Many people love Google Forms because it’s an easy-to-use, free online form builder that makes polling your audience simple. However, its simplistic design and lack of features can make it difficult to customize to your exact data collection needs. If you’re looking for an alternative to Google Forms that offers more flexibility without breaking the bank, check out these alternative online form builders.
1. Microsoft Forms
If the end goal of your online form is data analysis, then you may prefer Microsoft Forms over Google Forms. Whether you’re polling your coworkers on the theme of your next company-wide party or looking for critical customer feedback to enhance your products, Microsoft Forms can help you execute this task quickly. Microsoft Excel makes data analysis easy, and you can import your Forms data into Excel with just a few clicks.
Like most other Microsoft apps, Microsoft Forms is a free tool within any Office365 subscription. This means Forms easily integrates with all of the other Microsoft apps, including the video-sharing service Stream.
To build a Microsoft Form, simply log in to your Office365 account and pull up the Forms app. From there, create a form from scratch or use one of Microsoft’s provided templates – it’s your choice. Once you’re finished, you can share a link or easily embed it into your website.
Unfortunately, much like Google Forms, Microsoft Forms only provides a limited number of templates and formatting features. However, there are some additional choices that Google Forms doesn’t offer, such as Likert scale and Net Promoter Score formats.
Overall, if you want charts, automated reports, and the ability to quickly do an analysis deep dive with Excel, you may be willing to deal with the formatting limitations of Microsoft Forms for the sake of your end result.
There are several ways to use Microsoft Office for free, and Microsoft Forms is one of the included apps. However, some features aren’t available for free, so you may need to research it fully before making the switch.
Also read:6 Ways You Can Use Microsoft Office for Free
2. Jotform
Jotform lets you create online forms and fillable PDFs with ease. Its drag-and-drop system makes form creation a breeze. This means even those with zero background in coding can create a fully-customized, fillable form in minutes.
Furthermore, you can receive submission responses directly in your inbox, integrate them into a CRM, save them to your company’s cloud storage system, or easily import them into your brand’s email marketing platform.
Although Jotform offers multiple paid subscription levels, many of the online form builder’s most notable features are available for free. Once you sign up for an account, you can choose to create a form from scratch, use one of Jotform’s more than 10,000 premade templates, or even import an existing form from a URL or PDF. Additionally, you have the option to fully customize your form – an option that isn’t available with Google Forms.
One feature that really helps Jotform stand out is conditional logic. Essentially, conditional logic sets specific parameters based on a user’s previous answers. This means that each respondent only answers the questions that are most relevant to their situation.
With conditional logic, you can set specific fields to hide or appear based on a previous answer, require users to elaborate on their answer with additional text fields, or even program your form to complete calculations or add up responses. Jotform includes conditional logic in their free version, whereas competitors like Typeform charge for this feature.
Jotform also offers numerous integration tools, which really helps it stand out from Google Forms. In total, Jotform offers integrations with over 100 apps, including Dropbox, Google Calendar, and several payment collection systems.
Unfortunately, Jotform’s free version does limit you to a total of five total active forms and 100 responses per month. However, you can deactivate forms and create new ones at any time, and your 100 response limit resets at the beginning of each month, so both of these are fairly easy to work around.
3. WPForms
If you use WordPress as your website platform, then WPForms is probably the best Google Forms alternative for you. Although WPForms is technically just a simple WordPress plugin, the drag-and-drop form builder works just like most of the other suggestions on this list. However, the biggest positive for this one is that you can easily integrate your forms into your WordPress website.
The free version of WPForms, WPForms Lite, allows you to create unlimited forms and receive unlimited responses, just like Google Forms. Additionally, WPForms Lite allows you to add reCAPTCHA to your forms, which can help you avoid spam submissions from bots.
The only drawback to WPForms Lite is the limitations related to receiving and storing your form submissions. Namely, you must use the paid Pro version to store results in the WordPress dashboard or export your submission entries. While you can take the email results and manually add them to a spreadsheet or other location, the ability to export and print all of your entries at once may save you time.
