Form backends compared
Eight services that turn an HTML form into an email or a stored submission without a server of your own. They differ in what the free plan allows, what costs extra, and whether you need an account. Every value comes from the service's own website, with the sources at the bottom.
Free plans at a glance
| Service | Free submissions | Free forms | History kept (free) | Cheapest paid plan | Account needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SilentForms | Unlimited | 25 per account | Until you delete them | None: everything is free | No |
| Formspree | 50 a month | Unlimited | 30 days | $15 a month | Yes |
| Web3Forms | 250 a month | Unlimited (fair use) | 30 days in the dashboard | $49 a year | No |
| Netlify Forms | Unlimited | Not stated | Not stated | $9 a month | Yes, and the site must be on Netlify |
| Forminit | 100 a month | 1 | Until you delete them | $19 a month | Yes |
| FormSubmit | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30 days, API only | None: everything is free | No |
| Basin | 50 a month | 1 | 30 days | $15 a month | Yes |
| Headlessforms | 25 a month | 1 | Not stated | $4.50 a month | Yes |
Which one fits?
You want unlimited submissions without paying
SilentForms and FormSubmit have no submission quota and no paid plans. SilentForms adds a dashboard, CSV export, domain restriction and a choice of CAPTCHA; FormSubmit adds free file uploads and an autoresponder.
Your site is hosted on Netlify
Netlify Forms needs no extra service and detects forms at build time. It works only for sites deployed on Netlify; a form backend works on any host, so moving the site never breaks the form.
You need file uploads
SilentForms does not accept files yet. FormSubmit accepts them for free, Forminit and Basin include 100 MB on their free plans, and Netlify Forms takes files up to 8 MB per request.
You are moving off a paid plan
Forms written for Formspree, Web3Forms or FormSubmit work on SilentForms by changing the URL: their field names are understood as they are.
Every feature, side by side
Scroll sideways on a small screen; the feature names stay in view.
| Feature | SilentForms | Formspree | Web3Forms | Netlify Forms | Forminit | FormSubmit | Basin | Headlessforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price and limits | ||||||||
| Free submissions | UnlimitedAbuse limits only: 10 a minute per IP, 60 a minute per access key. | 50 a month | 250 a month | UnlimitedOn credit-based plans; if the account runs out of credits, sites pause and stop accepting submissions. | 100 a monthNew submissions are rejected once the cap is reached. | UnlimitedSubject to anti-abuse limits. | 50 a monthSpam does not count. | 25 a month |
| Forms on the free plan | 25 per accountA key without an account is one per email address. | Unlimited | Unlimited (fair use) | Not stated | 1 | Unlimited | 1 | 1 |
| Submission history (free) | Until you delete them | 30 days | 30 days in the dashboardIts pricing page says data is kept up to 3 years; its docs FAQ says submissions are not stored. | Not stated | Until you delete themSpam is deleted after 30 days. | 30 days, API only | 30 days365 days on Starter, unlimited from Growth. | Not stated |
| Cheapest paid plan | None: everything is free | $15 a monthPersonal: 200 submissions a month; $10 a month billed yearly. | $49 a yearStarter, by application: 5,000 submissions a month. Pro: $15 a month or $149 a year. | $9 a monthPersonal plan; form submissions use no credits. | $19 a monthPro: 5,000 submissions a month, 10 forms; $190 a year billed yearly. | None: everything is free | $15 a monthStarter: 250 submissions a month; $12.50 a month billed yearly. | $4.50 a monthBasic: 3 forms, 100 submissions per form a month; $3.75 a month billed yearly. |
| Account needed to start | NoConfirm your email and you have a key. | Yes | NoVerify your email to get a key. | Yes, and the site must be on Netlify | Yes | NoConfirm by email on the first submission. | Yes | Yes |
| Delivery | ||||||||
