked Sheets responses, Per-unit external sharing controls, Auto-close. Hootsuite covers Content scheduling, Social inbox, Content calendar, Analytics & reporting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Forms: Can I buy Google Forms separately?

No. It is bundled with Drive and the Docs editors in every Workspace edition and is free with a personal Google account. There is no standalone SKU.

Hootsuite: What is Hootsuite's pricing structure?

Hootsuite offers four annual plans: Standard at $99/user/year, Professional at $199/user/year, Advanced at $399/user/year, and Enterprise with custom pricing. Monthly billing is available at 20-30% higher cost.

Source
Google Forms: How many responses can one form take?

Google publishes no limit. The practical ceiling is the linked Google Sheet at ten million cells. The documented 300 figure is pieces of content per form, not questions and not responses.

Hootsuite: Does Hootsuite offer a free tier?

No. Hootsuite does not offer a free tier or freemium plan. A 30-day trial is available, and skipping the trial provides 25% off annual plans.

Source
Google Forms: Can I turn Forms off but keep Drive?

No. Forms is controlled by the Drive and Docs service toggle. You can restrict external sharing of forms per organisational unit, but you cannot disable Forms alone.

Hootsuite: How many integrations does Hootsuite support?

Hootsuite advertises support for over 100 integrations, claiming more than any other social media management platform.

Source
Google Forms: Are responses covered by Vault?

Only as Drive files. There is no Forms-specific hold or export, so route responses to a linked Sheet if they need to be retained or produced in discovery.

Hootsuite: Can users export their data from Hootsuite?

Yes. Hootsuite offers Advanced Analytics data export as CSV files to SFTP folders for Enterprise users, with daily exports and 90-day retention. Standard and Professional plans have more limited export capabilities.

Source
Hootsuite: Does Hootsuite offer API access?

Yes. Hootsuite provides a REST API for building custom applications and integrations, though API capabilities vary by plan level.

Source
Hootsuite: Does Hootsuite offer self-hosted or on-premise deployment?

No. Hootsuite is a cloud-based SaaS platform only. There is no self-hosted or on-premise deployment option available.

Source
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