No offline mode for mobile collection.
Fillout does not ship a native offline mobile app. Field teams collecting data without connectivity (events, surveys, in-store) hit a wall the moment the network drops.
Free Fillout alternative
At a glance
The honest read
Pricing
Free plan
Paid features
Where the comparison gets specific
For developers
MCP server
REST API v2
Why teams switch
Migration
1
2
3
Honest comparison
More options
Ask the AI
The Fillout alternative with offline forms and an MCP server for AI agents.
AI form generation, offline PWAs, and payments on the free plan. Fillout gates all three behind paid tiers or ships none of them.
Free forever
No credit card
Formester Vs Fillout
Formester
Formester is a hosted form builder with a built-in AI generator, offline forms that install as an app on phones and tablets, and 50 GB of file storage on the Business plan. Free includes unlimited responses, the AI form creator, offline PWA install, and native payments. Personal at $12 a month removes branding and adds conditional logic. Business at $45 a month covers unlimited responses, API access, PDF exports, an MCP server, and 25 team seats.
Fillout
Fillout is a hosted form builder best known for native two-way sync with Airtable, Notion, and Google Sheets, and a generous free plan with 1,000 responses a month and unlimited forms. Pricing climbs to $15 Starter, $40 Pro, and $75 Business. Strong fit for teams whose work already lives inside Airtable or Notion. No native offline mode and no dedicated mobile app.
Formester vs Fillout, in five attributes.
The deciders before you scroll the rest of this Fillout alternative comparison.
| Attribute | Formester | Fillout | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free response cap | Unlimited | 1,000 / month | Formester wins |
| AI form generator on free | Yes | Yes | Tied |
| Native payment collection on free | Yes | Yes | Tied |
| REST API + MCP server | REST + MCP (Business) | REST only | Formester wins |
| Offline form mode | Yes (free, PWA install) | No | Formester wins |
Always re-check live pricing pages before signing a contract.
Why teams leave Fillout.
Four reasons teams switching to Formester have given us. Sourced from G2, Capterra, Reddit reviews and vendor pricing pages, not made up.
EU data residency only on higher tiers.
EU customers who need GDPR-grade data residency are pushed to the Team or Enterprise plans. Smaller EU teams describe building workflows on Starter, then discovering they need to upgrade for residency.
Fewer payment gateways than incumbents.
Fillout's payment integration list is narrower than Jotform's 40+ gateways. Teams running international payment flows (Mollie, regional providers) hit gaps.
Pricing climbs fast above the free tier.
Free is generous (1,000 responses per month), but Starter is $15/mo, Pro $40/mo, Business $75/mo yearly. The $480 to $900 jump from annual Pro ($480/yr) to annual Business ($900/yr) surprises teams who expected a smoother ramp.
Numbers taken from the live fillout.com/pricing page; always re-verify before contract.
Fillout vs Formester pricing, plan by plan.
Annual billing displayed where applicable. Numbers reflect live pricing pages; always re-verify before contract.
| Tier | Formester | Fillout | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 · unlimited responses/mo, unlimited forms, AI generator, payments | $0 · 1,000 responses/mo, unlimited forms, unlimited seats, AI generator | Formester lifts the response cap; Fillout keeps unlimited seats on every plan |
| Entry paid | Personal · $12/mo annual, unlimited responses, conditional logic, brand removal | Starter · $15/mo annual, 2,000 responses, custom branding | Formester lifts the cap; Fillout costs $3/mo more and stays at 2,000 |
| Mid tier | Business · $45/mo annual, unlimited responses, 25 seats, REST API + MCP, 50 GB | Pro · $40/mo annual, includes more integrations and Pro features | Pricing close; Formester adds MCP |
| Top tier | Enterprise · custom (talk to sales) | Business · $75/mo billed yearly ($900/yr), unlimited responses, unlimited seats, custom domain | Different model |
Free plan: Formester vs Fillout, side by side.
