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Head-to-head comparison · Updated August 2026

Microsoft Forms vs FormGrid

Two popular form builders compared on the same 25-row feature matrix and pricing, with FormBuilder shown as a third column so you can see another option to consider.

Short answerMicrosoft Forms is microsoft's built-in survey, quiz and poll tool — free with a Microsoft account and bundled into every Microsoft 365 business and education plan. FormGrid is a small, design-led form builder that gives away unlimited forms and responses with AI drafting, and charges only for team features, custom domains and badge removal. Choose Microsoft Forms for organisations already licensed for Microsoft 365 that want zero-cost internal surveys and quizzes, and FormGrid for designers, makers and small teams who want unusually pretty forms for free. If neither fits, FormBuilder is a third option with 100 free responses a month and a flat $39 / month Pro plan.
At a glance
MMicrosoft Forms
FFormGrid
FFormBuilder
Category
Forms & surveys inside Microsoft 365
Design-focused free form builder with AI drafting
AI-first form builder
Free plan
200 responses / form · 400 forms · basic themes
Unlimited forms & responses · AI drafting · custom themes · logic · 10 MB uploads · unlimited team members · FormGrid badge
5 forms · 100 responses / mo · overflow held
Entry paid plan
Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 / month
Plus at $29 / month (per directories)
Pro — $39 / month ($390 / year)
Remove branding
No (Microsoft footer always shown)
Yes (Plus)
Pro, $39
Payments
No
No (Not an advertised feature)
Stripe, own account, no fee
HIPAA / BAA
Yes (Covered by Microsoft 365 BAA on eligible plans)
No (No BAA offered)
HIPAA plan coming soon
AI generator drafts forms from a sentence
100 responses / month free
Held responses — never lost
6,000+ apps via Zapier

Overview

What are Microsoft Forms and FormGrid?

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is the survey and quiz builder that ships with Microsoft 365. It started in Office 365 Education as a quiz tool for teachers and has since become the default way Microsoft shops collect feedback, run polls in Teams meetings, and grade simple quizzes. Anyone with a personal Microsoft account can use it free; work and school accounts get it as part of their Microsoft 365 licence.

The builder is deliberately simple: a handful of question types (choice, text, rating, date, ranking, Likert, Net Promoter Score, file upload), basic branching, themes, and automatic response charts. Its real advantage is the plumbing around it — responses land in Excel with one click, forms can be dropped into Teams, SharePoint, OneNote and PowerPoint, and Power Automate can trigger a flow on every submission. Copilot can now draft a form from a prompt inside Microsoft 365.

FormGrid

FormGrid is an independent form and survey builder whose pitch is looks and logic for free. The free plan includes unlimited forms and unlimited responses, an AI assistant that drafts a form (questions, logic and design) from a text description, custom themes, a flexible grid layout system, and a fairly deep logic set — conditional questions, repeatable sections, answer piping, calculations, hidden fields and page navigation. Responses land in a built-in analytics dashboard with CSV / XLSX export.

The paid tiers are about working with other people and looking like yourself. Plus ($29 / month as listed by third-party directories; annual billing saves up to 34%) adds team collaboration, custom emails, a custom domain, hiding the FormGrid badge, 30-day version history and 100 MB uploads. Business ($79 / month) adds workspaces, roles and permissions, 90-day history and 1 GB uploads. Integrations cover Zapier, Make, Airtable, Notion, Google Sheets and webhooks. Data is hosted in Europe and the product is GDPR-oriented.

At a glance: pros and cons

Microsoft Forms pros

  • Free for anyone already on Microsoft 365
  • Native Microsoft 365 plumbing
  • Excellent quiz mode
  • Enterprise security inherited from the tenant

Microsoft Forms cons

  • Limited customisation and always Microsoft-branded
  • Thin feature set for business forms
  • Personal accounts are capped at 200 responses per form
  • Integrations run through Power Automate

FormGrid pros

  • Unlimited forms and responses for free
  • Design depth that most builders lack
  • Rich logic without a paywall
  • Responsive indie team

FormGrid cons

  • No advertised payment collection
  • Little public information about the company
  • No compliance story
  • Small ecosystem

Pricing

Microsoft Forms vs FormGrid pricing

In each vendor's own terms; Microsoft Forms checked 2026-08-17, FormGrid checked 2026-08-18. FormBuilder: free plan (5 forms, 100 responses / mo) and Pro at $39 / month or $390 / year.

