Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Cognito Forms

OpnForm is an open-source form builder for creating beautiful, shareable forms without writing code. It supports hosted and self-managed deployments and is designed for fast form creation, distribution, and submission handling.

Key Features

• No-code form builder with support for multiple input types (text, date, URL, file uploads, and more)
• Share via unique form links and embed forms on websites
• Form logic and customization (themes, text/colors, images, custom thank-you pages)
• Notifications and integrations (email, Slack, Discord) plus webhook support
• Submission management features such as export to CSV and unique submission IDs
• Protection and access controls such as CAPTCHA, form passwords, hidden fields, and scheduled closing dates

Use Cases

• Contact and lead capture forms embedded on marketing websites
• Surveys and internal data collection with exports for reporting
• Workflow intake forms that trigger automations via webhooks and chat notifications

Limitations and Considerations

• Uses a dual-license model: core is AGPLv3, while some advanced Enterprise features are proprietary

OpnForm is a strong fit for individuals and teams that want a modern, flexible form builder with embedding, integrations, and customization. It combines an easy no-code experience with practical submission handling and automation-friendly features.

Form.io is an open-source form and data management platform that combines a drag-and-drop form builder with a backend API for storing, validating, and routing form submissions. It is designed to be embedded into web applications and deployed in your own environment to keep control of data and integrations.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop builder for complex, multi-page forms and JSON-based form definitions
• Embeddable form rendering for common frontend frameworks
• REST API for resources and submissions, including server-side validation
• Role-based permissions for managing projects, forms, and data access
• Workflow-style actions and integrations, including webhooks and conditional routing
• Form revisioning to manage changes over time and preserve historical submissions

Use Cases

• Building internal business-process apps that require complex forms and approvals
• Adding a managed form layer and submissions API to existing web applications
• Delivering a white-labeled, multi-tenant form-building capability inside a SaaS product

Limitations and Considerations

• The open-source core is commonly paired with commercial components for advanced enterprise features (for example, PDF and governance capabilities)

Form.io is a strong fit when forms are central to an application and you want a standardized, API-driven approach to building, embedding, and managing them. It helps teams reduce custom form engineering while keeping flexibility for integrations and deployments.

docassemble is a free, open-source expert system for building guided web interviews that collect information from users and apply rules and logic to produce outcomes. It is widely used for document automation, but it can also submit applications, store user input, and integrate with external systems.

Key Features

• Guided, logic-driven interviews that adapt questions based on prior answers
• Document assembly and generation in common formats (PDF, DOCX, RTF)
• Interview authoring using YAML, with Markdown for text and Python for logic
• Multi-user workflows for scenarios involving multiple participants
• Extensibility through Python code and reusable packages
• Background tasks for running work outside the active user session
• API capabilities for integrating with third-party services and automating input/output

Use Cases

• Legal and administrative form automation with downloadable, filled documents
• Intake and eligibility screening that dynamically adjusts questions
• Guided applications that store submissions and exchange data with external APIs

docassemble is a flexible platform for building structured, rules-based web interviews while keeping development approachable through YAML and Markdown with optional Python for advanced logic. It fits teams that need reliable conditional flows, reusable interview components, and automated document output.

Forms.md is a developer-first, open source JavaScript library for building multi-step, Typeform-style forms and surveys with minimal code. Forms can be created programmatically or from a template-like syntax, and embedded directly into existing web apps.

Key Features

• Multi-step “slide” forms with optional progress indicators
• Conditional logic for showing, skipping, or jumping between slides
• Partial (step-level) submissions to persist data during completion
• Rich input types (including opinion scales/NPS-style, ratings, date-time, file, and more)
• Client-side rendering without iframes, with a privacy-focused approach
• Theming and customization (colors, typography, layout)
• Localization support for multi-language forms
• Optional integrations such as Google Sheets and spam protection (reCAPTCHA)

Use Cases

• User onboarding flows with branching questions
• Customer surveys and feedback collection embedded in product pages
• Lead capture and data collection forms for internal tools or marketing sites

Limitations and Considerations

• Forms.md provides the form UI and client-side logic; you must provide and secure the server endpoint that receives submissions

Forms.md is a good fit for teams that want a code-driven, embeddable form experience with conditional logic and strong customization. It works well as a lightweight alternative to hosted form builders when you want full control over UX and data handling.