FormSubmit.co vs Forminit.com: Complete Comparison

A detailed comparison of two popular form backend services to help you choose the right solution for your project.

Overview

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Type	Email-based form backend	Full-featured form backend API
Primary Focus	Simple email forwarding	Structured data collection & API
Pricing	Free (with limitations)	Free tier + Paid plans
Setup Complexity	Very simple	Simple to moderate

⚠️ CRITICAL SECURITY CONCERNS ⚠️

Before choosing any form backend service, you MUST consider these critical security and privacy implications.

🚨 EMAIL ADDRESS EXPOSURE IN HTML SOURCE CODE

This is a SEVERE security vulnerability with FormSubmit.co.

FormSubmit.co requires you to embed your email address directly in the HTML form action:

<form action="https://formsubmit.co/your@email.com">

Why this is dangerous:

Risk	Impact	Severity
Spam Harvesting	Bots constantly crawl websites to collect email addresses from HTML source code. Your email WILL be harvested.	🔴 CRITICAL
Targeted Phishing	Attackers can see exactly which email receives form submissions, making targeted phishing attacks easier.	🔴 CRITICAL
Business Email Compromise	Exposing business emails publicly increases risk of impersonation and social engineering attacks.	🔴 CRITICAL
No Obfuscation	Even with their “email hash” feature, the original email can be discovered through form submission testing.	🟠 HIGH
Permanent Exposure	Once indexed by search engines and web archives, your email remains exposed indefinitely.	🟠 HIGH

Forminit.com approach: Uses Form IDs instead of email addresses. Your email is never exposed in client-side code.

🚨 UNVERIFIABLE DATA HANDLING CLAIMS

FormSubmit.co claims they do not store form submissions. YOU CANNOT VERIFY THIS.

Concern	Details
No Transparency	There is no way to audit, verify, or confirm that your data is not being stored, logged, or analyzed.
Blind Trust Required	You must take their word for it. No third-party audits, no certifications, no proof.
Data Passing Through Their Servers	Even if not “stored,” all submission data passes through their infrastructure and could be logged, cached, or intercepted.
No Data Processing Agreement	Without a DPA, you have no legal recourse or guarantees about data handling.
Server Logs	Standard server infrastructure typically logs requests. Are these logs excluded? For how long? You don’t know.
Backup Systems	Do their backup systems capture submission data? Unknown.
Employee Access	Who has access to the systems processing your data? Unknown.

⚠️ Remember: “We don’t store your data” is a marketing claim, not a technical guarantee. Without audits and certifications, it’s meaningless from a compliance perspective.

Forminit.com approach: Explicitly stores submissions in a dashboard you control. Transparent about data handling. You know exactly what happens to your data.

Using FormSubmit.co may put you in violation of GDPR, CCPA, and other data protection regulations.

Compliance Requirement	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Data Processing Agreement (DPA)	❌ Not available	✅ Available
Clear Data Retention Policy	❌ Vague/None	✅ Documented
Data Subject Access Requests	❌ Cannot fulfill (no storage claim)	✅ Export available
Right to Deletion	❌ Cannot verify	✅ Dashboard control
Data Portability	❌ Not possible	✅ API & Export
Processing Records	❌ None provided	✅ Submission logs
Sub-processor List	❌ Not disclosed	✅ Documented
Data Location/Residency	❌ Unknown	✅ Specified
Security Certifications	❌ None	Varies by plan

⚠️ For EU/UK Users: Using FormSubmit.co for any form collecting personal data from EU/UK residents likely violates GDPR. Consult legal counsel.

⚠️ For California Users: Similar concerns apply under CCPA/CPRA.

