Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Plausible.io VS Microsoft Forms

Compare Plausible.io VS Microsoft Forms and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Plausible.io logo Plausible.io

Plausible Analytics is a simple, open-source, lightweight (< 1 KB) and privacy-friendly web analytics alternative to Google Analytics. Made and hosted in the EU, powered by European-owned cloud infrastructure ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ

Microsoft Forms logo Microsoft Forms

Simplistic surveys by Microsoft.
  • Plausible.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2020-07-07

Plausible Analytics is not designed to be a clone of Google Analytics. It is meant as a simple-to-use replacement and a privacy-friendly alternative that can help many site owners.

  • It's quick, simple to use and understand with all the metrics displayed on one page. Doesn't track hundreds of metrics like Google Analytics does

  • Lightweight script of less than 1 KB so sites load fast. The script is 45 times smaller script than the Google Analytics one

  • Doesn't use cookies so there's no need to worry about cookie banners

  • Doesn't track personal data so it's compliant with GDPR out of the box and you don't need to worry about asking for data consent

  • It's open source with the code available on GitHub so you can even self host exactly the same product free as in beer

  • Unlike Google Analytics, the cloud product is not free as in beer because the business model is subscriptions rather than selling the data of your visitors. Plausible Analytics is bootstrapped without any external funding so the subscription fees help cover the costs and time spent on development.

  • Microsoft Forms Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-27

Plausible.io

$ Details
paid Free Trial $9.0 / Monthly (10,000 pageviews)
Platforms
Web Browser Google Chrome Firefox Safari Wordpress
Release Date
2019 April
Startup details
Country
Estonia

Microsoft Forms

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Plausible.io features and specs

  • Privacy-focused
    Plausible does not collect personal data about your visitors and is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR.
  • Simple to Use
    The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, making it accessible for users without technical expertise.
  • Lightweight
    Plausible's script is under 1 KB in size, making it fast to load and reducing the impact on site speed.
  • Open-Source
    The platform is open-source, which allows for community contributions and transparency in how data is handled.
  • Real-Time Data
    Plausible provides real-time analytics, which can be useful for monitoring live events and activities on your site.
  • Affordable Pricing
    Offers competitive pricing models that can be more budget-friendly for small to medium-sized businesses compared to other analytics platforms.

Possible disadvantages of Plausible.io

  • Limited Features
    Lacks some advanced features found in more comprehensive analytics tools like Google Analytics, such as multi-channel funnels and detailed demographic information.
  • No Free Tier
    Plausible does not offer a free tier, which could be an obstacle for very small websites or individual users on a tight budget.
  • Basic Reporting
    The reporting may be too basic for larger enterprises that require more granular and customizable analytics.
  • No App Integration
    Currently, Plausible does not offer integrations with mobile app analytics, limiting its use to web applications.
  • Smaller User Base
    As a relatively new and smaller player in the market, it may not have the extensive user community or third-party support seen with more established platforms.

Microsoft Forms features and specs

  • Integration with Microsoft 365
    Microsoft Forms seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft 365 apps such as Excel, SharePoint, and Teams, enhancing collaboration and data management.
  • Ease of Use
    The platform offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies form creation and distribution, making it accessible even to non-technical users.
  • Real-time Collaboration
    Multiple users can collaborate on form creation and data analysis in real-time, fostering teamwork and increasing productivity.
  • Customization Options
    It offers various customization options, including themes, question types, and response validation, allowing users to tailor forms to specific needs.
  • Analytics and Reporting
    Built-in analytics tools provide insights and visualizations directly within Microsoft Forms, aiding in data-driven decision-making.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft Forms

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Compared to other specialized survey tools, Microsoft Forms lacks some advanced features such as complex branching, advanced logic, and extensive third-party integrations.
  • Design Flexibility
    The platform has limited design customization options, making it less suitable for users looking to create highly branded or unique forms.
  • Response Limits
    Free and some standard Microsoft 365 plans have response limits, which can be restrictive for organizations conducting large-scale surveys.
  • Export Limitations
    Exporting data to other formats or systems can be cumbersome, especially when dealing with large datasets or requiring specific data formats.
  • Dependency on Microsoft Ecosystem
    While integration with Microsoft 365 is a strength, it can also be a limitation for users or organizations that rely on non-Microsoft tools and services.

