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How to create online forms and surveys for your business

To collect forms and surveys online you need a form builder that creates the questions, shares them by link or on your website, and stores the answers somewhere your team can use. Dedicated form and survey tools do this on their own, and many website builders and marketing platforms include basic forms too. The choice depends on what you collect and where the answers need to go next.

By Bill Belcamino · Page updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Price this for my team See the software it takes

How to collect forms and surveys, step by step

Decide what you need to collect and what you will do with each answer.
Keep the form as short as possible and group related questions.
Build the form and choose where responses are stored.
Connect responses to the tool that acts on them, such as your CRM, email list or a spreadsheet.
Test the form on a phone and check the confirmation message.
Share the link or embed it on your site, then review responses regularly.

The software this job takes

Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.

None of the core software for this job is in a category we track yet. Below are related categories we do cover, which often help with part of the job.

Often added

Website Builders

A website builder gets a professional site live without hiring a developer.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Wix	Free (Wix branding); paid plans for a custom domain	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree (Wix branding); paid plans for a custom domain	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
Squarespace	From $19/mo	Per site per month, billed annually	$19/moFlat per site per month, billed annually; includes 2 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	No	Aug 26, 2026Vendor pricing
WordPress	Free software; hosting, themes and plugins cost extra	Not stated in our record	$0 to startFree software; hosting, themes and plugins cost extra	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Website Builders pricing →Head to head:Wix vs WordPress Wix vs Squarespace4 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

Marketing Automation Software

Marketing automation runs follow-up emails and nurture campaigns without manual sending.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
ActiveCampaign	From $15/mo (1,000 contacts)	Per account per month, billed annually (1,000 contacts)	$15/moFlat per account per month, billed annually (1,000 contacts); includes 1 login, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	NoNo free plan — trial available	Sep 14, 2026Vendor pricing
HubSpot	Free tier, from $7/seat/mo	Per seat	$70/mo$7 × 10 seats	YesYes — free CRM for up to 2 users, no card required	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing
Klaviyo	From $20/mo	Per account per month, priced by active profiles	$20/moFlat per account per month, priced by active profiles	Yes250 active profiles / 500 emails + $5 of SMS/MMS credit per month	Aug 11, 2026Vendor pricing
Mailchimp	From $13/mo	Per account per month (up to 500 contacts)	$13/moFlat per account per month (up to 500 contacts); includes 3 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	Yes250 contacts / 500 sends per month	Sep 18, 2026Vendor pricing
Keap	Starting at $299/mo	Per account per month; extra users $39/month each	$299/moFlat per account per month; extra users $39/month each; includes 2 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	NoNo free plan — limited free trial (no card required; 25 email sends, no payments or texts)	Sep 14, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Marketing Automation pricing →Head to head:GoHighLevel vs ActiveCampaign ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot Mailchimp vs Klaviyo6 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Not covered on HelpCompare yet

This job usually also needs forms & surveys. We don’t track that category yet, so we have no verified prices to show for it. We would rather say so than guess. The guidance on this page still covers what to look for.

What to look for

Editorial assessment

Where responses go Check whether answers can flow into your CRM, email list or spreadsheet automatically. Copying responses by hand is where data gets lost.
Response and form limits Free and entry plans often cap responses per month or the number of forms. Check the limit against your expected volume.
Conditional questions Look for logic that shows or skips questions based on earlier answers. It keeps longer forms and surveys short for each person.
File uploads and payments If people send documents or pay through the form, check whether that is supported and on which plan.
Branding and embedding Check whether you can remove the tool's branding and embed the form on your own site. It affects how trustworthy the form looks.
Survey reporting For customer surveys, check the summary charts and export options. You need to see trends, not just individual answers.

Common mistakes to avoid

Collecting more than you need Every extra question lowers completion and adds data you must protect. Ask only what you will use.
Forms nobody watches Submissions that only land in an unread inbox get missed. Route them to a person or a tool that acts on them.
Ignoring data rules Forms often collect personal details. Check what privacy and consent rules apply where you operate before you launch.
Paying for a separate tool you already have Your website builder or marketing platform may include forms. Check before adding another subscription.

What to settle before you buy

What will you collect: leads, orders, feedback, applications or surveys?
Roughly how many responses a month do you expect?
Where do responses need to end up?
Who reviews and acts on each response?
Do forms need file uploads, signatures or payments?
Does the form collect personal or sensitive data?

Ready to take it to whoever signs off?Turn your shortlist into a one-page decision brief with verified prices, or price the whole job for your team size.

Build a decision brief Open the finder

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free online form builder?

Some form and survey tools offer free plans, and website builders and marketing platforms may include basic forms. Free plans often limit responses, forms or branding, so check those limits against how much you collect.

How do I create a form online?

Write down the questions first, build them in a form tool, choose where answers are stored, test it on a phone, then share the link or embed it on your site.

What are the best customer satisfaction survey tools?

Look for one that keeps surveys short to answer, shows clear summary reports and connects to where you track customers. Compare response limits and reporting on the plan you would actually use.

What should I look for in a Google Forms alternative?

Compare conditional logic, response limits, integrations, file uploads, payments and branding. Choose based on which of those your forms actually need, or start from the finder for this job.

How we built this page

We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “online form builder free”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.

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How to create online forms and surveys for your business

How to collect forms and surveys, step by step

The software this job takes

Website Builders

Marketing Automation Software

Not covered on HelpCompare yet

What to look for

Common mistakes to avoid

What to settle before you buy

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free online form builder?

How do I create a form online?

What are the best customer satisfaction survey tools?

What should I look for in a Google Forms alternative?

How we built this page

More jobs in Customers

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Bill Belcamino