The Zoho Forms Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Zoho Forms in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Zoho Forms
The Insider’s Guide
No-code form builder with approvals, payments and mobile apps
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among form and survey tools, read from Zoho Forms’s own pages.
Made by Zoho Corporation · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Zoho Forms’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Zoho Forms’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.8
GPA, above 22 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade
Zoho Forms is a no-code, drag-and-drop form builder from Zoho. Forms can be standard or card-style, or generated by Zia, Zoho's AI, from a prompt, a PDF or an image, and submissions can trigger approvals, emails, PDFs and integrations with Zoho and third-party apps. iOS and Android apps collect data offline. Plans are priced per organization, each with a set number of users and monthly submissions.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Zoho Forms, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Drag and drop with no code, and Zia will hand you a first draft from a sentence.
- 1
Best for business forms with approvals and offline apps
Zoho Forms is a no-code form builder with approvals, payments, PDFs, and phone apps that collect entries with no connection.
- 2
Paid plans start at $10 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).
- 3
There is a free plan
Free plan, free forever: 1 user, 3 forms, 500 submissions per month, 200 MB of file storage and 10 payment submissions. Forms show a Powered by Zoho footer.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Drag-and-drop builder
Build standard, card-style or spotlight forms without code, using more than 50 field types, subforms, formulas and multi-page layouts.
- 6
AI form creation with Zia
Generate a form from a prompt, or convert a PDF or a photo of a paper form into an editable form. A Smart Scan field fills in answers from an uploaded document image.
- 7
Approvals and workflows
Send submissions through multilevel approvals, assign entries to team members, and trigger emails based on responses. Approvals are listed from the Standard plan.
- 8
A 2.8 GPA, above 22 of 30
That is against the other form and survey tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Zoho Forms you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Zoho Forms at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Zoho Corporation
- Category
- Forms & Surveys
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
- Store rating
- 4.6 on the App Store, 455 ratings
The report card
Best for business forms with approvals and offline apps
Zoho Forms is a no-code form builder with approvals, payments, PDFs, and phone apps that collect entries with no connection. Basic is $10 a month billed annually for one user and unlimited forms. The free plan stops at 3 forms and 500 submissions with a Powered by Zoho footer, every plan caps monthly submissions, 10 users means Standard at $25, and HIPAA compliance sits on Premium at $90.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B | $10 a month billed annually is the cheapest entry in this whole category, where the middle is $24, and it brings unlimited forms and 10,000 submissions a month. It covers one user, though: 10 users means Standard at $25. |
| Free plan and trial | C | Free forever with 500 submissions a month, but 3 forms is a cap you'll reach almost at once. One user, 10 payment submissions, 200 MB of storage and a Powered by Zoho footer on everything. |
| Features | B | The whole job and no hole in it: 50-plus field types, subforms, formulas and multi-page layouts, multilevel approvals from Standard, payments through five gateways, submissions out as PDFs, and Zia turning a prompt, a PDF or a photo of a paper form into a working one. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.6 from about 455 App Store ratings, which earns a B but not the 4.7 from 1,000 a top mark wants. Drag and drop with no code, and Zia will hand you a first draft from a sentence. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web plus both phones, with the apps collecting entries offline and doing kiosk mode and barcode scanning, and connections to Zoho CRM, Desk, Google Sheets, Teams, Zapier and WordPress. No desktop app, which is what an A needs. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Zoho Forms is for
- Fits if your business already runs on Zoho CRM, Desk or other Zoho apps
- Works for field teams collecting data on phones without a connection, or submissions that need multilevel approval
Who it is not for
- Tight if you stay free: 3 forms, 500 submissions a month, 10 payment submissions and a Powered by Zoho footer
- Not for you if a few people need to share the cheapest plan, as Basic covers a single user and 10 users start at Standard
- Pricey if you need HIPAA compliance or form encryption, which are listed under Premium at $90 a month billed annually
- Watch out: every plan caps monthly submissions, extra submissions and storage are add-ons, and the user add-on is Premium only
- Watch out: approvals start at Standard, at $25 a month billed annually
Good to know
Good for
- Businesses that already run Zoho CRM, Desk or other Zoho apps
- Field teams collecting data on phones without a connection
- Processes where each submission needs multilevel approval
Worth knowing
- The Free plan is limited to 3 forms and 500 submissions a month, and its forms carry a Powered by Zoho footer.
- Basic covers a single user; 10 users start at Standard, and the user add-on is available only on Premium.
- HIPAA compliance and form encryption are listed under the Premium plan.
- Every plan has a monthly submission cap; extra submissions and storage are add-ons for paid plans.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$10
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Zoho Forms has a free plan. Paid plans start at $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).
Free
$0
1 user, 3 forms, 500 submissions a month, 200 MB of storage and up to 10 payment submissions.
Basic
$10
per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
1 user, unlimited forms, 10,000 submissions a month and 500 MB of storage, with branding and custom form themes.
Standard
$25
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
10 users, 25,000 submissions a month and 2 GB of storage, plus approvals.
Professional
$50
per month, billed annually ($60 billed monthly)
25 users, 75,000 submissions a month and 5 GB of storage.
Premium
$90
per month, billed annually ($110 billed monthly)
100 users, 150,000 submissions a month and 10 GB of storage, plus HIPAA compliance, form encryption and SMTP.
The free plan
Free plan, free forever: 1 user, 3 forms, 500 submissions per month, 200 MB of file storage and 10 payment submissions. Forms show a Powered by Zoho footer.
Read from zoho.com on Oct 5, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Lower monthly rate with annual billing
Billed annually, Basic is $10 per month instead of $12, Standard $25 instead of $30, Professional $50 instead of $60 and Premium $90 instead of $110.
