Short answer. Google Forms is a sound choice for a free event under a few hundred people where you review sign-ups by hand. It breaks when you need payment with GST invoices, approvals, duplicate checks, per-person QR passes, capacity limits or reminders. Registration software also connects the list to the app that guests use on the day.
Disclosure. Sociana publishes this page and sells an event app, so we have an interest in approach two. We say where the other approach wins, use no statistic without a dated source, and last reviewed it on 19 Oct 2026.
What each approach is
Google Forms
A free form builder whose responses land in a spreadsheet. You design the questions, share the link and process responses yourself, perhaps with add-ons for confirmation emails.
Event registration software
A system built around the registrant: ticket types, payment, invoices, approval queues, identity checks, a unique QR pass and automatic confirmations, with the registrant list feeding check-in and the app.
Decision table: cost, effort, data, risk and scale
| Dimension | Google Forms | Event registration software |
|---|---|---|
| Cost. Cost as registrations grow from 100 to 2,000 | No software cost; staff hours reconciling payments, duplicates and requests grow quickly | Fees by ticket, percentage or package; cost is visible and mostly automated |
| Effort. Effort to set up and run | Ten minutes to build; hours per week to clean the sheet | Setup of ticket types and rules; low weekly effort afterwards |
| Data. Data you keep | A sheet that anyone with access can edit; no audit trail | Records with status, payment, approval and check-in history |
| Risk. Risk | Duplicates, forged confirmations, payments matched by hand, personal data in a shared sheet | Fees and a learning curve; platform dependence |
| Scale. Scale | Fine for dozens or low hundreds | Designed for thousands with caps, waitlists and gates |
When Google Forms is enough
- A free workshop or a community meet-up with no payment.
- You want the lowest possible setup cost.
- You are comfortable reviewing each response yourself.
When event registration software wins
- You take payments and must issue invoices.
- Membership or approval decides who can attend.
- You need a personal QR pass at the door.
- Registrations must unlock networking, chat or tickets in the app.
How Sociana fits
Sociana supports invite-only occasions with uploaded guest lists, allowed company domains or approval-based registration; people not on the list are turned away. Tickets sell through public checkout with Razorpay and invoices, and a purchase turns into membership and access in the app.
Features involved: Guest lists, whitelists & registration review, Tickets, Razorpay payments & invoices, Member imports & profile fields, Phone, email & WhatsApp OTP login.
Worked example: APMI 3rd Annual Conference 2026
The APMI conference for portfolio managers in Mumbai (30 September 2026) kept the registration list as a whitelist, so only registered numbers could log in, and unregistered numbers saw Access Not Available. It also sold paid meeting-room slots with Razorpay, billing details and a per-guest cap. A Google Form could not have enforced those rules; the case lesson also warns that a booking flow needs a path for payment that succeeded without a confirmed slot.
Read the case study: APMI 3rd Annual Conference 2026.
What to keep when you switch
Export the form responses to CSV before you switch and import them as members. Keep the form for waiting-list interest or speaker call-for-papers if it still fits.
FAQ
Can Google Forms take payments?
Not natively for Indian events; organisers usually link out to a payment page and reconcile by hand, which is where mistakes creep in.
Is Google Forms safe for personal data?
It can be, if access is controlled, but shared spreadsheets spread easily. DPDP Act provisions are being phased in, with further provisions from 13 November 2026 (Wikipedia, DPDP Act page), so treat attendee data carefully.
When should we switch?
When you reconcile payments by hand, when duplicates or fakes appear, or when you need a pass at the door.
Can registration software run an invite-only meet?
Yes. Use a guest list or whitelist and approval flows so the public link cannot admit strangers.
Keep reading
- Buyer guide: /best/conference-apps/
- Buyer guide: /best/exhibition-apps-india/
- Related comparison: /compare/event-app-vs-event-website/
- Case study: APMI 3rd Annual Conference 2026
- How Sociana is priced: pricing
Sources and disclosure
- DPDP Act commencement: en.wikipedia.org (2025)
- Case study: APMI Annual Conference 2026
- Method and structure: Sociana’s own comparison, reviewed 19 Oct 2026
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