Intake Pro vs Google Forms for patient intake
Choose Intake Pro when patient intake needs typed or drawn signatures, a fixed signed version, an offline kiosk, 18 languages, a signed PDF and an audit trail. Choose Google Forms for a simple unsigned questionnaire when a Google Workspace administrator has accepted Google's BAA.
Google Forms has no signature question type. Intake Pro starts at $39 a month with up to 3 staff seats and has no EHR connection or API yet.
Last updated
- Checked November 10, 2026
- Google Workspace From $7/user/month
- Google signature field Not a question type
- Intake Pro starts $39/month
What is the difference between Intake Pro and Google Forms?
Google Forms is a general questionnaire tool with 12 question types, while Intake Pro is built for patient intake and e-signatures. Google Forms can be covered by Google's BAA when the required account setup and acceptance steps are complete.
Google says customers must not use its services with protected health information unless they have a BAA with Google. A Workspace or Cloud Identity super administrator reviews and accepts that BAA in the Admin console. Google Forms appears on the covered-services list, but third-party add-ons and apps are outside Google's BAA. Read the Google Forms HIPAA guide before collecting patient information.
None of Google Forms' 12 question types is a signature. Intake Pro supports typed or drawn signatures by a patient, representative, staff member or witness. Each response stays with an immutable published version, signed PDF and audit trail. A kiosk mode for Google Forms, offline respondent filling and signed PDF records per response are not listed on Google's pages; Intake Pro provides all three for front-desk intake.
How do Intake Pro and Google Forms features compare?
Google Forms can handle a basic questionnaire under the right BAA, but Intake Pro adds the signing and recordkeeping workflow used for patient intake. Google's details are from its help and admin pages as of November 10, 2026.
| Feature | Intake Pro | Google Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Form builder and field types | 15 field types, including signature, matrix, file upload and drawing | 12 question types, including File upload; none is a signature |
| Conditional questions | Show or hide questions from earlier answers | Go to section based on answer, for Multiple choice and Dropdown questions only |
| PDF and Word conversion | PDF and Word upload, malware scan and field placement | Not listed on their page |
| E-signatures and signers | Typed or drawn patient, representative, staff or witness signatures | No signature question type |
| Published form versions | A published version never changes after signing | Not listed on their page |
| Packets | Several forms behind one link | Not listed on their page |
| Sending | Private text or email link, QR code or embed | By email, link, pre-filled link or website embed; sending by text message not listed on their page |
| Reminders | Text and email reminders | Reminders to people who have not responded not listed on their page |
| Tablet, kiosk and offline use | Paired kiosk works offline and clears after 60 seconds | Kiosk mode and offline respondent filling not listed on their page |
| Languages | 18 languages; incomplete translations cannot publish | Translated versions of a form not listed on their page |
| Scored assessments | Weights, reverse scoring, subscales and labelled bands | Quiz mode with answer keys and point values; score bands not listed on their page |
| Signed records and exports | Signed PDF, audit trail, packet PDF, ZIP and spreadsheet | Responses in a summary, a linked Google Sheets spreadsheet or a CSV download; a signed PDF for each response not listed on their page |
| Staff sign-in and access | Required MFA, 12-hour sessions and custom roles | A Google Workspace administrator can require 2-Step Verification; a form can be limited to people in the organization's domain |
| BAA | Signed before real patient data | Forms is covered after the customer accepts Google's BAA; third-party add-ons are excluded |
| EHR, payments and API | Not yet | An EHR connection not listed on their page |
Sources: Google Forms question types, sections and branching, sending a form, responses, quizzes, 2-Step Verification, Google's HIPAA guidance and the BAA covered-services list.
How does Intake Pro pricing compare with Google Forms pricing?
Intake Pro Starter is $39 a month with up to 3 staff seats, every feature and a BAA. Google Forms is part of Google Workspace, which is priced per user. Workspace prices are as of November 10, 2026 and start at $7 per user a month with a one-year commitment; confirm current prices on Google's page.
| Plan | Published price | What it includes | Cost of extra staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intake Pro Starter | $39/month | Every feature and BAA; up to 3 staff seats, 1,000 forms a month and 1 location | Included, up to 3 seats |
| Intake Pro Professional | $69/month | Every feature; up to 10 staff seats, 10,000 forms a month and up to 10 locations | Included, up to 10 seats |
| Intake Pro Enterprise | Custom | Every feature; up to 50 staff seats, 100,000 forms a month and up to 100 locations | Included, up to 50 seats |
| Google Workspace Business Starter | From $7 per user/month with one-year commitment | Workspace plan; Forms is on Google's BAA covered-services list | Per user each month |
| Google Workspace Business Standard | From $14 per user/month with one-year commitment | Workspace plan; accept the BAA before using Forms with patient information | Per user each month |
| Google Workspace Business Plus | From $22 per user/month with one-year commitment | Workspace plan; third-party add-ons are outside Google's BAA | Per user each month |
| Google Workspace Enterprise | By quote | Workspace Enterprise terms are quoted by Google | By quote |
Source: Google Workspace pricing, checked November 10, 2026. Each Workspace price requires a one-year commitment, and Business plans allow up to 300 users. Confirm current prices with Google, and contact us about Intake Pro Enterprise pricing.
