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Honest comparison · DIY form

Linkly vs Google Forms

Google Forms is free and fast, but has no native OCR, enrichment, qualification, CRM sync or follow-up. An honest look for B2B trade-fair leads to weigh.

by Veronica Pisana · July 23, 2026 · 7 min read

Linkly Google Forms
Contact capture Capture Agent with OCR on business cards, badges and QR codes; unlimited scans Web form typed manually by the visitor; no native OCR or badge scanning (google.com/forms/about)
Data enrichment Enrichment Agent, 30+ data sources (email, phone, LinkedIn, company info); 500 enriched contacts included No native enrichment; requires external add-ons or Apps Script
Lead qualification Qualification Agent with custom qualifying questions and heat score No native scoring or MQL logic; only go-to-section branching (survey logic)
CRM integration Activation Agent pushes leads to your CRM with event tag; integration included No native CRM sync; needs a connector (Zapier/Make) or add-on
Automated follow-up Outreach Agent: personalized follow-up email in seconds No native follow-up email; requires Apps Script or a Marketplace add-on
Post-event reporting Analytics Agent: executive report with heat score and estimated pipeline Real-time auto charts and Google Sheets analysis; no event ROI/pipeline report
Data & GDPR EU-based GDPR-compliant infrastructure CDPA/DPA on paid Workspace; the free personal version is generally not covered (twipla, measuredcollective) — verify with Google

The real question

A booth tablet running a Google Form is the most tempting shortcut in the world: it’s free, you build it in ten minutes and responses land neatly in a sheet. The honest question isn’t “does it work?” — it works for collecting text. It’s: what happens after the fair closes? If you want to see what actually makes the difference, start from what Linkly is.

TL;DR — Google Forms captures typed contacts; Linkly manages the lead lifecycle. Two different jobs.

Capture: typing vs OCR

Google Forms collects whatever the visitor types into the form. No OCR, no native badge or QR scanning (source: google.com/forms/about). At a fair that means queues at the stand, typos and visitors who bail on a long form. Linkly’s Capture Agent reads cards, badges and QR codes with OCR, unlimited scans — seconds per contact, with no queue and no data lost to illegible handwriting.

Enrichment and qualification: the big gap

This is the substantive difference. Google Forms doesn’t enrich data and doesn’t qualify leads: you can branch to sections (survey logic), but there’s no native lead scoring or MQL logic. Any company info the visitor didn’t type in, you simply don’t have. With the Enrichment Agent Linkly draws on 30+ data sources (email, phone, LinkedIn, company info), and the Qualification Agent applies custom qualifying questions and a heat score. The price includes 500 enriched contacts end-to-end. That’s where the value sits: a form collects text, but it doesn’t turn that text into a sales-ready lead with priorities already assigned.

CRM and follow-up: ready to build it yourself?

Google Forms responses land in Google Sheets. To get them into your CRM you need external connectors (Zapier/Make) or add-ons. And automated follow-up? Not native: it takes an Apps Script on the submit trigger or a Marketplace add-on. All doable — but it becomes a small IT project to build and maintain, with someone owning it over time. Linkly pushes leads to the CRM with an event tag (Activation Agent) and sends follow-up email in seconds (Outreach Agent), no integration chains.

Reporting

Google Forms offers real-time auto-generated summary charts and deeper analysis via Google Sheets (source: workspace.google.com/products/forms). Handy for a quick glance, but it isn’t an event ROI report. Linkly’s Analytics Agent produces an executive report with heat score and estimated pipeline, the document you actually need when you have to justify the fair’s cost to management.

GDPR

The paid Workspace version is covered by Google’s Cloud Data Processing Addendum; the free personal-account version generally is not, and is flagged as a risk for business use (sources: twipla, measuredcollective). Linkly runs on EU GDPR-compliant infrastructure.

The real bill

The same logic applies to the Excel/CSV comparison: the “free” tool dumps all the downstream work on you. Before you choose, do the math with the ROI calculator: how many hours does it cost to enrich, qualify, import and follow up leads from three fairs a year by hand?

WhenGoogle Formsis the right pick

If you collect only a few dozen contacts a year, have a near-zero budget and are happy to do enrichment, CRM import and follow-up manually (or to build the Apps Scripts yourself), Google Forms is more than enough. It's also a sensible choice for registrations, quick surveys and generic intake inside the Google Workspace ecosystem.

Bottom line

Google Forms is a fine general-purpose form: free and quick to spin up on a booth tablet. But a hand-filled form isn't a lead-management system: once the fair ends you're left with a sheet of responses to enrich, qualify, import into the CRM and follow up — all by hand, or via a chain of add-ons you have to build and maintain. Linkly covers that path end-to-end with six AI agents (OCR, enrichment from 30+ sources, qualification, CRM push, follow-up in seconds, executive report) plus a dedicated consultant, at €1,900 + VAT/yr early adopter. If you spend ≥€30k/yr on fairs, the time saved and the leads that don't go cold are worth more than the form's zero price.

FAQ

Is Google Forms cheaper than Linkly?+

Yes: Google Forms is free with a Google account and included in paid Google Workspace plans (Business Starter ~$7/user/mo annual per third-party trackers; verify on workspace.google.com/pricing). Linkly is €1,900 + VAT/yr as an early-adopter offer. But the price comparison ignores the cost of manual labor: with Forms, enrichment, qualification, CRM import and follow-up are on you.

Can Google Forms do automated lead follow-up?+

Not natively. Google Forms has no built-in confirmation or follow-up email: you need an Apps Script on the submit trigger or a Marketplace add-on. Linkly sends personalized follow-up in seconds via the Outreach Agent.

Can I scan badges at the fair with Google Forms?+

No: Google Forms only captures text typed manually by the visitor. There's no native OCR or badge/QR scanning. Linkly uses the Capture Agent with OCR on cards, badges and QR codes, with unlimited scans.

Is Google Forms GDPR-compliant for business use?+

The paid Workspace version is covered by Google's Cloud Data Processing Addendum; reputable commentators flag that the free personal-account version generally is not (twipla, measuredcollective). For B2B leads the paid plan is advisable — or Linkly, on EU GDPR-compliant infrastructure.

Does Google Forms integrate with my CRM?+

Not natively. Responses land in Google Sheets; for the CRM you need connectors like Zapier/Make or add-ons. Linkly includes automatic CRM push with event tagging via the Activation Agent.

Sources: www.google.com · workspace.google.com · support.google.com · workspace.google.com · knowledge.workspace.google.com · cloud.google.com · developers.google.com · www.name.com

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