🚨 TRUST & ACCOUNTABILITY SUMMARY

Factor	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Company Transparency	❌ Limited information	✅ Clear company info
Terms of Service	⚠️ Basic	✅ Comprehensive
Privacy Policy	⚠️ Vague	✅ Detailed
Data Processing Agreement	❌ None	✅ Available
Verifiable Claims	❌ Cannot verify	✅ Dashboard proves storage
Audit Trail	❌ None	✅ Full submission history
API for Compliance	❌ None	✅ Full API access
Support/Accountability	⚠️ Limited	✅ Support channels

Feature Comparison

Core Functionality

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Form submissions	✅	✅
Email notifications	✅	✅
Custom redirect	✅	✅
File uploads	✅ (limited)	✅ (up to 25MB per submission)
Spam protection	✅ (reCAPTCHA, honeypot)	✅ (reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, honeypot)
AJAX/Fetch support	✅	✅
Custom thank you page	✅	✅

Data & API Access

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
REST API	❌	✅
Retrieve submissions via API	❌	✅
Structured data (blocks)	❌	✅
JSON submissions	✅ (basic)	✅ (full block system)
Webhook support	❌	✅
Dashboard access	❌	✅
Export submissions	❌	✅
Search submissions	❌	✅

Developer Experience

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Official SDK	❌	✅ (JavaScript/TypeScript)
TypeScript support	❌	✅
Next.js integration	Manual	✅ Built-in proxy handler
Nuxt.js integration	Manual	✅ Built-in proxy handler
Node.js SDK	❌	✅
CDN/Browser SDK	❌	✅
API documentation	Basic	Comprehensive (OpenAPI)

Data Validation

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Email validation	✅	✅ (server-side)
Phone validation	❌	✅ (E.164 format)
URL validation	❌	✅
Country code validation	❌	✅ (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2)
Rating validation	❌	✅ (1-5 range)
Date validation	❌	✅ (ISO 8601)
Custom patterns	❌	✅

Tracking & Analytics

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
UTM parameter capture	❌	✅ (automatic)
Google Ads (gclid)	❌	✅
Facebook Ads (fbclid)	❌	✅
Microsoft Ads (msclkid)	❌	✅
TikTok Ads (ttclid)	❌	✅
Referrer tracking	❌	✅
Geolocation data	❌	✅

File Upload Comparison

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Max file size	~5MB	25MB per submission
Multiple files	Limited	✅
File metadata in response	❌	✅ (filename, size, type, URL)
Accepted file types	Basic	50+ MIME types
Direct download URLs	❌	✅

Security Features

Feature	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
HTTPS	✅	✅
reCAPTCHA	✅	✅
hCaptcha	❌	✅
Honeypot	✅	✅
API key authentication	❌	✅
Protected forms	❌	✅
Rate limiting	Unknown	✅
Email hidden from source	❌ EXPOSED	✅
Verifiable data handling	❌	✅

Error Handling

Aspect	FormSubmit.co	Forminit.com
Error detail level	Basic	Comprehensive
Error codes	❌	✅ (structured codes)
Debugging information	Minimal	Detailed with suggestions
Documentation	Limited	Full error reference

Final Recommendation

When FormSubmit.co May Not Be the Best Fit

FormSubmit.co is a simple solution that works well for basic use cases. However, you may want to consider alternatives if:

You collect personal data from EU/UK users and need GDPR compliance
You collect data from California users and need CCPA compliance
You operate in finance or other regulated industries with strict compliance requirements
Email security and spam prevention are important to your use case
You need verifiable compliance documentation for audits
You need to access, search, or export submission data programmatically
You’re building a production application that requires reliable data access

When Forminit.com Might Be a Better Choice

Forminit.com provides a more comprehensive solution that may be worth considering if:

You need compliance-ready form handling with proper documentation
You want transparent, verifiable data handling with full audit trails
You need API access to retrieve and manage submissions
You’re building with modern frameworks and want seamless integration
You prioritize security best practices (like keeping emails out of source code)
You need audit trails and data export capabilities for compliance

The Bottom Line

FormSubmit.co offers a straightforward, simple approach to form handling that works well for basic use cases. However, its limitations around security, compliance, and data access may make it less suitable for production applications or scenarios requiring regulatory compliance.

Forminit.com provides a more robust infrastructure with better security practices, compliance features, and API access, making it a better fit for applications that need these capabilities.

Forminit.com provides a proper form backend infrastructure with transparency, APIs, compliance features, and security best practices.