The 6 best Google Forms alternatives in 2026

As far as online form builders go, Google Forms is easy, free, and everywhere—which is exactly why so many of us start there. But once you want your forms to do something (route requests, power surveys, trigger automations, look a little less…purple), its limits show up fast. 

At that point, it's less about replacing Google Forms outright and more about finding a tool that fits how you actually work. Some teams need better surveys, others want to pull in more AI power and automation, or come up against fewer limits on free plans. With that in mind, the Zapier team tested a whole stack of Google Forms alternatives to see which ones truly stand out—and narrowed it down to the best options based on real-world use, not just feature lists.

Here are the six best free Google Forms alternatives. 

The best free Google Forms alternatives 

• Zapier Forms for AI orchestration 

• SurveyMonkey for surveys 

• Jotform for starting from a template

• forms.app for AI form-building 

• Microsoft Forms for Microsoft 365 users 

• Tally for versatile pop-up forms 

What makes the best Google Forms alternative? 

Google Forms is popular for a reason: it's free, simple, and good enough for many basic use cases. But once your needs grow—whether that's better automation, stronger design control, more advanced logic, or smarter data handling—it can start to feel limiting.

There's no shortage of tools positioning themselves as Google Forms alternatives. Some focus on surveys, others on automation, and some try to do a bit of everything. The challenge is finding tools that don't just look good on paper, but actually deliver meaningful functionality without forcing you to upgrade right away.

While testing dozens of form builders and survey tools, the Zapier team focused on alternatives that hold up well on their free plans, not just behind a paywall. Here's what we looked for when narrowing down our list of the best Google Forms alternatives.

• A usable free plan. Since Google Forms is completely free, any true alternative needs to offer real value without immediate pressure to upgrade. We prioritized tools that allow you to build functional forms or surveys on the free tier—whether that means generous submission limits, access to logic, AI features, or solid data handling. Limits are fine, but they should be reasonable and clearly justified.

• Ease of use. Google Forms is hard to beat when it comes to simplicity, so we paid close attention to how easy each alternative was to pick up. Clear interfaces, helpful prompts, and intuitive builders mattered more than feature overload. If a tool required too much setup or guesswork just to get a form live, it didn't make the cut.

• Flexibility and power. A good Google Forms alternative should let you do things Google Forms can't—or at least do them better. That includes advanced question types, conditional logic, AI-assisted form creation, automation hooks, payment support, or alternative ways to present forms (like pop-ups or multi-step flows).

• Design and customization. Google Forms offers only basic design options, so we looked for tools that give you more control over layout, branding, and overall presentation—especially on the free plan. Whether through themes, fonts, layout controls, or embedded experiences, design flexibility was a key differentiator.

• Data handling and integrations. Collecting responses is only half the job. We evaluated how easy it was to view, analyze, export, or route data once submissions started coming in. Tools that integrate well with other apps—or work seamlessly with automation platforms like Zapier—scored especially well here.

To arrive at this list, we signed up for each app, built forms and surveys from scratch and from templates, tested logic and AI features, submitted responses, and explored how the data was handled afterward. Based on that hands-on testing, these six Google alternatives came out on top.

The best free Google Forms alternatives at a glance

The best Google Forms alternative for AI orchestration 

Zapier Forms 

Zapier Forms pros:

• Trigger automations through forms

• No submission-based pricing

Zapier Forms cons:

• Form design isn't as customizable as other apps

Google Forms can automatically store its responses in Google Sheets. From there, you can use Google Sheets add-ons to sync that data with other apps. But if you want a Google Forms alternative that can turn every response into an automated, AI-driven workflow, use Zapier Forms instead.  

Zapier Forms acts as the front door to AI-powered automation. Each submission can automatically trigger workflows, route data across thousands of apps, and kick off decision-making processes—all without manual handoffs or custom code. And there's no submission-based pricing, so you can scale as much as you need.

You can create forms from scratch or from a set of templates. Better yet, you can use Zapier Copilot—Zapier's built-in AI form generator, which lets you describe the form you want in plain language and instantly generate a draft you can customize. It's a faster way to get started, especially when you're not sure how to structure your questions. 

