Form backends compared
A form backend receives your form’s submissions, filters spam, stores them and emails you. You point your form’s action at its address and need no server of your own. Here’s how the main ones compare.
| Tool | Free plan | Paid from |
|---|---|---|
| Formspree | 50 submissions a month, unlimited forms | $10/mo billed yearly |
| Web3Forms | 250 submissions a month | see their site |
| Basin | 1 form, 50 submissions a month, 30-day data retention | $12.50/mo billed yearly |
| Formcarry | 1 form, 50 submissions a month, file uploads | $5/mo billed yearly |
| Forminit (formerly Getform) | 1 form, 100 submissions a month | $190/yr ($19/mo monthly) |
| Formspark | 250 submissions, 10 forms | $25 once |
| FormSubmit | Free, no account needed | free |
| Netlify Forms | Free and unlimited on Netlify’s credit-based plans; 100 submissions per site a month on legacy plans | with Netlify hosting |
Checked October 31, 2026 from each tool’s pricing page or docs. Prices change; check before you choose.
Each tool in detail
Formspree
- Free
- 50 submissions a month, unlimited forms
- Paid
- Personal $15/mo (200 submissions), Professional $30/mo (2,000), Business $90/mo (20,000); $10, $20 and $60 a month billed yearly
Free plan includes basic spam filtering and your own reCAPTCHA; file uploads start on Personal.
Autoresponses and API access start on Professional; custom domains and a rules engine on Business.
Source: formspree.io/plans, checked October 31, 2026.
Web3Forms
- Free
- 250 submissions a month
- Paid
- Paid plans: see web3forms.com/pricing
Its docs say reCAPTCHA and Cloudflare Turnstile spam protection, file uploads, autoresponders, webhooks and domain restriction all need a paid plan.
Source: docs.web3forms.com/getting-started/pro-features, checked October 31, 2026.
Basin
- Free
- 1 form, 50 submissions a month, 30-day data retention
- Paid
- Starter $12.50/mo (3 forms, 250 submissions), Growth $24.17/mo (unlimited forms, 1,000), Pro $40.83/mo (5,000), Agency $108.33/mo (25,000), all billed yearly
14-day free trial on paid plans; submissions over the limit are charged per 1,000.
Source: usebasin.com/pricing, checked October 31, 2026.
Formcarry
- Free
- 1 form, 50 submissions a month, file uploads
- Paid
- Starter $6/mo (500 submissions), Basic $19/mo (2,000), Premium $99/mo (30,000); $5, $15 and $80 a month billed yearly
Every plan lists file uploads, built-in integrations, an MCP server for AI tools, your own email server and white-label.
Source: formcarry.com/pricing, checked October 31, 2026.
Forminit (formerly Getform)
- Free
- 1 form, 100 submissions a month
- Paid
- Pro $19/mo or $190 a year (10 forms, 5,000 submissions), Business $594 a year (unlimited forms, 50,000)
Getform was renamed Forminit in January 2026; its pricing page calls it the same service, running since 2015.
Source: forminit.com/pricing/, checked October 31, 2026.
Formspark
- Free
- 250 submissions, 10 forms
- Paid
- One-off payment for 50,000 submissions and 100 forms ($25 when checked, shown as 50% off $50); no subscription, and bundles don’t expire
Pay once instead of monthly: suits sites with steady, low volume.
Source: formspark.io/pricing/, checked October 31, 2026.
FormSubmit
- Free
- Free, no account needed
- Paid
- No paid plan listed
Point your form at FormSubmit with your email address; no sign-up.
reCAPTCHA is on by default, and a blacklist of phrases filters spam. No usage limits are stated, but it says it imposes limits “from time to time” to filter bots.
Source: formsubmit.co/, checked October 31, 2026.
Netlify Forms
- Free
- Free and unlimited on Netlify’s credit-based plans; 100 submissions per site a month on legacy plans
- Paid
- Part of Netlify hosting: Free $0 (300 credits), Personal $9/mo, Pro $20/mo
Only works for sites hosted on Netlify.
Source: docs.netlify.com/manage/forms/usage-and-billing/, checked October 31, 2026.
How to choose
- Low volume and no budget: compare the free plans; they range from 50 to 250 submissions a month.
- Steady, low volume: a one-off payment (Formspark) can work out cheaper than a subscription.
- Already hosting on Netlify: Netlify Forms needs no other service.
- Spam is the real cost: check whether CAPTCHA or other spam protection is on the free plan or paid only.
- File uploads, autoresponders or webhooks: these are paid features on most of them.