Microsoft Forms vs Tally

Microsoft Forms is free because you already bought Microsoft 365. Tally is free to anybody. What separates them is how much form there is once you get past that.

Included, or free to anyone

Microsoft Forms costs nothing extra on a Microsoft 365 subscription, is governed by the same accounts and policies as the rest of the suite, and syncs responses into Excel where most reporting already happens. For an internal survey that is a complete answer.

Tally's free plan carries unlimited forms and unlimited submissions within a published fair-use policy, with conditional logic, calculations, signatures and file uploads included. Tally scores 5 for value against Microsoft Forms' 4 — and Microsoft Forms only reaches 4 because the subscription is assumed.

Tally charges for presentation rather than capability: removing branding needs the Pro plan at twenty-four dollars a month, and capturing part-finished responses is paid.

The ceiling on what you can build

Microsoft Forms scores 1 for customisation and 3 for logic, against Tally's 4 and 5. It has no payment collection, no calculations across answers, no signatures and no save-and-resume. Tally has all four.

There is also the account question. Some Microsoft Forms capabilities require a work or school account rather than a personal one, which is fine internally and a problem the moment the form goes to customers. Tally asks nothing of the respondent at all.

Tally stores form data in the EU by a company based there. Microsoft Forms sits wherever your tenancy sits, which for many organisations is the answer they need and for some is not.

Microsoft Forms scores 5 for ease and Tally scores 5 as well. Microsoft Forms is easy because it does little; Tally is easy because its editor is a document you type into — quicker to start, and less layout control than a visual canvas.

Which should you choose?

Choose Microsoft Forms if the form is internal, your organisation's governance matters more than the feature list, and the answers need to be in Excel.

Choose Tally if the form goes to people outside the organisation, or needs a payment, a signature or a calculation — and budget for Pro if the branding is not acceptable.