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9 Best Google Forms Alternatives (2026): Free & Paid Picks

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SmartWorkflowLab Editorial Team

24 min read

Updated

Nine online form builders compared as alternatives to Google Forms on a laptop screen

The best Google Forms alternative for most people is Tally, which offers unlimited free responses within fair use and adds Stripe payments, signatures and file uploads without a Google sign-in. Fillout is best for teams, Jotform for payments and HIPAA forms, and Microsoft Forms for Microsoft 365 users.

Last verified: November 6, 2026

The 9 Best Google Forms Alternatives

  1. Tally: best free alternative overall
  2. Fillout: best free plan for teams, with Google Forms import
  3. Jotform: best for payments, HIPAA and templates
  4. Zoho Forms: best for approvals and offline data collection
  5. Cognito Forms: best for calculations and order forms
  6. OpnForm: best open-source form builder
  7. Microsoft Forms: best for Microsoft 365 users
  8. Typeform: best for conversational, one-question-at-a-time forms
  9. Fluent Forms: best for WordPress websites

How we compared them: This is a research comparison based on vendors’ pricing pages and help documentation, plus dated independent sources where vendors don’t publish prices; it isn’t a hands-on test. We ranked tools by how many Google Forms gaps they fix, how generous the free plan is, the cost at about 1,500 responses a month and how easy it is to switch. SmartWorkflowLab has no sponsorship or affiliate deal with any tool here, and every source is listed at the end.

Google Forms in 2026: What It Does Well and Where It Stops

What is Google Forms? Google Forms is Google’s free form and quiz builder, which saves every response to a Google Sheets spreadsheet and comes with every Google account.

Google Forms is still hard to beat on price, with no fixed response cap. Since January 2026, a form can close itself at a set date or after a set number of responses, according to Google’s Workspace update. Gemini can now draft forms and quizzes and sum up themes in text answers.

Two hidden limits matter for busy forms:

  • The spreadsheet ceiling. Responses land in Google Sheets, which holds up to 20 million cells per spreadsheet since September 2026, according to Google’s Sheets update. A 20-question form therefore tops out at roughly 1 million responses in one sheet.
  • Your Drive storage. Files people upload are saved to a new folder in the form owner’s Google Drive, according to Google’s question types help page, so they use up your own storage.

It stops short in a few other places, and each one is a common reason to look for Google Forms competitors:

Google Forms limit Alternatives that fix it
No built-in payments Tally, Fillout, Jotform, Zoho Forms, Cognito Forms, Typeform, OpnForm, Fluent Forms
File uploads need a Google sign-in and don’t work in shared drives Tally, Fillout, Jotform, Zoho Forms, OpnForm
No signature or calculation question types Tally, Fillout, Jotform, Zoho Forms, Cognito Forms, OpnForm, Fluent Forms Pro
Branching by section only, with no answer piping Tally, Fillout, Jotform, Typeform
Minimal design control, so forms look like Google Forms Typeform, Tally, Fillout
No approval steps after someone submits Zoho Forms

Google’s help page lists 12 question types, including file upload, rating and grids, but no payment, signature or calculation field. The design and payment points also match Jet Admin’s Google Forms review (updated November 2, 2026).

Verdict: If your forms are simple, free and answered by people with Google accounts, stay on Google Forms. If you need to take money, collect files from anyone or make forms look like your brand, the tools below fix that.

Google Forms Alternatives at a Glance

These apps like Google Forms all have a free plan or free version, so you can test them before you pay.

Tool Best for Free plan Entry paid plan
Tally Free forms with payments Unlimited forms and responses (fair use) Pro: $24 a month, billed yearly
Fillout Teams, Google Forms import 1,000 responses a month, unlimited team members Starter: $15 a month, billed yearly
Jotform Payments, HIPAA, templates 5 forms, 100 submissions a month Bronze: $34 a month, billed yearly
Zoho Forms Approvals, offline, Zoho users 3 forms, 500 submissions a month Basic: $12 a month
Cognito Forms Calculations, order forms 100 entries a month, unlimited forms Pro: $19 a month, billed yearly
OpnForm Open source, unlimited responses Unlimited forms and submissions Pro: $25 a month
Microsoft Forms Microsoft 365 users 200 responses per form (personal account) Included in Microsoft 365
Typeform Conversational forms 10 responses a month Basic: $28 a month, billed yearly
Fluent Forms WordPress websites Free plugin Pro: $79 a year for one site

Features Compared

✓ means the feature appears in the tool’s documentation; ✗ means we didn’t find it there.

