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FormBackend vs Formcake (2026): which should you pick?

As of Nov 13, 2026, FormBackend 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 $5 a month.

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA

FormBackend 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.

FormBackend

Form endpoint service that emails and routes HTML form entries

Free plan · from $5/mo
Full detailsformbackend.com

Formcake

Form backend for developers with webhooks, files and an API

Free plan · from $25/yr
Full detailsformcake.com

Which one is for you

Pick FormBackend if

  • Fits if you have a static site and want entries by email
  • Works for freelancers routing forms for several clients

Look elsewhere if

  • Tight if you stay free, as it stops at 1 form, 50 submissions and 30-day auto-delete
  • Watch out: rules, API access and white-label notifications need Freelancer at $14
  • Watch out: Slack and Google Sheets delivery sits on the $50 Business plan
  • Skip it if you want a drag-and-drop builder, as the form is yours to write

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

2.4GPAFormBackendFair2.4GPAFormcakeFair
Value for money
BSimple is $5 a month for 1,000 submissions, inside the cheaper quarter of form tools. Monthly billing only is shown.
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 is 1 form, 50 submissions a month and entries deleted after 30 days. A separate free hosted form has no submission cap.
CFree is 10 submissions a month, so you hit the cap quickly.
Features
CEndpoint, native delivery, Zapier, rules, spam protection and a hosted form. Rules and the API need Freelancer, and Slack and Sheets delivery needs Business.
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, and it is a web app where the work is writing the form and setting up routing, so it sits at C.
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 an API and eight listed integrations.
CWeb only, with an API but one listed integration.
Best foremailing and routing HTML form entriesa 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: FormBackend and Formcake. How we grade

Price against what you get

FormBackend starts at $5 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.

FormBackend scores higher, and starts $2.92 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 3 score higher than FormBackend for less, and 1 scores higher than Formcake for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$2$5$10$20$50$100$200$500$1kMore for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessFormBackendFormcake

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
The full chart of form and survey tools, and the best at every price

Where they differ

    In commonFree planWebPublic APIWorkflow automationForms

    At a glance

    FormBackendFormcake
    PricingFree planFree plan
    Starts at$5 per month, billed monthly$25 per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly)
    Free plan1 form, 50 submissions a month and 10 spam submissions a month, with 30-day auto-delete and data export.Free plan with 10 submissions a month.
    Free trialNone listedNone listed
    Web
    Made byFormBackend.comFormcake
    Price read fromformbackend.comformcake.com
    CheckedNov 13, 2026Nov 13, 2026

    Worth knowing

    FormBackend

    • The free plan stops at 1 form, 50 submissions a month and 30-day auto-delete.
    • Slack and Google Sheets delivery is listed under the Business plan.
    • The pricing page shows a yearly option worth two months free but not its price.
    • Rules, API access and white-label notifications need Freelancer or above.

    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

    FormBackend

    Form endpoint
    Submit an HTML form to the endpoint and receive entries by email, with custom redirects.
    Native delivery
    Sends submissions to Slack, Google Sheets, Discord and any webhook without a third-party account.
    Zapier connections
    Reaches 1,000+ more apps, including Notion, Airtable and Mailchimp, through Zapier.
    Rules and routing
    From Freelancer up: a rules engine, conditional email notifications and white-label notifications.
    Spam protection
    Included from the Simple plan, with a monthly cap on spam submissions on the free plan.
    Hosted form option
    A free hosted form builder is offered for people who do not want to write the form themselves.

    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

    FormBackend

    • Free$0

      1 form, 50 submissions a month, custom Thank You page and data export. A separate free hosted form gives unlimited submissions.

    • Simple$5

      per month, billed monthly

      2 forms, 1,000 submissions a month, 250 MB file uploads, auto-responses, spam protection and webhooks.

    • Freelancer$14

      per month, billed monthly

      10 forms, 5,000 submissions a month, 1 GB file uploads, rules engine, API access and white-label notifications.

    • Business$50

      per month, billed monthly

      Unlimited forms, 10,000 submissions a month, 10 GB file uploads, team members, custom sender domains and Slack and Sheets integrations.

    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

    FormBackend

    • Annual discount

      Two months free on yearly billing

      The pricing page says yearly plans are priced to give two months free compared with paying monthly.

    • Other savings

      First-month refund

      The vendor says it will refund the first month on a paid plan if you are not happy.

    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, FormBackend or Formcake?

    As of Nov 13, 2026, Formcake is cheaper to start with: $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against $5 a month for FormBackend. FormBackend starts at $5 per month, billed monthly, and Formcake starts at $25 per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly).

    Which has a free plan, FormBackend or Formcake?

    As of Nov 13, 2026, both FormBackend 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.
    How we review and grade