Surveys · head to head
Gravity Forms vs Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms
Surveys
Survey tool bundled into Microsoft 365 with no standalone price, where the real constraints are tenant policy, residency and admin visibility
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Gravity Forms basic license covers only 1 site and renews at $59/year after a discounted $44 first year; Microsoft Forms the Advanced Data Residency add-on explicitly does not cover Microsoft Forms, so a tenant that has paid for regional residency still has its survey responses provisioned according to best-effort guidance rather than a contractual commitment.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Gravity Forms and Microsoft Forms actually diverge.
| Attribute | Gravity Forms | Microsoft Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $59/year | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Surveys).
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 Gravity Forms
Nothing recorded that Microsoft Forms does not also cover.
Only in Microsoft Forms
- Bundled licensing
- Very high response ceiling
- File upload questions
- Co-authoring
- eDiscovery coverage
- Surveys Agent in Copilot
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Gravity Forms
- WordPress form building and lead capturenot Microsoft Forms
- E-commerce payment form processingnot Microsoft Forms
- Multi-site form managementnot Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms
- Internal surveys and quizzes inside an organisation that already pays for Microsoft 365 and does not want a second vendor contractnot Gravity Forms
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Gravity Forms
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Gravity Forms
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Gravity Forms
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Gravity Forms
- Basic license covers only 1 site and renews at $59/year after a discounted $44 first year
- Pro license is capped at 3 sites; using it on more requires the Elite tier at $259/year renewal
- Marketing integrations like HubSpot and Mailchimp are Basic-tier only, while payment and workflow add-ons (Stripe, Zapier, Trello) require Pro or above
Microsoft Forms
- The Advanced Data Residency add-on explicitly does not cover Microsoft Forms, so a tenant that has paid for regional residency still has its survey responses provisioned according to best-effort guidance rather than a contractual commitment.
- Above 50,000 responses a form degrades sharply: only CSV export continues to work, while summary charts, viewing individual responses, printing, shared summary links and manual quiz grading all stop.
- Forms belonging to an account that is hard deleted, or deleted more than thirty days earlier, are not recoverable at all, so an unmanaged leaver process destroys survey data silently.
- The administrator settings that govern external sharing, template sharing and result summary sharing are only available to education and Microsoft 365 Apps for business customers, leaving many commercial tenants without the controls the documentation describes.
- A summary sharing link that has already been created continues to work for anyone inside or outside the organisation even after the form is restricted, so tightening permissions does not close an existing leak unless the link is deleted explicitly.
Pricing, plan by plan
Gravity Forms
$59/year- Basic$59/year
- 1 site license
- 20+ integrations including HubSpot, Mailchimp, Active Campaign
- Pro$159/year
- 3 site licenses
- Payment processing with Stripe, Square, PayPal
- 15+ Pro-level add-ons
- Elite$259/year
- Unlimited site licenses
- All add-ons included
- Advanced features: User Registration, Conversational Forms, Signature, Survey
Microsoft Forms
Free- Free consumer Microsoft accountFree
- 200 responses per form
- 400 forms per account, including the recycle bin
- 200 questions per form
- Paid consumer Microsoft account$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 1,000 responses per form
- 400 forms per account
- Microsoft 365 work or school licence$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 5,000,000 responses per form
- Included in Business Basic, Standard, Premium, Office 365 E1, E3, E5 and Microsoft 365 F3
- Government GCC High and DoD$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 50,000 responses per form
- No email notification, video insert, Bing image search or phishing protection
Which should you pick?
Choose Gravity Forms if
Nothing in the data separates Gravity Forms from Microsoft Forms on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Microsoft Forms if
- You need bundled licensing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want very high response ceiling.
Questions people ask
- Is Gravity Forms or Microsoft Forms better?
- Neither clearly leads. Gravity Forms starts at $59/year and Microsoft Forms at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Gravity Forms or Microsoft Forms?
- Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $59/year for Gravity Forms and Free for Microsoft Forms.
- Does Gravity Forms or Microsoft Forms run on more platforms?
- Gravity Forms runs on Web. Microsoft Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gravity Forms starts at $59/year.
- What is Gravity Forms best used for?
- Gravity Forms is most often used for wordpress form building and lead capture, e-commerce payment form processing, multi-site form management. Of those, wordpress form building and lead capture and e-commerce payment form processing are not what Microsoft Forms is typically brought in for.
- What can Gravity Forms do that Microsoft Forms cannot?
- Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Gravity Forms: What is the cheapest Gravity Forms plan?
The Basic plan is $59/year and includes 1 site license with 20+ integrations. The Elite plan at $259/year offers unlimited sites and all add-ons.
SourceMicrosoft Forms: Can I buy Microsoft Forms on its own?
No. It exists only as a service plan inside Microsoft 365, Office 365 and education or government SKUs, or free with a consumer Microsoft account. There is no standalone product to purchase.
Gravity Forms: Can I process payments with Gravity Forms?
Yes. Payment processing with Stripe, Square, and PayPal is included in the Pro ($159/year) and Elite ($259/year) plans, but not in the Basic plan.
SourceMicrosoft Forms: Where are responses stored?
In the United States for most tenants, in the EU and EFTA region for EU tenants, and in Australia only for Forms provisioned after October 2022. Microsoft states this is guidance, not a residency commitment.
Gravity Forms: How many sites can I use Gravity Forms on?
The Basic plan covers 1 site, Pro covers 3 sites, and Elite covers unlimited sites. All pricing is annual subscription.
SourceMicrosoft Forms: Can an administrator read someone else responses?
Not while that user account is active; ownership transfer is refused. Yes once the account is disabled or deleted, and yes through premium eDiscovery, which is still labelled preview.
Microsoft Forms: How do I turn Forms off for the organisation?
Disable both the Microsoft Forms and the Office Hive enterprise applications in Entra ID, or clear the Forms checkbox per user. Both applications must be disabled for it to take effect.
Related pages
More on Gravity Forms
More on Microsoft Forms
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