Best free survey tools
Free survey tools are useful when you need to collect feedback quickly without committing to a paid plan. The trade-off is usually limits on submissions, branding, analytics depth, or advanced survey logic.
Quick List of the Best Free Survey Tools
Here are the best options if you want to launch a survey with little to no cost. Each pick below highlights what you actually get for free, and what you may need to upgrade for later.
- Tally: Best overall free plan for ongoing collection: unlimited forms and submissions (within fair-usage guidelines). Great for feedback and intake-style surveys.
How They Compare
This comparison focuses on the free plan (or free entry point), including key limits like submissions, branding, logic, and basic reporting. Use it to narrow down which tool matches your expected volume and workflow.
| Tool | Rating | Starting Paid Plan | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
3.8/5 | Free | No | |
 | 3.8/5 | $24 per month | Yes |
3.2/5 | Free | Yes | |
 | 4.6/5 | $19 /month | No |
Detailed Reviews
Below you will find a closer look at each tool, with notes tailored to free-plan use: how quickly you can publish, how restrictive the limits are, and what you give up versus paid tiers. If you expect to run ongoing survey programs, pay close attention to submission caps and analytics features that are locked behind upgrades.
1. Google Forms
Google Forms is a lightweight survey and form builder focused on speed and simplicity. You can share via link, email, or embed, and view basic summaries in the Responses tab. For anything beyond simple reporting, the practical next step is usually exporting to Google Sheets.
Best for simple, quick surveys and basic analysis via Google Sheets. Not ideal if you need advanced logic or research-style reporting.
Pros
- • Quick to build and share simple surveys
- • Share via link, email, or embed
- • Basic branching to route respondents to different paths
Cons
- • Free plan status and limits are not clearly documented in the provided sources
- • Reporting is basic unless you export to Sheets
- • Advanced survey features and research controls are not confirmed from the provided sources
Our Experience with Google Forms
In practice, the main advantage is how quickly you can build and publish a survey, especially if you already use a Google account. The built-in response charts cover the basics, but more detailed breakdowns typically require working in Sheets. Design and branding controls feel minimal compared with dedicated survey platforms.
Key Details about Google Forms
- Web-based survey and form builder
- Templates for common use cases
- Conditional branching (basic logic)
- Link, email, and embed sharing
- Auto-generated charts
- Export to Google Sheets
- Collaboration via sharing access
Google Forms Pricing
Google Forms is included with Google Workspace and can also be used with a personal Google account, but the provided sources did not include clear plan limits or pricing details specific to Forms. If you are choosing it primarily for being “free,” confirm any organization-specific constraints (workspace policies, storage, or sharing rules). Value is strongest when your needs are simple and Sheets export covers analysis.
2. Tally
Tally is a doc-style form and survey builder designed for quick creation and easy sharing. Its free plan is unusually generous, including unlimited forms and submissions under fair-usage guidelines, plus key building blocks like conditional logic and calculations. It is better suited to collecting responses than to deep, research-grade analysis inside the tool.
Top pick if you want the most usable free plan for real-world survey collection. Upgrade mainly for branding removal, domains, collaboration, and deeper analytics.
Pros
- • Unlimited forms and submissions on the free plan (within fair-usage guidelines)
- • Conditional logic and calculations available for free
- • Multiple sharing options (link, embed, popup)
Cons
- • Fair-usage guidelines can be a constraint for high-volume surveying
- • Survey analytics depth is not validated in reviewer notes
- • Several useful features are paywalled (e.g., branding removal, custom domains, deeper analytics)
Our Experience with Tally
Tally’s editor is fast to work in and feels closer to writing a document than dragging blocks around, which speeds up simple surveys. The free plan is the main draw: you can run ongoing surveys without immediately hitting a hard submissions cap (subject to fair usage). For analysis, you will likely lean on exports or integrations rather than relying on built-in reporting depth.
Key Details about Tally
- Free plan: unlimited forms and submissions (fair-usage)
- Doc-style editor
- Conditional logic
- Calculations
- File uploads and signatures
- Payment collection
- Link/embed/popup sharing
- Webhooks + Zapier/Make integrations
Tally Pricing
Tally has a free plan and two paid tiers: Pro at $24/month and Business at $74/month (as provided). The free tier is the main value if you want to collect lots of responses without a strict monthly cap, though it is governed by fair-usage terms. Paid plans are mainly worth it if you need branding removal, custom domains, team features, and more analytics/admin controls.
Free
- Unlimited forms
- Unlimited submissions (within fair usage guidelines)
- Collect payments
- Conditional logic & calculations
- File uploads (10 MB per file size limit implied by Pro removing it)
- Signatures
- Custom Thank You page
- Self email notifications
- Redirect on completion
- Prevent duplicate submissions
- Password protect forms
- Close forms on limit or date
- Answer piping
- 45+ languages & RTL support
- Integrations: Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Zapier, Make, Webhooks
Pro
- Remove Tally branding
- Custom domains
- Collaboration (unlimited team members)
- Partial submissions
- Advanced customization
- Custom CSS
- Email notifications (tailored emails)
- Custom email domains
- Customize link preview (OG image, favicon, title, description)
- Workspaces and access management
- Unlimited uploads (removes 10 MB per file limit)
- Form visit analytics (extended historical data)
- Drop-off analytics
- Version history (restore up to 30 days ago)
- Premium integrations (Google Analytics, Meta Pixel)
Business
- Everything in Pro
- Control data retention (auto-delete submissions after a set period)
- Verify emails
- Version history (restore up to 90 days ago)
3. Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms is a lightweight tool for creating surveys, polls, and quizzes, aimed largely at Microsoft 365 users. It is positioned as an easy way to collect responses via a link, with a focus on convenience over advanced survey methodology features. Because the provided sources do not confirm limits and deeper capabilities, it is best treated as a basic, “good enough” option until you outgrow it.
