Taking polls, quizzes, surveys have become more comfortable using online forms. With the online forms, collecting data became a not so tedious process. Online forms are fast to create, inexpensive, precise and easy to evaluate. Most importantly, it is a serene way for contributors. Let’s take a look at data gathering tools that are widely used.
Microsoft Forms vs SurveyMonkey
The main difference between Microsoft Forms and SurveyMonkey is that Microsoft Forms are free. On the other hand, SurveyMonkey is available in free and paid versions. If users need to create simple survey forms, Microsoft Forms are the best option. But if users need more advanced tools such as trend analysis, scheduled reporting SurveyMonkey is the option.
In 2018 Microsoft Forms was launched by Microsoft. It comes with Microsoft 365 subscription. To operate on Microsoft Forms, users need an active Microsoft ID. It comes with a standard version and is free, but users need to have Microsoft 365 subscription. Its simple version is beginner friendly and easy to operate.
SurveyMonkey is a famous online tool to create, run and analyze surveys. It is web-based software. It has pre-built templates, branching, conditional logic, etc. Operating on the SurveyMonkey app needs little experience, as it provides advanced tools for data collection. Their help centre has many video tutorials on building this experience.
Comparison Table Between Microsoft Forms and SurveyMonkey
| Parameters of Comparison | Microsoft Forms | SurveyMonkey |
| Category | Basic form builder | Mostly used for online surveys and polls |
| Accessibility | Directly create surveys, polls or quizzes in the browser, if the user has a Microsoft subscription | Need to download software, then users can access its features. |
| Features | Users could not restrict the people, who are not the targeted audience. | Users can stop people from taking surveys if they are not the targeted audience. |
| Ease of Use | It is user friendly but lacks many form building features | It is an advanced tool and needs a long process to create a survey page. |
| Support | Is very limited, there is no direct detail to contact the support team. | Have email support 24/7. Also, the help centre includes detailed information about features, they offer video tutorials. Users can also get support via call. |
| Pricing | It is free and comes with a Microsoft365 subscription. | It has two versions, free and premium. With premium, users can access more advanced features. |
What are Microsoft Forms?
In 2018, Microsoft Forms were launched by Microsoft as an added feature to Microsoft 365. It is an online form builder which allows users to create surveys, polls, and quizzes directly in their browser. Users can create simple text-based surveys for offices, schools and colleges and create party invitations.
Users can choose a pre-built template or custom with prefered choices. It offers six answer-type options, including multiple-choice, rating, typed answers, etc. It allows users to export data to Microsoft excel.
Some key features that are present in Microsoft Forms but lacking in SurveyMonkey are mentions, activity tracking, collaborative review, customer history, data visualization, video support, calendar management, anti-spam, contact database, custom charts, conferencing, etc.
Microsoft Forms are user friendly but do not allow users to create multi-step forms. Also, there is no verification feature. Users can not add collaborators, restrict the audience, and can not access more templates.
It is compulsory to have an active Microsoft ID create surveys in Microsoft Forms. Also, adding Microsoft Forms to any website is a huge task, not beginner-friendly and not an easy process to follow. They do not have direct consumer support details, and help centres also do have not much information about operating Microsoft Forms.
What is SurveyMonkey?
SurveyMonkey is web-based software built to create, run and easily analyze surveys online. It comes with both free and premium versions. The free version has a basic form builder, but the premium version has a lot to offer to the users with more advanced features. These features are ideal for large scale surveys for businesses.
It has pre-built templates that can apply conditional logic while collecting responses, branching, etc. It provides features lacking in Microsoft Forms, such as trend analysis, scheduled reporting, real-time data analysis, customisable branding and reporting, email tracking, A/B testing, data filtering.
Also, SurveyMonkey is web-based software and needs to be downloaded for use. It is an advanced tool and requires a long process to create a survey page. It is not that beginner-friendly. Adding a survey from it to another website is a tedious task.
This tool has many features suitable for marketing research. With this tool, users can export survey results in various file formats suitable for their needs and share them. Also, users can restrict people from taking surveys if they are not the target audience.
Another feature of it allows users to create multilingual surveys. It has very active customer support via email, 24/7. Also, help centres have described information to access various features of this software. Do they also provide video tutorials and reviews on how different features work?
Main Differences Between Microsoft Forms and SurveyMonkey
- Microsoft Forms can be directly created in the browser, but to create a survey in SurveyMonkey, users need to download the software
- Microsoft Forms have a user-friendly interface and can be operated easily by beginners. While SurveyMonkey is an advanced tool with a lot of complex features, it is not so beginner-friendly.
- Microsoft Forms are free to use, with Microsoft 365 subscription. SurveyMonkey comes in two versions free and paid. Paid premium versions could unlock many advanced features.
- Microsoft Forms do not have that active support team. While SurveyMonkey provides support 24/7 by email. Have many video tutorials and reviews describing features.
- SurveyMonkey provides users with the option to carry out multilingual surveys, while this feature is not available in Microsoft Forms.
Conclusion
Both of them have very thoughtful features that suit the different needs of the user. Making preference for any one of them is based on the needs of the survey. The wise choice is to go through the listed features and see what features your survey needs the most. According to it, you can choose which is the better option for your data collection work.
References
- https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:1577996
- https://digital.wpi.edu/downloads/5138jh927