# Alchemer vs Google Forms API

> Google Forms API scores 70.8 (BB) on agent readiness against Alchemer's 41.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do forms create. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-google-forms
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-google-forms.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-google-forms.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-google-forms.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Google Forms API scores 70.8 (BB) on agent readiness against Alchemer's 41.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do forms create.

- Alchemer: grade E, 41.4/100, rank #798 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/alchemer.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alchemer.json
- Google Forms API: grade BB, 70.8/100, rank #139 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-forms.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-forms.json

## Which one, for what

### Alchemer (E)

Good for: A company already on an Alchemer Business Platform contract that wants an agent to build surveys, load contacts, send campaigns and export responses.

Watch for: The pricing page says API access is for Business Platform accounts only, which are quoted by sales

### Google Forms API (BB)

Good for: Agents that build forms and quizzes in a Google account and read the answers back, where people already use Google Forms.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 91 against 35
- Schema & documentation, 78 against 45
- Agent ergonomics, 72 against 47
- Security & auth, 66 against 44
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 61 against 45
- Transparency & trust, 80 against 61

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: Push notifications go only to a Cloud Pub/Sub topic in the caller's project, which needs Cloud billing, and they carry no form or response data


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Alchemer | Google Forms API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 35 | 91 | Google Forms API +56 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 45 | 78 | Google Forms API +33 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 47 | 72 | Google Forms API +25 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 44 | 66 | Google Forms API +22 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 35 | Google Forms API +15 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 61 | Google Forms API +16 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 80 | Google Forms API +19 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **41.4 · E** | **70.8 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Alchemer | Google Forms API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Alchemer LLC | Google |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.alchemer.com/v5` | `https://forms.googleapis.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Alchemer Software as a Service Agreement | Proprietary service under the Google APIs Terms of Service. The client libraries are Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | none | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-24 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-01-14 | 2021-11-09 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-04-23 | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 32k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Alchemer.** Alchemer's REST API v5 covers surveys, questions, responses, contacts and email campaigns in 101 documented operations, with a reference rewritten in April 2026. The pricing page limits API access to Business Platform accounts quoted by sales. Keys travel in the URL query string, and no status page, OpenAPI document or SDK was found.

**Google Forms API.** Six OAuth scopes separate form structure from responses, and batchUpdate applies a batch atomically with a revision check. Notifications go only to a Cloud Pub/Sub topic and carry no response data, the API can't list forms or create file upload questions, and the release notes were last updated on 8 April 2025.

## Before you call either

### Alchemer

1. Use the host for the account's region (`api.alchemer.com`, `api.alchemer.eu`, `api.alchemer-ca.com` or `api.au.alchemer.com`). The wrong host returns a 401 login failure even with valid keys
2. Create with PUT and update with POST. The API reverses the usual meaning of the two methods
3. Do not repeat an identical request inside 60 seconds. GET results are cached for 60 seconds and a repeat can return 429
4. Stay under 240 requests a minute for the account and slow down when the `X-SG-Warning` header appears
5. Wait up to five minutes before reading back a response that was just submitted, and expect a 500 after a 30 second timeout

### Google Forms API

1. Call forms.create with a title only, then add items with forms.batchUpdate. Any other field in the create body is disallowed
2. Publish with forms.setPublishSettings before sharing. Google's notice says forms created through the API after 30 June 2026 start unpublished
3. Pass pageSize on forms.responses.list. With none set a page can hold up to 5,000 responses. Use filter=timestamp > N to fetch only new ones
4. After a Pub/Sub notification, call forms.responses.list yourself. The message holds only formId, watchId and eventType. Renew each watch within seven days
5. Send writeControl.requiredRevisionId on forms.batchUpdate, and read the form before retrying a timed-out forms.create, which has no idempotency key

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Alchemer or Google Forms API?

Google Forms API scores 70.8 (BB) on agent readiness against Alchemer's 41.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Alchemer and Google Forms API need an API key?

Alchemer takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Google Forms API uses an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Alchemer and Google Forms API without installing anything?

Yes. Alchemer has a hosted endpoint at https://api.alchemer.com/v5 and Google Forms API at https://forms.googleapis.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-google-forms.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-google-forms.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "alchemer", "b": "google-forms"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare alchemer google-forms`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/alchemer.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-forms.json

## Other comparisons with Alchemer or Google Forms API

- [Alchemer vs Fillout](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-fillout.md)
- [Alchemer vs Paperform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-paperform.md)
- [Alchemer vs Wufoo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-wufoo.md)
- [Fillout vs Google Forms API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fillout-vs-google-forms.md)
- [Google Forms API vs Paperform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-paperform.md)
- [Google Forms API vs Wufoo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-wufoo.md)
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- [Alchemer vs Typeform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/alchemer-vs-typeform.md)
- [Formstack vs Google Forms API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formstack-vs-google-forms.md)
- [Google Forms API vs Jotform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-jotform.md)
- [Google Forms API vs SurveyMonkey](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-surveymonkey.md)
- [Google Forms API vs Tally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-tally.md)
- [Google Forms API vs Typeform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-typeform.md)
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