Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms: which to use and when

"Microsoft Forms or Google Forms?" is usually a question about where you already work. If your school or company runs on Microsoft 365, Forms is right there. If you live in Gmail and Google Drive, Google Forms is one click away.

This Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms comparison goes topic by topic. It covers building and filling in, question types, branching, quizzes, file uploads, sharing, where the answers land and response limits. Every fact about both tools comes from Microsoft's support pages and Google's help pages, which we checked on November 2, 2026. Help pages change, so open the links again on the day you decide.

Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms: the short answer#

• Pick Microsoft Forms when your team already uses Microsoft 365, the answers belong in Excel, and the people filling it in are mostly colleagues or students in your organization.
• Pick Google Forms when you work in Google Drive and Sheets, you want a wider list of question types, or most of your respondents already have a Google Account.
• Are Microsoft Forms and Google Forms the same? Close, but no. Both build surveys, quizzes and forms. They differ most on file uploads, branching, where the answers go and how many responses one form can take on your type of account.

If neither fits cleanly, there's a third option further down. First, the details.

How each feels to build and to fill in#

Microsoft Forms opens with your Microsoft sign-in. Microsoft's help page says to go to Forms "with your Microsoft 365 school credentials, Microsoft 365 work credentials, or Microsoft account (Hotmail, Live, or Outlook.com)." You add questions with "Add new," and "Your form is saved automatically while you create it" (Microsoft support: create a form, checked November 2, 2026).

Google Forms starts at forms.google.com with a blank form. Google's help page says you can use it "to create online surveys, quizzes, and forms, send them to others to fill out and then analyze their responses in real time." You can also start a form from Google Sheets or Google Drive (Google Docs Editors Help: how to use Google Forms, checked November 2, 2026).

For the person filling it in, both feel familiar: a page of questions you scroll through, which you can split into sections. The size limits differ a little. Microsoft lists "Up to 200" questions per form or quiz (Microsoft support: limits). Google says "you can add and edit up to 300 pieces of content, like questions, descriptions, images, and videos," with up to 75 sections (Google help: edit your form). Few forms get anywhere near either number.

Question types, branching and quizzes#

Question types#

Microsoft's create page names Choice, Text, Rating and Date, plus Ranking, Likert, File upload and Net Promoter Score under "More question types" (Microsoft support: create a form). Google's question types page lists short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, file upload, linear scale, rating, a multiple choice grid, a checkbox grid, date and time (Google help: question types, checked November 2, 2026).

Google's list is longer, with two grid types and a time question. Microsoft's names a ranking question and a Net Promoter Score question, which Google's list does not. If you're not sure which type a question needs, our guide to every question type and when to use it walks through them.

Branching#

Both tools can skip people past questions that don't apply to them. They do it in different places.

• Microsoft Forms: "You can add branching logic to a survey or quiz so that it changes according to the responses to specific questions." It only goes forward: "You can only branch to a consecutive question and not a preceding one" (Microsoft support: branching, checked November 2, 2026).
• Google Forms: branching works by section. Google's tip says "Go to section based on answer" is "only available for Multiple choice and Dropdown question types." At the bottom of each section, you can also choose which section comes next (Google help: show questions based on answers, checked November 2, 2026).

For a short survey with one or two "if yes, ask this" moments, either one is enough.

File uploads#

This is the row most likely to decide it for you, so read both pages closely.

• Microsoft Forms: "File upload is only available when 'Only people in my organization can respond' or 'Specific people in my organization can respond' is the selected setting." Uploaded files land in your OneDrive for Business, and "A maximum of 10 files is allowed to be uploaded per question" (Microsoft support: file uploads, checked November 2, 2026).
• Google Forms: "To answer this question, responders need to sign in to a Google Account." And "For the form owner, uploaded files are stored in a new folder on Google Drive" (Google help: question types, checked November 2, 2026).

So on both, the person uploading signs in: to your organization's Microsoft 365 on Microsoft Forms, to a Google Account on Google Forms. For uploads from colleagues, that's fine. For uploads from customers or job applicants, test it with someone outside your organization first.

Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms for quizzes#

Both tools build graded quizzes.

Microsoft Forms has a separate "New Quiz" button. You "Select the Correct Answer check mark next to the correct answer or answers," then "Add a number in the Points text box to assign a point value" (Microsoft support: create a quiz, checked November 2, 2026). Its settings page describes a Practice mode and a "Show results automatically" setting that is on by default (Microsoft support: form and quiz settings).

Google Forms turns any form into a quiz: "Turn on Make this a quiz." Answer keys work on short answer, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown and both grid types. You choose whether grades release "Immediately after each submission" or "Later, after manual review" (Google help: create and grade quizzes, checked November 2, 2026).

For a class quiz, the deciding factor is usually the accounts your students already have. If you go the Google route, our step-by-step guide on how to make a quiz on Google Forms covers the setup.

Sharing and where the answers go#

Sharing by link, QR code or embed#

Microsoft's page says "You can send your form as an email in Outlook, a message in a Teams group or channel, via a QR code, or you can copy the URL or embed code for use in another type of message." With "Anyone can respond," it adds, "These responses do not require someone to sign in" (Microsoft support: send a form, checked November 2, 2026).

