Formspree is the default answer when a static page needs a working form: point the action attribute at an endpoint and submissions arrive by email. People look for alternatives for three reasons: the free tier stops at 50 submissions a month, the first paid step is a jump for a hobby site, and spam. If your page is a single HTML file, Hostus is the alternative we recommend: host the file there and any form with named fields stores its responses with no endpoint, key or script. Below, eight options compared by free submissions per month, using only numbers verified on each vendor's own site in September 2026, and where each still fits.
Which free form backend gives you the most in 2026?
Our answer is Hostus, with one condition: the page is a single HTML file (or a folder of HTML with media) that you can host there. Then nothing needs wiring. Any <form> with named fields stores its responses, they land in an inbox on the document and in your email with Reply-To set to the respondent, and the free plan covers 100 responses a month with hosting included. The rightmost column is the one you will not find on other lists: does the form work with zero configuration because the host stores the submissions itself?
| Service | Free submissions per month | How you wire the form | Where responses land | Hosting included / form works with zero config |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostus | 100 responses; extra kept and unlocked on a paid plan | Nothing. Any <form> with named fields | Inbox on the document, email with Reply-To, CSV | Yes / Yes |
| Formspree | 50 (unlimited forms) | action="https://formspree.io/f/<id>" | Email plus dashboard; integrations on paid plans | No / No |
| Web3Forms | Check their pricing page (their site blocked our check today) | Access key in a hidden field | Email; Pro adds attachments and webhooks | No / No |
| Basin | 50 (1 form) | Endpoint URL in action | Dashboard plus email | No / No |
| Getform (renamed Forminit, Jan 2026) | 100 (1 form) | Endpoint URL in action | Dashboard plus email | No / No |
| Formcarry | 50 (1 form) | Endpoint URL in action | Dashboard plus email | No / No |
| Netlify Forms | 100 per site on legacy plans; free and unlimited on current credit-based plans (per their docs) | data-netlify="true", then enable form detection | Netlify dashboard plus notifications | Yes, if the site is on Netlify / attribute plus a toggle |
| Tally (embed) | Unlimited | Embed a Tally form in an iframe; the form is Tally's, not your HTML | Tally dashboard | No / embed, not your own form |
Sources: the vendors' own pricing or documentation pages, September 2026.
Where the others still fit: Formspree if the form is already wired or the page is not a single HTML file; Netlify Forms if the site is on Netlify; Forminit for the largest verified free endpoint number (100 a month); Formcarry for the cheapest paid step; Basin if spam is eating your quota; Tally if you want a form builder in an iframe; Web3Forms for plain form-to-email, limit unverified.
What does Formspree do well?
Formspree has been the reference form backend for static sites for over a decade. Its help center states the free tier includes 50 submissions a month with unlimited forms and projects. Email, Discord, Slack and Telegram notifications are on all plans. Paid plans add direct integrations: Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Stripe, webhooks and Zapier. Paid prices change, so see formspree.io/plans.
It also works with any stack: if the page can POST, Formspree can receive it. Hostus deliberately does not; its forms work on pages it hosts, which is exactly why they need no configuration.
How do the alternatives compare one by one?
Hostus
Hostus hosts single HTML files and stores form responses, so the page and the form backend are the same thing. Upload the file, and any form whose fields have name attributes works: no action URL, no key, no script. Responses land in an inbox on the document (unread state, reviewable spam folder, CSV export, close after N responses) and arrive by email with Reply-To set to the respondent. Honeypot and timing checks send suspicious submissions to Spam, never dropped. The free plan includes 100 responses a month; extra responses are kept and unlocked on a paid plan ($9.99 a month or $49.99 a year), and the visitor always sees success. Claude can read the responses through the Hostus connector.
Formspree
The incumbent: point action at your endpoint and submissions arrive by email from any page that can POST. Pick it if the form is already wired and the volume fits, if the page is not a single HTML file, or if you need the paid integrations.
Web3Forms
Web3Forms owns the phrase "form to email": paste an access key into a hidden field and submissions arrive in your inbox. The docs list attachments and webhooks as Pro features. Their pricing page returned an error to our fetch today, so we print no free number; check web3forms.com/pricing.
Basin
50 submissions a month on one form endpoint, and spam does not count toward the cap. Paid plans start at $12.50 a month for 250 submissions.
Getform, now Forminit
Getform was renamed Forminit in January 2026, same service since 2015. The free plan is 100 submissions a month on one form, twice Formspree's number. Pro is $19 a month for 5,000.
Formcarry
50 submissions a month on one form. Starter is the cheapest paid step here at $5 a month billed annually for 500 submissions.
Netlify Forms
If your site is already on Netlify, Netlify Forms is the pick: add data-netlify="true", enable form detection in the dashboard, and the build wires the rest. Free and unlimited on current credit-based plans per their forms billing page; 100 per site a month on legacy plans. The catch: the page has to live on Netlify.
Tally
Tally is a form builder, not a backend; many people embed one in an iframe. Forms and submissions are unlimited on the free plan; Pro is $24 a month and removes the branding. It is Tally's form with Tally's look, and your page still needs a host.
How do you switch a Formspree form to Hostus?
- Get the HTML file. A single HTML file, or a folder with its CSS and JS. If an AI tool built it, ask for one self-contained file.
- Check the field names. Every input, select and textarea needs a
nameattribute. Formspree required this too. - Remove the action attribute, or leave it. Hostus leaves cross-origin actions alone: a form still posting to
formspree.iokeeps doing so, so you can run both side by side while testing. Delete theactionwhen you want Hostus to take over. To exclude a form for good, adddata-hostus="ignore". - Upload to Hostus and submit once yourself. Your test lands in the inbox tagged as a test.
- Set the access level. Public for a contact page; Email-gated if you want to know who filled it in.
- Turn off the Formspree form once responses are flowing.
Hostus injects no fields, styles or badges into the page.
Good to know before you switch
Hostus forms only work on pages Hostus serves; there is no endpoint for a page hosted elsewhere, so a Next.js app, a Webflow site or a React SPA stays with Formspree or another endpoint service. Responses reach you as an inbox, email and CSV export; there are no Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier or webhook integrations, which Formspree offers on paid plans. There are no custom domains (your link is your-slug.v.hostus.io), no PDFs, and the free plan is 20 documents, 2 MB of HTML in total and 100 form responses a month, with no team seats. If the form is already wired and the volume fits, switching buys you an afternoon of re-testing; see HTML form without a backend and how to host an HTML file.