FormSubmit is one of the most popular free form backends available, known for its dead-simple setup: point your HTML form action to formsubmit.co with your email address, and submissions get forwarded to your inbox. There is no account to create, no dashboard to learn, and no JavaScript to install. This radical simplicity has made FormSubmit a go-to recommendation on developer forums and tutorial sites for anyone who just needs a working contact form.
The trade-off for this simplicity is a near-complete lack of advanced features. FormSubmit has no web dashboard; you manage everything through email. There are no native integrations, no API, no analytics, and no team collaboration features. Spam protection is limited to a CAPTCHA page that interrupts the user experience. While FormSubmit does offer features like custom redirects, auto-response emails, and CC/BCC through hidden form fields, configuring these through HTML attributes feels primitive compared to a proper settings panel.
FormsList provides the same ease of initial setup with dramatically more capability. Creating an endpoint and pasting it into your form takes under a minute, just like FormSubmit. But from there, FormsList opens up a world of features: a real submission dashboard, AI spam filtering that works invisibly, native Slack and Google Sheets integrations, webhook support, analytics with geographic data, and a REST API. You start simple and add power as you need it, without ever hitting a wall.
By Vaibhav Jain · Last updated March 22, 2026
| Feature | FormsList | FormSubmit |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 5 forms, 200 submissions/mo | Unlimited (email-only) |
| Submissions/month (paid) | 5,000 (Pro) / 50,000 (Business) | No paid plans |
| Integrations | Slack, Google Sheets, Discord, Zapier, Webhooks | None (email only) |
| Spam protection | AI scoring + honeypot + reCAPTCHA | CAPTCHA page (interruptive) |
| API access | REST API on all plans | No API |
| File uploads | All plans | Supported via email |
| Custom redirects | All plans | Via hidden field |
| Team support | Business plan | CC/BCC only |
| Starting price | $9/mo (Pro) | Free (no paid tier) |
| Submission dashboard | Full dashboard | None (email only) |
Full submission dashboard with search and filtering
AI spam protection without interruptive CAPTCHAs
Native integrations with Slack, Google Sheets, Discord
REST API for programmatic access
Submission analytics with geo tracking
Completely free with no account needed
Simplest possible setup: just use your email in the URL
No submission limits on the free tier
Works for the most basic form needs
FormSubmit and FormsList occupy different ends of the form backend spectrum. FormSubmit is the bare minimum: a pipe from an HTML form to an email inbox. It does that one thing reliably and for free, which is why it remains popular. If you genuinely only need email forwarding and nothing else, FormSubmit works.
But most projects outgrow email-only form handling quickly. The moment you need to search past submissions, integrate with Slack, analyze form performance, or collaborate with teammates, FormSubmit hits a dead end. FormsList offers a smooth upgrade path from simple to sophisticated, with a free tier generous enough for most small projects and paid plans that scale to enterprise-level volume.
FormSubmit forwards submissions to your email for free without hard submission limits. However, it has no dashboard, no integrations, no API, and no analytics. The "unlimited" applies only to basic email forwarding.
FormsList's free plan (200 submissions/month, 5 forms) covers most small projects. You get a dashboard, AI spam filtering, integrations, and analytics, none of which FormSubmit offers at any price. The free tier is generous enough that you may never need to pay.
Yes. Replace your form's action URL from formsubmit.co to your FormsList endpoint. Remove any FormSubmit-specific hidden fields (_next, _captcha, etc.) and you are done. Submissions immediately start flowing to your FormsList dashboard.
200 free submissions a month and a live endpoint in 30 seconds. No server, no credit card, just point your form at it.