When is Google Forms the better choice?
Google Forms is the better choice for a basic questionnaire that needs no signature and already fits your Google Workspace setup. Protected health information still requires the right Google BAA and careful review of any add-on before use.
- Your practice already pays for Google Workspace and only needs a simple unsigned questionnaire.
- The 12 listed Google Forms question types cover everything you need to ask.
- A Workspace or Cloud Identity super administrator can review and accept Google's BAA in the Admin console.
- Your questionnaire uses no third-party add-on or app that would fall outside Google's BAA.
- No form needs a patient signature, a signed PDF or a front-desk kiosk.
When is Intake Pro the better choice?
Intake Pro is the better choice when a patient must sign intake or consent forms and your practice needs evidence of the exact version signed. It also covers front-desk check-in on a paired kiosk and packets in 18 languages.
- A patient, representative, staff member or witness needs a typed or drawn e-signature.
- Your practice must retain the signed version, PDF and audit trail, with later edits kept on a new version.
- Patients need one link for several forms in an intake packet, plus text and email reminders.
- Your waiting room needs a tablet kiosk that works offline and clears itself 60 seconds after submission.
- Patients need any of 18 languages, and incomplete translations must remain unpublished.
- Staff need required MFA and logged access, with Intake Pro's BAA signed before real patient data is collected.
How do you switch from Google Forms to Intake Pro?
Switching from Google Forms to Intake Pro means preserving old responses and rebuilding the questionnaire as a signable patient form. Review Google's BAA scope for the old workflow and avoid adding a third-party signature add-on to solve the missing field.
-
Save your Google Forms records
Export completed responses and retain copies required by your practice before changing the old form. Review which third-party add-ons handled any patient data because Google's BAA excludes them.
-
Convert the source documents
Upload blank PDF or Word forms to Intake Pro's converter and place fields after the malware scan. You can also rebuild the questionnaire in the form builder.
-
Add the required signatures
Use typed or drawn signatures for the patient and any representative, staff member or witness. Recreate conditional questions and any scored scales.
-
Create the intake packet
Place registration, history and consent forms into packets, then add the needed translations and text or email reminders.
-
Test the patient experience
Complete each packet on a phone and the paired kiosk. Check offline use, reconnection, every language and the signed PDF stored with the published version.
-
Send the new private links
Publish after testing and send new patients links by text or email. Intake Pro has no Google Forms import tool or migration service, so staff preserve old records and rebuild new forms themselves.
Which other form tools can you compare with Intake Pro?
Google Forms covers basic questionnaires, while the other tools offer broader intake features. Zentake lists healthcare integrations, IntakeQ adds practice management, and Jotform provides general forms with offline mobile collection. Review the closest alternative next.
Intake Pro vs Zentake
Intake Pro vs Zentake, checked November 2026: Intake Pro starts at $39 a month with 3 staff seats, an offline kiosk and 18 languages on every plan.
Intake Pro vs IntakeQ
Intake Pro and IntakeQ compared as of November 2026: forms, signatures, practice management, pricing per practitioner, and who each one suits.
Intake Pro vs Jotform
Intake Pro and Jotform compared as of November 2026 for patient forms: HIPAA terms, signatures, kiosk use, signed records, and who each one suits.
Questions
Can Google Forms be used with patient information under a BAA?
Google Forms is on Google's BAA covered-services list. Google requires a customer to have a BAA before using its services with protected health information, and a super administrator accepts it in the Admin console. Third-party add-ons and apps are outside that BAA.
Does Google Forms offer an electronic signature question?
No. Google's help page lists 12 question types, and none is a signature. Intake Pro supports typed or drawn signatures from a patient, representative, staff member or witness and keeps each signature with the signed PDF and audit trail.
How much does Google Workspace cost for Forms users?
As of November 10, 2026, Business Starter is from $7, Business Standard from $14 and Business Plus from $22 per user a month with a one-year commitment. Enterprise is by quote. Confirm current pricing on Google's US pricing page.
Can patients fill Google Forms offline at a kiosk?
A kiosk mode for Google Forms and offline filling for respondents are not listed on Google's pages. Intake Pro's paired kiosk works offline, sends after reconnection and clears the screen 60 seconds after a patient submits.
Are third-party Google Forms signature add-ons covered by Google's BAA?
Google says third-party add-ons and apps are not covered by its BAA. Do not assume a signature add-on is covered. Review the vendor's own terms with your compliance lead and read our Google Forms HIPAA guide before collecting patient information.