Tool Payments E-signatures Calculations Quiz scoring Google Forms import
Google Forms ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ n/a
Tally ✓ (free) ✓ (free) ✓ ✓ ✗
Fillout ✓ (free) ✓ (Starter) ✓ ✓ ✓
Jotform ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Zoho Forms ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
Cognito Forms ✓ (free) ✓ (Pro) ✓ ✓ ✗
OpnForm ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
Microsoft Forms ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗
Typeform ✓ (Basic) ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗
Fluent Forms ✓ (free) ✗ ✓ (Pro) ✓ (Pro) ✗

What 1,500 Responses a Month With Card Payments Costs

Payments are the most common reason people leave Google Forms. For one person collecting about 1,500 responses a month, around 200 of them card payments, this is the cheapest plan that fits on each tool:

Tool Plan that fits Billed monthly Billed yearly (per month)
Google Forms Can’t take payments n/a n/a
Tally Free (fair use) $0 $0
Fluent Forms Free plugin, 1.9% extra on Stripe $0 $0
Zoho Forms Basic (10,000 a month) $12 Not listed
Fillout Starter (2,000 a month) About $19 $15
Cognito Forms Pro (2,000 entries a month) $24 $19
Jotform Silver (2,500 a month, 250 payments) $49 $39
Typeform Business (10,000 a month) $129 $91

Your payment provider, such as Stripe, charges its own processing fees on every tool. Fluent Forms needs your own WordPress site, and its Pro plan at $79 a year removes the extra 1.9% Stripe fee. Jotform’s Bronze plan doesn’t fit because it allows only 100 payment submissions a month, and Typeform’s 1,000-response Plus plan is too small. OpnForm isn’t in the table because its pricing page doesn’t say which plan includes its Stripe payment field.

1. Tally: Best Free Alternative Overall

What is Tally? Tally is a form builder that works like a text document: you type questions, and it turns them into a clean form you can share by link or embed.

Best for: anyone who wants Google Forms’ price with payments, signatures and better-looking forms.

Tally’s free plan includes unlimited forms and submissions within fair use, with conditional logic, signatures, file uploads and integrations, according to Jet Admin’s Tally review (September 30, 2026). Free users can also collect card payments through Stripe, and Tally doesn’t “add any extra fees on top of Stripe’s pricing,” as its payment forms guide puts it.

Plan Billed yearly Billed monthly Adds
Free $0 $0 Unlimited forms and responses (fair use), payments, signatures
Pro $24 a month $29 a month No branding, custom domains, unlimited team members, drop-off analytics
Business $74 a month $89 a month Data retention controls, email verification, 90-day history

Yearly prices are from Tally’s pricing page; monthly prices are from Jet Admin.

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • Tally branding on free forms.
  • No Google Forms import, so you rebuild each form by hand.
  • “Fair use” isn’t a fixed number, unlike a plan limit you can plan around.

Verdict: Tally is the easiest upgrade from Google Forms: free, nicer to look at, and able to take payments.

2. Fillout: Best Free Plan for Teams, With Google Forms Import

What is Fillout? Fillout is a form builder with design control, logic, payments and native connections to tools such as Google Sheets, Airtable and Notion.

Best for: small teams that want to move existing Google Forms quickly.

Fillout can “import an existing Google Forms with 2 clicks,” and its free plan includes unlimited file uploads and “No payment commission,” according to Fillout’s Google Forms comparison. Signatures start on the Starter plan, and every plan, including Free, allows unlimited team members.

Plan Billed yearly Billed monthly Responses a month
Free $0 $0 1,000
Starter $15 a month About $19 2,000
Pro $40 a month About $49 5,000
Business $75 a month About $89 Unlimited

Yearly prices are from Fillout’s pricing page; monthly prices are from Automation Atlas (July 1, 2026).

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • A 1,000-response monthly cap on the free plan, where Google Forms has none.
  • Partial submissions only on the Business plan.
  • Fillout branding on free forms.

Verdict: Fillout is the fastest move for a team with many existing Google Forms, thanks to its import and per-team pricing.

3. Jotform: Best for Payments, HIPAA and Templates

What is Jotform? Jotform is a form builder with thousands of templates, payment fields, e-signatures, PDF output and HIPAA features on its Gold and Enterprise plans.

Best for: order forms, registrations, applications and patient intake.

Jotform covers far more than Google Forms does, and it has a Google Forms migration portal. You sign in with Google, pick the forms you want, and Jotform copies them into a “Migrated Google Forms” folder, according to Jotform’s import guide. The guide doesn’t say whether responses or logic come across, so check each form after import.