What each free plan actually lets you do, line by line. Verified against the live pricing pages.
| Feature | Formester Free | Fillout Free |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly response cap | Unlimited | 1,000 |
| Forms allowed | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File upload storage | 100 MB | 20 MB per file (Fillout Free/Starter/Pro cap) |
| AI form generator | Yes (prompt + question list + PDF) | Yes |
| Conditional logic | Limited; full on Personal | Yes |
| Native payment collection | Yes (Stripe, PayPal) | Yes |
| Offline form mode (PWA install) | Yes | No |
| Custom branding / brand removal | Branding shows; removal on Personal | Branding shows; removal on paid |
| REST API + Webhooks | Webhooks; full API on Business | Webhooks; API on paid |
| MCP server for AI agents | Yes (Business) | No |
| Drop-off analytics | Yes | Yes |
Fillout vs Formester paid features, line by line.
What unlocks on each tool's paid plans, grouped by what teams searching for an alternative actually upgrade for. Verified against live pricing pages.
| Feature | Formester (Personal $12 / Business $45 monthly, billed annually) | Fillout (Starter ~$15 / Pro $40 / Business $75 monthly, billed annually) |
|---|---|---|
| Volume and seats | ||
| Entry-paid monthly response cap | Unlimited (Personal) | 2,000 (Starter) |
| Mid-tier monthly response cap | Unlimited (Business) | 5,000 (Pro) / Unlimited (Business) |
| Team seats (mid tier) | 25 (Business) | Unlimited seats on every plan (Fillout differentiator) |
| File storage (mid tier) | 50 GB (Business) | 20 MB per file (Free/Starter/Pro); 1 GB+ per file (Business) |
| Logic and form behavior | ||
| Conditional logic depth | Full field-level rules across multiple inputs (Personal+) | Conditional logic, branching, answer piping (free and up) |
| Calculations and scoring | Quiz auto-scoring (free); calculations on paid | Calculations and scoring (paid) |
| Save and resume | Yes (Business; partial submissions on every plan) | Yes (paid) |
| Multi-language forms | Yes; AI translation on Business | Yes (multilingual support; tier specifics not reconfirmed) |
| Branding and distribution | ||
| Brand removal | Personal ($12/mo annual) | Pro / Business |
| Custom domain / subdomain | Custom subdomain on Personal; full custom domain on Business | Custom domain on Business+ |
| Embed modes | 6 modes: Standard inline, Popup, Sidebar, Side Tab, Popover, Fullscreen | Standard block, popup, full screen, slider |
| Native iOS / Android apps | No native app (forms install as PWA on phones, tablets, laptops) | No native Fillout app |
| Offline form collection | Yes (PWA mode, free and up) | No native offline sync |
| Developer and AI surface | ||
| REST API | Webhooks on every plan; full REST API v2 on Business | Webhooks on every plan; API on paid |
| MCP server (Claude / ChatGPT / agents) | Yes (Business) | No |
| PDF export of responses | Yes (Personal+); auto-send to respondents on submit (Business) | CSV export; PDF flows via integrations |
| Compliance and security | ||
| GDPR / UK GDPR / CCPA | Yes | Yes; EU hosting on Team / Enterprise |
| SOC 2 Type II | Not certified yet | Yes (SOC 2; type not publicly specified) |
| ISO 27001 / HIPAA | Not certified yet | Not confirmed publicly |
| Encryption at rest + TLS in transit | Yes; payment data adds AES-256 via Stripe | Yes (AES at rest, TLS in transit) |
Pricing and feature data reflect the live pricing pages on formester.com and fillout.com/pricing/. Re-verify against live pages before a contract decision.
Logic, integrations, and offline: Formester vs Fillout.
The three dimensions teams searching for a Fillout alternative tell us actually drove the switch. Specific behavior, not feature-list checkmarks.
Conditional logic that actually branches.
Field-level show / hide / require / route rules across multiple inputs, not just section-level branching. Show a question only if a Likert score is below 3, route the response to a CS lead, fire a webhook on submit. The full engine unlocks on Personal at $12 per month, billed annually.
Formester
Field-level rules, calculations, route-on-submit (Personal+)
Fillout
Conditional logic, branching, answer piping (free and up)
Integrations and AI agent surface.
