Forms VS Forms Pro – What Is The Difference?

Microsoft Forms has been around since 2016. In walks Microsoft Forms Pro in 2019. Both have tons of functionality. Both can be used by an organisation to gather feedback from customers, prospects and even employees. So what is the difference between the two?

If you want to create a classic form, you can add this option to your default Forms Pro environment by clicking on the gear icon. Select show button to create classic form.

You will now have the option to create a survey (Forms Pro), a form (Forms) or a Quiz. If you are in another environment (think PROD or SANDBOX environment for Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement)

To help understand, I’ve created a comparison table showing an area of functionality, a brief description and then an indicator if it can be used in Forms, Forms Pro or both. You can download a PDF of the table here.

MAIN SURVEY
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Survey Title	Set the title of the survey
Survey Title Formatting	Set the font as bold, italic, underlined, change the colour, font family and font size
Survey Description	Add a description to the survey
Survey Description Formatting	Set the font as bold, italic, underlined, change the colour, font family and font size
Survey Description Piped Data	Add piped data in to the survey such as First Name or Last Name. Can create additional parameters to add more values as required
Survey Image	Add an image to the survey header (Bing search, OneDrive or Upload)
THEMES
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Add Theme Using Pre-set Colours	Add a theme to the survey using up to 8 predefined colours
Add Theme Using Pre-set Images	Add a theme to the survey with different images
Add Theme By Selecting Colour	Add a theme to the survey by using a specific Hex Colour
Add Theme Uploading An Image	Add a theme to the survey by uploading your own image
Theme Idea Suggestions	Based on the title of the survey, theme ideas are suggested and can be selected to use on the survey
ADDITIONAL SETTINGS
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Multilingual Surveys	Create a version of a survey in multiple languages
Personalise Surveys	Add personalised data by creating new piping variables. Information from a record in CDS can then be used to pass back in to the survey (questions and descriptions)
Copy Survey	Create a copy of an existing survey
Share Survey As Template	Copy a link to share with others. Visitor to link can then duplicate the survey to start using as their own
Share Survey To Collaborate	Copy a link to share with others so they can collaborate on a survey with you
Settings For Who Can Complete Survey	Set who can fill out the form for either anyone with the link, or only people within your organisation
Settings To Record Name With Link	Record the name of the person filling out the survey, which is only possible with personalised links
Settings For Only One Response Per Person With Link	Ability to have only one response per person for a survey, which is only possible with personalised links
Settings To Record Name In Organisation	Record the name of the person filling out the survey
Settings For Only One Response Per Person In Organisation	Ability to have only one response per person for a survey
Accept Responses	Accept responses by default but deselect to stop any further responses coming in. Then have the ability to share a message with anyone who tries to access the survey
Set Start & End Date	Set a start and end date for when the survey can have responses submitted
Shuffle Questions	Questions will randomly shuffle the order of the questions displayed.
Customise Thank You Message	By default the thank you message displayed at the end once the survey is submitted just states ‘Your response was submitted’. This can be changed in the settings area.
Send Email Receipt To Respondents	If only people in the organisation can respond to a survey, an email receipt can be sent to the respondent when they submit the survey
Get Email Notification Of Each Response	If only people in the organisation can respond to a survey, an email notification can be sent to the person creating the survey when a response is submitted
Add Sections To Survey	Organise the surveys in to separate pages by adding new sections
Preview Survey In Computer Mode	Preview how the survey will be displayed to a responder reviewing it on a computer
Preview Survey In Mobile Mode	Preview how the survey will be displayed to a responder reviewing it on a mobile device
QUESTIONS
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Survey Question Formatting	Set the font as bold, italic, underlined, change the colour, font family and font size
Survey Question Piped Data	Add piped data in to the survey such as First Name or Last Name. Can create additional parameters to add more values as required
Several Question Types Available	7 different question types are available to add (Choice, Text, Rating, Date, Ranking, Likert & Net Promoter Score)
Make Question Visible	All questions are visible by default, but can be hidden if required
Subtitle On Question	Add a subtitle to a question which appears underneath the question text to provide more explanation or additional clarity to a responder
Make Question Required	Set a specific question as required so the responder must provide an answer
Insert Media In To Question	Insert either an image or a video in to a question
Suggested Options For Choice Question	Options are suggested for the choice question based on the first initial option added
Multiple Answers On Choice Question	Responder can provide multiple answers to a question when using the Choice question
Drop-down On Choice Question	Make options appear as a drop-down list instead of displaying all possible options
Shuffle Options On Choice Questions	Shuffle the options on a choice question so they appear in a different order each time
Long Answer On Text Question	Change a single line text question to a multi-line text question
