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
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.
Formstack started as an online form builder in 2006 and has grown into a workflow suite: Formstack Forms (the builder), Formstack Documents (merge submissions into PDFs, Word files and contracts), and Formstack Sign (e-signature). The pitch is that one platform can take a request from intake form to generated document to signed agreement without code, which is why it sells mainly to operations, HR, healthcare and higher-ed teams.
The form builder itself is capable rather than flashy: drag-and-drop fields, conditional logic, multi-page forms, calculations, save-and-resume, payments (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net and others), workflows with approvals, and 300+ integrations. Its Salesforce apps are a genuine differentiator — forms that read and write Salesforce records natively and can live inside Experience Cloud — and it offers HIPAA compliance, PCI and SOC 2 for regulated buyers.
Pricing
In each vendor's own terms; SurveyMonkey checked 2026-08-17, Formstack 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 | SSurveyMonkey | FFormstack | FFormBuilder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building | |||
| AI form generation from a prompt | YesBuild with AI, on all plans | PartialAI features rolling out; not the core building flow | Yes |
| Drag-and-drop visual builder | PartialQuestion-list builder with drag reordering | Yes | Yes |
| Template library | YesHundreds, research-focused | YesHundreds, skewed to HR, healthcare, education | Yes300+ |
| Conditional logic / branching | YesSkip logic Standard+; advanced logic Advantage+ | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-page / multi-step forms | Yes | Yes | YesPro |
| Calculations & scoring | PartialQuiz scoring; no calculated fields | Yes | YesCalculation field + auto-graded quizzes |
| File uploads | YesPaid plans only | Yes2 GB on Forms · 10 GB Suite | Yes100 MB free · 1 GB Pro |
| Payment collection | YesStripe, Advantage+ | YesStripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Square & more | YesStripe — paid to your own account, no platform fee |
| E-signature field | No | YesSignature field; full e-sign via Formstack Sign | Yes |
| Design | |||
| Custom themes & branding | YesCustom design Standard+; premium themes Advantage+ | YesThemes & CSS | YesPro |
| Remove vendor badge | PartialCustom footer on paid; full white-label on Premier, $139 / mo | YesPaid plans; no free tier | YesPro, $39 |
| Custom domain | PartialCustom subdomain, Enterprise | YesPaid plans | Yes |
| Embed on any site | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data & workflow | |||
| Free-plan monthly responses | PartialSmall per-survey cap; over-limit responses deleted | NoNo free plan; 14-day trial | Partial100 / mo, overflow held |
| Over-limit responses kept (not rejected) | NoOver-limit responses deleted; $0.15 each on paid plans | PartialPer-form submission caps; overage handled by upgrade | Yes |
| Email notifications & autoresponders | YesEmail invitations Standard+ | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks | YesVia API / paid plans | Yes | YesAll plans |
| Zapier / native integrations | Yes200+ integrations + Zapier | Yes300+ native + Zapier; deep Salesforce | Yes6,000+ apps |
| Built-in analytics (views, drop-off) | YesStrongest in class: filters, crosstabs, significance | YesSubmission analytics; conversion kit on higher tiers | Yes |
| CSV / spreadsheet export | YesPaid plans only | Yes | Yes |
| Team workspaces & collaboration | YesTeam plans, 3-user minimum | YesExtra builder seats cost more | Yes |
| Security | |||
| Password-protected forms | YesPaid plans | Yes | YesPro |
| HIPAA / BAA | YesEnterprise only | YesAdd-on on Forms/Suite; included Salesforce & Enterprise | PartialHIPAA plan coming soon |
| GDPR tooling & DPA | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | YesEnterprise | 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
Formstack's entry paid plan (Forms at $83 / month (annual, $99 monthly)) is cheaper than SurveyMonkey's (Standard Monthly at $99 / month (monthly)). Both offer a 14-day trial 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.
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.
Formstack offers a 14-day trial. Prices shown are per month billed annually; monthly billing is roughly 20% higher. Submission limits are per form. No free plan — 14-day free trial of Forms.
SurveyMonkey payments: Yes (Stripe, Advantage+). Formstack payments: Yes (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Square & more). FormBuilder collects Stripe payments to your own account with no platform fee on every plan, including free.
SurveyMonkey HIPAA / BAA: Yes (Enterprise only). Formstack HIPAA / BAA: Yes (Add-on on Forms/Suite; included Salesforce & Enterprise). FormBuilder's HIPAA plan with BAA ($99 / month) is currently rolling out.
SurveyMonkey is the long-running survey platform for market research, customer feedback and employee engagement, with a large question bank and serious analysis tools. Formstack is a no-code workflow platform for mid-size and enterprise teams that bundles forms, document generation and e-signature, with a deep Salesforce integration. SurveyMonkey is best for market researchers and CX teams who need statistical analysis, crosstabs and open-text theming; Formstack is best for operations, HR and admissions teams that need forms to feed documents, approvals and e-signatures.
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 SurveyMonkey and FormBuilder vs Formstack comparisons.
Last reviewed August 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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