4 Ways to Get Notified of New Google Forms Responses (Compared)

There are four common ways to find out that someone filled in your Google Form. They differ a lot in speed, cost and how much of the response you actually see.

1. Google Forms’ built-in email notifications

In the form, open the Responses tab, click the ⋮ menu and turn on Get email notifications for new responses.

• Good: free, built in, zero setup.
• Limits: the email goes only to you, and it says “new response” without the answers. You still have to click through. There’s no way to route it to a team channel.

2. Zapier, Make and other automation platforms

A “new form response” trigger connected to a “send Slack message” action. Most platforms read responses from the linked Google Sheet.

• Good: connects to thousands of apps; can chain several steps.
• Limits: your responses flow through a third party. Triggers often poll every few minutes depending on your plan, so alerts aren’t instant. Every response uses a task from your monthly quota, and costs grow with volume.

3. A DIY Apps Script

Write an onFormSubmit trigger in the form’s script editor that builds a message and calls UrlFetchApp.fetch() on a webhook.

• Good: free and fully under your control.
• Limits: you write and maintain the code, including answer formatting for checkboxes, grids and file uploads, escaping, error handling and re-creating triggers. Every new form means copying the script again, and non-developers can’t change the message.

4. A Google Forms add-on (Slacify)

An add-on runs inside Google Forms, like the DIY script, but gives you a UI: paste a webhook URL, write a message with {{variables}}, test, save.

• Good: instant delivery (it runs on the submit event, not a poll), messages include the answers, and anyone on the team can set it up. Responses go straight from Google to Slack without passing through a third-party server. Unlimited notifications on paid plans, and any webhook (Discord, Google Chat, your own API) via custom JSON.
• Limits: notifications only; it doesn’t run multi-step workflows like Zapier.

Which should you pick?

• Just you, low volume, fine with checking the form: built-in email.
• A response has to kick off a chain of actions in several apps: Zapier or Make.
• You’re a developer with one form and time to maintain it: Apps Script.
• Your team needs to see responses in Slack or Chat as they arrive, across many forms: an add-on.

Ready to try the add-on route? The setup guide takes about two minutes, and there’s a free 7-day trial.