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Alternatives

A Netlify Forms alternative, compared honestly

If your site is on Netlify and you only need a simple contact form, Netlify Forms is hard to beat: it's built in and free on current plans. It gets awkward when you move hosts, render forms with JavaScript, or want to post JSON. That's where embedio fits.

The short version

  • Pick embedio if: your site isn't hosted on Netlify (or might not be next year), your forms are rendered by React, Vue or another framework, you want to submit JSON, or you need the same forms on several sites.
  • Stay on Netlify Forms if: you host on Netlify and only need simple forms. Netlify says form usage is free and unlimited on its credit-based plans, it's already wired into your deploys, and spam goes through Akismet. Adding embedio there would be an extra vendor for no gain.

Side by side

Netlify Formsembedio
Hosting requirementSite must be deployed on NetlifyAny host, any domain, any number of sites
PriceFree and unlimited on credit-based plans (legacy plans are metered)Free up to 500/mo; Forms $9/mo for 10,000
JavaScript-rendered formsNeed a hidden static HTML copy so the build can detect themWork as-is; nothing to detect at build time
AJAX body formatURL-encoded only; JSON isn't supportedJSON, URL-encoded or multipart
File uploadsOne file per field, 8MB per requestUploads module ($7/mo), 10MB per file
Spam protectionAkismet, netlify-honeypot, optional reCAPTCHAHoneypot (_gotcha), duplicate dropping, per-form trust levels
Beyond formsForms onlySurveys, newsletter, bookings, live chat, AI chat

Netlify figures come from Netlify's own public pricing and documentation pages, checked in November 2026 and linked under Sources below. Prices are the monthly-billed list price in USD; most of these products are cheaper billed yearly. If something here is out of date, tell me at help@tryembedio.com and I'll fix it.

What embedio is

embedio is a hosted backend for websites: point an HTML form at it and submissions land in a dashboard, with spam filtering, validation and notifications handled for you. The same account also covers surveys, newsletter signups, file uploads, bookings, live chat and an AI assistant, so a site that outgrows a contact form doesn't need a second vendor.

  • Free plan: 500 submissions a month on plain forms, a dashboard to read them, CSV export, field validation, a custom thank-you message or redirect, and an email notification for every submission. Slack, Discord, Zapier and other connections need a paid plan.
  • Modular: Forms is $9/mo with 10,000 submissions included, then +5,000 for $5/mo at a time. Buying any module turns on Connections: email, Slack, Discord, Telegram, Zapier, webhooks, Google Sheets, Notion and more.
  • Ultimate: $59/mo for every module and unlimited submissions.
  • File uploads: the Uploads module ($7/mo) adds 50GB of storage and accepts files up to 10MB each.

Moving a form off Netlify Forms

  • Remove the Netlify attributes: delete netlify / data-netlify="true", netlify-honeypot, and the hidden form-name input. Otherwise form-name gets stored as a field.
  • Delete the static duplicate: if you kept a hidden HTML copy of a JS-rendered form for build-time detection, you don't need it any more.
  • Point the action at embedio: set action to your form's endpoint and method="POST". Rename your honeypot field to _gotcha.
  • Simplify your fetch: you can send JSON now; see the React and Next.js guides for a complete component.
contact.html
<form action="https://api.tryembedio.com/f/frm_your_form_key" method="POST">
  <label>Email <input type="email" name="email" required></label>
  <label>Message <textarea name="message" required></textarea></label>
  <!-- Honeypot: real visitors never see or fill it -->
  <input type="text" name="_gotcha" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off" style="display:none">
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Sources