Plan Billed yearly Billed monthly Forms Submissions a month Payment submissions a month
Starter $0 $0 5 100 Not listed
Bronze $34 a month $39 a month 25 1,000 100
Silver $39 a month $49 a month 50 2,500 250
Gold $99 a month $129 a month 100 10,000 Not listed

Prices and limits are from Jet Admin’s Jotform pricing check (September 25, 2026), because Jotform’s pricing page didn’t show plan prices when we checked. That page confirms HIPAA features are on Gold and Enterprise only.

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • Only 5 forms and 100 submissions a month on the free plan.
  • Payment submissions are capped separately, at 100 a month on Bronze.
  • HIPAA features start at Gold, $99 a month billed yearly.

Verdict: Jotform is worth paying for when your forms take money, collect health data or need a ready-made template.

4. Zoho Forms: Best for Approvals and Offline Data Collection

What is Zoho Forms? Zoho Forms is an online form builder from Zoho, with payments, approval workflows, formula and signature fields, and a mobile app for offline data collection.

Best for: operations teams that route submissions for approval, field teams and Zoho users.

Zoho Forms’ mobile app can collect data “even without an internet connection,” and its Standard plan and above add approval workflows, according to Zoho Forms’ pricing page. Its calculation fields page covers formula fields and a signature field for order forms. Every paid plan removes the “Powered by Zoho” footer.

Plan Price Users Forms Submissions a month Payments
Free $0 1 3 500 Up to 10 payment submissions
Basic $12 a month 1 Unlimited 10,000 ✓
Standard $30 a month 10 Unlimited 25,000 ✓, plus approvals
Professional $60 a month 25 Unlimited 75,000 ✓, plus approvals
Premium $110 a month 100 Unlimited 150,000 ✓, plus HIPAA

Dollar prices are from Capterra, because Zoho’s page didn’t show prices when we checked.

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • Only 3 forms on the free plan.
  • Less polished design than Tally or Typeform.
  • Most valuable if you already use other Zoho apps.

Verdict: Zoho Forms is the best value when submissions need sign-off or come in from the field, and Basic at $12 covers 10,000 submissions a month.

5. Cognito Forms: Best for Calculations and Order Forms

What is Cognito Forms? Cognito Forms is a form builder known for calculations and repeating sections, which let one form collect a variable number of items, such as several contacts or order lines.

Best for: quotes, order forms and any form that adds up totals.

Repeating sections let calculations count, total or filter what someone enters, according to Cognito’s repeating sections guide. Payments work on every plan, and plans are “limited based on the number of form entries rather than the number of payments,” as its payments FAQ explains.

Plan Billed yearly Billed monthly Entries a month Users
Individual $0 $0 100 1
Pro $19 a month $24 a month 2,000 2
Team $39 a month $49 a month 10,000 5
Enterprise $129 a month $174 a month Unlimited 20

Prices are from Cognito Forms’ pricing page and match Capterra’s listing. Cognito’s page also showed a second, higher set of prices with a Business plan when we checked, so confirm at checkout. Pro adds e-signatures and removes Cognito branding, and HIPAA compliance is on Enterprise.

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • Only 100 entries a month on the free plan.
  • Cognito branding on free forms.
  • HIPAA only on the top plan.

Verdict: Cognito Forms is the pick when a form needs to do maths, such as pricing an order or totalling line items.

6. OpnForm: Best Open-Source Form Builder

What is OpnForm? OpnForm is an open-source form builder that you can use as a hosted service or run on your own server.

Best for: anyone who wants unlimited free responses, or a self-hosted form tool.

“Submissions are unlimited on all plans,” including Free, which also includes unlimited forms, form logic, computed fields, pre-fills, API access and webhooks, according to OpnForm’s pricing page. The self-hosted Community Edition is free with unlimited forms and submissions for up to 2 users. OpnForm also has a signature input and a Stripe payment field, though its docs don’t say which plans include them.

Plan Price File uploads Adds
Free $0 10 MB Unlimited forms and submissions
Pro $25 a month 50 MB Removes OpnForm branding
Business $67 a month 1 GB Roles and permissions
Enterprise $220 a month Configurable SSO, audit logs, white-label hosting

Yearly billing saves 15%.

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • OpnForm branding on free forms.
  • Only one workspace and community support on Free.
  • The self-hosted edition needs someone technical to run it.

Verdict: OpnForm is the only pick here that matches Google Forms’ unlimited responses with a fixed promise rather than fair use.

