Form.io vs Formaloo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Formaloo grades higher than Form.io: 2.6 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Formaloo grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Form.io
JSON form and API platform for developers, hosted or self-hosted
Formaloo
Form, survey and portal builder with workflows and PDFs
Which one is for you
Pick Form.io if
- Fits if your developers need forms inside your own application and its data
- Makes sense if you must host data in your own infrastructure
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, because none exists
- Pricey if you only need a few forms: the lowest hosted plan is $300 a month
- Tight if you need several environments, since each needs its own server license
- Watch out: the hosted project may not collect personal or sensitive data
- Not for you if you want a no-code builder without developers
Pick Formaloo if
- Fits if you need forms that trigger approvals or generate PDFs
- Works for small teams who want portals for clients without extra tools
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you work in a team, as Free has 1 team seat and extra seats are $9 each a month
- Pricey if you want your own branding only, since Pro charges $9 a month to remove Formaloo's
- Skip it if you need self-hosting, SAML SSO or HIPAA, which are Enterprise only and sold through sales
- Watch out: the page shows $19 and $29 on the yearly view and $24 and $48 monthly
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAForm.ioWeak | 2.6GPAFormalooGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DThe hosted project is $300 a month and self-hosting starts at $660, against a forms middle of $20 and a dearest tenth from $66. | CPro is $19 a month billed yearly, inside the ordinary band. Business is $29. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day trial needs no card, but the project turns read-only afterward and it may not hold personal data. | BFree gives unlimited forms, submissions and questions with logic and calculations, 1 team seat, 20 external seats and 1 GB of storage. |
| Features | CForms, API and PDF output are covered, but reporting, accessibility, multi-tenancy and the embedded builder are paid add-ons. | BForms, workflows and approvals, PDFs and signatures, payments, portals and an API. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. |
| Ease of use | DIt is built for developers: JSON definitions, and Docker containers and databases for the self-hosted route. | CNo store rating on record. It is a web app where you build forms and portals yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API and an open-source JavaScript library, and no integrations list on record. | BWeb only, with Google Workspace, Slack, Stripe, Calendly, HubSpot, Microsoft, Zapier and Make. |
| Best for | engineering teams embedding forms in their own apps | forms that feed workflows, PDFs and portals |
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: Form.io and Formaloo. How we grade
Price against what you get
Form.io starts at $300 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Formaloo starts at $19 a month and scores 2.7.
Formaloo scores higher and starts $281 a month lower. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 50 score higher than Form.io for less, and 1 scores higher than Formaloo 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
- Form.io is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Formaloo also covers databases, workflow automation, no-code and surveys.
At a glance
| Form.io | Formaloo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $300 per month, hosted SaaS project; self-hosted from $660 per month | $19 per month, billed yearly ($24 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Unlimited forms, submissions and questions with logic and calculations, 1 team seat, 20 external seats and 1 GB of storage. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the hosted SaaS project, no credit card; the project turns read-only afterward | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Form.io | Formaloo |
| Price read from | form.io | formaloo.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Form.io
- There is no free plan; the hosted SaaS project is $300 a month after the 30-day trial, and the self-hosted options start higher.
- Self-hosted minimum is one project plus one API server environment, $660 a month; each extra environment needs its own server license.
- The SaaS project must not hold personal or sensitive data, per the pricing page, and lacks some security features.
- Add-ons per month: Reporting UI $660, accessibility $495, multi-tenancy $330, embedded builder $660. Five developer licenses are $2,640 a year.
Formaloo
- Free has 1 team seat and 20 external seats; extra team seats are $9 per seat a month on paid plans.
- Formaloo branding comes off only on Business, or as a $9 a month add-on on Pro.
- Self-hosting, SAML SSO and HIPAA workspaces are Enterprise only, which is sold through sales.
- Prices are shown as $19 and $29 on the yearly view and $24 and $48 on the monthly one.
Key features
Form.io
- JSON-driven forms
- Forms are defined in JSON, rendered by the open-source formio.js library and stored through the platform's API.
- Self-hosted containers
- The platform ships as Docker containers that run in the customer's own environments and databases.
- PDF forms
- Optional PDF servers display PDF forms and export submissions to PDF.
- Multi-tenancy and embedded builder
- Paid add-ons support tenant-separated forms and data, and an embedded form builder inside your own application.
- Security options
- API Plus adds audit logging, field-level encryption and data separation for compliance needs.
Formaloo
- Forms and surveys
- Unlimited forms, questions and submissions on every plan, with more than 50 field types, conditional logic, variables, calculations and scoring.
- Workflows and approvals
- Paid plans run rule-based workflows that send notifications and update data. Business adds multi-step approvals before a request moves on.
- PDFs and signatures
- Pro and above generate PDFs and smart documents from submissions, and collect and store unlimited e-signatures.
- Payments and bookings
- Pro connects a payment gateway such as Stripe, Square or PayPal to take payments, donations and subscriptions, and can cap how often an option is chosen.
- Portals and databases
- Forms can feed databases and logged-in portals where customers or partners manage their own data.
- API and integrations
- Pro includes webhooks, the API and SDK, and connections to tools such as Slack, HubSpot, Zapier, Make and n8n.
Plans
Form.io
SaaS Enterprise Project$300
per month, hosted on portal.form.io
One project with unlimited forms and developers, 1M submissions a month, 25 PDF-first forms and 1,000 PDF downloads. No PII; some security features missing.
Enterprise Level Project$330
per month per project; at least one required
Unlimited forms, resources, developers, form builders and submissions, with a self-hosted developer portal.
API Server$330
per month per environment
One server environment with unlimited API calls and submissions. An API Server or API Plus Server is required for each environment.
API Plus Server$660
per month per environment
Adds audit logging, submission data separation, field-level encryption and container security scanning.
PDF Server$330
per month per environment
Optional. Unlimited PDF submission downloads. The PDF Plus Server is $660 per month and adds uploads and a template designer.
Formaloo
Free$0
Unlimited forms, submissions and questions, conditional logic, 1 team seat, 20 external seats and 1 GB storage.
Pro$19
per month, billed yearly ($24 billed monthly)
Adds workflows, PDFs, unlimited signatures, payments, API and webhooks, 100 external seats and 5 GB storage.
Business$29
per month, billed yearly ($48 billed monthly)
Adds no branding, custom domains, CSS and JS, approvals, 3 team seats, 30 GB. Shown at $29, crossed out from $38.
EnterpriseCustom
Self-hosting option, SAML SSO, HIPAA workspaces, audit controls and a dedicated support team. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Form.io
No public discounts listed.
Formaloo
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
The pricing page offers a yearly toggle that it labels as saving 25% against paying monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Form.io or Formaloo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Formaloo is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $300 a month for Form.io. Form.io starts at $300 per month, hosted SaaS project; self-hosted from $660 per month, and Formaloo starts at $19 per month, billed yearly ($24 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Form.io or Formaloo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Formaloo has a free plan. Form.io does not, though it has a free trial.
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.