Stated on zoho.com
What the app costs elsewhere
Each country’s App Store price for “Basic Monthly”, against $11.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.
| Country | Price there | In dollars | Against the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | ₺224,99 | $4.58 | 62% less |
| India | ₹ 819 | $8.47 | 29% less |
| Philippines | ₱ 629.00 | $10.01 | 16% less |
| Canada | $14.99 | $10.54 | 12% less |
| Brazil | R$ 59,90 | $11.97 | about the same |
| Australia | $17.49 | $12.21 | about the same |
| United Kingdom | £10.99 | $14.53 | 21% more |
| Germany | 13,49 € | $15.12 | 26% more |
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
No-code form builder with approvals, payments and mobile apps. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: works offline, AI features, templates, workflow automation, no-code, forms, reports.
No desktop app, which is what an A needs.
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Build standard, card-style or spotlight forms without code, using more than 50 field types, subforms, formulas and multi-page layouts.
- AI form creation with Zia
- Generate a form from a prompt, or convert a PDF or a photo of a paper form into an editable form. A Smart Scan field fills in answers from an uploaded document image.
- Approvals and workflows
- Send submissions through multilevel approvals, assign entries to team members, and trigger emails based on responses. Approvals are listed from the Standard plan.
- Payments
- Collect payments through gateways including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Razorpay and Authorize.Net. The Free plan allows 10 payment submissions.
- Mobile apps with offline mode
- The iOS and Android apps build forms and collect entries without a connection, with kiosk mode, QR and barcode scanning, location capture and signatures.
- Reports and PDF documents
- Build reports with filters, a Kanban view and CSV or PDF export, and turn submissions into PDFs such as certificates and invoices.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Zoho CRM
- Zoho Desk
- Zoho Flow
- Google Sheets
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Teams
- Zapier
- WordPress
Zoho Forms is made by Zoho Corporation.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
22/30
Other form and survey tools it is graded above
Zoho Forms's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 22 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 6.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 25 of 30) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $10 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 4 of the 30 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 31 form and survey tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Zoho Forms’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 22 of 30
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 30
- BFeaturesAbove 9 of 30
- BEase of useAbove 25 of 30
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 4 of 30
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 31 form and survey tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Forms is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Zoho Forms you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 22 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade. It costs $120 a year.
What you could make
- Forms, templates and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- A builder that other people can use without writing code.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Zoho Forms’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Jotform, Google Forms, Cognito Forms, Microsoft Forms and Formstack
The 5 tools Zoho Forms is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
Jotform
Free plan · from $34/mo
No-code form builder with payments, e-signatures and workflows.
- Zoho Forms also covers no-code and reports.
- Jotform also covers AI agents and app builder.
- 3.2GPA
Google Forms
Free plan · from $7/mo
Form, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account.
- Only Zoho Forms lists iOS and Android apps.
- Zoho Forms also covers workflow automation and no-code.
- Google Forms also covers surveys.
- 2.4GPA
Cognito Forms
Free plan · from $19/mo
Form builder with calculations, payments and approval workflows.
- Only Zoho Forms lists iOS and Android apps.
- Zoho Forms also covers reports.
- Cognito Forms also covers surveys.
- 2.6GPA
Microsoft Forms
Free plan · from $5.40/mo
Survey, quiz and poll builder included with Microsoft 365.
- Only Zoho Forms lists iOS and Android apps.
- Zoho Forms also covers templates, workflow automation and no-code.
- Microsoft Forms also covers surveys.
- 2.2GPA
Formstack
Free trial · from $83/mo
No-code forms with document generation and eSignatures.
- Zoho Forms has a free plan. Formstack does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Zoho Forms lists iOS and Android apps.
- Zoho Forms also covers reports.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Zoho Forms free?
Zoho Forms has a free plan. Free plan, free forever: 1 user, 3 forms, 500 submissions per month, 200 MB of file storage and 10 payment submissions.
How much does Zoho Forms cost?
Zoho Forms lists 5 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Zoho Forms work on?
Zoho Forms is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Zoho Forms offer any discounts?
Zoho Forms publicly lists the following: Lower monthly rate with annual billing.
How is Zoho Forms rated?
Zoho Forms's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 out of 5 from 455 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does Zoho Forms have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Zoho Forms is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Zoho Forms have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Zoho Forms is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Zoho Forms open source?
Zoho Forms is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does Zoho Forms work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
What does Zoho Forms integrate with?
Zoho Forms's listing names Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Flow, Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Teams, Zapier and WordPress.
Who makes Zoho Forms?
Zoho Forms is made by Zoho Corporation.
What are the alternatives to Zoho Forms?
The closest alternatives to Zoho Forms in our directory are Jotform, Google Forms, Cognito Forms, Microsoft Forms and Formstack.
How does Zoho Forms compare with other form and survey tools?
Zoho Forms's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 22 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 6.
Is Zoho Forms good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Zoho Forms B for value for money. Its paid plans start at $10 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 4 of the 30 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Zoho Forms?
To replace Zoho Forms you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Zoho Forms’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Zoho Forms's own pages on 5 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-02-25.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Zoho Corporation. Prices change, so check zoho.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Zoho Forms, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/zoho-forms
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Zoho Forms: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-forms
Know someone choosing between form and survey tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-forms/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded form and survey tools after Zoho Forms, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Forms & Surveys Insider's GuideEvery one of the 31 form and survey tools we grade, compared
- Google Forms Insider's GuideForm, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account3.2 GPA
- Jotform Insider's GuideNo-code form builder with payments, e-signatures and workflows3.0 GPA
- Fillout Insider's GuideForm builder with unlimited seats, payments and scheduling2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Zoho Forms’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Zoho Forms is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Zoho Corporation. Prices and plans change: check zoho.com before you buy.