Surveys · head to head
Microsoft Forms vs Onclusive
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
Onclusive
Marketing
Media monitoring, journalist database and PR measurement assembled from six acquired companies
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
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.; Onclusive onclusive was assembled from at least six acquired companies inside about a year, and users still encounter different interfaces, inconsistent data definitions and separate support paths depending on which module they are in, so training and internal reporting are harder than a single-product vendor.
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Onclusive covers Global media monitoring.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Onclusive actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Forms | Onclusive |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | quote |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android, API |
| Category | Surveys | Marketing |
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 Onclusive
- Global media monitoring
- Broadcast monitoring
- Social listening
- Media contacts database
- Newsroom and press office
- Sentiment and tone analysis
- Share of voice reporting
- Crisis detection
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 Onclusive
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Onclusive
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Onclusive
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Onclusive
Onclusive
- A multinational communications team that needs print, broadcast and online coverage across twenty markets reported in one dashboard rather than through three regional vendorsnot Microsoft Forms
- A public affairs team that must evidence share of voice against named competitors for a quarterly board reportnot Microsoft Forms
- A PR agency running press office and media enquiry workflow for several client brands from one systemnot Microsoft Forms
- A corporate affairs function that needs early warning on a coverage spike outside its own time zone, with broadcast clips retrievable for legal reviewnot 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.
Onclusive
- Onclusive was assembled from at least six acquired companies inside about a year, and users still encounter different interfaces, inconsistent data definitions and separate support paths depending on which module they are in, so training and internal reporting are harder than a single-product vendor.
- Pricing is not published and is scoped by market coverage, source count and user seats, which makes competitive benchmarking difficult and means renewal increases are hard to challenge without a parallel quote from Cision or Meltwater.
- Broadcast monitoring coverage is uneven by country, so a global contract can look complete on paper while a specific market you care about has thin local radio or regional television coverage; verify your priority markets by name before signing.
- The company carries private-equity ownership and acquisition-related debt financing, which historically in this category has meant pressure on support headcount and above-inflation renewal pricing rather than product investment.
- Automated sentiment classification on news copy remains error-prone, especially for irony, quoted criticism and industry jargon, so teams reporting sentiment to executives generally need a human review step that erodes the labour saving the tool was bought for.
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$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 50,000 responses per form
- No email notification, video insert, Bing image search or phishing protection
Onclusive
On request- Onclusive$undefined/year
- Global media monitoring
- Broadcast and print coverage
- Onclusive Social listening
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.
Choose Onclusive if
- You need global media monitoring.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- You also want broadcast monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Forms or Onclusive better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Onclusive at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Onclusive?
- Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and On request for Onclusive.
- Does Microsoft Forms or Onclusive run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Onclusive runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Onclusive 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 Onclusive is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Forms do that Onclusive cannot?
- Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Onclusive covers Global media monitoring, Broadcast monitoring, Social listening, Media contacts database.
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.
Onclusive: Is Onclusive one product or several?
Several. It was formed from Kantar Reputation Intelligence, PRgloo and the original Onclusive in January 2022, then absorbed Critical Mention and Digimind later that year, and the modules retain distinguishable lineages.
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.
Onclusive: Who owns it?
Symphony Technology Group, a US private equity firm, with debt financing on the Critical Mention acquisition from Stellus Capital Management.
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.
Onclusive: What happened to Digimind?
Digimind was acquired in July 2022 and rebranded as Onclusive Social in October 2022. If social listening is your main requirement, that is the platform you are evaluating.
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.
Onclusive: Does it publish pricing?
No. Contracts are annual and quoted according to markets monitored, sources covered and seat count.
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