Compare · Basin
Formward vs Basin
Basin is a form backend and builder from Canada. It collects submissions, filters spam, sends email, stores files and fires webhooks, and it publishes a GDPR page that names each provider it uses and where.
That list is the main difference for EU teams. Basin's hosting and database run on DigitalOcean in Canada, with storage, email and other processing at US providers. Formward stores and processes submissions in Sweden, and adds consent proof and a DSAR console.
Last checked 27 October 2026. Every statement about Basin on this page comes from Basin's own website, listed under Sources. Where we could not confirm something, the table says "Not checked" rather than guessing. Prices and plans change, so confirm them on their site before you decide. Formward's numbers come straight from our live plan table.
At a glance
Formward
- Operated by EGF Fastighetsservice AB in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Submissions stored at Hostup AB in Sweden; notification email sent through Mailjet in the EU.
- Cloudflare Turnstile (US) is only involved on forms where you switch it on.
- Billing runs through Stripe, which never receives form content.
Basin
- Moonshot Ventures Inc., British Columbia, Canada.
- Hosting and database on DigitalOcean in Canada; backups at Hetzner in Germany.
- Uses US providers including AWS, Postmark, Cloudflare and OpenAI.
- Collects submissions, filters spam, stores files and fires webhooks.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Formward | Basin |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | EGF Fastighetsservice AB, Stockholm, Sweden | Moonshot Ventures Inc., Canada |
| Hosting and database | Hostup AB, Sweden | DigitalOcean, Canada |
| Email delivery | Mailjet, EU | Postmark, USA |
| File uploads | Professional and up (5 files, 10 MiB each) | Yes (AWS S3, USA) |
| Webhooks | Professional and up | Yes |
| GDPR consent proof | Consent capture with stored proof, every plan | Not checked |
| DSAR console | Cross-form export and erasure from Personal | Not checked |
Pricing
| Formward plan | Monthly | Per month, yearly | Submissions / mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | €0 | €0 | 50 |
| Personal | €15 | €10 | 200 |
| Professional | €30 | €20 | 2,000 |
| Business | €90 | €60 | 20,000 |
Basin
- Basin bills in US dollars. The prices below are per month, billed yearly.
- Free: $0, 50 submissions a month, 1 form, 100 MB storage.
- Starter: $12.50, 250 submissions, 3 forms, 500 MB.
- Growth: $24.17, 1,000 submissions, unlimited forms, 2 GB.
- Pro: $40.83, 5,000 submissions, unlimited forms, 10 GB.
- Agency: $108.33, 25,000 submissions, unlimited forms, 50 GB.
- These are the regular prices. Basin also advertises a promotion for new customers: 50% off Pro and Agency for six months with a coupon code, which it shows as $30.62 and $81.25 a month billed yearly.
Current figures: Basin pricing · all Formward plans
EU, GDPR and data location
Basin's GDPR page names DigitalOcean in Canada for hosting and the managed database, Hetzner in Germany for encrypted backups, and US providers for file storage, transactional email, DNS and firewall, payments, bot checks and AI. Canada has an EU adequacy decision; the US providers mean transfers you would need to document.
Formward stores and processes form submissions in the EU: the application and database run at Hostup AB in Sweden, notification email goes out through Mailjet in the EU, and AI features on Professional and Business use Mistral AI in France. One optional sub-processor is outside the EU: Cloudflare Turnstile (US), which only sees the anti-bot challenge and only on forms where you enable it. Data leaves the EU when you send it there yourself, for example to a notification mailbox hosted by a US provider, a Google Sheets sync or a webhook URL.
The details are in Formward's sub-processor register, the DPA (accepted in the dashboard) and the transfer-impact statement.
Moving from Basin
Effort: Low. What changes:
- The action URL.
- The honeypot field name, if yours is not _gotcha.
- Create a form in Formward and copy the endpoint.
- Replace the Basin URL in your form's action and use _gotcha as the honeypot.
- Set the success redirect on the form or with a hidden _redirect field.
- Add your site's origin to the allowed origins and test.
- Export past submissions as CSV and import them. Original dates are kept from a column named Submitted At, created_at or createdAt; otherwise rows are dated at import time.
The full walkthrough, with the field mapping and the behaviour differences to test, is in the Basin migration guide.
Which one fits
Choose Formward for
- EU teams that want submissions processed in the EU end to end.
- Forms that need consent proof and a DSAR workflow.
Choose Basin for
- Teams in North America without EU residency requirements.
- Anyone who wants Basin's built-in form builder and AI lead features.
Where Formward is not the best fit
- The Free plan takes 50 submissions a month and keeps them for 30 days, and file uploads start on the Professional plan.
- Formward is a form backend with hosted form pages, not a survey tool. For long surveys with many branches, a dedicated survey builder may suit you better.
- Formward is a young company. Judge its reliability yourself on the status page and in the changelog.
Questions
- Is Formward a drop-in alternative to Basin?
- Yes for the HTML side. Both accept a standard POST, so you change the form's action URL and use _gotcha as the honeypot.
- How does consent capture work?
- Turn on a consent checkbox for a form. When a visitor submits, Formward stores the exact consent text they agreed to and a timestamp with the submission. The text comes from the form settings on the server, never from the browser.
- How does Formward handle submitter IP addresses?
- Formward hashes each submitter IP with a keyed HMAC-SHA-256 as the request arrives and never stores the raw address. The hash is used for rate limiting and abuse protection, not for tracking.
- How much does Formward cost?
- Formward has a free plan with 50 submissions a month. Paid plans are EUR 15 a month (Personal, 200 submissions), EUR 30 (Professional, 2,000) and EUR 90 (Business, 20,000). Paying yearly brings those down to EUR 10, 20 and 60 a month.
Read next
- GDPR form backend: What Formward covers as your processor.
- EU data residency: Where each part of Formward runs.
- Migrate from Basin: Endpoint swap and CSV import.
- Plans: Formward's prices and limits.
Sources
Last checked 27 October 2026
Try Formward on one form
The free plan takes 50 submissions a month with no card. Point a test form at it and see the whole path before you move anything that matters.