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Surveys · head to head

Microsoft Forms vs Netcore Cloud

Microsoft Forms logo

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
Full reviewWebsite
Netcore Cloud logo

Netcore Cloud

Marketing

Indian customer engagement and email infrastructure suite with part of the fee tied to your KPIs

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Netcore Cloud no pricing is published at any tier, and the outcome-linked component means your bill varies with KPI definitions negotiated in the contract, so two customers on the same configuration can pay very different amounts with no public benchmark to argue from.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Netcore Cloud covers Customer engagement orchestration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Netcore Cloud actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Forms and Netcore Cloud differ
AttributeMicrosoft FormsNetcore Cloud
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelIncluded with Microsoft 365, not sold separatelyquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API, iOS SDK, Android SDK
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 Microsoft Forms

  • Bundled licensing
  • Very high response ceiling
  • File upload questions
  • Co-authoring
  • eDiscovery coverage
  • Surveys Agent in Copilot

Only in Netcore Cloud

  • Customer engagement orchestration
  • Outcome-linked pricing
  • Email API
  • Unbxd product search
  • Customer data platform
  • WhatsApp Business
  • Raman AI layer
  • Segmentation

What people use each for

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

Microsoft Forms

  • Internal surveys and quizzes inside an organisation that already pays for Microsoft 365 and does not want a second vendor contractnot Netcore Cloud
  • Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Netcore Cloud
  • Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Netcore Cloud
  • Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Netcore Cloud

Netcore Cloud

  • An Indian ecommerce brand that needs email, WhatsApp and app push in one journey with WhatsApp template approval handled by a vendor that deals with Meta dailynot Microsoft Forms
  • A bank or insurer with an India data residency requirement that rules out sending customer data to a US-hosted engagement platformnot Microsoft Forms
  • A consumer app moving off Braze or Salesforce Marketing Cloud on cost, at comparable monthly tracked user volumesnot Microsoft Forms
  • An ecommerce operator that wants site search and merchandising from the same vendor as its campaign platform through the Unbxd productnot Microsoft Forms

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Netcore Cloud

  • No pricing is published at any tier, and the outcome-linked component means your bill varies with KPI definitions negotiated in the contract, so two customers on the same configuration can pay very different amounts with no public benchmark to argue from.
  • The outcome-based element cuts both ways: if the agreed KPI moves for reasons unrelated to Netcore, such as a pricing change or a seasonal shift, you can pay more for a campaign programme that did not change.
  • Netcore Cloud is three distinct products under one brand, Customer Engagement, Email API and Unbxd, and buyers regularly assume capabilities from one are present in the contract for another.
  • Engineering and support depth sit in Indian time zones, so European and North American customers get slower escalation on production incidents than a locally staffed vendor would give.
  • The main domain moved from netcorecloud.com to netcore.ai, so a significant amount of documentation, developer guidance and third-party writing now sits behind redirects or dead links, which slows implementation teams down.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Netcore Cloud

On request
  • Growth$undefined/year
    • Campaign orchestration across email, SMS, push and WhatsApp
    • Segmentation and journey builder
    • Priced on monthly tracked users
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Everything in Growth
    • Customer data platform and predictive segmentation
    • Raman AI features
  • Netcore Email API$undefined/year
    • Transactional and bulk sending infrastructure
    • Dedicated IPs and deliverability tooling
    • Priced on send volume

Which should you pick?

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.
Microsoft Forms review

Choose Netcore Cloud if

  • You need customer engagement orchestration.
  • You work on Web, API, iOS SDK, Android SDK.
  • You also want outcome-linked pricing.
Netcore Cloud review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Forms or Netcore Cloud better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Netcore Cloud at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Netcore Cloud?
Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and On request for Netcore Cloud.
Does Microsoft Forms or Netcore Cloud run on more platforms?
Microsoft Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Netcore Cloud runs on Web, API, iOS SDK, Android SDK.
Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Netcore Cloud starts at On request.
What is Microsoft Forms best used for?
Microsoft Forms is most often used for internal surveys and quizzes inside an organisation that already pays for microsoft 365 and does not want a second vendor contract, education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in excel without procurement approval, quick polls inside microsoft teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything else, any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is required. Of those, internal surveys and quizzes inside an organisation that already pays for microsoft 365 and does not want a second vendor contract and education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in excel without procurement approval are not what Netcore Cloud is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Forms do that Netcore Cloud cannot?
Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Netcore Cloud covers Customer engagement orchestration, Outcome-linked pricing, Email API, Unbxd product search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft 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.

Netcore Cloud: Does Netcore publish any pricing?

No. Both Growth and Enterprise route to a sales conversation, priced on monthly tracked users and feature configuration.

Microsoft 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.

Netcore Cloud: What does outcome-based pricing actually mean?

Netcore states that roughly 30 per cent of the platform fee is tied to agreed business KPIs. Scrutinise how those KPIs are defined and measured before signing.

Microsoft 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.

Netcore Cloud: Is Netcore the same as Pepipost?

Pepipost is the sending infrastructure Netcore acquired; it now trades as Netcore Email API and is sold separately from the engagement platform.

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.

Netcore Cloud: Can data stay in India?

Yes. Netcore offers regional data centre options including India, which is a common reason regulated Indian buyers choose it over US platforms.

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