Google Forms vs. Startquestion: Comparison of Survey Tools

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Startquestion as a Google Forms alternative to show you which tools are right for you. Let’s go!

Startquestion is a platform for creating, distributing, and analyzing online surveys, popular among the largest companies and organizations throughout Poland. We have been trusted by companies operating in various industries and sectors, including ING, Medicover, Itaka, Rossmann, mBank, Innogy, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Auchan, and Danone.

Why? Because we offer a comprehensive tool to create amazing surveys – from simple questionnaires to in-depth market analyses. It would seem that this tool is quite similar to what Google Forms offers, also allowing you to create surveys and get answers this way. So what makes our platform a tool that is chosen by leaders from the banking, retail, and financial industries more willingly than the popular and free Google Forms?

Types of questions in the survey

Google Forms

When creating a survey in Google Forms, the user has a choice of several basic types of questions: closed, open, multiple, and single choice questions, a question about the date and attachment, a slider question, or the so-called single and multiple-choice grids (matrix questions).

Startquestion

Startquestion makes it possible to choose 18 types of survey questions. These are the same types of questions as those available in Google Forms (e.g. single and multiple-choice, open, single and multiple choice matrix, scale and with the option to enter your own answers), and additional questions, such as a question popular with companies around the world, namely the Net Promoter Score or drag and drop, drop-down list, ranking question, form, questions about numbers, email or date. 

Ready research templates – using templates when creating surveys and tests

Google Forms

All questions and answers in online surveys and tests must be entered manually by the user or copied from other sources. 

Startquestion

The Startquestion specialists prepared a wide database of ready survey templates. They include popular customer surveys (e.g. online shopping satisfaction survey, evaluation of satisfaction with purchases or services, Net Promoter Score survey),  employee study (e.g. Exit Interview, Candidate Experience, or employee satisfaction survey), and market research. 

After selecting an interesting template, it will be automatically copied to the Startquestion user account – without the need to enter questions yourself or manually copy responses. This will make it possible for the template to be easily adapted to your needs (you can delete or add a selected question, change the content, order, etc.)

Customising the survey design

Google Forms

The design of the survey is crucial. Thanks to it, the company or the person creating the study has a chance to present themselves professionally and encourage respondents to devote their time to participate in the survey. Google Forms allow you to customize the appearance of the survey to your needs in terms of:

• colours,
• survey theme (photo in header)
• font style and size.

Startquestion

Own logotype and colors in line with the colors of your company or brand will make the respondents gain more confidence in the questionnaire and will be more willing to take part in the survey. This is why Startquestion provides a wide range of possibilities of personalizing the design and content of online surveys and tests, including:

• colour of the survey title, buttons and progress bar, and questions and answers,
• font style and size,
• background colour (with the possibility to set the degree of transparency and shadow),
• using an image as the background,
• adding the company logo to the survey content (e.g. in the header or in the introduction).

The established layout can be changed at any time during the course of the study. 

Online tests and exams

Google Forms

A form created in Google Forms may look like an online survey or test. The user can easily change the type of test by clicking on the option: Test. The most useful features of the test created in Google Forms are as follows:

• the ability to publish an assessment immediately or with a delay (after manual review),
• displaying incorrect and correct answers to the person completing the test,
• presentation of the number of points obtained in the test – for the whole survey as well as for each question separately.

Startquestion

The tool makes it possible to create online surveys, forms, and tests. The most useful features that make it easier to carry out exams, tests, or quizzes in Startquestion as well as giving grades are as follows:

• fill limit which allows you to set filling limits for a specific page or question, as well as for the entire test,
• the possibility of drawing questions from  a pool and setting a random order in which pages are displayed, 
• omitting a selected answer (e.g. I don’t know, not applicable) when summing up the results, if the test creator considers it neutral in relation to a specific question,
• displaying test result and scoring or evaluation immediately after completing the survey,
• easy assignment of points and weights to the answers to the questions asked in the tests.

Survey mailing

Google Forms

The tool makes it possible to send the survey to the email address provided by the creator. To do this, enter the addresses manually into Google Forms, then create the invitation text and start the mailing process.

