Compare · FormSubmit
Formward vs FormSubmit
FormSubmit is free and very quick to set up: point a form at an address based on your email, confirm it once, and submissions arrive in your inbox. It keeps submissions for 30 days and offers a small API to read them.
Formward does more after the POST: a searchable dashboard, retention you choose, consent proof, DSAR tooling, and a published account of where the data lives. Its free plan is free too, with a lower monthly cap.
Last checked 7 October 2026. Every statement about FormSubmit on this page comes from FormSubmit'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.
FormSubmit
- Operated by Devro LABS; we did not find a stated country.
- Retains submissions for 30 days.
- reCAPTCHA is on by default and can be switched off with a hidden field.
- We did not find a DPA or a hosting location on its site.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Formward | FormSubmit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, paid from EUR 15/month | Free |
| Stores submissions | Yes, retention you set on paid plans | 30 days |
| Where data is stored | Hostup AB, Sweden | Not checked |
| DPA | Published at /dpa, accepted in the dashboard | Not checked |
| Spam protection | Honeypot, rate limits, disposable-email blocking, optional Turnstile | reCAPTCHA by default |
| 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 |
FormSubmit
- FormSubmit is free to use; see its site for current terms.
Current figures: FormSubmit pricing · all Formward plans
EU, GDPR and data location
We could not find a hosting location, a DPA or a GDPR statement on FormSubmit's site. Its default reCAPTCHA also loads Google's script on your page before anyone submits.
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 FormSubmit
Effort: Low. What changes:
- The action URL.
- Remove _captcha and other FormSubmit-specific hidden fields you do not need.
- Add a hidden _gotcha field as a honeypot.
- Create a form in Formward, set the notification email and copy the endpoint.
- Replace the formsubmit.co address in the form's action.
- Add the _gotcha honeypot and your site's origin to the allowed origins.
- Send a test entry and check it in the dashboard.
Which one fits
Choose Formward for
- Forms whose submissions you need to keep, search or erase on request.
- EU sites that would rather not load reCAPTCHA.
Choose FormSubmit for
- Hobby projects where a free email relay is enough.
Questions
- FormSubmit is free. Why pay for a form backend?
- You may not need to: Formward's free plan covers 50 submissions a month. Paid plans are for volume, uploads, webhooks, the API and AI features.
- Does Formward require Google reCAPTCHA?
- No. Formward uses a honeypot, rate limits and disposable-email blocking, with Cloudflare Turnstile as an optional extra. No Google service is involved in the submission path.
- 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
- Form to email: The same job, with storage behind it.
- Spam filtering: Protection without reCAPTCHA.
- GDPR form backend: Consent proof and erasure tooling.
- Plans: Formward's prices and limits.
Sources
Last checked 7 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.