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Surveys · head to head

Microsoft Forms vs Ruler Analytics

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
Ruler Analytics logo

Ruler Analytics

Marketing

Closed-loop marketing attribution

From
£299/month
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.; Ruler Analytics no free plan or trial available, requiring custom quote for pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Ruler Analytics covers Multi-touch attribution.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Ruler Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Forms and Ruler Analytics differ
AttributeMicrosoft FormsRuler Analytics
Starting priceFree£299/month
Pricing modelIncluded with Microsoft 365, not sold separatelyUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategorySurveysMarketing
FoundedUnknown2012

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 Ruler Analytics

  • Multi-touch attribution
  • Call tracking
  • Form tracking
  • Revenue attribution
  • Customer journey tracking
  • CRM integration
  • Marketing ROI
  • Custom reporting

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 Ruler Analytics
  • Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Ruler Analytics
  • Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Ruler Analytics
  • Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Ruler Analytics

Ruler Analytics

  • Marketing attributionnot Microsoft Forms
  • ROI measurementnot Microsoft Forms
  • Lead trackingnot Microsoft Forms
  • Revenue attributionnot 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.

Ruler Analytics

  • No free plan or trial available, requiring custom quote for pricing
  • Advanced features like marketing mix modeling only available on Advanced plan at 1,499 GBP per month
  • Pricing scales with monthly traffic volume, making costs unpredictable
  • Setup requires manual integration with CRM and data sources

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

Ruler Analytics

£299/month
  • Small$299/month
    • Up to 10,000 monthly visits
    • Form tracking
    • Call tracking
  • Medium$499/month
    • Up to 50,000 monthly visits
    • Data-driven attribution
    • Segmentation
  • Advanced$1499/month
    • 100k+ monthly visits
    • Marketing mix modeling
    • AI agents for analytics

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 Ruler Analytics if

  • You need multi-touch attribution.
  • You also want call tracking.
Ruler Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Forms or Ruler Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Ruler Analytics at £299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Ruler Analytics?
Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and £299/month for Ruler Analytics.
Does Microsoft Forms or Ruler Analytics run on more platforms?
Microsoft Forms runs on Web, iOS, Android. Ruler Analytics runs on Web.
Can I use Microsoft Forms for free?
Yes. Microsoft Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ruler Analytics starts at £299/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 Ruler Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Forms do that Ruler Analytics cannot?
Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Ruler Analytics covers Multi-touch attribution, Call tracking, Form tracking, Revenue attribution.

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.

Ruler Analytics: What does Ruler Analytics track?

Ruler Analytics tracks forms, calls, live chat, offline conversions, and CRM data to connect marketing activity directly to revenue outcomes.

Source
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.

Ruler Analytics: Does Ruler Analytics offer a free plan?

No, Ruler Analytics does not offer a free plan. Pricing starts at 299 GBP per month for the Small plan supporting up to 10,000 monthly website visits.

Source
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.

Ruler Analytics: What attribution models does Ruler Analytics support?

Ruler supports multi-touch attribution, data-driven attribution, impression attribution, and marketing mix modeling for measuring campaign ROI across channels.

Source
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.

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