Web3Forms Alternative
A free access-key form backend whose free plan only sends email
Why Developers Move to Formboost
Formboost is a form backend: one form endpoint for any HTML, React or Next.js form, with email, Slack, Discord and Telegram delivery included on the free plan.
The free plan is an email relay — webhooks, the submissions API, file attachments and autoresponders are all Pro — and stopping bots means putting an hCaptcha in front of your users. Formboost delivers to Slack, Discord and Telegram on the free plan and screens submissions server-side, so nothing gets bolted onto your markup.
What Web3Forms Does
Web3Forms posts every form to one shared endpoint identified by an `access_key` field, and forwards the submission to your email. The developer features — webhooks, the submissions API, file attachments and autoresponders — all sit on the Pro plan.
What it costs to switch
Nothing, to start. Formboost's free plan covers 10 forms and 500 submissions a month with no card, and email, Slack, Discord and Telegram delivery are all available at that tier — one destination per form, so you can move one form across and keep it running for free while you check the submissions land where you expect. Custom webhooks start on Starter at $9/mo.
Web3Forms' submission limits and Pro price are not quoted here because they change — check web3forms.com/pricing for the current numbers before deciding. The feature-to-plan mapping above comes from Web3Forms' own documentation. See the full pricing and feature comparison → · Web3Forms's current pricing →
Where Formboost Differs
Every submission is screened by Formboost's own spam scoring, so you do not have to put an hCaptcha in front of real users to keep bots out
Slack, Discord and Telegram are native destinations on every Formboost plan, including Free — with Web3Forms they need a Pro webhook and something on the other end
Formboost's dashboard is where submissions live: searchable, reviewable, with the spam verdict on each one, rather than an inbox you dig through
Formboost's API is part of the product rather than a Pro add-on, and covers form and integration management, not only reading submissions
Formboost is built for the point where a submission has to reach a channel, a dashboard and your own systems — not just an inbox
The Formboost side, in detail
Form endpoint and submission API
How the endpoint answers an HTML post and a fetch() call, reserved fields, every response.
HTML form backend
A plain <form action> pointed at one URL — no PHP, no server.
JavaScript form backend
fetch() from any page, framework or not.
Pricing and plan limits
Free forever on 500 submissions a month; paid plans from $9/mo.
Web3Forms vs Formboost in detail
In short
Web3Forms' free plan does one thing: it emails you the submission. Every feature a developer reaches for next — webhooks, the submissions API, file attachments, autoresponders — is on the Pro plan, and keeping bots out means putting an hCaptcha in front of your users.
Formboost starts where that ceiling is. Below is what Web3Forms holds back, what Formboost gives you on the free plan, and how to move a form across.
Key takeaways
- •Web3Forms' free plan does email delivery with hCaptcha, and needs no account to get started.
- •Webhooks, the read-only submissions API, file attachments and autoresponders are Pro-only.
- •Web3Forms documents no native Slack, Discord or Telegram destination; Formboost includes all three free.
- •Web3Forms has file attachments on Pro; Formboost has none at any tier.
Where Formboost is different
[Slack](/docs/slack), [Discord](/docs/discord) and [Telegram](/docs/telegram) are native, on every plan including Free. With Web3Forms these need a Pro webhook plus something listening on the other end. With Formboost they are destinations you configure on the form — the free plan gives you one destination per form, Starter raises it to five.
Spam screening happens server-side, so your users never meet a captcha. Every submission is scored before it is stored. The free plan uses heuristics, Starter adds an AI pass over the ambiguous cases, and Pro and Business run the AI check on every submission using your form's description as context. Nothing gets bolted onto your markup.
Submissions live in a dashboard, not an inbox. Every submission is searchable and carries its spam verdict, so looking up a message from two weeks ago does not mean scrolling through email.
Custom webhooks start on Starter, at $9/mo. That is the one paid line on the Formboost side — and it buys five destinations per form, the AI spam pass, and 5,000 submissions a month, not a webhook on its own.
What Web3Forms gates behind Pro
Per Web3Forms' own documentation, these are Pro features rather than free ones:
- •Webhooks — sending a submission anywhere other than email.
- •The submissions API — read-only access to list your forms, page through submissions, and fetch one by id.
- •File attachments and the advanced uploader.
- •Autoresponder (auto-reply), CC recipients, and domain restriction.
- •reCAPTCHA and Cloudflare Turnstile. hCaptcha is available on the free plan; a honeypot field is documented but marked not recommended.
The free plan is an email relay. The developer surface is the paid product.
Feature comparison
| Formboost | Web3Forms | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 10 forms, 500 submissions/mo | Email delivery, hCaptcha (see pricing) |
| Email notifications | Yes | Yes |
| Slack / Discord / Telegram | Native, on every plan | Via a Pro webhook |
| Custom webhooks | Starter and above | Pro |
| Submissions dashboard | Yes | Dashboard for account and API keys |
| Read submissions via API | Yes | Pro |
| Spam handling | Server-side scoring, tiered by plan | hCaptcha free; reCAPTCHA/Turnstile on Pro |
| File uploads | Not yet — on the roadmap | Pro |
Check web3forms.com/pricing for their current limits and Pro price before deciding; plans change.
Moving a form across
Web3Forms identifies your form with a hidden access_key posted to one shared endpoint. Formboost gives each form its own endpoint, so the access key comes out:
<!-- Web3Forms -->
<form action="https://api.web3forms.com/submit" method="POST">
<input type="hidden" name="access_key" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" />
<input type="email" name="email" required />
<textarea name="message"></textarea>
<button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
<!-- Formboost -->
<form action="https://formboost.app/f/YOUR_ENDPOINT_ID" method="POST">
<input type="email" name="email" required />
<textarea name="message"></textarea>
<button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>Your captcha markup can come out too, and _redirect still points at your thank-you page. The full checklist is in the migration guide.
Read next
- •Formboost vs Web3Forms — the full feature and pricing comparison
- •Migrate from Web3Forms — step by step
- •Handle form submissions without a backend — the general case
Switching from Web3Forms?
Most forms migrate in minutes. See the full step-by-step guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about switching from Web3Forms
Can I keep my existing form HTML when moving from Web3Forms?
Yes. Formboost accepts an ordinary HTML form post, so in most cases the only edit is the form's action attribute — point it at your Formboost endpoint and leave the field names as they are. Your markup, styling and client-side validation are unaffected, and the field names you already use become the column names on your submissions.
Will I lose the submissions already stored in Web3Forms?
Formboost does not import historical submissions from Web3Forms, so export them before you close the account — every provider offers a CSV export, and it is the one step that is awkward to undo. Formboost starts collecting from the moment you repoint the form, and you can run both endpoints in parallel for a few days if you would rather overlap than cut over.
How long does moving one form actually take?
Minutes for the form itself: create the endpoint, change the action URL, submit a test entry and confirm it appears in the dashboard. Reconnecting notifications takes longer than the form does — a Slack, Discord or Telegram destination is a pasted webhook URL, and Google Sheets is a Google sign-in.
Do I need a credit card to try Formboost?
No. The free plan covers 10 forms and 500 submissions a month with no card and no expiry, and email, Slack, Discord and Telegram delivery are all available at that tier, one destination per form — enough to move a real form across and run it before deciding anything.
Ready to try Formboost instead of Web3Forms?
Free to start, no credit card required.