7. Microsoft Forms: Best for Microsoft 365 Users

What is Microsoft Forms? Microsoft Forms is Microsoft’s form, quiz and poll builder, included with Microsoft 365 and free with a personal Microsoft account.

Best for: companies and schools that run on Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Forms is the like-for-like swap for Google Forms in the Microsoft world: simple, free with your account, and connected to Excel, Teams and SharePoint. Its limits depend on your account, according to Microsoft’s Forms limits page:

Account type Responses per form Forms Questions per form
Free personal Microsoft account 200 400 200
Paid personal account 1,000 400 200
Microsoft 365 business or education Up to 5,000,000 400 200

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • A personal account stops at 200 responses per form, where Google Forms has no fixed cap.
  • No answer piping, like Google Forms.
  • The 400-form limit counts deleted forms still in the recycle bin.

Verdict: Choose Microsoft Forms if your company already pays for Microsoft 365; otherwise it solves few of Google Forms’ gaps.

8. Typeform: Best for Conversational, One-Question-at-a-Time Forms

What is Typeform? Typeform is a form and survey builder known for showing one question at a time, which feels more like a conversation than a long form.

Best for: customer-facing forms where design matters more than cost.

Typeform is the most polished-looking tool here, which is why brands use it for lead forms and onboarding. It can take Stripe payments on the Basic plan or higher, but not for accounts that store data in its EU data center, according to Typeform’s payment help article.

Plan Billed yearly Billed monthly Responses a month Seats
Free $0 $0 10 n/a
Basic $28 a month $39 a month 100 1
Plus $56 a month $79 a month 1,000 3
Business $91 a month $129 a month 10,000 5

Prices are from Jet Admin’s Typeform pricing check (September 25, 2026). Typeform tests prices, so your offer may differ, and forms go private when you reach your monthly limit.

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • Only 10 free responses a month.
  • Response limits are shared across all forms.
  • Far more expensive at volume.

Verdict: Typeform is worth it only when the look of a form directly affects sign-ups or sales.

9. Fluent Forms: Best for WordPress Websites

What is Fluent Forms? Fluent Forms is a WordPress form plugin with a free version on WordPress.org and a paid Pro add-on.

Best for: businesses whose website runs on WordPress and that want form data stored on their own site.

The free plugin has more than 800,000 active installs and a 4.8 rating, according to Plugin Pulse (November 6, 2026). Free includes conditional logic, conversational forms and Stripe payments with an extra 1.9% fee. Pro adds file uploads, PayPal, calculations, a quiz module with automatic scoring, Google Sheets and more integrations, with no extra Stripe fee, according to Fluent Forms’ free vs Pro guide (February 11, 2026) and its quiz module docs.

Pricing: Pro costs $79 a year for one site, $159 for five sites and $299 for unlimited sites, or $279, $479 and $719 for a lifetime licence, according to Toolradar (October 26, 2026).

Downsides vs Google Forms

  • Needs a WordPress website, which you host and update.
  • File uploads and Google Sheets only in Pro.
  • Like any popular WordPress plugin, it needs regular updates to stay secure.

Verdict: For WordPress sites, Fluent Forms keeps forms on your own website for a one-off or yearly fee instead of a monthly subscription.

Best Google Forms Alternatives for Quizzes and Classrooms

Many Google Forms users are teachers running auto-graded quizzes, and Google Forms’ quiz mode is free and now drafts quizzes with Gemini. If you need an alternative:

  • Microsoft Forms is the closest match for schools. Teachers mark correct answers and add a point value to each question, then review results per student or export them to Excel, according to Microsoft’s quiz guide.
  • Fillout “automatically tallies the scores for you” once you tick the correct answers, and can show a score during the quiz, according to Fillout’s quiz guide.
  • Jotform compares answers with the correct ones and shows results after submission, according to its quiz guide.
  • Tally scores quizzes with a calculated field that adds points for correct answers, according to its quiz guide. It takes more setup than a built-in quiz mode.
  • Cognito Forms has a guide to automatic quiz scoring, and Fluent Forms Pro has a quiz module for WordPress sites.

For most schools, the practical choice is whichever of Google Forms or Microsoft Forms the school already licenses.

Privacy, GDPR and Where Your Data Lives

  • Tally is based in Belgium and stores form data in Europe on Google Cloud in Belgium, with a data processing agreement included, according to Tally’s GDPR page.
  • Jotform can store your data on EU servers, and that option is switched on automatically for accounts created in the EU, according to Jotform’s EU data guide.
  • Typeform offers an EU data center, though accounts using it can’t take payments.
  • OpnForm can run entirely on your own server, so responses never leave infrastructure you control.
  • Health data: Google Forms is covered by Google Workspace’s HIPAA business associate agreement, according to Google Cloud’s HIPAA page. Jotform (Gold and Enterprise), Zoho Forms (Premium) and Cognito Forms (Enterprise) offer HIPAA options.