Startquestion

Besides the possibility of standard mailing, the user of Startquestion can import the list of contacts (email addresses) without having to enter tens or hundreds of addresses into the tool manually. The invitation text is automatically generated and you can adjust it to your needs and add dynamic content to it. Information about who read the email and completed the survey is displayed on the contact list in the user account. 

Startquestion will also help you achieve a higher response rate thanks to the automatic sending of reminders to complete the survey only to those people who have not yet taken part in the study. 

Downloading survey results as raw data

Google Forms

After creating the survey and collecting results in Google Forms, the only possibility of their downloading to your computer hard drive is through raw data download (CSV file). 

Startquestion

All results, as well as properly filtered results collected with the use of Startquestion, can be downloaded in several different ways: to XLSX or CSV and SPSS files (for collective results), or XLSX, CSV, and PDF files (in the case of exporting the results from a single sheet).

Thanks to such a wide choice of the form of data export, it is possible to carry out further, advanced analysis with the use of own, extensive tools of statistical packages.

Presentation of data in graphic form – reports

Google Forms

The test results are available in the Google Forms user account, in the Summary section. You can access ready charts containing collective results or go to the answer view from a specific question or individual fills. However, it is not possible to export these charts and data in the form shown in the user panel. Each of the charts created by the system can be individually copied and manually pasted into the program in which you wish to create a report, e.g. Word or Excel. The collective results of the survey can only be downloaded to the CSV format.

Startquestion

The biggest advantage of Startquestion as an employee and customer survey tool in terms of reports is the ability to generate them automatically. This means that you do not have to copy individual charts yourself, and then paste and add content to them in external tools. The system automatically generates reports containing collective results or filtered responses (according to the will of the research creator), which can be made available in various forms, e.g. as:

• – online report – in the form of a link that makes it possible to quickly distribute the report and view it in the browser window
• – report to a PDF / DOCX / XLSX file – traditional form, ideal when you need to download and store a file on your computer.

Technical support and legal issues

Google Forms

If there are any problems with Google Forms or questions regarding their features, users can seek help on the Google Support website (the Teacher Centre). It features articles with instructions and answers to frequently asked questions. 

When it comes to personal data security and GDPR compliance, people using Google tools have to keep in mind that Google and its customers act as independent data controllers of personal data. You can read more about the collection and use of data in Google Forms on the Google support page.

Startquestion

Each user of Startquestion can obtain technical support in English or Polish. In case of questions or doubts, experts are waiting for contact via chat or email: contact@startquestion.com

In addition to the knowledge and instructions available in the Guide, Startquestion also organizes general open training courses and webinars for its customers, as well as closed, dedicated meetings for a company or its employees. During the training, experts explain the use of the tool’s capabilities in practice, and also share their knowledge on carrying out selected types of research. 

Startquestion takes the security of personal data very seriously. Personal data is stored on servers located in Poland. 100% compliance with GDPR is the platform’s priority, this is why:

• if the user sends invitations to complete the survey from the Startquestion platform,
• or if personal data is collected in the questionnaires 

as the Personal Data Controller, he/she is obliged to sign a Personal Data Processing Agreement with Startquestion (as a Processor) (data processing agreement). The contract template, as well as the procedure instructions, are available on a separate website dedicated to GDPR. It is also possible to sign such an agreement using the customer’s template.

The platform is tested monthly by an external Testarmy.com team for vulnerabilities described in the OWASP ASVS version 3.0.1 methodology. In addition, the tool is tested internally, using manual and automated tests. Details about the Startquestion security tool can be found by clicking on the link. It also includes information on physical protection measures used by Startquestion for the purpose of securing personal data. 

Create online surveys with the help of customer service

For instructions on creating a survey, collecting and analyzing results, and automatically generating reports, please refer to the Startquestion guide. You will find a description of all the features and capabilities of the tool and an explanation of how to use them step-by-step to create the perfect customer and employee surveys, opinion polls, and research. 

If you have questions related to the possibilities of Startquestion, feel free to contact our support department, via chat on the site, by phone, or by email.