12 Open-Source Self-hosted Solutions to Replace Google Forms for Free
Online forms are essential tools for businesses and organizations, streamlining data collection and interaction with customers. They facilitate efficient information gathering, from customer feedback and contact details to event registrations and surveys.
Online forms enhance user engagement, offering a convenient way to submit responses anytime, anywhere.
They boost productivity by automating data entry and reducing manual paperwork. Integrating forms into websites or emails captures valuable insights, driving informed decision-making.
Moreover, customizable forms enhance brand consistency and professionalism. With features like real-time analytics, online forms provide immediate feedback, ensuring swift action. In today’s digital age, leveraging online forms is crucial for efficient, effective communication and data management.
Alternative to Google Forms, and TypeForms
Google Forms and Typeform are popular tools for creating online surveys and forms. Google Forms is known for its simplicity, integration with Google Workspace, and ease of use. It allows users to quickly create forms, collect responses, and analyze data with built-in Google Sheets integration. It’s widely used for personal, educational, and business purposes due to its accessibility and no-cost model.
Typeform stands out with its interactive and visually appealing forms. It offers a more engaging user experience with conversational forms, conditional logic, and customizable templates. Typeform is ideal for businesses looking to create more engaging and aesthetically pleasing forms, with features designed to enhance user interaction and completion rates.
Despite their advantages, both Google Forms and Typeform come with limitations, particularly regarding data privacy, customization, and control. They store data on third-party servers, which can be a concern for sensitive information. Additionally, customization options might be limited compared to what some organizations require.
Having a self-hosted, open-source alternative addresses these concerns. Self-hosted solutions provide full control over data, ensuring privacy and compliance with regulations. They offer greater customization, allowing users to tailor the forms to their specific needs without restrictions.
Open-source platforms enable transparency, security audits, and community-driven improvements. For organizations prioritizing data security, customization, and control, self-hosted open-source form builders are crucial alternatives to proprietary tools like Google Forms and Typeform.
In the following list, we offer you a collection of the best open-source alternative to Google Forms
1. OhMyForm
OhMyForm is an open-source form builder designed for simplicity and customization. It offers a user-friendly interface to create, manage, and analyze forms without needing extensive technical knowledge.
OhMyForm is a robust alternative to many commercial form builders, offering extensive features without compromising on ease of use.
2. NocoDB
NocoDB is an open-source platform for building online databases without coding. It allows users to create and manage databases that can be accessed and updated collaboratively. NocoDB offers features similar to Google Sheets and Forms, enabling users to input and organize data via forms, collaborate on entries in real-time, and generate reports.
It supports various data types, custom workflows, and integrates with other services.
NocoDB differs by providing more database-like functionalities, allowing for structured data management beyond simple spreadsheets. It can serve as a viable alternative to Google Sheets and Forms for users needing more robust database capabilities while maintaining ease of use and collaborative features.
3. Formily
Formily is a free and open-source Unified Front-end Form Solution from Alibaba. It features a drag and drop form builder, form schema support, and works with React, React Native, Vue 2, and Vue 3.
Features
- 🖼 Designable, You can quickly develop forms at low cost through Form Builder.
- 🚀 High performance, fields managed independently, rather re-render the whole tree.
- 💡 Integrated Alibaba Fusion and Ant Design components are guaranteed to work out of the box.
- 🎨 JSON Schema applied for BackEnd. JSchema applied for FrontEnd. Two paradigms can be converted to each other.
- 🏅 Side effects are managed independently, making form data linkages easier than ever before.
- 🌯 Override most complicated form layout use cases.
4. Budibase
Budibase Low code platform for building business apps and workflows in minutes. Supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL, MongoDB, Rest API, Docker, K8s, and more 🚀.
Once installed, users can create forms similar to Google Forms with a drag-and-drop builder, and beautiful designs. It is an ideal solution for building surveys and front-ends.
5. CryptPad
CryptPad is an open-source collaboration suite focused on privacy and security. It provides tools for creating encrypted documents, spreadsheets, and web forms, making it a potential alternative to Google Forms.
Users can create and share forms for data collection while ensuring that all information remains encrypted and private.
CryptPad allows collaborative editing in real-time, supporting features such as rich text editing, polls, and kanban boards. It requires no server setup and offers various templates for different use cases.
The platform emphasizes user privacy, with all data being end-to-end encrypted, ensuring that only those with the correct keys can access the content.
6. Baserow
Baserow is an open-source, no-code platform for creating and managing online databases. It features:
- Database Management: User-friendly interface for database creation and management.
- Customizable Views: Grid, gallery, and form views for data interaction.
