Surveys · head to head
Microsoft Forms vs Postscript
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
Postscript
Marketing
SMS marketing built for Shopify merchants, with carrier fees billed on top of message rates
- From
- $49/month
- 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.; Postscript carrier pass-through fees are billed on top of the per-message rate, roughly $0.00418 per SMS and $0.00841 per MMS in the United States, and are routinely missing from the cost comparisons buyers build.
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Postscript covers Shopify segmentation.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Postscript actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Forms | Postscript |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $49/month |
| Pricing model | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | Per month plus per message sent |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS |
| 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 Postscript
- Shopify segmentation
- Automated flows
- Subscriber acquisition
- Two-way conversations
- MMS campaigns
- Revenue attribution
- Headless SDK
- Usage-based tiers
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 Postscript
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Postscript
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Postscript
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Postscript
Postscript
- A Shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inboxnot Microsoft Forms
- A brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanismnot Microsoft Forms
- A merchant segmenting by past purchase and variant to send replenishment reminders at the right intervalnot Microsoft Forms
- A store on headless Shopify or a custom stack that still wants SMS built on order data through the SDKnot 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.
Postscript
- Carrier pass-through fees are billed on top of the per-message rate, roughly $0.00418 per SMS and $0.00841 per MMS in the United States, and are routinely missing from the cost comparisons buyers build.
- The cheapest per-message rates require the $500 a month plan, so a small sender pays more than double the headline low rate per text.
- The $0 Starter plan carries a $49 minimum monthly spend, so it is not a free tier and quiet months still generate a bill.
- US SMS marketing carries real legal exposure under consent, quiet hours and carrier registration rules, and the compliance obligation sits with the merchant, not the platform.
- It is SMS and MMS only, so email, push and on-site messaging live in a separate tool and audience suppression between the two has to be managed across systems.
Pricing, plan by plan
Microsoft Forms
Free- Free consumer Microsoft accountFree
- 200 responses per form
- 400 forms per account, including the recycle bin
- 200 questions per form
- Paid consumer Microsoft account$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
Postscript
$49/month- Starter$49/month
- $0 base fee but a $49 minimum monthly spend
- SMS at $0.015 and MMS at $0.045 per message
- Campaigns, automations, acquisition tools and analytics
- Growth$100/month
- Lower per-message rates than Starter
- Full campaign and automation feature set
- No contract required
- Professional$500/month
- Rates falling towards $0.007 SMS and $0.024 MMS
- Suited to high-volume senders
- Upgrade or downgrade at any time
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom pricing on a contract
- Negotiated message rates and support terms
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 Postscript if
- You need shopify segmentation.
- You work on Web, iOS.
- You also want automated flows.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Forms or Postscript better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Postscript at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Postscript?
- Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and $49/month for Postscript.
- Does Microsoft Forms or Postscript run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Postscript runs on Web, iOS.
- Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Postscript starts at $49/month.
- 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 Postscript is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Forms do that Postscript cannot?
- Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Postscript covers Shopify segmentation, Automated flows, Subscriber acquisition, Two-way conversations.
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.
Postscript: Is Postscript only for Shopify?
It is built for Shopify and that is where its segmentation advantage lies, but headless and non-Shopify stores are supported through an SDK with more setup work.
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.
Postscript: What is the real cost per text?
The plan rate plus carrier fees. On Starter that is about $0.015 plus roughly $0.00418 in US carrier fees per SMS, so budget close to two cents a message before discounts.
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.
Postscript: Is the Starter plan free?
No. The base fee is $0 but there is a $49 minimum monthly spend, so it functions as a $49 floor.
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.
Postscript: Do I need a contract?
No. Contracts are offered but not required, and plans can be moved up or down at any time under usage-based billing.
Related pages
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