Analysis of Plausible.io

Overall verdict

  • Plausible.io is generally considered to be a good web analytics tool, especially for those who prioritize privacy and simplicity.

Why this product is good

  • Plausible.io is designed with simplicity and privacy at its core, offering a clean and user-friendly interface without tracking personal data or using cookies. It provides essential analytics without overwhelming users with too much information. This focus on privacy can be particularly appealing in a landscape where data concerns are significant. It is also easy to integrate, offers real-time data, and is open source, allowing for more transparency compared to some competitors.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized website owners
  • Bloggers and content creators
  • Businesses and startups focused on privacy
  • Developers who value open source solutions
  • Users looking for an alternative to Google Analytics with a straightforward setup

Analysis of Microsoft Forms

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Microsoft Forms is generally well-regarded as a user-friendly tool for creating and managing online forms.

Why this product is good

  • Microsoft Forms is considered good due to its ease of use, integration with other Microsoft 365 applications, real-time collaboration features, and robust data analysis capabilities. It provides an intuitive interface for creating surveys, quizzes, and polls and offers automatic data export to Excel for further analysis. Additionally, it ensures data security and privacy, adherent to Microsoft's compliance guidelines.

Recommended for

  • Educational institutions requiring tools for quizzes and feedback collection
  • Businesses looking for an integrated solution for customer surveys and employee feedback
  • Teams that already use Microsoft 365 and need seamless integration with other applications
  • Users who require real-time data analysis and collaboration on form responses

Plausible.io videos

Cardano Blackboard Series #5: What is plausible deniability?

More videos:

  • Review - How Plausible is the Balkanized America from Crimson Skies? (A Map Analysis)
  • Review - Movie Review - How Plausible is The Martian?

Microsoft Forms videos

Review of Microsoft Forms Pro 2019 โ€ข Office 365 Survey Solution

More videos:

  • Review - Introducing Microsoft Forms Pro
  • Review - Microsoft Forms Pro | Business Applications April 2019 Release

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Plausible.io and Microsoft Forms)
Analytics
100 100%
0% 0
Form Builder
0 0%
100% 100
Web Analytics
100 100%
0% 0
Surveys
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Plausible.io and Microsoft Forms. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Plausible.io and Microsoft Forms

Plausible.io Reviews

  1. Nikola
    ยท Founder at Hosted Status Page ยท
    Happy Paying User :)

    I've been using plausible since Sep 2019 and never had any doubts about it. It provides me with everything I need related to visitor stats while keeping privacy in first place.

    It doesn't slow down my website loading speed (it's amazing, it's less than 1KB in size!), is not blocked by adblockers since it's not really a tracker tracker, and owners are super cool and they actually respond to every inquiry you could possibly have.

    If you're looking for de-googling your stuff, you can start with Plausible :)

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Google Analytics, Matomo, Woopra
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Loading speed|Clean ui|Privacy concisous|Custom domain|Affordable prices|Easy integration|Super simple
  2. Makis
    ยท Senior Software Engineer ยท
    Plausibly simple analytics!

    I tried several analytics tools prior to Plausible, namely Google Analytics and later on Matomo. I found both to be fairly complicated for my usage which is a personal blog. Complicated in the way I had to install and use them. Plausible's simple to set up approach combined with a very clean and inviting user interface was a breath of fresh air. It's simple and clean enough that it actually makes me want to check and analyse my traffic which is a feeling I never thought I'd have having tried alternatives.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Google Analytics, Simple Analytics, Matomo
  3. Cesar Reyes
    ยท CEO at Reyes.Pro ยท
    Excellent alternative to google analytics

    It offers clear information about what I really need, without distractions, without advertising and does not slow my site.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Google Analytics