Zapier Forms lets you create multi-page forms with customizable fields and connect them directly to Zaps (what Zapier calls their automated workflows)—even on the free plan. Paid plans (starting at $19.99/month) give you more advanced conditional form logic, dynamic filtering, and deeper customization, for finer control over how data is collected, routed, and displayed.

All your submission data is stored inside Tables—an automation-first database with a generous free tier. While Tables doesn't limit submissions, each table can only hold up to 2,500 records at a time for free, so be sure to back up a few responses from time to time. 

Once you get a form ready to collect responses, it's time to integrate it with the apps you use for work. And here, there are so many setup options that it's really up to how you configure your Zaps. For example, you can analyze submissions directly from Tables to spot trends or summarize responses, enrich each entry with existing customer data, and use AI to classify, score, or route requests automatically. From there, Zapier can trigger follow-ups, notify the right teams, or kick off next steps. 

Zapier pricing: Free plan includes unlimited forms, 10 pages, and up to three 5 MB file uploads; paid plans from $19.99/month (billed annually). 

Learn more: The best online form builder apps 

The best Google Forms alternative for surveys

SurveyMonkey 

SurveyMonkey pros: 

• Multiple ways to view, customize, and save your data 

• Good mobile app functionality 

SurveyMonkey cons: 

• No visual logic map 

SurveyMonkey stands out from Google Forms by offering tools designed specifically for survey creation, not just data collection. Even on its free plan, SurveyMonkey gives you access to features that make it easy to write structured surveys and get meaningful feedback.

If you're unsure what to ask, SurveyMonkey helps you get unstuck in a few ways: 

• You can browse its question bank, which includes pre-written questions and answer choices across common survey categories, and add them directly to your survey (up to 10 questions on the free plan). 

• You can use Build with AI to generate a full survey from a prompt—an option that goes well beyond the lightweight AI rewrites currently available in Google Forms.

SurveyMonkey's free plan also lets you use common question types, including multiple-choice and open-ended text fields, for free. Advanced formats, like matrix questions or rankings, are locked behind their paid plan. Google Forms, on the other hand, lets you use these advanced formats for free. 

Once you've added questions, you can tweak wording, reorder questions, and adjust the flow as you go. You're never locked into a rigid structure, which is helpful when you're iterating on feedback or refining a survey before sending it out.

You can share your audience via email, link, social media, text, or messaging apps like WhatsApp. You can also buy responses from targeted audiences—a major differentiator from Google Forms. If you have the budget, it's particularly useful for conducting market research when you don't have an existing list of respondents.

As responses come in, SurveyMonkey gives you a clearer analytical view than Google Forms. You can see response counts, completion rates, and question-level breakdowns visualized in charts. And unlike Google Forms, SurveyMonkey extends this experience to its mobile apps, letting you create surveys and review results on the go.

When you connect SurveyMonkey with Zapier, you can orchestrate intelligent, multi-step workflows across your entire tech stack. For example, you can automatically store submissions in Google Sheets, use AI to analyze responses and surface key insights, and send recommended next steps to key stakeholders in Slack. Learn more about how to automate SurveyMonkey.

Learn more: SurveyMonkey vs. Google Forms

SurveyMonkey pricing: Free plan includes 10 questions, 3 collectors, and 25 responses per survey; paid individual plans from $39/month (billed annually). 

The best Google Forms alternative for starting from a template

Jotform

Jotform pros: 

• Lots of widgets and extensions 

• Advanced design customization tools available 

Jotform cons: 

• Getting started with reports is a bit confusing 

With a friendly and colorful user interface, Jotform helps you build exactly what you want by offering thousands of templates. Yep, thousands—from familiar categories like marketing all the way to niches like nail artistry.

Jotform's free plan is more limited than Google Forms', but it still offers a lot of flexibility if you're mindful of the caps. You can collect up to 100 submissions per month, create five forms, and even accept a small number of payments—something Google Forms doesn't support natively. For teams that need more control or advanced functionality, paid plans unlock higher limits and additional features.