Native HubSpot, Google Sheets, Slack, Stripe, PayPal, Calendly, n8n, Pabbly, OttoKit, GA4, and GTM. Webhooks fire on submission created / updated / deleted on every plan. REST API v2 on Business plus an MCP server that plugs into Claude or ChatGPT. The Fillout alternative for teams running AI agents on form data.
Formester
11+ native + webhooks + Zapier + REST API + MCP server
Fillout
~50 integrations, deep Airtable / Notion / Sheets sync, no MCP
Offline forms that ship as installable apps.
Formester forms install as a PWA on phones, tablets, and laptops. Field teams collect responses with no connection, submissions queue on the device, and sync the moment the network returns. Available on the free plan, no app store install. Fillout has no native offline option, which is a real gap for in-store, event, and field-research collection.
Formester
PWA install, offline collection, auto sync (free and up)
Fillout
No native offline sync
Your form data, ready for the AI you already use.
Every Formester form ships with a REST API and an MCP server. Submissions don't stop at a CSV. The Fillout alternative built for teams running AI agents on top of their data.
Plug Formester into Claude, ChatGPT, or any MCP-compatible model.
Claude
ChatGPT
Custom agents
Connect Formester to any MCP-compatible model and let it read your form submissions directly. Ask Claude "which leads from this week's form look highest fit?", or have a custom agent score job applications against the role brief and flag the top candidates for the recruiter.
Read the MCP docs →Or build directly on the REST API.
Self-service token
Webhooks
Business plan +
Pull form submissions into your data warehouse, push pre-filled form URLs back from your CRM, or build a custom enrichment pipeline. Self-service token at app.formester.com/api in two clicks. No support ticket, no waiting.
Read the API docs →Why teams choose Formester over Fillout.
Eight reasons buyers searching for a Fillout alternative tell us they made the switch. Each item ties to a specific Formester plan or feature, not a marketing line.
AI form generator on the free plan
Prompt, PDF, or question list. Formester drafts the form in seconds, on the free plan.
Native payments included on the free plan
Stripe and PayPal integration on day one. No add-on, no upgrade. Most teams switching from Fillout cite this as the deciding feature.
Conditional logic on Personal at $12/mo annual
Field-level rules across inputs, not just section branching. Show, hide, skip, route, calculate. Personal at $12/mo annual.
REST API + MCP server for AI agents
Hosted REST API on Business plus an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, or any compatible model.
Offline forms that install as PWAs
Field teams collect without signal. Submissions sync when the network returns. Free plan, no app store install.
Custom domain on Business, branded URL on Personal
Forms live on your domain, not a vendor URL. Personal unlocks a custom subdomain; Business unlocks the full custom domain.
Multi-language with AI translation
180+ languages via AI translation on Business. One source form, respondent picks their language, edits stay in sync.
Privacy-first: no AI training on your data
GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA compliant. Customer Data is not used to train AI models. Honest about SOC 2 and ISO 27001, we do not certify them yet.
How to switch from Fillout to Formester in 3 steps.
From "I want to leave Fillout" to "the new form is live" without losing data or missing submissions.
Export your existing entries.
In Fillout, open Forms → Submissions → Export CSV. Capture each form's responses as a CSV. Pull integration logs (Airtable / Notion sync history) for reference.
Time: 5 to 10 minutes for a typical 5-form workspace.
Rebuild with the AI form generator.
Sign up for Formester (free, no card). Open the AI form generator, paste a description of the Fillout form, or upload the questions list. The generator drafts the structure with field types, validation, and conditional logic. Edit the labels and apply your branding.
Time: 10 to 20 minutes per form for a typical 10-field form.
Re-point your integrations.
Update the destination on your Airtable / Notion / Slack / Zapier flows from Fillout's webhook endpoints to Formester's. Test one submission, confirm the integration fires, then archive the Fillout form.
Time: 10 to 15 minutes; keep Fillout active for a week as a fallback.
When Fillout is still the better choice.
