Surveys · head to head
Microsoft Forms vs Qualtrics CoreXM
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
- Rated
- -
Qualtrics CoreXM
Surveys
Enterprise survey and market research platform, priced by seat and response volume through negotiated contracts
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
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.; Qualtrics CoreXM there is no public pricing for any deployment beyond a small individual self-service plan, so budgeting requires a sales conversation before a shortlist can even be built.
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Qualtrics CoreXM covers Advanced survey logic.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Qualtrics CoreXM actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Forms | Qualtrics CoreXM |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | On request |
| Pricing model | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | quote |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Surveys).
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 Qualtrics CoreXM
- Advanced survey logic
- Statistical analysis tools
- Text analytics
- Dashboards and reporting
- Panel integration
- API and platform integrations
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 Qualtrics CoreXM
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Qualtrics CoreXM
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Qualtrics CoreXM
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Qualtrics CoreXM
Qualtrics CoreXM
- A market research team running quantitative studies that need built-in statistical significance testingnot Microsoft Forms
- A product team wanting text analytics on open-ended customer feedback at scalenot Microsoft Forms
- An enterprise consolidating multiple survey tools into one platform with a single data warehouse integrationnot Microsoft Forms
- A researcher who needs access to third-party respondent panels alongside the survey buildernot 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.
Qualtrics CoreXM
- There is no public pricing for any deployment beyond a small individual self-service plan, so budgeting requires a sales conversation before a shortlist can even be built.
- Typical small enterprise contracts run 25,000 to 50,000 US dollars a year, which puts it far outside the budget of small businesses that Typeform, Jotform or SurveyMonkey serve well.
- The interface and logic builder have a steep learning curve compared with lighter tools, so new users need training before building complex surveys confidently.
- It is easy to confuse with Qualtrics EmployeeXM in the same product family; buyers evaluating employee engagement specifically should look at EmployeeXM, not CoreXM.
- Multi-year contracts with per-module add-ons mean the effective cost tends to grow year over year as teams add capabilities piecemeal.
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$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 50,000 responses per form
- No email notification, video insert, Bing image search or phishing protection
Qualtrics CoreXM
On request- CoreXM$undefined/year
- Self-service entry plan around 35 USD a month for small individual use
- Typical small enterprise contracts between 25,000 and 50,000 USD a year
- Priced by seats, response volume and modules selected
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 Qualtrics CoreXM if
- You need advanced survey logic.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want statistical analysis tools.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Forms or Qualtrics CoreXM better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Qualtrics CoreXM at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Qualtrics CoreXM?
- Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and On request for Qualtrics CoreXM.
- Does Microsoft Forms or Qualtrics CoreXM run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Qualtrics CoreXM 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 Qualtrics CoreXM is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Forms do that Qualtrics CoreXM cannot?
- Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Qualtrics CoreXM covers Advanced survey logic, Statistical analysis tools, Text analytics, Dashboards and reporting.
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.
Qualtrics CoreXM: How is CoreXM different from Qualtrics EmployeeXM?
CoreXM is the general-purpose survey and market research engine; EmployeeXM is a separate, HR-focused product built specifically for employee engagement programmes.
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.
Qualtrics CoreXM: Is there a published price list?
No, only a small self-service plan around 35 USD a month is public; organisational deployments are negotiated and typically run into five or six figures annually.
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.
Qualtrics CoreXM: Does CoreXM include text analytics?
Yes, automated theme and sentiment extraction on open-ended responses is included as a core capability.
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
More on Qualtrics CoreXM
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