These two are close enough that comparing them on features misses the point. Both are free, both are plain, both are built for surveys and quizzes rather than for selling anything, and both are included with an account you probably already have. The real question is which account that is.
Where the answers land afterwards
Google Forms comes with any Google account and has no cap on responses. Its defining behaviour is that answers can be written straight into a Google Sheet as they arrive, where they can be filtered, charted and shared like any other data. Nothing about it requires a paid plan.
Microsoft Forms is reached with work, school or personal Microsoft credentials, and its equivalent trick is Excel. Responses sync into a workbook, governance follows the rest of the tenancy, and an administrator already controls who can see what. Some capabilities, including Forms for Excel stored in OneDrive or a team site, need a work or school account rather than a personal one.
Beyond that the similarities dominate. Neither takes payments. Neither calculates across answers. Neither offers meaningful control over how the form looks, beyond a theme. Both branch questions on an answer, and both accept file uploads with an account requirement attached.
What neither of them does
If you need the form to look like your own site, to charge somebody, to work out a total from what was entered, or to live on your own domain, neither of these is the answer and the comparison is not worth finishing. That is not a flaw; it is the trade that makes them free and quick.
Which should you choose?
Choose Google Forms if your colleagues already share documents in Google Drive and your reporting happens in Sheets. Its unlimited free responses also make it the least expensive way to collect a large volume of anything, whoever you are.
Choose Microsoft Forms if your organisation runs on Microsoft 365. It is governed by the same accounts and policies as everything else you use, and the Excel sync lands responses where your reporting already is.
If you own neither, choose Google Forms. It works with a personal account without the account caveats attached to some Microsoft Forms features, and there is no response cap to think about.
Google Forms
Free with a Google account, unlimited responses, and deliberately plain.
Microsoft Forms
Quick surveys inside Microsoft 365, with responses that sync into Excel.
Specs
Ratings
Ease of building
How the form looks
How much you can change it
Logic and question types
What happens after submit
Value for money
Features
Pricing
Google Forms
Microsoft Forms
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