Whatever you choose, ask the vendor where data is stored before you collect personal or sensitive answers.

Also Considered

  • Paperform is a design-focused form builder with payments and no fees of its own, from $49 a month billed yearly, as of October 30, 2026.
  • WPForms is the best-known WordPress rival to Fluent Forms, with paid plans from $99 a year ($49 in the first year) and payments on its Pro plan, as of November 1, 2026.
  • Formstack is a business form and document tool from $83 a month billed yearly, with no permanent free plan, as of September 25, 2026.
  • SurveyMonkey is better for research surveys than forms; see our SurveyMonkey alternatives guide for survey-focused tools such as LimeSurvey and Formbricks.
  • HeyForm is an open-source form builder under the AGPL-3.0 license, with hosted plans from $15 a month for 5,000 responses, as of August 2026.
  • Airtable forms and Notion forms make sense if your data already lives in those apps. See our Airtable alternatives guide for related tools.

When to Stay on Google Forms

Stay if your forms are free internal polls, quizzes, sign-up sheets or class surveys, and the people answering have Google accounts. Google Forms has no fixed response cap, saves to Sheets, closes itself at a date or response limit, and can be used for health data under a Google Workspace HIPAA agreement.

How to Switch From Google Forms

  1. Export your responses. Your past answers live in the linked Google Sheet, and no import tool brings them across reliably, so download a copy first.
  2. Move your forms. Use Jotform’s migration portal or Fillout’s import. For any other tool, copy your questions with the same wording, so new results compare with old ones.
  3. Rebuild logic and test every path, since branching works differently in each tool.
  4. Connect the new tool to Google Sheets, your CRM or an automation tool such as Zapier or Make. Our Zapier vs Make comparison helps you choose, and our guide to automating client onboarding with AI shows a full form-to-workflow setup.
  5. Update every link and embed, because your form’s web address changes when you switch.

If you’d rather turn a spreadsheet of form data into a small app, see our guide to spreadsheet-to-app builders.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best alternative to Google Forms?

Tally is the best alternative for most people, because its free plan offers unlimited forms and responses within fair use and adds Stripe payments, signatures and file uploads without a Google sign-in. Fillout is best for teams, Jotform for payments and HIPAA forms, and Microsoft Forms for Microsoft 365 users.

What is the best free Google Forms alternative?

Tally is the best free Google Forms alternative, with unlimited forms and responses within fair use, and OpnForm’s free plan has unlimited submissions. Fillout’s free plan allows 1,000 responses a month with unlimited team members, and Zoho Forms’ free plan allows 500 submissions a month on 3 forms.

Which Google Forms alternative can accept payments?

Tally, Fillout, Jotform, Zoho Forms, Cognito Forms, Typeform, OpnForm and Fluent Forms can all take card payments. Tally lets free users collect Stripe payments and adds no fee of its own, Typeform needs a Basic plan or higher, and Jotform limits payment submissions by plan, from 100 a month on Bronze.

Can I import my Google Forms into another tool?

Yes. Jotform has a Google Forms migration portal that copies the forms you select into a “Migrated Google Forms” folder, and Fillout says it can import a Google Form in two clicks. Past responses stay in your Google Sheet, so export them before you switch.

Is Google Forms HIPAA compliant?

It can be. Google lists Google Forms among the Google Workspace services covered by its HIPAA business associate agreement, so a Workspace customer that signs the agreement and sets up its account correctly can use it. Personal Google accounts aren’t covered. Jotform’s Gold and Enterprise plans, Zoho Forms Premium and Cognito Forms Enterprise offer HIPAA options too.

Which Google Forms alternative is best for quizzes?

Microsoft Forms is the closest match for schools, because teachers mark correct answers and assign points just as in Google Forms quiz mode. Fillout scores quizzes automatically on its free plan, and Jotform, Cognito Forms, Tally and Fluent Forms Pro can score answers too.

Microsoft Forms vs Google Forms, which is better?

Neither is better for everyone. Microsoft Forms suits Microsoft 365 companies, where a business account allows up to 5,000,000 responses per form, while a free personal account stops at 200 responses per form. Google Forms has no fixed response cap and saves responses to Google Sheets, which suits Google Workspace users.

Sources

All checked November 6, 2026 unless a date is shown.