Google Forms vs. Microsoft 365

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Forms
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Google Forms is an app for creating forms and surveys, and is part of Google Apps for Work. The product focuses on ease of use; the interface is similar to a document editor, with drop down lists of options and drag and drop question re-ordering. Users can embed images and video into surveys. Users can also program the question flow with custom logic. Google sends users basic summaries of the survey results automatically, or users can export the raw survey results data and analyze it via…N/A
Microsoft 365
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.
$5
Per User Per Month
Pricing
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Business Basic
$5.00
Per User Per Month
Individual
$5.84
*Per Month
Business - Apps
$8.25
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - F3
$10.00
Per User Per Month
Business Standard
$12.50
Per User Per Month
Business Premium
$20.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E3
$32.00
Per User Per Month
Enterprise - E5
$57.00
Per User Per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details*When billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Considered Both Products
Google Forms
Chose Google Forms
I haven't used that many other form applications before unless they were standalone applications like Microsoft Word. I used this program, and it was ok, but it requires a paid subscription, and someone renews it yearly. This can be too complicated for some users, such as older …
Chose Google Forms
I think that the Google version of forms is easier to use for both those making the forms and those filling them in than it's Microsoft equivalent. Google's products are more widely used and understood by the public, and they function at a higher level.
Chose Google Forms
I prefer Google forms to Microsoft Forms (not selectable) because it's significantly easier to use and much smoother to run than Microsoft Forms. It seems easier to incorporate multimedia options within forms which can lead to a more enriching assessment or learning experience …
Microsoft 365
Chose Microsoft 365
Microsoft has serious usability issues compared to Google products. Interfaces are cluttered, unintuitive and not easy to use. Compared to the offline version of the office products, 365 online truly disappoints.
Chose Microsoft 365
While I do like Microsoft, I miss using Google. I think it’s faster and just a little less clunky. However, OneNote and Teams are a huge advantage for the way we use Microsoft products at my school.
Chose Microsoft 365
I like these applications, but Google does them for free. You can't beat that. I still use OneNote frequently, but for most work, Google is a winner here.
Chose Microsoft 365
Google Apps made famous real-time collaborative editing in Google Docs. Now that Office 365 offers Word Online, there is no competition. Google Apps have always been "Microsoft Office-Lite" products, giving very basic functionality. With Office Online apps, it's hard not to see …
Features
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Survey Format & Appearance
Comparison of Survey Format & Appearance features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
7.4
112 Ratings
7% below category average
Microsoft 365
-
Ratings
Survey templates8.0104 Ratings00 Ratings
Themes6.7103 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom logo/branding7.589 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Content
Comparison of Survey Content features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.8
110 Ratings
4% above category average
Microsoft 365
-
Ratings
Changes to live survey9.4104 Ratings00 Ratings
Question design help8.590 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple question types8.5109 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Logic
Comparison of Survey Logic features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.0
100 Ratings
2% below category average
Microsoft 365
-
Ratings
Survey logic flexibility8.0100 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Survey Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.7
111 Ratings
7% above category average
Microsoft 365
-
Ratings
Response tracking8.3109 Ratings00 Ratings
Data export8.7105 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.4103 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports9.579 Ratings00 Ratings
Analytics8.785 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Administration & Security
Comparison of Survey Administration & Security features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
9.4
105 Ratings
8% above category average
Microsoft 365
-
Ratings
Access controls9.1103 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance9.681 Ratings00 Ratings
Survey Distribution
Comparison of Survey Distribution features of Product A and Product B
Google Forms
8.9
79 Ratings
9% above category average
Microsoft 365
-
Ratings
Vendor-offered crowdsourcing9.037 Ratings00 Ratings
Respondent restrictions8.877 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Small Businesses
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Square 9 Softworks
Square 9 Softworks
Score 9.7 out of 10
Google Workspace
Google Workspace
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Verint Voice of the Customer
Verint Voice of the Customer
Score 9.4 out of 10
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Score 8.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Likelihood to Recommend
9.7
(116 ratings)
8.0
(241 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(3 ratings)
9.5
(6 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(56 ratings)
7.8
(11 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(48 ratings)
8.9
(54 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
3.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google FormsMicrosoft 365
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Google Forms works really well when you need to quickly gather information and store it in a standardized format. It also works well if your organization is already using other Google products.
If you don't use other Google products, another service may be a better fit for you. Additionally, if you need your forms to be highly customized for marketing purposes, for example, you might have an easier time with other tools.
That being said, Google Forms is well supported and is highly flexible and would likely work well for many companies.
Read full review
Microsoft
Office everyday things since time immemorial. It's hard for Google Suite or any other to compete with Microsoft. They have everything, and it all works great, with incredible tools and capabilities. The new integrations work seamlessly most of the time, such as embedding a Power BI in a PPT. Expecting too much AI, like note taking, or LLM-based PPT, is not available in my tier at least, so depending on the budget, you won't get all you may expect from an AI leader. For diagramming and process maps, you're better off with other tools like those above.