MMicrosoft Forms pricingChecked 2026-08-17
Free (personal Microsoft account)
$0
200 responses / form · 400 forms · basic themes
Microsoft 365 Personal
$9.99
/ month
1,000 responses / form · plus Office apps & 1 TB OneDrive
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
$7
/ user / month (annual)
Up to 5,000,000 responses / form · Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, Power Automate
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$14
/ user / month (annual)
Same Forms limits · desktop Office apps · $23.50 with Copilot
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
$22
/ user / month (annual)
Same Forms limits · Intune, Defender, advanced security
Forms is never sold on its own — it comes with a Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 seat. Prices below are per user per month on annual billing; response caps are per form, not per month.
FFormGrid pricingChecked 2026-08-18
Free
$0
/ month
Unlimited forms & responses · AI drafting · custom themes · logic · 10 MB uploads · unlimited team members · FormGrid badge
Plus
$29
/ month (per directories)
Team collaboration · custom emails · custom domain · hide badge · 30-day version history · 100 MB uploads
Business
$79
/ month (per directories)
Workspaces · roles & permissions · 90-day version history · 1 GB uploads
The vendor pricing page shows plan contents but the dollar amounts we could confirm come from third-party listings (Plus $29, Business $79 per month); annual billing is advertised as saving up to 34%. Check vendor pricing before deciding.

Feature comparison

Feature-by-feature: Microsoft Forms vs FormGrid (and FormBuilder)

25 capabilities across building, design, data workflow and security.

FeatureMMicrosoft FormsFFormGridFFormBuilder
Building
AI form generation from a prompt
YesCopilot draft; requires M365 / Copilot licence for full use
YesDraft & edit with AI, free
Yes
Drag-and-drop visual builder
PartialQuestion-list builder; reorder only
YesGrid layout system
Yes
Template library
PartialSmall gallery of survey & quiz templates
YesThemes & templates
Yes300+
Conditional logic / branching
PartialBasic branching; no complex rules
YesFree, incl. piping & hidden fields
Yes
Multi-page / multi-step forms
PartialSections act as pages
YesPage navigation, free
YesPro
Calculations & scoring
PartialQuiz points & auto-grading only
YesCalculations, free
YesCalculation field + auto-graded quizzes
File uploads
YesWork / school accounts only; files go to OneDrive
Yes10 MB free · 100 MB Plus · 1 GB Business
Yes100 MB free · 1 GB Pro
Payment collection
No
NoNot an advertised feature
YesStripe — paid to your own account, no platform fee
E-signature field
No
YesSignature field listed
Yes
Design
Custom themes & branding
PartialThemes, header image, logo; layout fixed
YesCustom themes free
YesPro
Remove vendor badge
NoMicrosoft footer always shown
YesPlus
YesPro, $39
Custom domain
No
YesPlus
Yes
Embed on any site
Yesiframe; native in Teams, SharePoint, Sway
YesEmbeds & pop-ups
Yes
Data & workflow
Free-plan monthly responses
Partial200 per form (personal); unlimited in practice on M365 work accounts
YesUnlimited
Partial100 / mo, overflow held
Over-limit responses kept (not rejected)
NoForm closes at limit
YesNo cap to exceed
Yes
Email notifications & autoresponders
PartialOwner email; richer via Power Automate
YesNotifications free; custom emails on Plus
Yes
Webhooks
PartialThrough Power Automate, not native
Yes
YesAll plans
Zapier / native integrations
PartialPower Automate native; Zapier trigger available
YesZapier, Make, Airtable, Notion, Sheets
Yes6,000+ apps
Built-in analytics (views, drop-off)
PartialResponse summary charts; no drop-off
YesBuilt-in dashboard
Yes
CSV / spreadsheet export
YesExcel, live-linked
YesCSV / XLSX
Yes
Team workspaces & collaboration
YesGroup forms via Microsoft 365 Groups / Teams
YesCollaboration on Plus; workspaces & roles on Business
Yes
Security
Password-protected forms
PartialRestrict to org sign-in; no public password
PartialNot listed; check vendor
YesPro
HIPAA / BAA
YesCovered by Microsoft 365 BAA on eligible plans
NoNo BAA offered
PartialHIPAA plan coming soon
GDPR tooling & DPA
Yes
YesEU hosting, GDPR-oriented
Yes
SSO / SAML
YesEntra ID on all M365 plans
No
PartialEnterprise
IncludedPartial / higher tier / workaroundNot availableDetails reflect public plans as of August 2026.

