Surveys · head to head
Microsoft Forms vs Optimove
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
Optimove
Marketing
Retention marketing platform that forces control groups and reports uplift per customer
- 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.; Optimove it requires a customer-level data feed with transactions before it does anything useful, and mapping that feed typically takes weeks of joint work rather than days.
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Optimove covers Customer modelling.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Optimove actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Forms | Optimove |
|---|---|---|
| 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, REST 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 Optimove
- Customer modelling
- Mandatory control groups
- Optibot
- Multichannel orchestration
- Self-optimising campaigns
- Realtime triggers
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 Optimove
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Optimove
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Optimove
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Optimove
Optimove
- An operator that has to prove incremental revenue from retention marketing to a finance committeenot Microsoft Forms
- Segmenting a customer base by predicted value and lifecycle stage rather than by campaign list membershipnot Microsoft Forms
- Running hundreds of small always-on campaigns where per-campaign uplift decides which survivenot Microsoft Forms
- Coordinating retention messaging with paid audience suppression so lapsed customers are not paid for twicenot 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.
Optimove
- It requires a customer-level data feed with transactions before it does anything useful, and mapping that feed typically takes weeks of joint work rather than days.
- Pricing is based on tracked customers, so an inflated database of accounts that will never return costs money exactly like an unpruned email list does.
- The modelling layer is largely opaque, so when a lifecycle stage assignment looks wrong there is limited ability to inspect why beyond vendor support.
- The interface is dense and built for daily operators, and occasional users typically never become independent in it.
- Email delivery is through bundled or third-party sending infrastructure rather than an in-house ESP, which adds a party to any deliverability investigation.
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$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 50,000 responses per form
- No email notification, video insert, Bing image search or phishing protection
Optimove
On request- Optimove$undefined/year
- Priced by number of tracked customers
- Channel modules and Kumulos-derived mobile messaging licensed separately
- Annual contract including onboarding services
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 Optimove if
- You need customer modelling.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
- You also want mandatory control groups.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Forms or Optimove better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Optimove at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Optimove?
- Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and On request for Optimove.
- Does Microsoft Forms or Optimove run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Optimove runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
- Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Optimove 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 Optimove is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Forms do that Optimove cannot?
- Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Optimove covers Customer modelling, Mandatory control groups, Optibot, Multichannel orchestration.
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.
Optimove: Why does it insist on control groups?
Because uplift is the reported metric. Without a holdout the platform cannot attribute revenue, and the reporting that justifies the licence stops working.
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.
Optimove: Is it only for iGaming?
No, but that is where its density of customers and its default lifecycle models are strongest. Subscription retail and financial services are the other common verticals.
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.
Optimove: Can it send email itself?
It orchestrates and personalises, then sends through connected delivery infrastructure. Deliverability remains a shared responsibility with that provider.
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 Forms
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