How to Make Multiple Choice Questions in Google Forms

Add a multiple choice question in Google Forms

1. Go to forms.google.com and open your form.
2. Click Add question, the plus icon in the toolbar.
3. Choose Multiple choice in the question type menu.
4. Type your question. Click Option 1 for the first answer and Add option for more.
5. Click add "Other" to let people type their own answer. Turn on Required if nobody may skip it.

Tips for multiple choice questions

• Yes or no question: type Yes and No as the two options.
• Suggestions: Google Forms often suggests options, such as Yes, No and Maybe. Click one to add it.
• Paste a list: copy your answers from a document or sheet. Paste them into the first option. Each line becomes an option.
• Graded quiz: turn on Make this a quiz in Settings. See how to make a quiz in Google Forms.

Multiple choice vs checkboxes vs dropdown in Google Forms

Multiple choice takes one answer. Checkboxes take several. A dropdown takes one answer from a closed list.

All three are in the question type menu, marked 1 below. Scales (2) are covered under Likert scale and linear scale. Grids (3) are covered under multiple choice grid vs checkbox grid.

You can switch the type at any time. Your options stay as they are.

Add checkboxes in Google Forms

Add a question and choose Checkboxes from the question type menu. Respondents can then tick more than one option.

Use checkboxes for "select all that apply" questions.

Make a dropdown list in Google Forms

Add a question and choose Dropdown from the question type menu. Type one option per line.

Respondents see a closed menu and pick one item. Use it for long lists. 50 countries take one line instead of a full screen.

Limit how many checkboxes people can tick

1. On a Checkboxes question, click the three dots ⋮ at the bottom right.
2. Choose Response validation from the menu.
3. Pick Select at least, Select at most or Select exactly. Type the number.
4. Add an error message, such as "Please choose up to 3".

Multiple choice grid vs checkbox grid in Google Forms

A multiple choice grid asks the same question about several items. It takes one answer per row.

A checkbox grid looks the same but takes several answers per row. In both, items go in rows and answers go in columns.

Multiple choice grid example

Question: "Rate each part of the event". Each row takes one answer.

Checkbox grid example

Question: "When can you volunteer?" Each row takes as many answers as apply.

How to make a multiple choice grid or checkbox grid

1. Add a question. Choose Multiple choice grid or Checkbox grid from the question type menu.
2. Type the items under Rows and the answers under Columns.
3. Turn on Require a response in each row so nobody skips an item.
4. Click the three dots for two more settings: Limit to one response per column and Shuffle row order.

What "Please don't select more than one response per column" means

Respondents see this error when they pick the same column in two rows. It only appears when Limit to one response per column is on.

That setting is for ranking questions. On a rating grid, click the three dots and untick it.

Grids on phones and in Google Sheets

• Phones: keep a grid to five columns or fewer. Wider grids make people scroll sideways.
• Google Sheets: every row of a grid gets its own column. Six rows add six columns.

Likert scale and linear scale in Google Forms

Google Forms has no question type called Likert. Use one of these two types instead.

Several statements: multiple choice grid

1. Add a Multiple choice grid. As the question, type "How much do you agree with each statement?"
2. Type one statement in each row.
3. Type the scale in the columns: Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly agree.
4. Turn on Require a response in each row.

One statement: linear scale

Choose Linear scale. Start the scale at 0 or 1 and end it anywhere from 2 to 10. Then label the two ends.

Only the ends get a label. If every point needs its own words, use the grid. These limits come from Google's list of question types.

Linear scale example: "How satisfied are you with the workshop?", from 1 (Not satisfied) to 5 (Very satisfied).

Stars, hearts or thumbs up: rating

Choose Rating for a star rating. It shows stars, hearts or thumbs up. You set how many, from 3 to 10.

Google added this question type in October 2024.

Make a ranking question in Google Forms

Google Forms has no ranking question type. Respondents can't drag options into order. A multiple choice grid does the job.

1. Add a Multiple choice grid. Ask, for example, "Rank these features from most to least important".
2. Type the items to rank in the rows.
3. Type the ranks in the columns: 1, 2, 3 and so on.
4. Turn on Require a response in each row.
5. Click the three dots and tick Limit to one response per column. Two items then can't share a rank.

To find the winner, link the form to a Google Sheet. Average each item's column. The lowest average ranks first. More in how to see responses in Google Forms.

Add "Other", images, shuffle and section branching

Add an "Other" option

Click add "Other" under the options. Respondents get a text box for their own short answer.

It works on Multiple choice and Checkboxes questions. Each question can have one "Other". Dropdown questions don't have it.

Add images to options

Hover over an option and click the image icon on its right. Upload a picture or choose one, then click Select.

This works on Multiple choice and Checkboxes questions. Use images of the same shape and size so the options line up.

Shuffle questions and options in Google Forms

• Shuffle the options: click the three dots on the question and choose Shuffle option order. Leave it off for scales.
• Shuffle the questions: open Settings and expand Presentation to find Shuffle question order. Leave it off when a question has to come first.

Go to a section based on the answer

1. Click the Add section icon in the toolbar to split the form into sections.
2. On a Multiple choice or Dropdown question, click the three dots and choose Go to section based on answer from the menu.
3. Next to each option, choose the section it leads to, or Submit form.

Google's help page on branching says it works on Multiple choice and Dropdown questions only. It can't hide a single question.

The full method is in how to add conditional questions in Google Forms.

Fix common problems with choice questions

Where Google Forms question types stop

Google Forms covers the standard choice questions well. It runs short when an answer should:

• change the next question
• carry a price
• go in a grid cell that isn't a tick

In FormNX:

• Conditional logic shows or hides a single question on the same page. It is on the free plan.
• Each option can carry a value. A calculation field adds them up while the respondent fills in the form.
• Options can be cards or image options.
• The input table lets respondents type a number in each cell.

These are among the 35+ field types in the builder.

Comparing the two in more depth? See the Google Forms alternative page. For surveys, see the online survey builder.