Marketing · head to head
Microsoft Clarity vs Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Clarity
Marketing
Free behaviour analytics tool with session recordings, heatmaps, and AI insights
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
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
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Clarity no paid tier means no premium support; enterprise SLAs and dedicated account management are unavailable; 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 Microsoft Clarity and Microsoft Forms actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Clarity | Microsoft Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | free | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately |
| Category | Marketing | Surveys |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), 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 Microsoft Clarity
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.
Microsoft Clarity
- SaaS product teams identifying checkout and signup funnel frictionnot Microsoft Forms
- E-commerce sites optimising product discovery and purchase flowsnot Microsoft Forms
- Content websites understanding reading patterns and article engagementnot Microsoft Forms
- Mobile app teams (iOS/Android) analysing user journey and drop-off pointsnot Microsoft Forms
- B2B platforms optimising onboarding and feature discoverynot Microsoft Forms
- Agencies and consultants providing UX analysis to clients free of chargenot 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 Microsoft Clarity
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Microsoft Clarity
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Microsoft Clarity
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Microsoft Clarity
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Microsoft Clarity
- No paid tier means no premium support; enterprise SLAs and dedicated account management are unavailable
- Dependency on JavaScript tracking; websites with strict CSP (content security policy) may struggle with integration
- Session replay is limited to browser-based interactions; native app behaviour in web wrappers is not captured
- AI Chat and summaries require adequate session volume; low-traffic sites lack sufficient data for meaningful pattern detection
- Privacy masking is automatic but lacks granular configuration; custom masking rules for proprietary data require workarounds
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
Microsoft Clarity
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft Clarity review.
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 Microsoft Clarity if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Microsoft Clarity or Microsoft Forms better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Clarity starts at Free and Microsoft Forms at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Clarity or Microsoft Forms?
- Microsoft Clarity starts at Free and Microsoft Forms at Free.
- Does Microsoft Clarity or Microsoft Forms run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Microsoft Clarity for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Microsoft Clarity best used for?
- Microsoft Clarity is most often used for saas product teams identifying checkout and signup funnel friction, e-commerce sites optimising product discovery and purchase flows, content websites understanding reading patterns and article engagement, mobile app teams (ios/android) analysing user journey and drop-off points. Of those, saas product teams identifying checkout and signup funnel friction and e-commerce sites optimising product discovery and purchase flows are not what Microsoft Forms is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Clarity 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
Microsoft Clarity: Is Microsoft Clarity truly free?
Yes. Microsoft Clarity is completely free with no traffic limits, no paid tier, and no restrictions based on session volume. It integrates with web properties via a single tracking snippet.
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.
Microsoft Clarity: Does Clarity comply with GDPR and CCPA?
Yes. Clarity automatically masks sensitive form field data before transmission and supports privacy-by-default configuration. EU and California data residency options are available.
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.
Microsoft Clarity: Can Clarity track mobile apps?
Yes. Clarity provides native SDKs for iOS and Android, as well as support for React Native and Flutter apps.
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 Microsoft Clarity
More on Microsoft Forms
Other head to heads
- Microsoft Clarity vs Crazy Egg
- Microsoft Clarity vs Ruler Analytics
- Microsoft Clarity vs VWO
- Microsoft Clarity vs Northbeam
- Microsoft Clarity vs Lucky Orange
- Microsoft Clarity vs Leadpages
- Microsoft Clarity vs Octoboard
- Microsoft Clarity vs Unbounce
- Microsoft Clarity vs Vimeo
- Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics
- Microsoft Clarity vs Instapage
- Microsoft Clarity vs Madgicx
- Microsoft Clarity vs Marketing Evolution
- Microsoft Clarity vs Mautic
- Microsoft Clarity vs Netcore Cloud
- Microsoft Clarity vs Onclusive
- Microsoft Clarity vs Jotform
- Microsoft Clarity vs Cognito Forms
- Microsoft Clarity vs Google Forms
- Microsoft Clarity vs Tally
- Microsoft Clarity vs Alchemer
- Microsoft Clarity vs Formstack
- Microsoft Clarity vs Zonka Feedback
- Microsoft Clarity vs SurveyLegend
- Microsoft Clarity vs Zoho Survey
- Microsoft Clarity vs Fillout
- Microsoft Clarity vs Retool
- Microsoft Clarity vs GetFeedback
- Microsoft Clarity vs Device Magic
- Microsoft Clarity vs Sogolytics
- Microsoft Clarity vs SurveyCTO
- Microsoft Forms vs Crazy Egg
- Microsoft Forms vs Ruler Analytics
- Microsoft Forms vs VWO
- Microsoft Forms vs Northbeam
- Microsoft Forms vs Lucky Orange
- Microsoft Forms vs Leadpages
- Microsoft Forms vs Octoboard
- Microsoft Forms vs Unbounce
- Microsoft Forms vs Vimeo
- Microsoft Forms vs Google Analytics
- Microsoft Forms vs Instapage
- Microsoft Forms vs Madgicx
- Microsoft Forms vs Marketing Evolution
- Microsoft Forms vs Mautic
- Microsoft Forms vs Netcore Cloud
- Microsoft Forms vs Onclusive
- Microsoft Forms vs Jotform
- Microsoft Forms vs Cognito Forms
- Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms
- Microsoft Forms vs Tally
- Microsoft Forms vs Alchemer
- Microsoft Forms vs Formstack
- Microsoft Forms vs Zonka Feedback
- Microsoft Forms vs SurveyLegend
- Microsoft Forms vs Zoho Survey
- Microsoft Forms vs Fillout
- Microsoft Forms vs Retool
- Microsoft Forms vs GetFeedback
- Microsoft Forms vs Device Magic
- Microsoft Forms vs Sogolytics
- Microsoft Forms vs SurveyCTO