| Email notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | YesPer its docs; its pricing table ticks them from Pro. |
| More than one recipient | Up to 5 extra per formEach recipient confirms first. | Paid plans onlyPersonal and up. | Paid plans onlyOne recipient on free; 3 on Starter, 5 on Pro. | Not statedNotifications can be added per form; how many is not stated. | YesTo, Cc and Bcc; no limit stated. | YesWith _cc; no limit stated. | YesCC and BCC; each address confirms first. | Yes, plan not statedComma-separated addresses. |
| Webhooks | YesFailed deliveries are retried for about 15 hours. | Paid plans onlyProfessional ($30 a month) and up. | Paid plans onlyStarter and up. | Yes | Paid plans onlyPro and up. | Yes | Paid plans onlyGrowth ($29 a month) and up. | Paid plans onlyPro ($28 a month) and up. |
| Built-in integrations | Slack, Discord, TelegramZapier, Make, n8n and Google Sheets through the webhook. | Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsAppSheets, Notion and Airtable from Personal; Zapier, CRMs and newsletters from Professional. | Paid plans onlySlack, Discord, Telegram and Google Sheets (beta) from Starter. | Paid plans onlyThe Netlify App for Slack needs Pro; Zapier and n8n through their own apps. | Paid plans onlySlack, Discord, Google Sheets and Zapier on Pro. | NoOnly the _webhook field. | ZapierSlack, Discord, Google Sheets, Mailchimp and more from Growth. | Paid plans onlyZapier from Basic. |
| API to read submissions | YesREST API with personal tokens. | Paid plans onlyProfessional and up. | Paid plans onlyPro and up. | YesThrough the Netlify API. | Paid plans onlyPro and up. | YesFive calls a day, 30 days of submissions. | Paid plans onlyGrowth and up. | Paid plans onlyPro and up. |
| Spam protection | ||||||||
| Honeypot / spam filtering | Yes | Yes | Yes | YesAkismet on every submission. | Yes | Yes | Yes | YesPer its free-plan description; its pricing table lists advanced filtering from Pro. |
| CAPTCHA | Turnstile, hCaptcha, reCAPTCHA v2/v3 | reCAPTCHA (your own key)Turnstile and hCaptcha are documented; the plan is not stated. | hCaptcha (shared key)reCAPTCHA v3 and Turnstile are paid. | reCAPTCHA v2 | Not statedTurnstile, reCAPTCHA v3 and hCaptcha are documented; the plan is not stated. | reCAPTCHA v2/v3 (on by default) | reCAPTCHA v2/v3, hCaptcha, Turnstile | reCAPTCHA v3The plan is not stated. |
| Restrict to your domain | Yes | Yes | Paid plans onlyStarter and up. | Not applicableForms work only on sites deployed to Netlify. | Not statedDocumented; the plan is not stated. | Not stated | Yes | Yes, plan not stated"Domain verification". |
| Submissions and forms | ||||||||
| Dashboard to read submissions | Yes | YesLast 30 days on the free plan. | YesLast 30 days on the free plan. | Yes | Yes | NoArchive through its API, five calls a day. | Yes | Yes |
| Export (CSV) | Yes | Paid plans onlyPersonal and up. | Yes | Yes | Paid plans only | NoAPI only. | Paid plans onlyStarter and up. | YesPer its free-plan description; its pricing table differs. |
| Custom thank-you redirect | Yes | Paid plans onlyPersonal and up. | Same domain onlyOther domains on paid plans. | Same site only | Yes | Yes | Paid plans onlyStarter and up. | Paid plans onlyPro and up. |
| File uploads | No | Paid plans only | Paid plans onlyPro and up. | YesUp to 8 MB per request. | Yes100 MB of storage; 25 MB per submission. | YesUp to 10 MB in total. | Yes100 MB of storage. | Paid plans onlyUp to 5 MB per file on Basic. |
| Autoresponder | No | Paid plans onlyProfessional and up. | Paid plans onlyPro and up. | No | Paid plans only | YesNot with AJAX submissions. | Paid plans onlyGrowth and up. | Paid plans only"Submitter Notification" on paid plans. |
SilentForms against each
SilentForms vs Formspree
Formspree's free plan accepts 50 submissions a month and keeps them for 30 days. CSV export and a custom thank-you page start at $15 a month; webhooks, the API and autoresponses at $30. SilentForms includes all of these except autoresponses for free, with no quota.