Good for quick internal surveys if you already use Microsoft 365. Verify limits and exports if you plan to run larger or ongoing surveys.
Pros
- • Free entry point (per homepage messaging)
- • Covers surveys, polls, and quizzes in one tool
- • Convenient fit for organizations already using Microsoft 365
Cons
- • Pricing tiers and response limits are not confirmed from the provided sources
- • Advanced survey features (logic, analytics, exports, integrations) are not verifiable from the provided sources
- • Hands-on reviewer notes were not available for deeper validation
Our Experience with Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms typically appeals when you want something familiar and already available in a Microsoft environment. Based on the provided source bundle, key details like response limits, exports, and logic depth were not verifiable, so it is harder to judge as a “free survey tool” on specifics. For anything beyond basic questionnaires, expect to confirm capabilities before standardizing on it.
Key Details about Microsoft Forms
- Web-based forms and survey builder
- Surveys, polls, quizzes, and questionnaires
- Microsoft-branded tool
- Link-based sharing implied
- “AI powered” claim mentioned (details not confirmed)
Microsoft Forms Pricing
Microsoft Forms is described as a free tool in the provided sources, but the pricing page and specific limits were not available. If you are choosing it as a free survey tool, verify whether any features require Microsoft 365 licensing in your tenant and check applicable response/storage limits. Its value depends heavily on what is included in your existing Microsoft setup.
Free
- Create online surveys, forms, polls, and quizzes (per homepage)
4. forms.app
forms.app is a form builder that also covers surveys and quizzes, with templates, conditional logic, and embeddable sharing options. The free plan includes unlimited responses per month and unlimited team members, capped at 5 forms and 10 MB file storage. Higher tiers add more forms, storage, and analytics features like drop-off analysis and partial responses.
A strong free-tier choice for embedded website surveys and straightforward feedback, especially when you expect higher response volume without paying per response.
Pros
- • Permanent free plan with unlimited responses and unlimited team members
- • Conditional logic and multiple endings for basic survey branching
- • Flexible sharing via link and embed options
Cons
- • Free plan limited to 5 forms and 10 MB file storage
- • Some useful survey analytics features are tier-gated (e.g., drop-off analysis, partial responses)
- • AI insights are listed as Beta, so results may vary
Our Experience with forms.app
forms.app is set up for fast publishing, especially if you start from templates and keep the survey structure simple. Unlimited responses on the free plan make it easy to test and run ongoing collection without hitting a monthly submission cap. If you care about survey completion behavior, drop-off and partial-response features on higher tiers are a practical differentiator.
Key Details about forms.app
- Free plan: $0 forever (5 forms, unlimited responses/month, unlimited team members)
- Conditional logic
- Multiple endings
- Real-time statistics
- Embeds for websites
- Webhooks + Zapier integrations
- Payments (Stripe, PayPal)
- Drop-off analysis (Pro+) and partial responses (Premium)
forms.app Pricing
forms.app has a free plan and paid tiers at Basic $19/month (annual), Pro $29/month (annual), and Premium $59/month (annual). All plans include unlimited responses and unlimited team members; the free plan limits you to 5 forms and 10 MB storage. Paid upgrades mainly add more forms, storage, branding removal, and analytics like drop-off analysis and partial responses.
Free
- Up to 5 forms
- Unlimited responses/month
- Unlimited team members
- All 30+ field types
- Conditional logic
- Unlimited questions
- E-signatures
- Pre-filled forms
- Unlimited notifications
- 10 MB file storage
- Auto-scoring
- Unlimited payments
- Live support
- AI-powered features
Basic
- Billed annually ($29/month if billed monthly)
- 25 forms
- Unlimited responses/month
- Unlimited team members
- 10 GB file storage
- 100 MB max file upload
- Remove branding
- Includes everything in Free
Pro
- Billed annually ($39/month if billed monthly)
- Unlimited forms
- Unlimited responses/month
- Unlimited team members
- 100 GB file storage
- Drop-off analysis
- Custom subdomain
- Custom CSS
- Multi-lingual forms
- Includes everything in Basic
Premium
- Billed annually ($79/month if billed monthly)
- Unlimited forms
- Unlimited responses/month
- Unlimited team members
- 1 TB file storage
- Custom domain
- Partial responses
- Priority support
- Meta Pixel and Google Tag Manager
- Includes everything in Pro
How to Choose the Best Free Survey Tool
• Start with volume: estimate monthly submissions and check the free plan cap (some tools are generous, others hit limits quickly).
• Confirm distribution needs: link sharing is common, but embeds, popups, and email workflows vary by tool.
• Check logic requirements: if you need branching, multiple endings, or calculations, verify it is included on the free tier.
• Plan for reporting: many free tools have basic charts; if you need deeper analysis, make sure export (e.g., to Sheets/Excel) is practical.
• Watch for “free but unclear” licensing: some tools are free only within a broader account or subscription ecosystem.
Our Methodology
We review survey tools with hands-on setup where possible, focusing on what you can realistically do on the free plan. Tools are rated across five practical criteria (builder experience, question/logic depth, distribution options, reporting/exports, and pricing clarity/value based on available documentation).
Summary
If your priority is getting started with minimal friction, a generous free tier matters more than long feature lists. Tally stands out for free usage that is unusually permissive (with fair-usage wording), while forms.app offers unlimited responses and unlimited team members on its free plan (with a 5-form cap). Google Forms and Microsoft Forms are easy choices if you already live in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, but both tend to be best for simple surveys and basic reporting unless you rely on exports. Before you commit, verify any limits that are not clearly documented (forms, storage, and licensing requirements).