Another option to consider

FFormBuilder

AI-first form builder with a generous free plan, held (never lost) responses, and 6,000+ integrations. Describe the form you need, the AI drafts it, and you refine it with logic, multi-page layouts, uploads, signatures and Stripe payments. Free plan: 5 forms and 100 responses a month with overflow held, never lost. Pro: $39 / month for 100 forms and 10,000 responses with the badge removed.

Try FormBuilder free

Questions

Microsoft Forms vs FormGrid: frequently asked

Is Microsoft Forms cheaper than FormGrid?

Microsoft Forms's entry paid plan (Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 / month) is cheaper than FormGrid's (Plus at $29 / month (per directories)). Both offer a free plan (200 responses / form · 400 forms · basic themes) and a free plan (Unlimited forms & responses · AI drafting · custom themes · logic · 10 MB uploads · unlimited team members · FormGrid badge) respectively. Note the plans differ in limits — see the tables above. FormBuilder Pro, for reference, is $39 / month for 10,000 responses.

Does Microsoft Forms have a free plan?

Microsoft Forms offers a free plan (200 responses / form · 400 forms · basic themes). Forms is never sold on its own — it comes with a Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 seat. Prices below are per user per month on annual billing; response caps are per form, not per month.

Does FormGrid have a free plan?

FormGrid offers a free plan (Unlimited forms & responses · AI drafting · custom themes · logic · 10 MB uploads · unlimited team members · FormGrid badge). The vendor pricing page shows plan contents but the dollar amounts we could confirm come from third-party listings (Plus $29, Business $79 per month); annual billing is advertised as saving up to 34%. Check vendor pricing before deciding.

Which is better for payments, Microsoft Forms or FormGrid?

Microsoft Forms payments: No. FormGrid payments: No (Not an advertised feature). FormBuilder collects Stripe payments to your own account with no platform fee on every plan, including free.

Which is better for HIPAA, Microsoft Forms or FormGrid?

Microsoft Forms HIPAA / BAA: Yes (Covered by Microsoft 365 BAA on eligible plans). FormGrid HIPAA / BAA: No (No BAA offered). FormBuilder's HIPAA plan with BAA ($99 / month) is currently rolling out.

What is the difference between Microsoft Forms and FormGrid?

Microsoft Forms is microsoft's built-in survey, quiz and poll tool — free with a Microsoft account and bundled into every Microsoft 365 business and education plan. FormGrid is a small, design-led form builder that gives away unlimited forms and responses with AI drafting, and charges only for team features, custom domains and badge removal. Microsoft Forms is best for organisations already licensed for Microsoft 365 that want zero-cost internal surveys and quizzes; FormGrid is best for designers, makers and small teams who want unusually pretty forms for free.

What is a good alternative to both Microsoft Forms and FormGrid?

FormBuilder is worth a look if you want an AI generator that drafts forms from a sentence, 100 free responses a month with overflow held rather than lost, Stripe payments with no platform fee, and a flat $39 / month Pro plan for 10,000 responses. See our full FormBuilder vs Microsoft Forms and FormBuilder vs FormGrid comparisons.

Last reviewed August 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.

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