Surveys · head to head
Microsoft Forms vs Zonka Feedback
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
- -
Zonka Feedback
Surveys
Multi-channel CX feedback platform with quoted pricing based on response volume and AI data credits
- 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.; Zonka Feedback no pricing tier is published for either the core product or the AI add-on, so total cost is unknown until a sales quote is obtained.
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Zonka Feedback covers Multi-channel surveys.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Forms and Zonka Feedback actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Forms | Zonka Feedback |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Zonka Feedback
- Multi-channel surveys
- Kiosk and offline mode
- Real-time dashboards
- Case management
- AI Feedback Intelligence
- Reputation management
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 Zonka Feedback
- Education settings where quizzes need automatic grading and results in Excel without procurement approvalnot Zonka Feedback
- Quick polls inside Microsoft Teams where the response data should stay in the same tenant as everything elsenot Zonka Feedback
- Any case where the deciding factor is that no purchase order is requirednot Zonka Feedback
Zonka Feedback
- A multi-location retailer or clinic wanting kiosk-based feedback capture alongside digital surveysnot Microsoft Forms
- A CX team that needs closed-loop case management to assign and track resolution of negative feedbacknot Microsoft Forms
- A hospitality operator wanting reputation management alongside direct feedback collectionnot Microsoft Forms
- A company with high volumes of open-ended feedback wanting AI theme extraction rather than manual taggingnot 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.
Zonka Feedback
- No pricing tier is published for either the core product or the AI add-on, so total cost is unknown until a sales quote is obtained.
- The AI Feedback Intelligence product is priced separately on data credits, meaning a buyer who wants both feedback collection and AI analysis is negotiating two line items, not one.
- Third-party pricing estimates in the low hundreds to near a thousand dollars a month vary enough that budgeting from public sources alone is unreliable.
- Kiosk hardware and offline capture are a strength for physical locations but add limited value to a purely digital-only business, which pays for a capability it does not use.
- It is a smaller vendor than Medallia or Qualtrics, so enterprise buyers evaluating analyst-recognised platforms may not shortlist it despite comparable core features.
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$undefined/year
- Included in the subscription price, not sold separately
- 50,000 responses per form
- No email notification, video insert, Bing image search or phishing protection
Zonka Feedback
On request- Feedback Management$undefined/month
- Priced by response volume
- Multi-channel surveys and case management
- 14-day free trial
- AI Feedback Intelligence$undefined/month
- Priced by AI data credits, separate from Feedback Management
- Theme extraction, sentiment and impact analysis
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 Zonka Feedback if
- You need multi-channel surveys.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want kiosk and offline mode.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Forms or Zonka Feedback better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Forms starts at Free and Zonka Feedback at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Forms or Zonka Feedback?
- Microsoft Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Forms and On request for Zonka Feedback.
- Does Microsoft Forms or Zonka Feedback 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. Zonka Feedback 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 Zonka Feedback is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Forms do that Zonka Feedback cannot?
- Microsoft Forms covers Bundled licensing, Very high response ceiling, File upload questions, Co-authoring. Zonka Feedback covers Multi-channel surveys, Kiosk and offline mode, Real-time dashboards, Case management.
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.
Zonka Feedback: Is pricing published anywhere?
No. Zonka quotes pricing based on feedback volume for the core product and data credits for AI Feedback Intelligence; nothing is listed as a fixed price.
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.
Zonka Feedback: Is AI Feedback Intelligence included in the base plan?
No, it is sold and priced separately from core feedback 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.
Zonka Feedback: Does it support offline feedback collection?
Yes, kiosk and tablet devices can capture feedback without a live network connection, which is a differentiator against purely web-based survey tools.
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 Zonka Feedback
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