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.
Overview
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.
SurveyMonkey (owned by Momentive, which returned to the SurveyMonkey name) is one of the oldest and best-known online survey tools. Its core is a survey builder backed by a large question bank, hundreds of expert-written templates (NPS, CSAT, employee engagement, event feedback, market research) and a results dashboard that goes further than most form tools: filters, crosstabs, statistical significance, sentiment and thematic analysis of open-text answers.
Around the builder sits a research and feedback suite: SurveyMonkey Audience for buying respondents from a panel, always-on feedback programs, multilingual surveys, block randomisation, and integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Tableau, Zapier and roughly 200 other apps. Team plans add shared brand assets, roles and permissions; Enterprise adds SSO, governance and regional data centres.
Pricing
In each vendor's own terms; Microsoft Forms checked 2026-08-17, SurveyMonkey checked 2026-08-17. FormBuilder: free plan (5 forms, 100 responses / mo) and Pro at $39 / month or $390 / year.
Feature comparison
25 capabilities across building, design, data workflow and security.
| Feature | MMicrosoft Forms | SSurveyMonkey | FFormBuilder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building | |||
| AI form generation from a prompt | YesCopilot draft; requires M365 / Copilot licence for full use | YesBuild with AI, on all plans | Yes |
| Drag-and-drop visual builder | PartialQuestion-list builder; reorder only | PartialQuestion-list builder with drag reordering | Yes |
| Template library | PartialSmall gallery of survey & quiz templates | YesHundreds, research-focused | Yes300+ |
| Conditional logic / branching | PartialBasic branching; no complex rules | YesSkip logic Standard+; advanced logic Advantage+ | Yes |
| Multi-page / multi-step forms | PartialSections act as pages | Yes | YesPro |
| Calculations & scoring | PartialQuiz points & auto-grading only | PartialQuiz scoring; no calculated fields | YesCalculation field + auto-graded quizzes |
| File uploads | YesWork / school accounts only; files go to OneDrive | YesPaid plans only | Yes100 MB free · 1 GB Pro |
| Payment collection | No | YesStripe, Advantage+ | YesStripe — paid to your own account, no platform fee |
| E-signature field | No | No | Yes |
| Design | |||
| Custom themes & branding | PartialThemes, header image, logo; layout fixed | YesCustom design Standard+; premium themes Advantage+ | YesPro |
| Remove vendor badge | NoMicrosoft footer always shown | PartialCustom footer on paid; full white-label on Premier, $139 / mo | YesPro, $39 |
| Custom domain | No | PartialCustom subdomain, Enterprise | Yes |
| Embed on any site | Yesiframe; native in Teams, SharePoint, Sway | Yes | Yes |
| Data & workflow | |||
| Free-plan monthly responses | Partial200 per form (personal); unlimited in practice on M365 work accounts | PartialSmall per-survey cap; over-limit responses deleted | Partial100 / mo, overflow held |
| Over-limit responses kept (not rejected) | NoForm closes at limit | NoOver-limit responses deleted; $0.15 each on paid plans | Yes |
| Email notifications & autoresponders | PartialOwner email; richer via Power Automate | YesEmail invitations Standard+ | Yes |
| Webhooks | PartialThrough Power Automate, not native | YesVia API / paid plans | YesAll plans |
| Zapier / native integrations | PartialPower Automate native; Zapier trigger available | Yes200+ integrations + Zapier | Yes6,000+ apps |
| Built-in analytics (views, drop-off) | PartialResponse summary charts; no drop-off | YesStrongest in class: filters, crosstabs, significance | Yes |
| CSV / spreadsheet export | YesExcel, live-linked | YesPaid plans only | Yes |
| Team workspaces & collaboration | YesGroup forms via Microsoft 365 Groups / Teams | YesTeam plans, 3-user minimum | Yes |
| Security | |||
| Password-protected forms | PartialRestrict to org sign-in; no public password | YesPaid plans | YesPro |
| HIPAA / BAA | YesCovered by Microsoft 365 BAA on eligible plans | YesEnterprise only | PartialHIPAA plan coming soon |
| GDPR tooling & DPA | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | YesEntra ID on all M365 plans | YesEnterprise | PartialEnterprise |
Another option to consider
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.
Questions
Microsoft Forms's entry paid plan (Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 / month) is cheaper than SurveyMonkey's (Standard Monthly at $99 / month (monthly)). Both offer a free plan (200 responses / form · 400 forms · basic themes) and a free plan (Unlimited surveys · 10 questions / survey · limited responses / survey (widely reported as 25) · no exports, logic or custom design) respectively. Note the plans differ in limits — see the tables above. FormBuilder Pro, for reference, is $39 / month for 10,000 responses.
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.
SurveyMonkey offers a free plan (Unlimited surveys · 10 questions / survey · limited responses / survey (widely reported as 25) · no exports, logic or custom design). Individual plans are for 1 user. Advantage and Premier are billed annually; the Standard plan is the only monthly option. Responses over your allowance cost $0.15 each. Team plans (Team Advantage $30 / user / mo, Team Premier $92 / user / mo, 3-user minimum) are billed annually; Enterprise is custom.
Microsoft Forms payments: No. SurveyMonkey payments: Yes (Stripe, Advantage+). FormBuilder collects Stripe payments to your own account with no platform fee on every plan, including free.
Microsoft Forms HIPAA / BAA: Yes (Covered by Microsoft 365 BAA on eligible plans). SurveyMonkey HIPAA / BAA: Yes (Enterprise only). FormBuilder's HIPAA plan with BAA ($99 / month) is currently rolling out.
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. SurveyMonkey is the long-running survey platform for market research, customer feedback and employee engagement, with a large question bank and serious analysis tools. Microsoft Forms is best for organisations already licensed for Microsoft 365 that want zero-cost internal surveys and quizzes; SurveyMonkey is best for market researchers and CX teams who need statistical analysis, crosstabs and open-text theming.
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 SurveyMonkey comparisons.
Last reviewed August 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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