Head to head · Form Builders

Google Forms vs SurveyMonkey: free tool or survey specialist?

Google Forms is free, instant, and wired into Sheets, which is hard to beat for quick jobs. SurveyMonkey is the research specialist, with deeper survey logic, cross tabs, benchmarks, and a panel you can buy responses from. SurveyMonkey edges our overall score when the goal is rigorous survey data; Google Forms wins, decisively, on price and simplicity.

Reviewed by M. HALLORAN·Updated APRIL 2026·How we vet
★ Our pick
SurveyMonkey
83 /100
vs
Challenger
Google Forms
78 /100
◂ SurveyMonkey Advantage Google Forms ▸
SurveyMonkey leads on survey analysis and benchmarking; Google Forms is unbeatable on cost.

Neither link below is an affiliate link · both go straight to the vendor. Our scores are editorial and are never for sale. Disclosure.

How they score

Criteria SurveyMonkey Google Forms Winner
Ease of use
86
88
Google Forms
Features and logic
88
70
SurveyMonkey
Respondent experience
80
74
SurveyMonkey
Integrations
84
80
SurveyMonkey
Value for money
72
96
Google Forms

Scores are our editorial assessment against the VettedSaaS rubric · not vendor supplied.

Choose SurveyMonkey if…
+You run formal surveys and need cross tabs and benchmarking.
+You want to buy responses from a research panel.
+Statistical analysis and clean exports drive your decisions.
+Your organization standardizes on SurveyMonkey for research.
Choose Google Forms if…
+You want something free, instant, and good enough.
+You already live in Google Workspace and Sheets.
+The form is internal, a simple signup, or a quick poll.
+Budget is the constraint and basic results are fine.

Feature by feature

✓ full  ·  ∼ partial  ·  — none
Capability SurveyMonkey Google Forms
Conditional logic and skip logic
Survey analysis and benchmarks basic
Usable free plan 25 responses unlimited
Accept payments Stripe add on
Buy responses from a panel
Template library
Remove branding paid

Feature support verified as of June 2026 · check the vendor for current details.

Pricing, side by side

Entry paid tier, billed annually
SurveyMonkey Our pick
Free Free
Advantage $39/mo
Premier $139/mo
Enterprise Custom
Google Forms Challenger
Personal Free
Workspace Starter $7/user/mo
Workspace Standard $14/user/mo
Workspace (HIPAA) BAA required

Pricing as of June 2026. SurveyMonkey has a limited free plan; Advantage and Premier are individual plans billed annually, the monthly only Standard plan is $99 per month, and Team plans start near $30 per user per month with a 3 user minimum. Google Forms is free with a personal account; paid Google Workspace is billed per user from about $7 per user per month, and HIPAA requires a signed BAA on a paid Workspace plan. Check the vendor for current pricing.