Google Forms vs StrawPoll (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Google Forms: it is first in our ranking of form and survey tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Google Forms grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Forms
Form, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account
StrawPoll
Free online poll maker with a meeting scheduler
Which one is for you
Pick Google Forms if
- Fits if you need a quick poll, sign-up sheet or class quiz and don't want to pay
- Works for teams already in Google Workspace who read answers in Sheets
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a phone app, as it only runs in the mobile browser
- Skip it if people without a Google Account need to upload files: uploads need a sign-in and don't work on shared-drive forms
- Too light for order forms, since there's nothing here for payments, signatures or calculated totals
- Watch out: the business version comes only inside Workspace from $7 per user a month, and its 14-day trial needs billing details
- Watch out: Gemini's form drafting is desktop-only, can't build multi-section forms and needs Business Standard or higher
Pick StrawPoll if
- Fits if you want a poll people vote on from a link, cheaply
- Works for class, club or office votes that don't need an account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if voters mustn't see ads, because free polls show them
- Tight if you stay free: 10 ad-free votes, 50 email invites and 1,000 embed views a month
- Watch out: StrawPoll branding is only removed on Pro and Business
- Watch out: a banner says a new StrawPoll is coming soon, so the product may change
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAGoogle FormsVery good | 2.6GPAStrawPollGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree with a personal Google Account, in a category where the middle paid plan is $24 a month. There's no standalone paid Forms plan: the business version rides inside Workspace from $7 per user a month, Gmail, Drive and Meet included. | A$4 a month billed yearly, under 60% of the forms category's cheapest quarter ($7.42). Pro is $14 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree with an account you almost certainly have, and the listing shows no cap on forms or responses that a normal person would meet. The only paid extra is Gemini drafting a form for you. | BUnlimited polls and votes free, with ads, and 1,000 embed views a month. One person can live on it, though only 10 votes a month are ad-free. |
| Features | CIt covers the basics: drag-and-drop questions, logic that skips sections, quizzes with answer keys, live charts and a linked Sheet. The gaps are plain: no payments, no signatures, no calculations, and file uploads force respondents to sign in to Google. | CPolls with close dates, permissions, email invites, embeds and a poll API. It does polls fully, but polls only, a smaller job than a form builder. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, and there is nothing to set up: no new account, no plan to pick, no install. Open it, add questions, send the link. | CNo store rating on record. You still build each poll yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb with Google's own plumbing: Sheets, Drive, Apps Script, AppSheet and a Forms API. No dedicated phone app, though. Google's help pages describe using it in a mobile browser instead. | CWeb only on the listing, with an API and webhooks but no integrations named. |
| Best for | quick free forms, polls and quizzes | quick polls with a share link |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Google Forms and StrawPoll. How we grade
Price against what you get
Google Forms starts at $7 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. StrawPoll starts at $4 a month and scores 2.0.
Google Forms scores higher, and starts $3 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, none scores higher than Google Forms for less, and 3 score higher than StrawPoll for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Google Forms also covers templates and reports.
At a glance
| Google Forms | StrawPoll | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $7 per user / month with a 1-year commitment (Workspace Business Starter) | $4 per month, billed annually ($48 a year) |
| Free plan | Free with a personal Google Account at forms.google.com. Workspace Essentials Starter, a no-cost edition for work email addresses, also includes Forms. Gemini form drafting needs an eligible paid plan. | Free: unlimited polls and votes with ads, 10 ad-free votes a month, 50 email invites and 1,000 embed views a month. |
| Free trial | 14-day Google Workspace trial for new customers, limited to 10 users; billing details required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | StrawPoll | |
| Price read from | knowledge.workspace.google.com | strawpoll.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Google Forms
- There is no standalone paid Forms plan; the business version comes only inside Google Workspace, with Gmail, Drive and Meet.
- Google's help pages describe using Forms in a mobile web browser on Android, iPhone and iPad; no dedicated mobile app is listed.
- File upload questions require respondents to sign in to a Google Account and cannot be used on forms stored in a shared drive.
- Help me create a form is desktop-only, cannot yet build multi-section forms, and needs Business Standard or higher or a Google AI plan.
StrawPoll
- Free polls show ads to participants, and only 10 votes a month are ad-free.
