All three build forms with drag-and-drop editors and conditional logic, but they target different buyers. FormPress is the pick for anyone who wants a free,…
Best for: Developers, small businesses, and WordPress site owners who want a genuinely open-source, self-hostable form builder that keeps full control over where submitted data is stored.
Best for: Organizations and schools already on a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription who want quick surveys, quizzes, and forms bundled at no extra cost with native Excel, Teams, and SharePoint integration.
Best for: Businesses that need form building combined with multi-level approval workflows, payment collection, and offline mobile data collection, particularly if they already use other Zoho apps.
At a Glance
Formpress
Microsoft Forms
Zoho Forms
Primary category
Forms
Forms
Forms
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Free / Open Source
Freemium
freemium
Starting price
Free
Free
$0
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web
Not documented
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Yes
Public API
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Standout Differences
Zoho Forms has the deepest feature set of the three
Zoho Forms goes further with multi-level approval workflows, built-in payment processing through PayPal, Stripe, and 2Checkout, and a mobile app that can capture form data offline, complete with location tagging and QR scanning — none of which FormPress or Microsoft Forms document.
Zoho Forms
Microsoft Forms wins on cost if you are already a Microsoft 365 customer
Any active Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription already includes Microsoft Forms — there's no separate purchase needed, and that bundled access is what sets it apart from standalone form builders.
Microsoft Forms
FormPress is the only fully open-source, self-hostable option
FormPress publishes its full application source code and can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure, giving complete control over form data storage, unlike the vendor-hosted Microsoft Forms and Zoho Forms.
Formpress
Free-tier limits differ significantly
Microsoft Forms' free personal plan caps out at 200 responses per form and 400 surveys, and Zoho Forms' free plan has limited monthly submissions, while FormPress markets itself as free with no documented response caps because it is self-hosted.
Formpress, Microsoft Forms, Zoho Forms
Compliance depth varies
Zoho Forms documents GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA support (with HIPAA reserved for its top Premium plan) and Microsoft Forms achieved GDPR compliance in 2017, while FormPress's compliance posture is not documented in available data.
Formpress, Microsoft Forms, Zoho Forms
Feature-by-Feature
Form Building
Feature
Formpress
Microsoft Forms
Zoho Forms
Drag-and-drop WYSIWYG builder
Available
Available
Available
Conditional / branching logic
Available
Available
Available
Custom branding on entry-level or free plan
Not documented
Unavailable
Available
Automation and Data Collection
Feature
Formpress
Microsoft Forms
Zoho Forms
Multi-level approval workflows
Unavailable
Limited
Available
Built-in payment collection
Unavailable
Unavailable
Available
Offline mobile data collection
Not documented
Unavailable
Available
Integrations and Deployment
Feature
Formpress
Microsoft Forms
Zoho Forms
Self-hosting option
Available
Unavailable
Unavailable
Native integration with a wider productivity suite
Limited
Available
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Formpress
Free / Open Source — Free N/A
Microsoft Forms
Free Personal — Free N/A
Microsoft 365 Personal — ~$6-$10/month Monthly
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business / Education — Included in Microsoft 365 business/education licensing Monthly or annual
Zoho Forms
Free — $0 n/a
Basic — $10 monthly
Standard — $25 monthly
Professional — $50 monthly
Premium — $90 monthly
Pros & Cons
Formpress
Pros
Genuinely open-source, with full application source code available for self-hosting, not just a limited community edition
Free-to-use positioning lowers the barrier to entry for small businesses and individual developers
Native WordPress Gutenberg block integration is a strong fit for the large WordPress site-owner audience
Broad integration coverage via Zapier, Slack, Discord, and Google Sheets despite being a small team
Cons
Detailed public pricing tiers and paid plan specifics are not clearly documented, making cost planning harder for growing usage
Small team size relative to larger form-builder competitors may mean slower feature development and support response
Exact founding year and founder identities are not consistently documented in public sources
Less third-party review coverage and enterprise reference material compared to established competitors like JotForm or Typeform
Microsoft Forms
Pros
Included at no extra cost with any Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription
Deep native integration with Excel, Teams, SharePoint, and Power Automate
Automatic quiz grading makes it a strong fit for schools already on Microsoft 365
Simple, low-friction interface for building quick surveys and forms
GDPR-compliant, supporting deployment across European organizations
Cons
Free personal plan is capped at 200 responses per form
Limited to eight question types compared to more flexible dedicated survey tools
No custom branding on lower-tier plans
No advanced analytics, open-text sentiment analysis, or offline data collection
No dedicated customer support channel
Zoho Forms
Pros
Free-forever plan available for basic form building needs
Workflow automation and approvals go beyond simple survey tools
Offline mobile data collection with geolocation and QR code scanning
Wide integration ecosystem, including Salesforce and Google Sheets
HIPAA compliance available for healthcare and regulated use cases
Cons
HIPAA compliance is limited to the top-tier Premium plan at 90 dollars per month
Approval workflows and multi-user access require at least the Standard plan
Submission limits on lower plans may not suit high-volume form use
Full value depends on pairing with other Zoho apps for advanced workflows
Use Cases
Choose Formpress: Developers, small businesses, and WordPress site owners who want a genuinely open-source, self-hostable form builder that keeps full control over where submitted data is stored.