Restrictions On Text Question	Add a restriction to a Text question to force the answer to be a number. This can then be forced to be greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to, equal to, not equal to, between or not between.
Rating Question As Stars Or Numbers	Set a rating question to require a response giving a number of stars, or selecting a number from 1 to 10.
Add Labels To A Rating Question	Adding a label lets you set a label for the lowest option (1 star or 1) and the highest option (10 stars or 10)
BRANCHING RULES
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Create Branching Rules	Create branching rules based on responses to specific questions
Branching Rules To Navigate To Questions	Navigate to specific questions based on the answer given to a prior question
Branching Rules To Navigate To End Of Survey	Navigate to the end of the survey based on the answer given to a specific question
Branching Rules To Navigate To Another Survey	Navigate to a follow up survey based on the answer given to a specific question. This will occur once the survey has been submitted
Branching Rules To Navigate To A URL	Navigate to a URL based on the answer given to a specific question. This will occur once the survey has been submitted.
Branching Rules Based On Value Of Answer	If a question is not equal to specific response, or greater than, or less than, determine what happens next
Branching Rules With Multiple Conditions	Set multiple conditions to determine what happens with the survey next. For example, a responder might answer Yes to one question and No to another, and then a branching may occur
Branching Actions For True And False	Set branching rules with a condition that has an action for a TRUE outcome AND for a FALSE outcome
RESPONSES
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Responses Are Stored In CDS	The responses to the survey are stored in the Common Data Service, allowing access to the Forms Pro entities. These can then be combined in a Model Driven Power App with entities from other platforms such as Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement
All Survey Responses Can Be Viewed	The responses can be viewed for a survey easily
Charts Are Provided To Display Details	Each question type has its own visual representation using charts and graphs to view the response data
Export All Responses To Excel	Responses to the survey can be exported to Excel
Export Individual Responses To Excel	Individual responses to the survey can be exported to Excel
Print Summary	Print a summary of all the responses, displaying charts and visuals
Print Individual Responses	Print the individual answers for a specific respondent
Get A Summary Link	Get a link which can be shared with others to view a summary of all of the responses for a survey
View Sentiment	See the overall average sentiment for a survey, and the sentiment for individual responses
Search For Responses	Search for responses within the last 30 days, 90 days or custom date range, or by name or email address
Association Insights On Survey	Displays the correlation between one or more questions in the survey to help detect patterns in the responders.
Sentiment Insights On Survey	Displays the average sentiment score and a word cloud for positive and negative feedback of respondents
SHARING SURVEYS
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Share Survey Using Link	Share a link with people so they can access and respond to the survey
Share Survey With QR Code	A QR code is provided which can be downloaded and used on a website, on an advert, in a presentation or on printed collateral for responders to scan with a phone or tablet and access and respond to the survey
Embed Survey Inline To Webpage	Copy generated code and paste it into a webpage so responders can access and respond from your website.
Embed Survey With Pop-up	Copy generated code and paste it into a web page to display the survey in a pop-up window on a webpage.
Embed Survey Using A Button	Copy generated code and paste it in to a web page to show t he survey when a button is selected on your website
Pass Context In Embed Code	Use parameters to pass context in the embed code used on your website. This allows you to pass information back in to CDS on the survey response which can be used to link information to other records
EMAILING SURVEYS
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Send Survey Using Email Client	Using the email option opens up an email template in your default email client with a link to the survey added.
Send Survey Using Forms Pro Email	Survey can be sent via email using the built in email functionality within Forms Pro
Create Custom Email Templates	Email templates can be created using images, font style changes, adding tables and hyperlinks
Email Can Be Personalised	Email templates can be customised with the First Name and Last Name of the recipient
Unsubscribe Option Provided	Recipients of emails requesting feedback can unsubscribe from survey emails, preventing you from sending requests in the future
Import Recipients	Import recipients using a CSV file. The survey can then be sent to each person in the spreadsheet
Send Email To Office 365 Contacts	Search for, find and email contacts from Office 365
Send Email to D365CE View	Using Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, search for a View and send to Contacts found using the Advanced Find criteria
Quick Poll Add-In	Quick poll add-in for Outlook and Outlook.com lets you create an instant, real-time poll directly in the body of an email. Results can then be reviewed in Forms
MICROSOFT FLOW
Functionality	Details	Forms	Forms Pro
Configure A Microsoft Flow From A Template	Configure a Microsoft Flow using a template which can be used to trigger a survey when events occur in CDS. For example, when a case is resolved, when a lead is qualified or when an order is fulfilled
Configure A Microsoft Flow From Blank	Configure a Microsoft Flow from blank, setting your own triggers and actions based on your own requirements

Hope the comparison helped. I will keep this updated as new features are released. Anything you think I have missed? Let me know in the comments below!