whatayarn is our starting recommendation for public forms that Microsoft Forms can’t handle. Microsoft Forms only accepts file uploads from people inside your organisation, and paying won’t change that. On whatayarn, anyone with the link can upload files and sign on Free, with no account, and the Summary tab shows the results. Choose Tally if the form also takes payments, Fillout or Cognito Forms for richer rules and integrations, Jotform for business intake with payments, and Typeform for a question-by-question layout. Stay with Microsoft Forms for internal surveys, quizzes and anything already wired into Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Forms is a sensible default inside an organisation. Public uploads are where it stops working. A sysadmin described the problem: the file upload question “works perfect for this use case, but only for internal users” (r/sysadmin (opens in a new tab)). Microsoft’s current documentation still says the same.
What Microsoft Forms limits, and what it doesn’t
Check three things against your account: who can upload, how many responses a form allows, and what branching can do.
- Uploads are internal only. The file upload question (opens in a new tab) only works when the form is restricted to people in your organisation. Files go to OneDrive for Business. A Microsoft 365 subscription doesn’t make it a public upload field.
- Response caps are per form. Microsoft’s limits page (opens in a new tab) gives free personal accounts 200 responses per form and paid personal accounts 1,000. Eligible work and school accounts allow far more.
- Branching only moves forward. Branching (opens in a new tab) can skip ahead to a later question or section, but not loop back.
Ordinary questions can take public responses when Anyone can respond is turned on and your organisation’s policy allows it. If its response allowance, forward-only branching and Microsoft workflow meet your needs, stay.
Compare seven Microsoft Forms alternatives
| Alternative | Choose it forWhat Microsoft Forms can't do for you | Free plan and tradeoffWhat you give up compared with Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|---|
| whatayarnPublic forms you can review | Uploads and signatures without an accountFree logic and calculations, then a Summary of results and AI columns.Public uploads on Free | No Microsoft 365 integrationExport to CSV for Excel. 5 MB per file; 100 MB storage on Free.Manual handoff |
| TallyPublic uploads without an account | Anyone can upload, no sign-inUnlimited forms and submissions within fair use, with logic, calculations and payments.Public uploads on Free | Files don't land in OneDrive10 MB per file on Free. Branding removal is Pro, US$29 a month.Outside Microsoft 365 |
| FilloutConnected intake and calculations | Intake with calculations and integrationsFree includes logic, calculations, payments, hidden fields and standard integrations.Connected workflow | 1,000 responses a month on FreeUploads up to 20 MB per file; badge stays until Pro.Monthly allowance |
| Cognito FormsRepeating records and calculations | Forms with lists, totals and rulesRepeating sections, calculations and logic on every plan.Structured data | 100 entries a month on FreeUploads up to 100 MB per file within 100 MB of storage.Small free allowance |
| JotformBusiness intake and payments | Templates, payments and signed documentsA large template library with document tools.Operational fit | Starter: 100 submissions a monthSeparate caps on active forms, storage, payments and signed documents.Several counters |
| TypeformA polished public presentation | One question at a time, full screenFree includes logic and calculations.Presentation | 10 responses a month on FreeUploads start on Basic, US$39 a month for 100 responses.Volume pricing |
| Google FormsSimple public questionnaires | Free, familiar and connected to SheetsSection branching and response charts.Simple surveys | Uploads need a Google sign-inOutsiders can upload if they have a Google account, but not anonymously.Account still needed |
whatayarn: public forms you can read and act on
whatayarn accepts file uploads and signatures from anyone with the link, with no account. Free includes unlimited forms and responses within fair use, conditional logic, calculated fields for totals and scores, and every question type.
After collection, the free Summary tab shows answers beside each question, and standard AI columns flag written answers that need a reply. Creator costs US$19 a month or US$180 a year.
Choose something else if answers must flow into Excel, SharePoint or Power Automate on their own: integrations are coming soon, so today you export a CSV. Files are limited to 5 MB each, within 100 MB of storage on Free and 50 GB on Creator. A public link is not an organisation-only form: whatayarn can’t restrict responses to signed-in staff, and password protection is coming soon.
Tally: public uploads with payments
Tally’s file upload field (opens in a new tab) works for anyone with the link, with no account, up to 10 MB per file on Free. Its Free plan (opens in a new tab) also includes unlimited forms and submissions within fair use, conditional logic, calculations, signatures and payments. Pro (opens in a new tab), at US$29 a month or US$290 a year, removes branding and the 10 MB file limit, within fair use.
If files must end up in OneDrive or SharePoint, check for an automation route before choosing Tally, and check who can open the links: Tally notes that exported file links may be accessible to anyone who has them.
Fillout: richer rules with integrations
Fillout’s Free plan (opens in a new tab) includes 1,000 responses a month, uploads up to 20 MB per file, logic, calculations, hidden fields, payments and standard integrations. Pro, at US$49 monthly or US$480 a year, removes branding. Check whether the specific Microsoft destination you use is in its integration list before relying on it.
Cognito Forms: lists, totals and repeating details
Cognito Forms handles what Microsoft Forms can’t model well: a form that collects several dependants, line items or attendees in one submission. Calculations, logic and repeating sections (opens in a new tab) are on every plan. The free plan (opens in a new tab) allows 100 entries a month and 100 MB of storage.
Jotform: business intake with payments
Jotform suits intake that takes a payment or produces a signed document. Its free Starter plan (opens in a new tab) allows 100 submissions a month across five active forms, 100 MB of storage, and 10 payments and 10 signed documents a month. Each of those is a separate limit; our Jotform alternatives guide shows how to find the one you’d hit first.
Typeform: a question-by-question layout
Typeform’s one-question-at-a-time layout is a different public presentation from Microsoft Forms. Its Free plan (opens in a new tab) allows 10 responses a month across the account, and uploads (opens in a new tab) start on Basic at US$39 a month for 100 responses, with branding. Our Typeform alternatives guide prices it at higher volumes.
Google Forms: outsiders can upload, with a Google account
Google Forms is free and familiar, and fine for a plain public questionnaire. Unlike Microsoft Forms, it accepts uploads from people outside your organisation, but they must sign in to a Google account (opens in a new tab). It solves the organisation-only restriction, not the need for an account.
When to stay with Microsoft Forms
Stay for internal surveys, staff quizzes and forms whose answers already feed an Excel workbook or a Power Automate flow. Inside a work or school account, Microsoft Forms has high response limits and internal uploads to OneDrive, and it can restrict responses to signed-in members of your organisation. Moving an internal form to a public tool loses that.
Test with three kinds of respondent
Before switching, run the same form past three people and compare what happens:
Three respondents, one form
4 checks
A colleague signed in to your organisation. Check the upload works and where the file lands.
Someone with a personal Microsoft account. Check whether they can answer and upload, and what the form asks them to sign in to.
A stranger in a signed-out browser on a phone. Check the upload, the longest branch and the confirmation screen.
Afterwards, open the responses. Check who owns the uploaded files and what happens to them if the person who made the form leaves.
If people outside your organisation can’t upload, the organisation-only restriction is blocking you, and a public form tool will help. If an alternative only lets them upload after signing in to something, decide whether that is acceptable for your respondents. Check the exported data opens cleanly in Excel too. For a broader comparison of free and paid builders, see our form builder guide.