The form builder itself is intuitive. Your form stays front and center as a live preview, while menus on either side let you add fields, adjust styling, or fine-tune behavior. You don't have to touch advanced settings to get started, but they're there when you want more customization.

Where Jotform really pulls ahead is flexibility. It offers dozens of form fields and widgets, including options for file uploads, signatures, product lists, and payments, along with deep conditional logic. You can create simple intake forms or complex, dynamic workflows that would be difficult to replicate in Google Forms. It also includes built-in AI form generation, so you can build with natural language.

Beyond form creation, Jotform provides tools for working with your data, including analytics dashboards, report builders, and automatic conversion of responses into PDFs or presentations. These features make it easier to share results or package submissions without exporting everything elsewhere.

Jotform also integrates with Zapier, allowing you to power dynamic workflows across thousands of apps. For example, when a new Jotform submission comes in, AI can evaluate the response, determine whether it's a lead, request, or issue, and triage it accordingly. From there, Zapier can log the data in a database, create the appropriate task or record in your project management tool, and notify the right team in Slack or email. Discover more ways to automate Jotform. 

Jotform pricing: Free plan includes 5 forms, 100 submissions (500 submission storage total), 1,000 views, and 10 payments via form every month; paid plans start at $34/month (billed annually).

Learn more: Google Forms vs. Jotform

The best Google Forms alternative for an AI form builder 

forms.app

forms.app pros:

• Good design controls

• Robust analytics

forms.app cons:

• Limited advanced features on the free plan

Lots of form apps are adding AI in one way or another, but forms.app stands out for making AI the core of the form-building experience. Using it feels a lot like using ChatGPT: you enter a prompt explaining what kind of form you want and how many questions it should include. From there, forms.app generates the full form for you, complete with clear labels, appropriate question types, and a logical flow. Of course, it's still worth reviewing everything AI generates before publishing, but at least the heavy lifting is already done. Google Forms, on the other hand, still requires most of its form structure to be built manually.

You don't have to pay to use these AI features, but forms.app's free plan is more limited than Google Forms: you're capped at five forms and 100 submissions per month, though form questions are unlimited. That's usually enough for small projects or short-term use. If you need higher limits, the entry-level paid plan starts at $15 per month and increases those caps to 25 forms and 1,000 submissions.

Upgrading to the paid tier is also what makes forms.app feel like a true step up from Google Forms. You get more question types, skip logic, and advanced design controls to better match your brand. 

And if you like saving time creating your form with AI, you'll appreciate Zapier's forms.app integration. With it, you can automate end-to-end workflows across thousands of apps. For example, when a customer submits an order form, AI can automatically validate and structure the submission details, create a new order in Shopify, and log the transaction in your database or spreadsheet. From there, Zapier can notify your team, trigger fulfillment steps, or add the customer to follow-up campaigns.

forms.app pricing: Free plan includes 5 forms with unlimited questions, 100 submissions per month, and AI tools; paid plans from $15/month (billed annually). 

The best Google Forms alternative for Microsoft 365 users 

Microsoft Forms 

Microsoft Forms pros:

• Completely free

• AI features for form design and optimization on the free plan

Microsoft Forms cons:

• Limited design control, despite the theme variety

If you're already deep in the Microsoft ecosystem, Microsoft Forms paired with Excel is one of the most compelling alternatives to Google Forms. It's available with a free Microsoft account, and while you'll see prompts to start a subscription trial, you can use the core form-building features without paying.

One of Microsoft Forms' biggest advantages over Google Forms is how tightly it's connected to Excel. Submissions can sync live to a spreadsheet, so responses are available for analysis the moment they come in—no exporting or manual setup required. For anyone who already relies on Excel for reporting, forecasting, or data cleanup, this makes Microsoft Forms feel like a natural extension of existing workflows.

Microsoft has also been steadily expanding the ways you can share and collect responses. In addition to links and email, you can generate QR codes and distribute forms directly through Teams and Outlook, which is especially useful for internal surveys or company-wide initiatives. There's also a handy tool that converts Word and PDF documents into forms, helping you turn static files into interactive data collection tools more quickly than Google Forms allows.

