Microsoft Forms is the survey and quiz tool included in every Microsoft 365 subscription. For organizations already paying for M365, it’s a zero-cost addition that covers basic data collection needs. But its strategic purpose — keeping users in the Microsoft ecosystem — also defines its ceiling.
What is Microsoft Forms?
Microsoft Forms is a lightweight, web-based form builder included with Microsoft 365. It supports surveys, quizzes, and polls, with responses syncing natively to Microsoft Excel and data stored in SharePoint. For more advanced feedback management, Microsoft offers Dynamics 365 Customer Voice (formerly Forms Pro) as an add-on to Dynamics 365 licenses. There is no standalone cost for Forms — it is included in M365 per-user licensing. Key integrations include Microsoft Excel, SharePoint, and Power Automate for workflow orchestration.
Where it works well
- Internal surveys and quizzes for Microsoft 365 organizations
- Teams that need quick, low-complexity data collection without additional tools
- Organizations that process simple results entirely within Microsoft Excel or Power BI
FormAssembly vs. Microsoft Forms: Where Microsoft Forms falls short
Microsoft Forms is positioned as a utility, not a data collection platform. Design flexibility is minimal, with little ability to customize form appearance or structure beyond basic templates. There is no native Salesforce integration — a significant gap for the many organizations that use Salesforce alongside Microsoft 365. Compliance controls are limited to what Microsoft 365 provides at the tenant level, rather than form-specific compliance certifications. For mission-critical or regulated data collection, Microsoft Forms does not provide the governance, auditability, or policy enforcement that those use cases require.
Why organizations choose FormAssembly instead
FormAssembly serves organizations that use Microsoft tools but need a data collection platform that does more than a bundled utility can offer. It supports Salesforce and MS integrations, enabling organizations that run both Microsoft 365 and Salesforce to route form data into the right systems without manual work. Its compliance certifications — SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP, DoD IL4 — provide the governance framework that Microsoft Forms does not. And for organizations looking to standardize data collection across programs, departments, and regulated workflows, FormAssembly provides the structure and accountability a bundled survey tool cannot.
