Switch to formbase
formbasevsMicrosoft Forms
Microsoft Forms is free with any Microsoft account and bundled into M365. formbase is the step up the moment a form goes outside your Microsoft 365 tenant.
Try without loginTL;DR
Microsoft Forms is free with any Microsoft account and wires to Excel, Teams, and Power Automate in a click. That makes it convenient for internal polls, quizzes, and Education assessments. You outgrow it as soon as a form goes customer-facing — branded, multilingual, taking payments, or running real logic.
Pick formbase when the form leaves M365 or your brand appears on the URL: branded URLs, paired light/dark themes, multilingual translation, in-app AI on every plan, abandoned-response recovery, per-link analytics, Stripe Connect payments, signed webhooks, and a native MCP server — on a flat Pro workspace plan with unlimited forms and unlimited team members (no per-editor license, where Microsoft charges every editor an M365 seat).
Pick Microsoft Forms for internal use inside an existing M365 tenant — workspace-only audiences, Education quizzes, or any flow where the Excel / Teams / Power Automate binding is the whole workflow.
At a glance
| Capability |   | Microsoft Forms |
|---|---|---|
| In-app AI chatgenerate, refine, translate, and analyze forms via chat in the builder | ✓All plans | ✗Copilot in Forms requires a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license (+$21–$30 / user / mo); the free Copilot Chat tier does not enable it |
| AI Skillsreusable domain-knowledge instructions your team can activate per AI conversation | ✓Pro | ✗ |
| Team collaborationinvite editors to a workspace; limits bill against the owner, not per seat | ✓Unlimited members, free on every plan | ✗Co-authoring requires each collaborator to have a work/school M365 license (free personal accounts can create solo forms) |
| Forms per accounthow many forms you can build | ✓Unlimited on every plan | ✗Up to 400 forms per account |
| Questions per formceiling on a single long or complex form | ✓No documented cap; unlimited pages | ✗Up to 200 questions per form |
| Native Discord, Linear, GitHubdeveloper tools as built-in integrations, not routed through Zapier or Power Automate | ✓ | ✗Power Automate / Zapier-only |
| Rich content blocks in formtables, lists, images, embeds (Maps/YouTube/Calendly), WYSIWYG-formatted text — like Notion | ✓ | ✗Text, images, and YouTube/Stream video only — no tables, lists, embeds, or rich formatting |
| Custom thank-you pagerich content (images, embeds, buttons), piped answers, per-condition messages | ✓ | ✗Text-only thank-you message |
| PDF attached to notification emailsself + respondent notifications include a formatted PDF copy of the submission — no Power Automate / Zapier required | ✓Pro | ✗Manual print/download only — automation requires Power Automate |
| Per-link controlsmultiple share links per form, each with custom URL, expiry date, use-limit, and analytics | ✓ | ✗Single form URL |
| Native MCP serverClaude, Cursor, or your own agent reads/writes forms, submissions, analytics | ✓Production, OAuth + API keys | ✗Not offered |
| Multilingual question contentside-by-side translator with AI translate, RTL, and outdated-row tracking | ✓All plans, AI translate | ✗Up to 11 languages per form, manual translation only (questions are not auto-translated), work/school M365 only |
| Conditional logicpage + field show/hide, AND / OR, answer piping into later questions and thank-you screen | ✓ | ✗Question/section branching — single condition, forward-only, no AND/OR, no piping |
| Form payment fieldcollect money inside the form | ✓Stripe Connect, one-time, multi-currency | ✗Not native |
| Digital signature fieldcapture a drawn signature saved alongside the submission | ✓All plans | ✗Not offered |
| Calculated fieldsderive a value with math or text operations from other answers | ✓All plans | ✗Branching "can't do calculations" |
| Edit-after-submitrespondents return and update their own answers | ✓All plans (toggle in form settings) | ✗Respondents can edit via "Save my response to edit" while the form is open (sign-in required); not a default toggle |
| Separate light + dark themespaired light/dark per form; respondents pick or system-match | ✓Pro | ✗Single theme — color or background image |
| Per-link analytics + completion funneldrop-off by page, source attribution, device breakdown | ✓Pro | ✗Basic summary; no drop-off, no source attribution |
| Abandoned-response triggersemail respondents and fire integrations when a form is left incomplete | ✓Pro | ✗Not offered |
| Custom domain + branding removal | ✓Pro — up to 5 | ✗Always served from forms.office.com / forms.cloud.microsoft — embedding in your own page is the only workaround |
| Submission retention controlsauto-delete after N days or on a fixed date | ✓Business | ✗ |