Two real cases where Fillout beats Formester. We are the alternative for the rest, and that is okay.
Your forms live downstream in Airtable or Notion.
- If your team's source of truth is an Airtable base or a Notion workspace, Fillout's native bindings will be cleaner than anything Formester ships through Zapier.
- Their UI is purpose-built around the database connection; Formester's is purpose-built around the form output.
- Honest tradeoff: that Airtable / Notion polish is the reason to stay on Fillout despite the lower free-plan ceiling on Formester.
You need SOC 2 or ISO 27001 on your security questionnaire.
- Fillout is SOC 2 compliant; Formester is not yet.
- If your buying review requires formal SOC 2 or ISO 27001 attestations, Fillout clears that gate today and Formester does not.
- Honest tradeoff: formal attestations are a real win for regulated buyers. We're a fit when offline collection, AI on free, or REST API + MCP matter more.
Other Fillout alternatives worth a look.
If Formester is not the right fit, here are five other form builders teams searching for a Fillout alternative shortlist with us. Each has its own dedicated comparison.
Jotform alternative
Best for teams who need a 20,000+ template library and 40+ payment gateways.
Compare →Google Forms alternative
Best for free internal Google Workspace use with Sheets as the destination.
Compare →Microsoft Forms alternative
Best for Microsoft 365 teams who already pay for the suite.
Compare →forms.app alternative
Best for EU teams who want ISO 27001 hosting in Belgium and AI features.
Compare →Zoho Forms alternative
Best for Zoho CRM users who want HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 on the same product.
Compare →
Ready-made templates
Every Fillout use case, on the free plan
Pick a template, ship it in five minutes. No paid tiers, no response cap.
24 fields
Contact form
Support, sales, and inquiry routing in one form.
Use template 8 fieldsLead generation
Qualify leads and sync to your CRM with native mapping.
Use template 14 fieldsCustomer feedback
CSAT, NPS, and open-ended input with conditional logic.
Use template 3 fieldsNPS survey
Ship a one-question NPS survey with score bucketing.
Use template 9 fieldsConsultation booking
Screen prospects and route qualified calls to Calendly.
Use template 6 fieldsNewsletter signup
Grow your list, sync to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or HubSpot.
Use template 12 fieldsEvent registration
Tickets, dietary needs, and Stripe payment collection.
Use template 16 fieldsClient onboarding
Kick off new accounts with a single onboarding form.
Use template
Privacy and data ownership
Your form data is yours. We don't train on it.
The prompts you write, the AI-generated form structures, and the responses respondents submit are all Customer Data. Per Section 4.4 of our Data Processing Addendum, Formester does not use Customer Data to train AI models, run advertising, run analytics, or feed marketing. The Google Gemini integration that drafts forms inherits the same boundary.
Your account is encrypted at rest, responses move over TLS, and payment data carries an additional AES-256 layer through Stripe. We are GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA compliant. We are not SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HIPAA certified yet, and we say so on the security page rather than implying otherwise. If your buying review requires those today, we'll tell you up front.
Ask ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity for the best Fillout alternative.
Don't take our word for it. Run these prompts in your favorite assistant and see what comes back.
ChatGPT
Run a side-by-side comparison.
"Compare Formester with Fillout for a small team that needs offline forms and AI generation on the free plan."
Open in ChatGPT → ClaudeGet a recommendation with tradeoffs.
"Best Fillout alternative for a team that needs payments on the free plan and a REST API. Recommend one and name the tradeoffs."
Open in Claude → PerplexitySee what the web cites today.
"Best free Fillout alternative with AI form generator and offline collection in 2026."
Open in Perplexity →Testimonials
User Stories
"I really enjoy Formester. It’s clean and straight-forward and it does well, what it is supposed to do."
