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Surveys · head to head

Google Forms vs Ruler Analytics

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
Ruler Analytics logo

Ruler Analytics

Marketing

Closed-loop marketing attribution

From
£299/month
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.; Ruler Analytics no free plan or trial available, requiring custom quote for pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Google Forms covers Bundled with every Workspace edition, Ruler Analytics covers Multi-touch attribution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Forms and Ruler Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Forms and Ruler Analytics differ
AttributeGoogle FormsRuler Analytics
Starting priceFree£299/month
Pricing modelIncluded with Google Workspace, not sold separatelyUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategorySurveysMarketing
FoundedUnknown2012

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 Ruler Analytics

  • Multi-touch attribution
  • Call tracking
  • Form tracking
  • Revenue attribution
  • Customer journey tracking
  • CRM integration
  • Marketing ROI
  • Custom reporting

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

Ruler Analytics

  • Marketing attributionnot Google Forms
  • ROI measurementnot Google Forms
  • Lead trackingnot Google Forms
  • Revenue attributionnot 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.

Ruler Analytics

  • No free plan or trial available, requiring custom quote for pricing
  • Advanced features like marketing mix modeling only available on Advanced plan at 1,499 GBP per month
  • Pricing scales with monthly traffic volume, making costs unpredictable
  • Setup requires manual integration with CRM and data sources

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

Ruler Analytics

£299/month
  • Small$299/month
    • Up to 10,000 monthly visits
    • Form tracking
    • Call tracking
  • Medium$499/month
    • Up to 50,000 monthly visits
    • Data-driven attribution
    • Segmentation
  • Advanced$1499/month
    • 100k+ monthly visits
    • Marketing mix modeling
    • AI agents for analytics

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 Ruler Analytics if

  • You need multi-touch attribution.
  • You also want call tracking.
Ruler Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Google Forms or Ruler Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Forms starts at Free and Ruler Analytics at £299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Forms or Ruler Analytics?
Google Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Forms and £299/month for Ruler Analytics.
Does Google Forms or Ruler Analytics run on more platforms?
Google Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Ruler Analytics runs on Web.
Can I use Google Forms for free?
Yes. Google Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ruler Analytics starts at £299/month.
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 Ruler Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Google Forms do that Ruler Analytics cannot?
Google Forms covers Bundled with every Workspace edition, Linked Sheets responses, Per-unit external sharing controls, Auto-close. Ruler Analytics covers Multi-touch attribution, Call tracking, Form tracking, Revenue attribution.

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.

Ruler Analytics: What does Ruler Analytics track?

Ruler Analytics tracks forms, calls, live chat, offline conversions, and CRM data to connect marketing activity directly to revenue outcomes.

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.

Ruler Analytics: Does Ruler Analytics offer a free plan?

No, Ruler Analytics does not offer a free plan. Pricing starts at 299 GBP per month for the Small plan supporting up to 10,000 monthly website visits.

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.

Ruler Analytics: What attribution models does Ruler Analytics support?

Ruler supports multi-touch attribution, data-driven attribution, impression attribution, and marketing mix modeling for measuring campaign ROI across channels.

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.

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