- Collaboration: Real-time collaboration for multiple users.
- Form Creation: Web forms for data collection and surveys.
- Integration: Connects with tools and services via APIs and webhooks.
Baserow can be an alternative to Google Sheets and Google Forms, offering robust database features and easy data collection.
7. TellForm
TellForm is a free opensource alternative to TypeForm or Google Forms ⛺. However, the project is deprecated by the core developer, who recommended using OhMyForm.
8. SurveyJS
SurveyJS is an open-source library for creating customizable surveys and forms. SurveyJS is ideal for creating detailed and flexible surveys and forms.
Features
Key features include:
- Customization: Extensive options for survey appearance and functionality.
- Integration: Works with various web frameworks and platforms.
- Question Types: Includes multiple-choice, text input, ratings, and more.
- Localization: Supports multiple languages.
- Data Analysis: Tools for collecting and analyzing survey data.
- Responsive Design: Mobile-friendly and adaptable to different screen sizes.
9. Django-fobi
django-fobi (or just fobi) is a customisable, modular, user- and developer- friendly form generator/builder application for Django. With fobi you can build Django forms using an intuitive GUI, save or mail posted form data or even export forms into JSON format and import them on other instances.
API allows you to build your own form elements and form handlers (mechanisms for handling the submitted form data).
Features
- User-friendly GUI: Quickly build forms with ease.
- Bundled Form Element Plugins: Includes a large variety of plugins supporting most Django fields and HTML5 fields.
- Form Wizards: Combine forms into wizards with unlimited handlers to process data (e.g., save or mail it).
- Auto-Enable/Disable Forms: Activate forms based on start and end dates.
- Anti-Spam Solutions: Includes CAPTCHA, ReCAPTCHA, Honeypot, and Invisible reCAPTCHA (third-party apps needed for CAPTCHA and ReCAPTCHA).
- Cosmetic Form Elements: Add text, images, or videos alongside standard elements.
- Form Handlers: Save data, mail it, or re-post it using bundled plugins.
- Developer-Friendly API: Edit or build new form fields and handlers without modifying the core.
- Custom User Model Support: Fully compatible.
- Class-Based Views and Permissions: Forms have an owner with default permissions, customizable via class-based views.
- Theming: Includes four themes: "Bootstrap 3," "Foundation 5," "Simple" (Django admin style), and "DjangoCMS admin style."
- Integration: Works with Django REST framework, Wagtail, FeinCMS, DjangoCMS, and Mezzanine.
- Drag-and-Drop: Reorder form elements easily.
- Data Export: Export form data to XLS/CSV.
- Dynamic Initial Values: Set dynamic initial values for form elements.
- Import/Export Forms: Transfer forms to/from JSON format.
- MailChimp Importer: Import forms from MailChimp.
10. Tutim
Tutim is a free and open-source solution that enables you to create beautiful forms in no time.
Features
- 🌈 Headless: Default design system that can be replaced with yours
- 💌 API first: Build, manage and serve forms with our API
- 💅 Rich form: Multi-step, conditional branching, validations, and more are available out-of-the-box
- 🚀 Performant: Best practices are implemented. Never worry about delays
- 🛠️ No-Code Builder: Let PMs and designers create and change in-app wizards. Stick with React for styling and embedding
- 👨💻 Built-in Analytics: Opening rate, drop-offs, conversions. privacy-first
(coming soon)
- 📦 Templates: Onboarding, personal details, feedback and more.
11. Everright-formEditor
Everright-formEditor is a free and open source javascript visual low-code editor. It can create forms with simple operations through the GUI interface. It has a flexible interaction. The PC depends on element-plus while the mobile depends on vant.
There is a set of adapters to convert parameters into ones that can be recognized by both element-plus and vant.
12. Formr
Formr is a ridiculously fast and easy PHP form builder, with support for Bootstrap and Bulma right out of the box!
Features
- Create complex forms with server-side processing and validation in seconds
- Built-in support for Bootstrap, Bulma, Tailwind and Uikit
- Built-in support for reCAPTCHA v3
- Built-in
POST
validation rules, including validating email, regex, comparisons, slugging, and hashing - Instantly make one field required, all fields required, or all but one field required
- Create and validate radio groups and checkbox arrays in seconds
- Upload images: resize, rename, and create thumbnails
- Extensible: easily create and save your own field element wrappers
- Extensible: easily create and save your own dropdown menus
- Extensible: easily create and save your own form & validation sets
- Send plain text and HTML emails
- Generate CSRF tokens and honeypots
- Object-oriented; supports multiple forms per page
- Little helpers to assist in building, layout, testing and debugging