Google Forms is free and everywhere. Diaform is an AI agent that asks the follow-up. If "fine" and "ok" are killing your open-text column, you've outgrown the free option.
14-day free trial · No demo required
Side by side
Conversation format
AI-led conversation, every respondent gets a different path based on their answers, all from one shared link.
Static questionnaire. Same fields, same order, every respondent. Section-based branching exists but is brittle and pre-defined.
Follow-up questions
Adaptive follow-ups (1, 3, or 5 deep) generated per answer. The AI decides when an answer deserves probing and when to move on.
No follow-ups. If a respondent writes 'it was fine', Google Forms just moves on to the next question.
Voice answers
Whisper-powered voice input plus an ElevenLabs AI voice. Voice answers are typically 2-3× longer than typed responses.
Text only. No voice input, no audio capture, respondents type every answer on whatever device they're on.
Response analysis
Per-response summaries, sentiment, answer confidence, and optional notable quotes are generated alongside the message history.
Pie charts for closed questions and a CSV column for open text. No themes, no sentiment, no synthesis at all.
Languages
Runs conversations in 30+ languages and reports synthesis back in English so the team can review without re-translating.
Form UI is localized via the respondent's Google account, but the survey itself is whatever language you typed.
Free tier
Diaform offers a 14-day trial (50 conversations, 1 project, 1 seat), generous, but not free forever.
Free forever, unlimited responses, unlimited forms, unlimited respondents. Bundled with any Google account at zero cost.
Workspace integration
CSV export and HMAC-signed webhooks pipe data into Sheets, BI tools, or any stack. Not a native Google Workspace app.
Native to Google Workspace, one click to send responses into Sheets, share via Drive, embed in Sites, route via Gmail.
Mid-conversation automations
13 topic + 5 sentiment triggers fire actions in flow: alert Slack, capture an email, offer a discount, book a meeting, redirect.
No in-flow actions. Submission triggers via Apps Script or Zapier exist, but only fire after the respondent finishes.
Branded experience
Branded subdomain by default (acme.diaform.io/c/...); custom domain on Business and Enterprise. Looks like a customer-facing product.
Default Google chrome with a small banner image. Looks like an internal Google Form, because that's what it is.
Best for
Customer-facing qualitative research where depth matters: churn, onboarding, concept tests, JTBD conversations.
Free internal use: RSVPs, class quizzes, simple signups, low-stakes Workspace polls. Hard to beat at zero dollars.
Conversation format
AI-led conversation, every respondent gets a different path based on their answers, all from one shared link.
GOOGLE FORMS
Static questionnaire. Same fields, same order, every respondent. Section-based branching exists but is brittle and pre-defined.
Follow-up questions
Adaptive follow-ups (1, 3, or 5 deep) generated per answer. The AI decides when an answer deserves probing and when to move on.
GOOGLE FORMS
No follow-ups. If a respondent writes 'it was fine', Google Forms just moves on to the next question.
Voice answers
Whisper-powered voice input plus an ElevenLabs AI voice. Voice answers are typically 2-3× longer than typed responses.
GOOGLE FORMS
Text only. No voice input, no audio capture, respondents type every answer on whatever device they're on.
Response analysis
Per-response summaries, sentiment, answer confidence, and optional notable quotes are generated alongside the message history.
GOOGLE FORMS
Pie charts for closed questions and a CSV column for open text. No themes, no sentiment, no synthesis at all.
Languages
Runs conversations in 30+ languages and reports synthesis back in English so the team can review without re-translating.
GOOGLE FORMS
Form UI is localized via the respondent's Google account, but the survey itself is whatever language you typed.
Free tier
Diaform offers a 14-day trial (50 conversations, 1 project, 1 seat), generous, but not free forever.
GOOGLE FORMS
Free forever, unlimited responses, unlimited forms, unlimited respondents. Bundled with any Google account at zero cost.
Workspace integration
CSV export and HMAC-signed webhooks pipe data into Sheets, BI tools, or any stack. Not a native Google Workspace app.
GOOGLE FORMS
Native to Google Workspace, one click to send responses into Sheets, share via Drive, embed in Sites, route via Gmail.
Mid-conversation automations
13 topic + 5 sentiment triggers fire actions in flow: alert Slack, capture an email, offer a discount, book a meeting, redirect.
GOOGLE FORMS
No in-flow actions. Submission triggers via Apps Script or Zapier exist, but only fire after the respondent finishes.
Branded experience
Branded subdomain by default (acme.diaform.io/c/...); custom domain on Business and Enterprise. Looks like a customer-facing product.
GOOGLE FORMS
Default Google chrome with a small banner image. Looks like an internal Google Form, because that's what it is.
Best for
Customer-facing qualitative research where depth matters: churn, onboarding, concept tests, JTBD conversations.
GOOGLE FORMS
Free internal use: RSVPs, class quizzes, simple signups, low-stakes Workspace polls. Hard to beat at zero dollars.
Every respondent gets the exact same survey. There's no way to dig into an answer that deserves more attention.
Analytics are minimal. Open-text answers land in a column with no themes, no sentiment, and no synthesis.
Polish matters when you're asking customers for time. The default chrome screams 'internal tool' rather than 'we care about your feedback'.
Choose a probing intensity (1, 3, or 5) and the AI decides per answer when to follow up.
Respondents can speak naturally. Voice answers are typically 2-3× longer and far more candid.
Per-response summaries, sentiment, answer confidence, and optional notable quotes are generated for review.
13 topic triggers and 5 sentiment triggers can alert Slack, capture an email, offer a discount, or book a meeting in flow.
Branded subdomain by default; custom domain on Business and Enterprise. Looks like a customer-facing product, not a Google internal tool.
Run conversations globally in respondents' native languages with summaries in English.
Stay on Google Forms for free, internal, low-stakes work, RSVPs, class quizzes, signups, simple Workspace polls. It's the right call when you already live inside Workspace, just need the response landing in a Sheet, and don't care about follow-up, synthesis, or branding.
Reach for Diaform on customer-facing research where the answer matters: churn, onboarding, post-purchase, and concept testing. You get summaries, sentiment, answer confidence, optional notable quotes, and the original transcript in a branded conversational experience.
The practical details behind setting up, running, and scaling this kind of research with Diaform.
For internal polls, no, stay free. For customer-facing feedback where you need depth, the upgrade pays for itself the first time you skip an hour of coding open-text answers.
Explore the other ways Diaform can turn a static request for feedback into a useful conversation.
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