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.
Tally builds forms the way Notion builds pages: you open a blank document, start typing, and hit "/" to insert questions, layout blocks and logic. There is no separate field palette or property panel to learn, and the result renders as a clean, text-first form. That editing model is the reason people fall for it — it is genuinely the fastest way to knock out a simple form if you already think in documents.
The commercial model is unusually generous. Unlimited forms and unlimited submissions are free, and so are most of the things other builders gate: conditional logic, calculations, answer piping, payments via Stripe, signatures, file uploads (10 MB per file), password protection, webhooks and native integrations with Notion, Google Sheets, Airtable, Zapier and Make. Tally Pro ($29 / mo, or $24 on annual) exists mainly to remove branding, add custom domains, capture partial submissions and unlock team workspaces. Tally Business ($89 / mo, or $74 on annual) adds data-retention controls and email verification.
Pricing
In each vendor's own terms; Microsoft Forms checked 2026-08-17, Tally 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 | TTally | FFormBuilder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building | |||
| AI form generation from a prompt | YesCopilot draft; requires M365 / Copilot licence for full use | No | Yes |
| Drag-and-drop visual builder | PartialQuestion-list builder; reorder only | PartialNotion-style block editor; type "/" to insert | Yes |
| Template library | PartialSmall gallery of survey & quiz templates | Yes~200 community & official templates | Yes300+ |
| Conditional logic / branching | PartialBasic branching; no complex rules | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-page / multi-step forms | PartialSections act as pages | YesPage-break block, free | YesPro |
| Calculations & scoring | PartialQuiz points & auto-grading only | YesCalculated fields, free | YesCalculation field + auto-graded quizzes |
| File uploads | YesWork / school accounts only; files go to OneDrive | Yes10 MB / file free; larger on Pro | Yes100 MB free · 1 GB Pro |
| Payment collection | No | YesStripe, free | YesStripe — paid to your own account, no platform fee |
| E-signature field | No | Yes | Yes |
| Design | |||
| Custom themes & branding | PartialThemes, header image, logo; layout fixed | PartialBasic themes free; custom CSS on Pro | YesPro |
| Remove vendor badge | NoMicrosoft footer always shown | YesPro, $29 / mo | YesPro, $39 |
| Custom domain | No | YesPro | 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 | YesUnlimited (fair use) | Partial100 / mo, overflow held |
| Over-limit responses kept (not rejected) | NoForm closes at limit | YesNo cap to exceed on free | Yes |
| Email notifications & autoresponders | PartialOwner email; richer via Power Automate | PartialSelf-notifications free; respondent emails via integrations | Yes |
| Webhooks | PartialThrough Power Automate, not native | YesFree | YesAll plans |
| Zapier / native integrations | PartialPower Automate native; Zapier trigger available | YesZapier, Make, Notion, Sheets, Airtable, Slack | Yes6,000+ apps |
| Built-in analytics (views, drop-off) | PartialResponse summary charts; no drop-off | PartialSubmission counts free; visits & drop-off on Pro | Yes |
| CSV / spreadsheet export | YesExcel, live-linked | Yes | Yes |
| Team workspaces & collaboration | YesGroup forms via Microsoft 365 Groups / Teams | YesPro | Yes |
| Security | |||
| Password-protected forms | PartialRestrict to org sign-in; no public password | YesFree | YesPro |
| HIPAA / BAA | YesCovered by Microsoft 365 BAA on eligible plans | NoNo BAA offered | PartialHIPAA plan coming soon |
| GDPR tooling & DPA | Yes | YesEU-hosted, DPA available | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | YesEntra ID on all M365 plans | PartialGoogle / Microsoft login; no SAML | 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 Tally's (Pro at $29 / month ($24 annual)). Both offer a free plan (200 responses / form · 400 forms · basic themes) and a free plan (Unlimited forms & submissions (fair use) · logic, payments, signatures, uploads (10 MB / file), webhooks, integrations · Tally branding) 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.
Tally offers a free plan (Unlimited forms & submissions (fair use) · logic, payments, signatures, uploads (10 MB / file), webhooks, integrations · Tally branding). Prices shown are monthly billing; annual billing gives "2 months off" (Pro $24 / mo, Business $74 / mo). Free plan is unlimited within Tally's fair-use policy.
Microsoft Forms payments: No. Tally payments: Yes (Stripe, free). 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). Tally HIPAA / BAA: No (No BAA offered). 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. Tally is the document-style form builder that gives away unlimited forms and submissions for free and charges only for branding, domains and team features. Microsoft Forms is best for organisations already licensed for Microsoft 365 that want zero-cost internal surveys and quizzes; Tally is best for indie makers, founders and Notion-first teams who want a free form that just works.
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 Tally comparisons.
Last reviewed August 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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