Read full review
Pros
Google
  • Live results: When a user completes the form the results are added instantly.
  • Easy to create: Google Forms has a simple interface that allows for a wide range of question types. Google will even try to guess the question type based on the question (but this can be overridden).
  • Answers export to Google Sheets: It is easy to have each response to your form add a row to a Google Sheet, allowing for further analysis or processing.
  • Ability to automatically collect email addresses within a domain: If you have a form that has been shared with users in your domain, you can set it to automatically collect the users' email addresses without them needing to type it in. Makes checking whether all students have completed the form easy.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • It allows us to keep our email organized. I like the fact that I can create folders in Outlook, and they replicate on my mail server.
  • Excellent for drafting and saving those documents as PDFs without needing PDF editing software.
  • Spreadsheets - what more is there to say?
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Sometimes finding the output -- a Google Sheet with all responses-- is a little difficult. It's also sometimes confusing to figure out how to get back into the Google Form Survey itself.
  • As always, sharing among an institutional Google account and your personal Google account can be frustrating. You have to make a copy and can't share across the two different accounts very easily.
Read full review
Microsoft
  • Microsoft 365 really needs to work on protection part. In complex environment it is not reliable as compared to its competitors like Proofpoint. There are many instances where it fails to perform effectively.
  • In SharePoint Online the versioning feature of the document needs to be improved by Microsoft. Sometimes when we have to roll back to the previous version it does not work as expected.
  • In Teams messaging and app permission policies can be improved. There are some settings where we have to add a lot of things manually.
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Likelihood to Renew
Google
I will definitely renew my use of Google Forms because I really like the ease of use and the number of tools that Google forms provide. I also love that I can administer a test in real-time and get results in a timely manner
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Microsoft
There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.
Read full review
Usability
Google
Google Forms is a very intuitive and easy to use tool, it is not necessary to have a complex knowledge to create advanced forms, it is enough with the functions and aids that the tool offers for the creation of these, even children and students can do it, also the way to export the data is really simple, simply an incredible tool.
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Microsoft
It being the default office suite means it's user experience and idioms are things that everyone is generally very used to and fluent with.
The sharing is relatively simple, being directly hooked into Entra AD, and expiry being a first class concern.
It's usability decreases at scale, with multiple people simultaneously making edits can make documents unusable.
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Reliability and Availability
Google
In the years I've used GoogleForms I've never ran into any issues with the reliability or availability. Google is a gigantic company with essentially limitless resources which makes it very easy to trust that I will continue to be able to enjoy the same reliability I've come to know and expect from GoogleForms
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Performance
Google
One of the things that comes as a benefit of the lack to create complex logic branching and truly custom design is that there isn't lot of room to bog down the software. GoogleForms has always loaded just as fast as my internet service and device would allow it. I'm not sure about front end integrations or integrations into the form itself, as I've never explored it, but on the backend, I've never had any issues with integrations channeling from GoogleForms from the GoogleForms's end of things.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Google
Google has a support team but it isn't the most helpful with Forms. I find most of my answers by searching online and watching tutorial videos. I would recommend utilizing online resources before contacting their live support team for help. Just make sure that they are recent videos or directions. Google is constantly updating their interfaces so it is easy for things to get out of date
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Microsoft
Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
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Implementation Rating
Google
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Everything works and I use it all the time.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Google
We have also used FormAssembly, which is far more advanced with security, analytics, and functionality, but is also more expensive and takes a greater resource investment to train others to use. While FormAssembly can provide a lot more features, and is definitely the better choice for more complex surveys, forms, and applications, Google Forms is a very approachable and easy to use platform. We would recommend Google Forms for smaller businesses with simpler processes, and everyday use for any organization.
Read full review
Microsoft
Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, help articles and video guide to help users make the most of the application and personally upgrade their skills.
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Scalability
Google
GoogleForms lacks the ability for complex logic branching and the ability to truly design it in a custom manner. It's pretty obvious when you land on a GoogleForm that it is in fact a GoogleForm. This rating solely reflects the lack of flexibility which in turn makes it something that wouldn't usually be scaled. That being said, if needing to scale a simple solution, GoogleForms would be up for the job.
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Google
  • It's difficult to track ROI since Google Forms is used less formally
  • [The] positive impact is the actionable results we receive from surveys
  • [The] impact is highly dependent on how well the questions are asked, and how seriously the survey is taken by employees
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Microsoft
  • It has helped keep the high-energy culture my company has since it allows easy communication and calls.
  • Positively impacts responses from clients, since we can see how many times they have been contacted. (the more someone is contacted, the less likely they are to respond. Microsoft helps make sure we all know who and who not to contact)
  • positively impacts my ability to focus, since you can mute notifications. Since I look at my computer all day, it is helpful to lock in and not get distracted by the many emails I receive a day. You can also change preferences, so emails with high urgency are still seen.
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ScreenShots