Top 5 Plausible Analytics Alternatives in 2024
Looking for an excellent Plausible Analytics alternative? Read on as in this blog we will be exploring the best Plausible alternatives in 2024.
Source: www.putler.com
Top 9 Plausible Analytics alternatives in 2024
Plausible is an analytics platform focused on delivering clear insights into website traffic. By offering essential metrics like page views and referral sources, Plausible aids businesses in making informed decisions to optimize their online presence.
Source: usermaven.com
Top 5 Self-Hosted, Open Source Alternatives to Google Analytics
Use Case Example: An educational blog opts for Plausible to track user engagement metrics without impacting site performance or user privacy.
Source: zeabur.com
Top 5 open source alternatives to Google Analytics
Plausible is a newer kid on the open source analytics tools block. Itโ€™s lean, itโ€™s fast, and only collects a small amount of information โ€” that includes numbers of unique visitors and the top pages they visited, the number of page views, the bounce rate, and referrers. Plausible is simple and very focused.
Source: opensource.com
Privacy-oriented alternatives to Google Analytics
I learned about Plausible just recently, but they deserve to be on top of this list for me. Their platform is completely Open Source on GitHub under the MIT license. I personally also like that itโ€™s written in Elixir.

Microsoft Forms Reviews

  1. โœ“ Adrian | Mobile Forms - Digital Inspections - Enterprise Checklists - Data collection
    ยท Marketing at Mobile Forms ยท
    My home inspection form software review of microsoft forms builder

    This is my review of microsoft forms builder used as a home inspection software.

    As a home inspector, I was trying to use Microsoft forms builder as a gathering information tool through surveys as it is an essential part of understanding the needs and preferences of customers and employees, as well as property investors and homeowners.

    There is evidence that customer satisfaction surveys increase customer engagement by differentiating your brand and showing that you care about yourself. Similarly, employee surveys are essential to measuring internal engagement within organizations. This underscores the need for robust tools that effectively report survey/survey responses in a measurable way so that results can facilitate decision-making. That's where MS Forms comes in. With an easy-to-use interface, Forms lets you create short surveys or develop surveys for free as part of the Office 365 suite of applications. While there are other third-party alternatives, such as SurveyMonkey, that have survey and query capabilities, Forms is free under the Office 365 subscription.

    The advantage of Forms is that it offers more seamless integration with other Microsoft applications. In the past, Microsoft had InfoPath, which had the same goal but was more complex to design and start.

    One of the features of Forms to note is Dynamic Customer Voice 365. It's a business feedback management application built into Forms that allows easy tracking of customer measurements by introducing real-time survey data into customer records. It comes with project management capabilities that allow you to gather multiple surveys with similar metrics to simplify analysis, so you can understand how customers see your services. Important: You'll need a paid license to access Dynamic 365 Customer Voice, but it's available for a free 30-day trial.

    From a management perspective, Forms enables business leaders to understand the needs and productivity of employees quickly and effectively. For example, ITW's management team used forms to check with employees during the pandemic. It has been invaluable in providing information and measures on productivity, well-being and assessing employees' remote work needs (e.g., need for office equipment and stationery). This form builder allows any device to connect and contribute to a continuous live survey, with results dynamically visible on the backend, so employees can respond to surveys at a company-wide virtual meeting. The management team can then visualize these responses as they arrive and respond live, creating a more conversational feeling, even in a remote environment.

    Engaged employees are 27% more likely to report "excellent" performance. (Source: Gallup) Microsoft Planner Productivity monitoring and task management are an integral part of inter-team organizational alignment; there is evidence that a work environment where employees feel connected when working on projects increases engagement and productivity. Microsoft Planner is a comprehensive task and work management solution that allows teams to stay connected throughout a project, manage their time and organize. The planner allows you to set up due date notifications so that team members receive reminders about the due date, which maintains connectivity and increases responsibility for tasks. In addition, one of the planner's new features allows you to announce tasks in Teams so users can discuss them in the Team channel.

    Other apps I have reviewed like Monday.com or Smartsheet</a" may provide similar features, but being part of the Microsoft 365 suite, Planner can easily be integrated with other applications on the platform. And of course, the value you get from a free app in Planner far exceeds the cost of payment for any third-party application.