| Respondent email verificationgate submission behind a 6-digit code sent to the email field | ✓Business | ✗Not offered |
| AI data-privacy posturehow the AI provider handles the data you send it | ✓AWS Bedrock — data not used to train models, not retained after the request | ✗M365 Copilot — also not used to train foundation models; requires a paid Copilot license |
| Signed webhooksHMAC-signed JSON, documented retries | ✓HMAC-SHA256 | ✗Power Automate flows only |
In-app AI chatgenerate, refine, translate, and analyze forms via chat in the builder
AI Skillsreusable domain-knowledge instructions your team can activate per AI conversation
Team collaborationinvite editors to a workspace; limits bill against the owner, not per seat
Forms per accounthow many forms you can build
Questions per formceiling on a single long or complex form
Native Discord, Linear, GitHubdeveloper tools as built-in integrations, not routed through Zapier or Power Automate
Rich content blocks in formtables, lists, images, embeds (Maps/YouTube/Calendly), WYSIWYG-formatted text — like Notion
Custom thank-you pagerich content (images, embeds, buttons), piped answers, per-condition messages
PDF attached to notification emailsself + respondent notifications include a formatted PDF copy of the submission — no Power Automate / Zapier required
Per-link controlsmultiple share links per form, each with custom URL, expiry date, use-limit, and analytics
Native MCP serverClaude, Cursor, or your own agent reads/writes forms, submissions, analytics
Multilingual question contentside-by-side translator with AI translate, RTL, and outdated-row tracking
Conditional logicpage + field show/hide, AND / OR, answer piping into later questions and thank-you screen
Form payment fieldcollect money inside the form
Digital signature fieldcapture a drawn signature saved alongside the submission
Calculated fieldsderive a value with math or text operations from other answers
Edit-after-submitrespondents return and update their own answers
Separate light + dark themespaired light/dark per form; respondents pick or system-match
Per-link analytics + completion funneldrop-off by page, source attribution, device breakdown
Abandoned-response triggersemail respondents and fire integrations when a form is left incomplete
Custom domain + branding removal
Submission retention controlsauto-delete after N days or on a fixed date
Respondent email verificationgate submission behind a 6-digit code sent to the email field
AI data-privacy posturehow the AI provider handles the data you send it
Signed webhooksHMAC-signed JSON, documented retries
Where formbase fits better
Editor and AI
Microsoft Forms has a clean builder: pick a question type, set it up, repeat. Its AI (Copilot in Forms) needs a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license at $21–$30 / user / month on top of M365 — the free Copilot Chat tier bundled with eligible subscriptions does not enable it. formbase ships AI chat on every plan including Free — generate, refine, translate, and analyze forms, no extra license. It runs on AWS Bedrock, where your data is not used to train models and is not retained after the request. You also get a native MCP server for tools like Claude and Cursor. Microsoft Forms has none.
Real conditional logic
Microsoft Forms branches one question or section at a time — a single condition per branch, forward-only. No field-level show / hide, no AND / OR, no answer piping. formbase ships full conditional logic: page and field show / hide, compound AND / OR rules, and answer piping anywhere — including the thank-you screen and notification emails.
Branding, themes, and custom domains
Microsoft Forms keeps the forms.office.com or forms.cloud.microsoft URL on every plan, including paid M365, with
no native way to drop the footer. Theming is a single accent color or background image per form — no paired light / dark variants.
formbase stores separate light and dark themes per form on every plan; Pro removes branding and supports up to 5 custom domains per
workspace. Respondents can pick a theme mode or system-match.
Analytics, recovery, and retention
Microsoft Forms analytics answer “what did people pick?” — total responses, quiz averages, per-question summaries. There’s no drop-off tracking, source attribution, or partial responses to recover. formbase Pro shows a Viewed → Engaged → Completed funnel with traffic-source tracking and device breakdowns. Abandoned-response reminders email respondents and trigger your integrations after an adjustable delay.
Retention is built in too, on the Business plan. “Delete after N days” and “delete on a fixed date” live in form settings and auto-remove submissions on a schedule. Microsoft Forms responses sit in the tenant until you delete them manually or delete the form.
