> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://formbnb.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# FormBnB vs Netlify Forms

> When to use a dedicated form backend instead of Netlify Forms

## Overview

Netlify Forms is a built-in feature of the Netlify hosting platform. FormBnB is a standalone form backend that works with any hosting provider. Here's how they compare.

## Feature Comparison

| Feature             | FormBnB                                        | Netlify Forms                      |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Submissions (free)  | **Unlimited**                                  | 100/month                          |
| Works with any host | ✅                                              | ❌ Netlify only                     |
| File uploads        | ✅                                              | ✅                                  |
| Spam protection     | ✅ Honeypot, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile, ML | ✅ Akismet, honeypot                |
| Email notifications | ✅ Customizable                                 | ✅ Basic                            |
| Webhooks            | ✅                                              | ✅ (via Netlify functions)          |
| API access          | ✅                                              | ✅ (Netlify API)                    |
| Integrations        | 21+                                            | Slack, email (via Zapier for more) |
| Dashboard           | ✅ Dedicated form dashboard                     | ✅ In Netlify dashboard             |
| AJAX support        | ✅                                              | ✅                                  |
| Custom redirects    | ✅                                              | ✅                                  |

## Why Choose FormBnB

### Not Locked to Netlify

Netlify Forms only works if your site is hosted on Netlify. FormBnB works with any hosting provider — Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, AWS, GitHub Pages, or any static host.

### Unlimited Submissions

Netlify's free tier gives you 100 form submissions per month. Going over costs \$19/month for the next 1,000. FormBnB gives you unlimited submissions on the free plan.

### More Spam Protection

Netlify uses Akismet and honeypot. FormBnB offers honeypot, reCAPTCHA v2/v3, hCaptcha, Cloudflare Turnstile, ML-based filtering, blocklists, and work email validation.

### 21+ Integrations

FormBnB connects directly to Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, HubSpot, Mailchimp, and more. Netlify Forms requires Zapier or custom functions for most integrations.

### Dedicated Form Dashboard

FormBnB's dashboard is built specifically for managing forms — search submissions, export data, configure notifications, and manage integrations. Netlify's form UI is a small section of a larger hosting dashboard.

## When Netlify Forms Might Be Better

* If you're already on Netlify and need fewer than 100 submissions/month
* If you want zero-config forms with just a `netlify` attribute on your HTML form
* If you prefer keeping everything in one platform

## Setup Comparison

**FormBnB:**

```html theme={null}
<form action="https://api.formbnb.com/f/YOUR_ORG/YOUR_FORM" method="POST">
  <input type="text" name="_gotcha" style="display:none">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
```

**Netlify Forms:**

```html theme={null}
<form name="contact" method="POST" data-netlify="true">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
```

Netlify's setup is slightly simpler if you're already on Netlify. But FormBnB's setup is just as easy and works everywhere.