    All in all, personally, I think I have wasted enough time on non specialized form builders until I stumbled upon nSpek. It truly changes the game of home inspections for a... home inspector :D

    You can check out more reviews of inspection software I was able to find, so that you can dive much deeper into the whole software comparison as a property manager.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: nSpek, ProntoForms, Google Forms

27 Best Typeform Alternatives In 2022 (Free & Paid)
When it comes to choosing a Typeform alternative, you might be looking for the one that can be easily integrated with Excel. Microsoft Forms can do this, and itโ€™s a tremendous online form tool too.
The 11 Best Online Form Builder Apps in 2019
Adding questions to Microsoft Forms is fast and simple: add a question, choose the answer format, and type in your questions and response options. And while Microsoft Forms doesn't offer some of the response types you'll find in Google Formsโ€”it doesn't allow respondents to upload files, for exampleโ€”it does have response types you won't find in Google Forms, like Net Promoter...
Source: zapier.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Plausible.io seems to be a lot more popular than Microsoft Forms. While we know about 215 links to Plausible.io, we've tracked only 16 mentions of Microsoft Forms. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Plausible.io mentions (215)

  • Chris Banes' Skills Repo: Claude Code Meets Android Development
    Also a small tooling aside โ€” if you're tracking how often skills get used across your team (or just want analytics on your dev blog without the GDPR cookie banner dance), privacy-focused options like Umami or Plausible give you full data ownership and a much lighter footprint than Google Analytics. I migrated two side projects to Umami last year and haven't looked back. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Migrating Off Google Analytics: Umami vs Plausible vs Fathom
    So this post is about something I've been chewing on for months but finally moved on: ripping Google Analytics out of three side projects and picking a privacy-focused alternative. Specifically, I'll compare Umami, Plausible, and Fathom โ€” the three I actually evaluated โ€” and walk through the migration steps that worked for me. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Google Analytics Alternatives: Umami vs Plausible vs Fathom in 2026
    Plausible is what I recommend when someone wants to set it up and forget about it. It's an EU-based company, the data stays in the EU, and they're very transparent about their infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Migrating from Google Analytics to Privacy-Focused Alternatives
    Plausible is also open-source with a self-hosted option, but their cloud-hosted product is where most people land. It's polished, opinionated, and genuinely pleasant to use. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Qwen 3 vs Llama 3: Configuring Local LLMs for Actual Performance
    I've been using Umami for this โ€” it's a self-hosted, privacy-focused analytics tool that doesn't require cookie banners and is fully GDPR-compliant out of the box. Compared to alternatives like Plausible (also excellent, but their hosted plan costs more) or Fathom (hosted-only, pricier), Umami hits a sweet spot of simplicity and zero cost if you self-host. You get clean dashboards showing endpoint usage, response... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

Microsoft Forms mentions (16)

  • MS Forms: Employee to send form and recieve results on his email depending on which employee emails the form (dynamic)
    When you use the word โ€˜formโ€™ in a Microsoft context, readers including myself may assume you are talking about Microsoft forms on https://forms.office.com. Source: about 3 years ago
  • How does your company do its IT Onboarding?
    Make a Microsoft Forms that they have to fill out. Set it to email you when it's completed. Tell people that they have to fill it out properly or they can't have access to anything. The last thing they had before I got here was on PAPER... ISYN. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Microsoft Forms are constantly refreshing and logging out
    You can get to forms.office.com but when you open any form to edit it just constantly refreshes and then kicks you back to a login screen. Source: over 3 years ago
  • How To Create A Fillable Form In Sharepoint Office 365?
    Or just use Microsoft Forms, available at https://forms.office.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Easiest Way to Collect Data from Many People at an Organization
    Could you send out a forms link and then collate the data? Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Plausible.io and Microsoft Forms, you can also consider the following products

Google Analytics - Improve your website to increase conversions, improve the user experience, and make more money using Google Analytics. Measure, understand and quantify engagement on your site with customized and in-depth reports.

Typeform - Create beautiful, next-generation online forms with Typeform, the form & survey builder that makes asking questions easy & human on any device. Try it FREE!

Fathom Analytics - Simple, trustworthy website analytics (finally)

Google Forms - Simple web forms from Google.

Matomo - Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform

Survey Monkey - Create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time. SurveyMonkey provides free online questionnaire and survey software.