Comparison

Form backend comparison

An honest look at how Formigo compares to Formspree, Web3Forms, Getform, Netlify Forms, and Basin — free tiers, integrations, spam protection, and hosting.

How to choose a form backend

A form backend turns a plain HTML form into a working contact, lead, or signup form — no server code to write or host. The right one depends on a few things: whether the free tier is generous enough to ship on, whether it delivers to the channels your team already uses, how it handles spam, and whether it's tied to a particular host.

Below is a side-by-side of the form backends developers compare most often. Formigo's values are facts we can verify in our own product. Every other column reflects that vendor's public docs and pricing at the time of writing — plans change, so confirm against their site before relying on specifics.

Form backends side by side

Feature Formigo Web3Forms Getform Netlify Forms Formspree Basin
Free tier Free forever, no credit card 250 submissions/mo free 100 submissions/mo free 100 submissions/mo free 50 submissions/mo free 50 submissions/mo free (1 form)
Email notifications Yes Yes (email-first) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Slack & Discord Both, built in Slack & Discord on Pro plan Slack & Discord on paid (Pro $19/mo+) No native Slack/Discord Plugins on paid plans Slack & Discord on Growth ($24/mo)+
Google Sheets Yes Pro plan On paid plans Not built in Plugin on paid plans Growth+
Webhooks Yes (Zapier, Make, or your own endpoint) Pro plan only Paid (Pro+) Yes (outgoing HTTP POST) Higher paid plans Growth+ (Zapier on all tiers)
Spam protection Honeypot + timestamp, hCaptcha & Turnstile (no Google reCAPTCHA) hCaptcha (opt-in) Built-in spam filters Honeypot, Akismet, reCAPTCHA 2 Honeypot, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, ML filtering Basic free; advanced (reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha) on Pro+
API-first / accepts JSON Form data & JSON, CORS-enabled Yes (AJAX/JSON) Yes (AJAX) Form posts (detected at deploy) Yes (AJAX/JSON; React & JS libs) Yes (AJAX)
Hosting requirements Any host or framework Any host Any host Only on Netlify-hosted sites Any host Any host

Competitor details reflect public docs and pricing verified 2026-06-06. Always confirm against each vendor's official site.

A fair word on each

Formigo

Free forever with no credit card, JSON-native and CORS-enabled, with silent spam protection and delivery to email, Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, and webhooks — on any host. Developer-first and the focus of this site.

Web3Forms

Web3Forms is a free, email-first form API: you paste an access key into your HTML and submissions are emailed to you. The free plan covers 250 submissions/month with 30-day retention and no dashboard; Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, webhooks, and file uploads are reserved for the Pro plan.

Formigo vs Web3Forms →

Getform

Getform (rebranded to Forminit) is a polished form backend with file uploads and a clean dashboard. Its free tier covers 100 submissions per month, but Slack, Discord, and webhooks require a paid plan starting around $19/mo.

Formigo vs Getform →

Netlify Forms

Netlify Forms is the zero-config option when your site is deployed on Netlify — add an attribute and submissions are captured. The catch: it only works on Netlify-hosted sites, the free tier is 100 submissions/month, and notifications are email or a single outgoing webhook.

Formigo vs Netlify Forms →

Formspree

Formspree is one of the oldest, most trusted form backends, with reliable delivery and good docs. Its free plan covers 50 submissions/month; Slack, Google Sheets, and webhooks arrive as plugins on paid plans.

Formigo vs Formspree →

Basin

Basin (usebasin.com) is a polished, paid-leaning form backend with file uploads and strong spam tools. Its free tier is one form at 50 submissions/month; Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, and webhooks unlock on the Growth plan.

FAQ

What is a form backend?

A form backend receives submissions from an HTML form and delivers them somewhere useful — your email, Slack, a Google Sheet, or a webhook — without you writing or hosting server code. You point your form's action at the backend's endpoint and it handles the rest.

Which form backend has the most generous free tier?

It varies. Formigo is free forever with no credit card and includes Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, and webhooks. Most others — Formspree, Web3Forms, Getform, Basin, and Netlify Forms — offer a free tier that caps submissions per month (often 50–250) and gate integrations like Slack, Sheets, and webhooks behind paid plans.

Which form backends work without a specific host?

Most form backends — Formigo, Formspree, Web3Forms, Getform, and Basin — work on any host or framework because you submit to their endpoint. Netlify Forms is the exception: it only captures submissions for sites deployed on Netlify.

Do I need a backend server to handle form submissions?

No. That's the point of a form backend. You add a plain HTML form, point its action at the service, and submissions are captured and delivered. Formigo also accepts JSON and is CORS-enabled if you'd rather submit with fetch.

Try the developer-first form backend

Free forever, no credit card. Point your action at Formigo and get submissions in email, Slack, Discord, Sheets, or a webhook.