4. Typeform
Typeform helps users build aesthetic, conversational forms that are easy for respondents to fill out and submit. Many people say the single-question presentation Typeform uses makes your audience feel calmer and more engaged. This format also makes it much more mobile-friendly than Google Forms, which may net you more responses.
The Typeform workspace looks similar to that of a presentation app. The interface allows you to fully customize your online form as much as you’d like. In fact, you can completely edit the form design, choose a unique theme, and change the layout of each individual question with just a few clicks.
Unlike the other builders on this list, Typeform lets you set a survey time limit and a survey closing date. Additionally, you can receive email notifications for each response or simply intigrate your responses with third-party tools, like Google Sheets, email marketing platforms, and more.
There are no limitations on the number of forms you can create with Typeform’s free version. However, there are limits on the number of questions you can create per form and the number of responses you can receive per month. By and large, though, these limitations are nothing in comparison to the features you gain.
5. Zoho Forms
Anyone who knows anything about Zoho knows the company offers an impressive software suite to help business owners accomplish everything involved in running their business. Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Zoho offers an amazing alternative to Google Forms, too.
Zoho Forms offers numerous form templates and many great customization options even with their free version. Like many other form builders on this list, Zoho Forms offers a drag-and-drop builder that makes it easy for you to add, remove, and rearrange fields until you are satisfied with your form.
Furthermore, Zoho Forms includes conditional logic so your respondents don’t waste time on questions that don’t apply to them. It also provides survey building in seven languages, which can be great for those who poll internationally.
Like most of Zoho’s other business tools, Zoho Forms integrates with many other apps your business may use, such as Salesforce, Zapier, Office365, or any of Zoho’s other business tools.
6. Survey Legend
SurveyLegend helps users build engaging, custom surveys and online forms for free. These forms can include unlimited questions and unlimited responses, and SurveyLegend’s drag-and-drop creation tool makes it easy to arrange the questions any way you want. Additionally, you can create online forms with your computer or tablet, and the forms are formatted so that your respondents can easily complete them with any device (including their smartphone).
SurveyLegend includes many advanced features for free. It provides a total of 20 different question types, including slider scales, picture selections, and Likert scales, none of which are available with Google Forms. Additionally, SurveyLegend includes several advanced logic and branching features, which can help you offer a fully individual experience for each respondent.
Unfortunately, the free version of SurveyLegend comes with some limitations. For example, you can only have three active forms at a time. While you can delete forms you’re no longer using, this three-form limitation may not work for everyone.
Furthermore, SurveyLegend’s free subscription doesn’t allow any type of data exporting. This means you can only view your results by logging in to your SurveyLegend account. Although a variety of analytic tools are offered, the inability to export may not work for everyone.
Also read:How to Delete Files from Google Drive on Mobile and PC
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are there any free alternatives to Google Forms?
Yes, there are many online form builders available for free. However, not every online form builder offers every feature without a paid subscription. Before making a switch from Google Forms to another online form builder, you should make a list of the features you need, then research which of the form builders on this list will meet your needs.
2. Why would I need a Google Forms alternative?
Although Google Forms is a great basic form builder, it lacks many features that individuals or businesses may need. Depending on how you’re using online forms, you may need something with additional features.
Unfortunately, Google Forms offers very little in terms of customization. This means you can’t always tailor the form to meet the style and branding of your business. You may also want to utilize features like conditional logic, payment collection, or app integration – none of which are available with Google Forms.
Which Google Forms Alternative Will Meet Your Needs?
Although Google Forms is great for creating basic online forms and surveys, it lacks many features and customization tools. Luckily, all six of the online form builders on this list offer free versions that blow Google Forms out of the water. All of the free alternatives to Google Forms included here are amazing tools for even the least tech-savvy folks, so you really can’t go wrong with any of them. If you make the switch from Google Forms, you may also want to delete files from your Google Drive.
Image credit: Survey with young woman holding a tablet computer by 123RF
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