Payments
Microsoft Forms has no native payment field — monetization routes through Power Automate to Stripe or a third-party connector. formbase ships Stripe Connect with multi-currency one-time charges in the form payment field. Neither side does recurring billing through the form field today.
Pricing and limits
Microsoft Forms costs nothing on top of M365 — that part is real. The catch: AI needs a $21–$30 / user / month Copilot license, Microsoft branding stays on every URL, custom domains aren’t offered, and co-authoring requires each teammate to have a work/school M365 license (free personal accounts can create solo forms; respondents don’t need a license either). formbase Pro covers a whole workspace — one flat bill, with these all included:
- AI credits per user
- 50,000 submissions / mo
- Up to 5 custom domains and branding removal
- Abandoned-response recovery and per-link analytics
- Unlimited forms and unlimited team members
formbase Business adds up to 20 custom domains, shared AI credits, respondent email verification, and custom data retention.
Where Microsoft Forms fits better
Microsoft Forms has genuine strengths. Weigh these if any is a must-have for your team:
$0 incremental cost on M365. Anyone with an eligible Microsoft 365 plan — Business Basic ($6 / user / mo annual), Business Standard ($12.50 / user / mo annual; both rise on July 1, 2026 to $7 and $14), Education A1 (free) — already has Forms. For internal-only use, the cheapest option is “use what’s already there”.
Native Excel + Teams + Power Automate. Responses land in an Excel workbook without a connector, and surveys publish into a Teams channel as a tab. formbase integrates natively with Google Sheets, Slack, Notion, and more — but if your whole workflow lives in the Microsoft stack, Forms fits without friction.
Education mode (Quizzes). Auto-grading, point values per option, math equation support, and bulk-export to Excel Gradebook — built for K-12 / higher-ed assessments.
Zero learning curve. Every M365 user already knows Forms. For a one-off internal poll, onboarding is free.
Trusted under IT / procurement. Forms inherits the tenant’s Microsoft contract, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA BAA — no separate vendor review.
Microsoft 365 Copilot integration. If your org already pays for a Microsoft 365 Copilot license ($21–$30 / user / mo), Copilot in Forms generates and refines questions inline at no further cost.
Tier-by-tier pricing
| Plan | | Microsoft Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Free submissions | 1,000 / month | Up to 200 per form on a free personal account; up to 5,000,000 per form on M365 work/school — these are per-form caps, not monthly |
| Free workspace members | Unlimited | 1 per Microsoft account; per-user on M365 |
| Entry paidmonthly | Pro — see pricing (whole workspace) | — (free with eligible Microsoft account) |
| Entry paidannual | Annual available | — (Forms bundled in M365 Business Basic at $6 / user / mo annual commitment; monthly is higher at $7.20) |
| Paid submissions | 50,000 / month (Pro) | Up to 5,000,000 per form on M365 plans |
| Paid workspace members | Unlimited (all plans) | Per user — co-authoring needs a work/school M365 license each |
| Pricing model | Flat workspace | Per user via M365 license |
| Forms per account | Unlimited | Up to 400 |
| Questions per form | No documented cap | Up to 200 |
| AI authoring | Included AI credits per user (Pro) | Requires a paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license — +$21–$30 / user / mo |
| Custom domain + branding removal | Pro — up to 5 | Never, on any tier |
| Real conditional logic | Page + field show/hide, AND / OR, piping | Question/section branching, single condition, forward-only |
| Form payment field | Stripe Connect, one-time, multi-currency | Power Automate to a third-party |
Free submissions
Free workspace members
Entry paidmonthly
Entry paidannual
Paid submissions
Paid workspace members
Pricing model
Forms per account
Questions per form
AI authoring
Custom domain + branding removal
Real conditional logic
Form payment field
How to choose
Choose formbase for anything customer-facing: your brand on the URL, real conditional logic, in-app AI on every plan, multilingual content, per-link analytics, Stripe Connect payments, paired light/dark themes, and signed webhooks. One workspace bill at one flat Pro price with AI credits bundled and unlimited members — no per-seat Copilot license to add. One Pro workspace covers the whole team — every member gets Pro features without needing an M365 license each.
Choose Microsoft Forms for internal use inside an existing M365 tenant: workspace-only audiences, internal polls, Education quizzes, or any flow where the Excel / Teams / Power Automate binding is the entire workflow. Beyond that, formbase is where you go next.
