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Surveys · head to head

Google Forms vs Insider

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
Insider logo

Insider

Marketing

Omnichannel personalisation platform with web experimentation and WhatsApp as first-class channels

From
On request
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.; Insider delivery depends heavily on the assigned account team, so results vary by region and a team change mid-contract can be felt immediately in campaign output.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Forms covers Bundled with every Workspace edition, Insider covers Architect journeys.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Google Forms and Insider differ
AttributeGoogle FormsInsider
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelIncluded with Google Workspace, not sold separatelyquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, REST API
CategorySurveysMarketing

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 Insider

  • Architect journeys
  • Web and app personalisation
  • WhatsApp commerce
  • Predictive segments
  • InStory and InMobile
  • Experimentation

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 Insider
  • Internal data collection that must land in a Google Sheet for onward analysis without any export stepnot Insider
  • Organisations that want a form tool with zero incremental cost and no procurement conversationnot Insider
  • Simple public surveys where no respondent sign-in is required and no file uploads are involvednot Insider

Insider

  • A retailer in a WhatsApp-first market that needs conversational commerce rather than more email volumenot Google Forms
  • Personalising category and product pages by segment without waiting for engineering release cyclesnot Google Forms
  • A marketing team without in-house campaign operations that needs the vendor to build and run journeysnot Google Forms
  • Unifying web, app and messaging targeting on one profile store after outgrowing separate point toolsnot 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.

Insider

  • Delivery depends heavily on the assigned account team, so results vary by region and a team change mid-contract can be felt immediately in campaign output.
  • The suite is licensed by module, so the platform fee quoted at the start typically excludes the channels and predictive features that make the business case work.
  • Template-driven web personalisation targets the rendered DOM, which breaks on single-page applications that re-render after the template applies unless a developer wires in the framework hooks.
  • Reporting exports are limited compared with warehouse-native tools, so teams that want campaign data alongside finance data end up pulling it through the API on a schedule.
  • Contracts are annual and negotiated per traffic band, so a seasonal spike in visitors can push you into a renegotiation rather than a metered overage.

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

Insider

On request
  • Insider Growth Management Platform$undefined/year
    • Licensed by module and by monthly traffic or user volume
    • Channels such as WhatsApp, SMS and email priced separately
    • Annual contract with an assigned delivery team

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 Insider if

  • You need architect journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want web and app personalisation.
Insider review

Questions people ask

Is Google Forms or Insider better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Forms starts at Free and Insider at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Forms or Insider?
Google Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Forms and On request for Insider.
Does Google Forms or Insider run on more platforms?
Google Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Insider runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
Can I use Google Forms for free?
Yes. Google Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Insider starts at On request.
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 Insider is typically brought in for.
What can Google Forms do that Insider cannot?
Google Forms covers Bundled with every Workspace edition, Linked Sheets responses, Per-unit external sharing controls, Auto-close. Insider covers Architect journeys, Web and app personalisation, WhatsApp commerce, Predictive segments.

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.

Insider: Is WhatsApp actually usable at scale here?

Yes. It is a supported primary channel with catalogue and template message support, though WhatsApp conversation fees from Meta are passed through and are separate from the licence.

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.

Insider: Can we run it without vendor help?

You can, but the pricing assumes a managed relationship. Teams with strong in-house campaign operations often find they are paying for services they do not use.

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.

Insider: Does it work for B2B?

Rarely a good fit. The segmentation, recommendations and channel mix are built around high-frequency consumer behaviour.

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.

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