- Paid plans are also sold as one-time purchases for a chosen number of months at $8 (Basic), $28 (Pro) or $52 (Business) per month.
- StrawPoll branding is removed only on Pro and Business.
- A banner on the pricing page says a new StrawPoll is coming soon.
Key features
Google Forms
- Drag-and-drop form editor
- Choose from multiple question types, reorder them by dragging, and add images or videos. File upload questions save submissions to a folder in the owner's Google Drive.
- Answer-based logic
- Show questions based on earlier answers, so each respondent only goes through the sections that apply to them.
- Quizzes with answer keys
- Turn a form into a quiz with point values and answer keys on supported question types, and attach a written or YouTube explanation to an answer.
- Response charts and Google Sheets
- Answers are charted in a Summary tab as they arrive and can be stored in a new or existing Google Sheet for deeper analysis.
- Templates and themes
- Start from premade survey and questionnaire templates, then set colors, images and fonts to match an organization's branding.
- Help me create a form
- Gemini drafts a form from a prompt or from Drive files such as Docs, Sheets, Slides and PDFs. It works on desktop and needs an eligible Workspace or Google AI plan.
StrawPoll
- Unlimited polls and votes
- The free plan has no cap on polls or participants; participants see ads, and 1,000 participants is the limit for unlimited votes per user.
- Poll controls
- Close dates, custom limits per option, email notifications, a permissions system and webhooks are on the free plan.
- Email invites and embeds
- Monthly quotas for email invitations and embedded poll views rise from 50 and 1,000 on Free to 50,000 and 100,000 on Business.
- Branding options
- Pro removes StrawPoll branding and adds custom themes; Business adds a custom header logo and custom CSS.
- Meeting scheduler and Poll API
- The site links a meeting scheduler for finding a time and a Poll API for creating polls from code.
Plans
Google Forms
Personal Google Account$0
Forms, surveys and quizzes for personal use, with response charts and a linked Google Sheet.
Business Starter$7
per user / month, 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible)
Google Workspace with 30 GB pooled storage per user. Gemini in Workspace apps is listed as limited.
Business Standard$14
per user / month, 1-year commitment ($16.80 flexible)
2 TB pooled storage per user. The lowest Business edition that Google lists for Help me create a form.
Business Plus$22
per user / month, 1-year commitment ($26.40 flexible)
5 TB pooled storage per user, plus Vault, eDiscovery and advanced endpoint management.
EnterpriseCustom
No minimum or maximum user count, with data loss prevention and data regions; priced through Google sales.
StrawPoll
Free$0
Unlimited polls and votes with ads, 10 ad-free votes a month, close dates, permissions and webhooks.
Basic$4
per month, billed annually ($48 a year)
No ads for you, 500 ad-free votes and 500 email invites a month, custom poll links. Page shows $96 crossed out.
Pro$14
per month, billed annually ($168 a year)
5,000 ad-free votes a month, 3 shared seats, no StrawPoll branding, themes, CAPTCHA. Page shows $336 crossed out.
Business$26
per month, billed annually ($312 a year)
50,000 ad-free votes a month, 10 seats, custom logo and CSS. Page shows $624 crossed out.
Ways to pay less
Google Forms
- Annual discount
Lower rate with a 1-year commitment
Business Starter costs $7 per user per month on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan versus $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Standard drops from $16.80 to $14 and Plus from $26.40 to $22.
- Nonprofit
Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0
Eligible nonprofits get Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0 per user, or Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Plus at $6.16 per user per month on a 1-year commitment.
- Education
Education Fundamentals at no charge
Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, which includes Forms, is available at no charge to qualifying institutions.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
On October 9, 2026 Google's pricing page showed Starter at ₹270 per user / month to a visitor in India, against $7 in the US version, and listed a Base plan at ₹99 that the US version does not show.
StrawPoll
- Other savings
One-time purchase instead of a subscription
The pricing page offers one-time payments for a chosen number of months: $8, $28 or $52 a month for Basic, Pro or Business.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Google Forms or StrawPoll?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Google Forms starts at $7 per user / month with a 1-year commitment (Workspace Business Starter), and StrawPoll starts at $4 per month, billed annually ($48 a year). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Google Forms or StrawPoll?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Google Forms and StrawPoll have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.