Google's page says that once the form is published, "you can share it through email, social media, or embed on a website or blog." You can copy a responder link, shorten it, or copy the "Embed HTML" (Google help: publish and share your form, checked November 2, 2026). For a printed QR code on either tool, our post on making a QR code for a form covers a Google Form and a Microsoft Form.

Excel vs Google Sheets#

This is the cleanest split between the two.

• Microsoft Forms opens answers in Excel: "you can easily view all of the response data for your form or quiz in Microsoft Excel." The workbook "will be stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Online, depending on the starting point of your form or quiz" (Microsoft support: Forms and Excel, checked November 2, 2026).
• Google Forms sends answers to Sheets: "you can find a summary of the responses in the form or you can store the responses in a linked Google Sheet." You pick a new spreadsheet or an existing one (Google help: where to save responses, checked November 2, 2026).

If your team already reports in Excel, that's a strong pull toward Microsoft. If it's Sheets, Google wins. Our guide to where your form responses can go covers the other places answers can land.

Free use and response limits (as of November 2, 2026)#

Here the Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms answer depends on your account. Microsoft's limits page applies to work, school, government and personal accounts, and the numbers change between them. Google's page gives one number per form.

Microsoft figures are from its limits page and settings page. Google figures are from its manage responses page. All checked November 2, 2026.

Good to know: on a free personal Microsoft account, the limit Microsoft states is 200 responses per form. Check which account you're signed in with before a big send.

For prices, check each company's own pricing page, or see our Microsoft Forms compare page and Google Forms compare page for dated details. If a cap is what worries you, when your form hits the response limit is worth five minutes.

Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms by job#

So Microsoft Forms or Google Forms for your team usually comes down to accounts. Pick the one your respondents already sign in to, and the one whose spreadsheet your team already opens.

A third option: HornetForms#

The last two rows of that table are where the Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms question often stalls. If the form faces customers, needs file uploads without a sign-in, or takes a payment, HornetForms is worth a look. It's a doc-style form builder with a free forever plan, no card needed, and unlimited responses within fair use on every plan.

• Respondents never sign in to answer a form or upload a file. Free takes files up to 10 MB each.
• Design on every plan: 9 theme presets, 21 fonts, custom colors and a "One question at a time" layout, plus corners, width, input and button styles and a Light or Dark appearance. Your logo, cover image and custom CSS come with Pro.
• Logic to show, hide, require, jump, calculate and redirect, including jumps back to an earlier page.
• Graded quizzes on every plan, Free included. Mark the correct answer on multiple choice, dropdown, checkbox and multi-select questions, and grade short text and number answers too. Set a pass mark and choose what people see after they submit.
• Payments: take a one-time payment on Stripe's hosted Checkout page, on every plan, including Free. Stripe's processing fees apply; HornetForms adds no fee of its own.
• Answers go where you work: native Google Sheets, Slack, Discord and Notion integrations on every plan, CSV export on every plan and Excel export on Pro and Business.
• Share it your way: QR codes as PNG or SVG, and embeds as inline, popup, slider or full page.
• Moving a form across? Rebuild it, or upload a PDF or Word (.docx) copy of the form and the AI rebuilds it for you to review. Each file uses one AI generation.

See the pricing page for what each plan adds. Our Google Forms vs HornetForms post goes deeper on the Google side. Typeform vs Google Forms runs the same kind of comparison against Typeform. And if you stay with Google, how to make a Google Form covers its steps.

Download the decision checklist and comparison sheet#

Two downloads to help you decide:

• Microsoft Forms or Google Forms decision checklist (PDF, US Letter), also in A4. Twelve questions with tick boxes, a "what to look for" hint and an answer line. They run from "Which account do the people filling it in already use every day?" to "How easy is it to move the form and the answers out later?" A blank side-by-side table for your answers follows. It holds no facts about either tool, so it stays true.
• Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms comparison sheet (Excel), also as a CSV. 14 topics, each with what Microsoft's and Google's pages say, the source link and the check date. In the Excel file, mark the rows that matter to you and pick the better fit on each. The Your result tab counts your picks, and a refresh flag turns red once the facts are more than 90 days old.

The small print#

Microsoft, Microsoft Forms, Microsoft 365, Hotmail, Excel, OneDrive, SharePoint, Outlook and Teams are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Google, Google Forms, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive and Gmail are trademarks of Google LLC. Net Promoter and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., NICE Systems, Inc. and Fred Reichheld. Stripe is a trademark of Stripe, Inc. Notion, Slack and Discord are trademarks of their owners. HornetForms is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of these companies. Everything above reflects their official support and help pages as of November 2, 2026; for current details, check Microsoft's Forms support pages and Google's help pages.

Build your next customer form#

Take the customer form, sign-up or quiz you were about to build in Microsoft Forms or Google Forms and build it in HornetForms instead. Then send it to someone outside your organization and watch how it works on their phone. Sign up for free, no card needed.