Formcake vs Formspree (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Formcake and Formspree 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 $10 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Formcake grades higher on value for money. Formspree grades higher on platforms. 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.
Formcake
Form backend for developers with webhooks, files and an API
Formspree
Form backend that handles submissions for any website
Which one is for you
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
Pick Formspree if
- Fits if you can paste an HTML form and want submissions emailed to you
- Works for small sites that get a few dozen messages a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to build forms with drag and drop, as there is no visual builder
- Tight if you stay free, with 50 submissions a month and a 30-day archive
- Watch out: file uploads, export and search are not on Free, and API access needs Professional
- Pricey if you grow, as submissions are capped at 200, 2,000 and 20,000 across Personal, Professional and Business
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFormcakeFair | 2.4GPAFormspreeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BPersonal is $10 a month billed yearly, inside the cheapest quarter of $14. It allows 200 submissions. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree is 10 submissions a month, so you hit the cap quickly. | CFree gives unlimited forms but 50 submissions a month, one team member and a 30-day archive, without uploads, export or search. |
| Features | CEndpoint, actions, file uploads, an API and spam protection. File uploads are missing from Personal, which keeps 5 forms and 100 submissions. | CSpam protection, storage, plugins, routing rules and an API cover the backend job. There is no visual form builder, and API access needs Professional. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. You write the form in HTML or code and point it at Formspree. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API but one listed integration. | BWeb only, with Google Sheets, Trello, Klaviyo, HubSpot and Zendesk, plus an API on Professional. |
| Best for | a cheap form backend with webhooks and files | form handling for any website you code yourself |
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: Formcake and Formspree. How we grade
Price against what you get
Formcake starts at $2.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Formspree starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3.
Formspree scores higher, and starts $7.92 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Formcake for less, and 8 score higher than Formspree 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
- Formspree also covers transactional email.
At a glance
| Formcake | Formspree | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $25 per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly) | $10 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free plan with 10 submissions a month. | Unlimited forms, 50 submissions a month, 1 team member, 2 linked emails and a 30-day submission archive. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Formcake | Formspree |
| Price read from | formcake.com | formspree.io |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Formspree
- There is no visual form builder; forms are written in HTML or code.
- Plans are capped by submissions: 50 on Free, 200 on Personal, 2,000 on Professional and 20,000 on Business.
- File uploads, export and search are not on the Free plan, and API access needs Professional.
- Free plan submissions older than 30 days drop out of the dashboard view.
Key features
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.
Formspree
- Bring your own form
- Any HTML markup, styles or scripts can post to a Formspree endpoint, including AJAX submission that works cross-origin.
- Spam protection
- Formshield filters spam with machine learning. Higher plans add adjustable sensitivity, custom honeypots and custom spam rules.
- Submission storage and export
- Submissions are stored in a dashboard with search, and paid plans can export all of them as CSV or JSON.
- Plugins and integrations
- Basic plugins send submissions to apps such as Google Sheets and Trello; premium plugins cover Klaviyo, HubSpot and Zendesk.
- Rules engine and routing
- On Business, rules route submissions to different emails, flag spam or change the redirect based on field values.
- API access
- Professional and above can fetch submissions from a JSON HTTP endpoint without logging in.
Plans
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.
Formspree
Free$0
Unlimited forms, 50 submissions a month, 30-day archive, basic spam filtering and no file uploads.
Personal$10
per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
200 submissions a month, 1 GB file uploads, unlimited archive, CSV and JSON export, basic plugins.
Professional$20
per month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
2,000 submissions a month, 2 team members, 5 GB uploads, API access, autoresponses and premium plugins.
Business$60
per month, billed annually ($90 billed monthly)
20,000 submissions a month, unlimited team members, rules engine, custom email domains and priority support.
CustomCustom
Unlimited submissions for high-volume campaigns, with SLA, onboarding and phone support. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
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.
Formspree
- Annual discount
Yearly billing lowers the monthly rate
Yearly plans cost $120 (Personal), $240 (Professional) or $720 (Business), against $15, $30 and $90 a month when billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Formcake or Formspree?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Formcake is cheaper to start with: $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against $10 a month for Formspree. Formcake starts at $25 per year, billed annually ($2.99 per month billed monthly), and Formspree starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Formcake or Formspree?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Formcake and Formspree 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.