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.
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; SurveyMonkey 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 | SSurveyMonkey | TTally | FFormBuilder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building | |||
| AI form generation from a prompt | YesBuild with AI, on all plans | No | Yes |
| Drag-and-drop visual builder | PartialQuestion-list builder with drag reordering | PartialNotion-style block editor; type "/" to insert | Yes |
| Template library | YesHundreds, research-focused | Yes~200 community & official templates | Yes300+ |
| Conditional logic / branching | YesSkip logic Standard+; advanced logic Advantage+ | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-page / multi-step forms | Yes | YesPage-break block, free | YesPro |
| Calculations & scoring | PartialQuiz scoring; no calculated fields | YesCalculated fields, free | YesCalculation field + auto-graded quizzes |
| File uploads | YesPaid plans only | Yes10 MB / file free; larger on Pro | Yes100 MB free · 1 GB Pro |
| Payment collection | YesStripe, Advantage+ | YesStripe, free | YesStripe — paid to your own account, no platform fee |
| E-signature field | No | Yes | Yes |
| Design | |||
| Custom themes & branding | YesCustom design Standard+; premium themes Advantage+ | PartialBasic themes free; custom CSS on Pro | YesPro |
| Remove vendor badge | PartialCustom footer on paid; full white-label on Premier, $139 / mo | YesPro, $29 / mo | YesPro, $39 |
| Custom domain | PartialCustom subdomain, Enterprise | YesPro | Yes |
| Embed on any site | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data & workflow | |||
| Free-plan monthly responses | PartialSmall per-survey cap; over-limit responses deleted | YesUnlimited (fair use) | Partial100 / mo, overflow held |
| Over-limit responses kept (not rejected) | NoOver-limit responses deleted; $0.15 each on paid plans | YesNo cap to exceed on free | Yes |
| Email notifications & autoresponders | YesEmail invitations Standard+ | PartialSelf-notifications free; respondent emails via integrations | Yes |
| Webhooks | YesVia API / paid plans | YesFree | YesAll plans |
| Zapier / native integrations | Yes200+ integrations + Zapier | YesZapier, Make, Notion, Sheets, Airtable, Slack | Yes6,000+ apps |
| Built-in analytics (views, drop-off) | YesStrongest in class: filters, crosstabs, significance | PartialSubmission counts free; visits & drop-off on Pro | Yes |
| CSV / spreadsheet export | YesPaid plans only | Yes | Yes |
| Team workspaces & collaboration | YesTeam plans, 3-user minimum | YesPro | Yes |
| Security | |||
| Password-protected forms | YesPaid plans | YesFree | YesPro |
| HIPAA / BAA | YesEnterprise only | NoNo BAA offered | PartialHIPAA plan coming soon |
| GDPR tooling & DPA | Yes | YesEU-hosted, DPA available | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | YesEnterprise | 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
Tally's entry paid plan (Pro at $29 / month ($24 annual)) is cheaper than SurveyMonkey's (Standard Monthly at $99 / month (monthly)). Both offer a free plan (Unlimited forms & submissions (fair use) · logic, payments, signatures, uploads (10 MB / file), webhooks, integrations · Tally branding) 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.
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.
SurveyMonkey payments: Yes (Stripe, Advantage+). Tally payments: Yes (Stripe, free). FormBuilder collects Stripe payments to your own account with no platform fee on every plan, including free.
SurveyMonkey HIPAA / BAA: Yes (Enterprise only). Tally HIPAA / BAA: No (No BAA offered). 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. 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. SurveyMonkey is best for market researchers and CX teams who need statistical analysis, crosstabs and open-text theming; 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 SurveyMonkey 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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