Microsoft Forms also offers AI features via Copilot. You can generate an entire form from a simple prompt, then refine the questions as needed. As you build, Copilot offers suggestions to improve clarity and completion rates, along with AI-driven design recommendations. 

While Microsoft Forms doesn't integrate directly with Zapier, Excel does, giving you a powerful workaround. You can use Excel as the hub for form responses and then trigger automated, AI-powered workflows across thousands of apps. For example, you can analyze submissions in Excel with AI, share summarized insights in Slack, and automatically create follow-up tasks in your project management tool. Learn more about how to automate Excel.

Microsoft Forms pricing: Free plan includes 400 forms; paid Microsoft 365 plans, which include Microsoft Forms, start at $99.99/year. 

The best Google Forms alternative for versatile pop-up forms

Tally

Tally pros:

• Generous free plan includes unlimited submissions 

• Elegant design

Tally cons:

• Limited, basic reporting on free plan 

Tally is one of the best Google Forms alternatives for versatile pop-up forms—and it's the only app on this list that offers unlimited form submissions for free. Instead of sending people to a separate page, Tally lets you meet visitors where they already are by embedding forms directly on your site or displaying them as full-page forms or highly configurable pop-ups.

Tally's pop-up forms are where it really shines. You can control when and where the form appears, adjust the width, add a dark overlay, and even include an emoji for extra personality. That makes it easy to collect quick feedback, capture leads, or ask follow-up questions without disrupting the user experience—something Google Forms doesn't support natively.

The form builder itself feels more like writing a document than assembling a traditional form. Each question is treated as a block, and you add new ones using a simple slash (/) command, which makes building and editing forms fast once you get the hang of it. This Notion-like approach carries through to the forms themselves, resulting in clean, minimal designs that feel lightweight and modern.

In addition to unlimited forms and responses, Tally's free plan also gives you basic design controls like themes, fonts, and color schemes. You can also add conditional logic and calculations, allowing you to personalize messages, score responses, or show different content based on how someone answers. The main limitations on the free tier are a lack of custom domains and white-labeling, plus a 10 MB file upload limit.

While Tally keeps built-in analytics fairly simple, it integrates with tools like Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Meta Pixel for deeper insights. It also integrates with Zapier, so you can orchestrate multi-step, AI-powered workflows that turn form submissions into actions across thousands of other apps. For example, you can automatically add new responses to your database, use AI to categorize the submissions, and add new respondents to your email list. Discover more ways to automate Tally.

Tally pricing: Free for unlimited questions, submissions, and forms; paid plans start at $24/month (billed annually).

Other Google Forms alternatives

While these Google Forms alternatives didn't make the main list, they can be a good fit if your needs are more specific or if you're already invested in a particular platform or workflow.

• If growing your newsletter is your sole priority, HubSpot's free pop-up forms offer an easy way to add subscribers. 

• Fluent Forms, WPForms, and Gravity Forms are WordPress form plugins that let you create and add forms and surveys to your site. 

• If you like to stay within a respective app ecosystem, plenty of platforms offer native form builders. Here are a few examples: Airtable Forms, Notion Forms, and Zoho Forms. 

What's the best Google Forms alternative? 

So what's the best alternative to Google Forms? It depends (sorry!). But in the fun, choose-your-own-adventure way—not the handy-wavy one. If you want forms that kick off automations and AI workflows the second someone clicks Submit, Zapier Forms is the clear winner. If surveys and analytics are your thing, SurveyMonkey earns its keep. Need tons of templates and customization? Jotform's got you covered. And options like forms.app, Microsoft Forms, and Tally each shine in their own lanes—from AI-assisted form-building to tight Microsoft 365 workflows to unlimited free submissions. 

The upside: every tool on this list has a genuinely usable free plan, so you can try a couple, see what sticks, and pick the one that actually fits how you work.

Related reading: 

• Follow up on contact forms faster with automation

• How to create Google Docs templates based on form responses

• How to automatically answer form responses with ChatGPT