Form.io vs OpnForm
| Tagline | Open-source form and data management platform with drag-and-drop builder and REST API | Open-source form builder to create forms and surveys without code |
| Category | Forms & Surveys | Forms & Surveys |
| Replaces | Typeform, Jotform, Google Forms | Typeform, Google Forms, Jotform |
| GitHub stars | 7.2k | 3.5k |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | One-Click Docker Docker Compose Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 1 month ago | 5 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Form.io
- Advanced enterprise features (PDF forms, multi-tenancy, SSO) locked behind paid plans
- Requires MongoDB; not suitable for SQL-only environments
- Documentation for self-hosted setup is less polished than hosted offering
OpnForm
- Some features (e.g. advanced branding removal, certain integrations) are reserved for the paid/cloud tier
- Fewer templates and question types than Jotform
- Analytics and reporting are lighter than commercial offerings
- Self-hosting requires a Laravel/PHP + database stack to maintain
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Form.io for the larger community and ecosystem. OpnForm has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Form.io
Open-source form and data management platform with drag-and-drop builder and REST API