SilentForms vs Web3Forms
Web3Forms' free plan accepts 250 submissions a month and lists 30 days of them in its dashboard. Webhooks, Slack, Discord, Telegram, domain restriction and extra recipients need a paid plan: Starter at $49 a year (by application) or Pro at $15 a month. SilentForms has no quota and includes all of these for free.
SilentForms vs Netlify Forms
Netlify Forms is free and unlimited on Netlify's current credit-based plans, but only for sites deployed on Netlify, where forms are detected at build time. SilentForms works the same on any host, so you can move a site without rebuilding its forms.
SilentForms vs Forminit (formerly Getform)
Getform was renamed Forminit in January 2026. Its free plan covers one form and 100 submissions a month; webhooks, the API, Slack, Discord, CSV export and an autoresponder are on Pro, from $19 a month. SilentForms has no quota and includes webhooks, the API, Slack, Discord and export for free.
SilentForms vs FormSubmit
FormSubmit is free, needs no account and has no stated quota. It has no dashboard: submissions are emailed, and the 30-day archive is reachable only through its API, five calls a day. SilentForms adds a dashboard, CSV export, domain restriction and a choice of CAPTCHA.
SilentForms vs Basin
Basin's free plan covers one form and 50 submissions a month, kept for 30 days. Data export and custom redirects start at $15 a month; webhooks, autoresponses, the API, Slack and Discord at $29. SilentForms has no quota, keeps submissions until you delete them, and includes webhooks, export, redirects, Slack and Discord for free.
SilentForms vs Headlessforms
Headlessforms' free plan covers one form and 25 submissions a month. Paid plans start at $4.50 a month for three forms and 100 submissions per form; webhooks, the API and custom redirects come with Pro at $28 a month. SilentForms has no submission quota and no paid plans: webhooks, the API, CAPTCHA, redirects and CSV export come with every form.
Questions
What is a form backend?
A service that receives what a website form sends and delivers it, by email, to a dashboard, or to other tools. It lets a static site (plain HTML, a site builder, or a framework without a server) have a working contact form without running any server code.
Which form backend is free with no submission limit?
SilentForms and FormSubmit, as far as their own pages say. Netlify Forms is unlimited on Netlify's current plans, but only for sites hosted there. The others cap free submissions between 25 and 250 a month.
Can I switch form backends without rebuilding my form?
Usually yes: a form backend only needs the form's action URL and, for most, a key in a hidden field. SilentForms also reads the field names Formspree, Web3Forms and FormSubmit use, so their forms work after changing the URL.
How current is this comparison?
Every value was checked against each service’s own website on the date at the bottom of this page, and links to where it came from. Plans change; when a linked page says otherwise, it wins.
Free, with no submission quota
Confirm your email and paste one hidden field into your form.
Get your free access keyChecked on 25 October 2026 against each service's own website. Plans and prices change: if something here is out of date, the linked page is authoritative. "Not stated" means the service's own pages did not say.
Formspree
Web3Forms
- https://web3forms.com/pricing
- https://web3forms.com/
- https://docs.web3forms.com/readme.md
- https://docs.web3forms.com/getting-started/submissions-api.md
- https://docs.web3forms.com/getting-started/customizations/spam-protection/hcaptcha.md
- https://docs.web3forms.com/getting-started/customizations/spam-protection.md
- https://docs.web3forms.com/getting-started/customizations/redirection.md
Netlify Forms
- https://docs.netlify.com/manage/forms/usage-and-billing/
- https://docs.netlify.com/manage/forms/submissions/
- https://www.netlify.com/pricing/
- https://docs.netlify.com/manage/forms/setup/
- https://docs.netlify.com/manage/forms/notifications/
- https://docs.netlify.com/api-and-cli-guides/api-guides/get-started-with-api/
- https://docs.netlify.com/manage/forms/spam-filters/
Forminit (formerly Getform)
FormSubmit
Basin
Headlessforms