Basin vs Formcake (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Basin and Formcake share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and Formcake starts cheaper, at $2.08 a month when paid by the year against $12.50 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Basin grades higher on platforms. Formcake grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Basin
Form backend and builder that collects submissions without code
Formcake
Form backend for developers with webhooks, files and an API
Which one is for you
Pick Basin if
- Fits if you run a static site and need submissions emailed without writing server code
- Works for freelancers and agencies handling several client forms
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Free, with one form endpoint and 50 submissions a month
- Watch out: webhooks, API access and auto-responses need Growth, and custom email domains need Pro
- Skip it if you want a visual form builder as the main thing, because this is a backend first
- Pricey if your traffic grows, since plans are capped by submissions and extras are billed monthly
Pick Formcake if
- Fits if you want a form backend for a few dollars a year
- Works for developers who like webhooks and actions on a form
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as 10 submissions a month is a thin cap
- Watch out: Personal has no file uploads and keeps submissions for 90 days
- Watch out: the page footer is dated 2024, so check it is kept up
- Skip it if you want a builder, since forms are your own HTML
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABasinFair | 2.4GPAFormcakeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $12.50 a month billed yearly, inside the cheapest quarter of form tools at $14. It allows 250 submissions and 3 forms. | APersonal is $25 a year ($2.99 monthly) and Developer $59 a year, both under 60% of the $8.25 where the cheaper quarter starts. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree gives 1 form endpoint, 50 submissions a month and 30 days of stored data. | CFree is 10 submissions a month, so you hit the cap quickly. |
| Features | CIt receives and routes submissions well enough, but it is a backend rather than a form builder, and the page says overage submissions are billed at tier rates. | CEndpoint, actions, file uploads, an API and spam protection. File uploads are missing from Personal, which keeps 5 forms and 100 submissions. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You paste an endpoint into your own form's HTML, which suits developers more than anyone else. | CNo store rating on record, and it is a web app where the work is writing the form and setting up actions, so it sits at C. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Zapier on every plan and Slack, Sheets, webhooks and an API from Growth. | CWeb only, with an API but one listed integration. |
| Best for | a form endpoint for a static site | a cheap form backend with webhooks and files |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Basin and Formcake. How we grade
Price against what you get
Basin starts at $12.50 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Formcake starts at $2.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
Basin scores higher, and starts $10.42 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Basin for less, and 1 scores higher than Formcake for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Basin also covers transactional email.
At a glance
| Basin | Formcake | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12.50 per month for 250 submissions, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly) | $25 per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 1 form endpoint, 50 submissions a month, 30-day data retention, basic spam protection, AJAX support and Zapier. | Free plan with 10 submissions a month. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial on paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Moonshot Ventures Inc. | Formcake |
| Price read from | usebasin.com | formcake.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Basin
- Plans are capped by submissions per month; the page says extra submissions are available at rates made for each tier, billed monthly.
- The Free plan has one form endpoint and keeps data for 30 days.
- Auto-responses, webhooks and API access need Growth; custom email domains need Pro.
- Coupon-code discounts for new customers are shown on some plans and are not counted in these prices.
Formcake
- Plans are sold by the year; monthly prices appear after switching billing on the page.
- File uploads are not available on the Personal plan.
- Submission retention is 90 days on Personal and unlimited on the higher plans.
- The pricing page footer is dated 2024.
Key features
Basin
- Point any form at Basin
- Set a form's action URL to a Basin endpoint; it works with plain HTML, React, Vue, Webflow, WordPress and other front ends.
- Spam filtering
- Basic filtering is on every plan, and spam does not count toward the submission limit. Pro adds advanced, location, language and content filters.
- Notifications and auto-responses
- Submissions trigger notification emails, and Growth and above add auto-responses. Pro adds custom email templates and domains.
- Integrations and API
- Zapier is on every plan. Growth adds Slack, Google Sheets, webhooks and API access; the integrations page also lists Discord, Make and Pipedream.
- File storage
- Uploaded files are stored with each plan's allowance, from 500 MB on Starter up to 50 GB on Agency.
- AI features
- Paid plans include AI assistant access through an MCP server and AI-generated sites with hosting and custom domains.
Formcake
- Form endpoint
- A form posts to a Formcake URL with no library or script to include.
- Actions
- Trigger webhooks, templated emails and Zapier workflows from a submission, up to 1, 15 or 50 actions per form by plan.
- File uploads
- Files are stored with an anti-virus scan and exposed through the API; the Developer plan allows 5 MiB per file and Business 50 MiB.
- API access
- Forms and submissions can be read and managed through an API as well as the portal.
- Spam protection
- Basic spam protection and native reCAPTCHA v3 are listed on every paid plan.
Plans
Basin
Free$0
1 form endpoint, 50 submissions a month, 30-day data retention, basic spam protection and Zapier.
Starter$12.50
per month for 250 submissions, billed yearly ($15 monthly)
3 forms, 500 MB file storage, 365-day retention, data export and email and phone validation.
Growth$24.17
per month for 1,000 submissions, billed yearly ($29 monthly)
Unlimited forms and collaborators, 2 GB storage, auto-responses, API access, webhooks and Slack.
Pro$40.83
per month for 5,000 submissions, billed yearly ($49 monthly)
10 GB storage, advanced spam filtering, custom email templates and domains, and SMTP.
Agency$108.33
per month for 25,000 submissions, billed yearly ($130 monthly)
50 GB storage, multi-step forms, saved incomplete submissions, enhanced deliverability, priority support.
Formcake
Free$0
10 submissions a month.
Personal$25
per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly)
5 forms, 100 submissions a month, 1 action per form and 90-day submission retention.
Developer$59
per year, billed annually ($9.99 per month billed monthly)
Unlimited forms, 1,000 submissions a month, 15 actions per form, 500 MiB file storage.
Business$119
per year, billed annually ($19.99 per month billed monthly)
Unlimited forms, 10,000 submissions a month, 50 actions per form, 5 GiB file storage.
Ways to pay less
Basin
- Annual discount
Yearly billing lowers the monthly rate
Yearly billing brings Starter to $12.50 a month from $15, Growth to $24.17 from $29, Pro to $40.83 from $49 and Agency to $108.33 from $130.
Formcake
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves $10 to $120
The pricing page states the saving from annual billing as $10 on Personal, $60 on Developer and $120 on Business.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Basin or Formcake?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Formcake is cheaper to start with: $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against $12.50 a month for Basin. Basin starts at $12.50 per month for 250 submissions, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly), and Formcake starts at $25 per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Basin or Formcake?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Basin and Formcake have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.