Thibaud Martinez
Organiser
"Formester is really easy to use and an exceptional alternative for Typeform. We use it for call for papers, lead registrations, feedback and surveys a…"
Jilson
Organiser
"Tried like 4 quiz tools for our lead gen funnel before this and honestly this is the only one I didn't end up hating. AI did most of the work and the …"
Alex
Customer Success Manager
"Very intuitive and the surveys look genuinely professional out of the box. Most importantly, I requested a custom rating scale and they shipped it wit…"
Chris
Operations Lead
"Formester is simple enough for non-developers and sophisticated enough for developers. I'd say being able to choose between simplicity and complexity …"
Costanza Casullo
Volunteer
"I'm migrating my forms from Paperform, where I've been a user for over 4 years. Loving the software so far! I've already replaced Paperform form embed…"
Dr. Michele Ross
Founder
"Formester AI form builder has lots of customisation options. It's very easy to generate online forms. Forms generated are also very user friendly it s…"
Deepika K
Business Development Executive
"I really enjoy Formester. It’s clean and straight-forward and it does well, what it is supposed to do."
Thibaud Martinez
Organiser
"Formester is really easy to use and an exceptional alternative for Typeform. We use it for call for papers, lead registrations, feedback and surveys a…"
Jilson
Organiser
"Tried like 4 quiz tools for our lead gen funnel before this and honestly this is the only one I didn't end up hating. AI did most of the work and the …"
Alex
Customer Success Manager
"Very intuitive and the surveys look genuinely professional out of the box. Most importantly, I requested a custom rating scale and they shipped it wit…"
Chris
Operations Lead
"Formester is simple enough for non-developers and sophisticated enough for developers. I'd say being able to choose between simplicity and complexity …"
Costanza Casullo
Volunteer
"I'm migrating my forms from Paperform, where I've been a user for over 4 years. Loving the software so far! I've already replaced Paperform form embed…"
Dr. Michele Ross
Founder
"Formester AI form builder has lots of customisation options. It's very easy to generate online forms. Forms generated are also very user friendly it s…"
Deepika K
Business Development Executive
"I really enjoy Formester. It’s clean and straight-forward and it does well, what it is supposed to do."
Thibaud Martinez
Organiser
"Formester is really easy to use and an exceptional alternative for Typeform. We use it for call for papers, lead registrations, feedback and surveys a…"
Jilson
Organiser
"Tried like 4 quiz tools for our lead gen funnel before this and honestly this is the only one I didn't end up hating. AI did most of the work and the …"
Alex
Customer Success Manager
"Very intuitive and the surveys look genuinely professional out of the box. Most importantly, I requested a custom rating scale and they shipped it wit…"
Chris
Operations Lead
"Formester is simple enough for non-developers and sophisticated enough for developers. I'd say being able to choose between simplicity and complexity …"
Costanza Casullo
Volunteer
"I'm migrating my forms from Paperform, where I've been a user for over 4 years. Loving the software so far! I've already replaced Paperform form embed…"
Dr. Michele Ross
Founder
"Formester AI form builder has lots of customisation options. It's very easy to generate online forms. Forms generated are also very user friendly it s…"
Deepika K
Business Development Executive
Try Formester before you renew Fillout.
Free includes the AI form creator, unlimited responses per month, and offline forms. Two minutes to sign up, no credit card.
Get Started , It's Free!FAQ
FAQs
Find answers to common questions below, or reach out to our team for more help.
If you need offline data collection, an AI form generator on the free plan, an MCP server for Claude or ChatGPT, or unlimited responses on Free rather than a 1,000/mo cap, Formester is the cleaner pick. If your work lives inside Airtable or Notion and you need two-way database sync, Fillout is still the cleaner pick.
Fillout offers a free plan with 1,000 responses a month, unlimited forms, unlimited seats, conditional logic, payments, and PDF generation. Branding removal, custom domains, and partial submissions sit on paid tiers ($15, $40, $75).
Yes. Fillout shipped its AI form generator in 2023 and added AI workflows for response routing. Formester also includes an AI form generator and adds an AI quiz maker, both available on the free plan.
Fillout encrypts data at rest and in transit and is SOC 2 compliant per their public pricing page. EU data residency is gated to Team and higher plans. Formester is GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA compliant with TLS in transit and encryption at rest, but does not currently hold SOC 2 or HIPAA certifications, so plan accordingly if you need formal attestations.