Choose Microsoft Forms: Organizations and schools already on a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription who want quick surveys, quizzes, and forms bundled at no extra cost with native Excel, Teams, and SharePoint integration.
Choose Zoho Forms: Businesses that need form building combined with multi-level approval workflows, payment collection, and offline mobile data collection, particularly if they already use other Zoho apps.
Formpress
Self-hosted data collection for privacy-sensitive teams — Organizations with strict data residency requirements self-host FormPress on their own infrastructure to keep form submission data fully under their control.
Embedding forms natively in WordPress — WordPress site owners use the FormPress Gutenberg block to add forms directly inside posts and pages without a separate plugin interface.
Routing form submissions into existing team tools — Small businesses connect FormPress to Google Sheets, Slack, or Discord to automatically route new form submissions into their existing workflow.
Microsoft Forms
Classroom quizzes and assessments — Teachers create auto-graded quizzes that push directly into Teams assignments, replacing the need for a separate quiz tool.
Employee and event feedback surveys — Organizations collect feedback or event registrations with responses flowing directly into Excel for reporting.
Automated workflow triggers — Teams use form submissions to kick off Power Automate workflows, such as approval routing or SharePoint list updates.
Zoho Forms
Customer and lead data collection — Building forms to capture leads, customer feedback, or registration details and route them into a CRM or spreadsheet.
Internal approval workflows — Automating multi-step approval processes such as leave requests or purchase approvals using conditional logic.
Field and offline data collection — Gathering data on-site with geolocation tagging and QR code scanning, even without an internet connection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is FormPress really free, or does it have paid tiers like the other two?
FormPress positions itself as free to use and open source, but detailed public pricing pages with named paid tiers were not found in available data, so buyers with high-volume or commercial needs should confirm current terms directly with FormPress.
Can I self-host any of these instead of relying on the vendor's cloud?
Only FormPress. Its full application source code is available for self-hosting, while Microsoft Forms and Zoho Forms are vendor-hosted SaaS products with no self-hosting option.
Which of these lets me collect payments directly through a form?
Zoho Forms, which supports payment integrations with PayPal, Stripe, and 2Checkout starting on its Basic plan. This is not documented as a feature of FormPress or Microsoft Forms.
Does Microsoft Forms cost extra on top of my Microsoft 365 subscription?
No — Microsoft Forms comes bundled with every Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscription at no added charge, which is the main way it stands apart from standalone tools like Zoho Forms.
Which tool is best for collecting data in the field without an internet connection?
Zoho Forms is the answer here — its mobile app can gather submissions without an internet connection while still tagging each entry's location and scanning QR codes. Neither FormPress nor Microsoft Forms documents this capability.
Is HIPAA compliance available with any of these three?
Zoho Forms is the only one of the three that documents HIPAA compliance, and that coverage is reserved for its highest-priced Premium plan, which runs $90 per month. Neither FormPress nor Microsoft Forms documents HIPAA support.