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Surveys · head to head

Formstack vs Umami

Formstack logo

Formstack

Surveys

Form builder with document generation and e-signature

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Umami logo

Umami

Marketing

Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Umami has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Formstack more expensive than form builders that only collect, which is the fair comparison for simple use; Umami there is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • They diverge on capability: Formstack covers Form builder, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Formstack and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Formstack and Umami differ
AttributeFormstackUmami
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelTiered monthly subscription published on the vendor site; HIPAA-capable plans priced separatelyPer month by event count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, Linux
CategorySurveysMarketing

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Formstack

  • Form builder
  • Document generation
  • E-signature
  • Workflow routing
  • Salesforce integration
  • Compliance features

Only in Umami

  • Cookie-free tracking
  • Self-hosting
  • Small tracking script
  • Custom events
  • Funnels and goals
  • Multi-site and teams
  • Public dashboards
  • API access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Formstack

  • Processes where a submitted form must become a signed documentnot Umami
  • Regulated intake needing HIPAA-capable handlingnot Umami
  • Salesforce shops wanting forms and documents inside the CRMnot Umami

Umami

  • A developer who wants traffic numbers on a personal or client site without adding a consent bannernot Formstack
  • An organisation whose legal or procurement team has ruled out sending visitor data to a US advertising companynot Formstack
  • A high-traffic site where hosted analytics priced by pageview band has become expensive and self-hosting removes the ceiling entirelynot Formstack
  • A team that wants analytics data in a database they already control so they can query and join it themselvesnot Formstack

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Formstack

  • More expensive than form builders that only collect, which is the fair comparison for simple use
  • Document generation and signature sit in higher tiers, so the headline price is not the working price
  • The interface has accumulated features over a long life and shows it
  • Overkill where a form only needs to collect an answer

Umami

  • There is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • Self-hosting is only free in licence terms; you own the database, the upgrades, the backups and the query performance at scale, and a busy site's events table grows quickly enough to need real attention.
  • Because it stores no persistent identifier, it cannot follow a user across devices or sessions in any meaningful way, which makes returning-visitor and lifetime-value questions unanswerable by design rather than by omission.
  • Cloud overage is billed per event beyond the plan allowance, so a traffic spike or a badly instrumented custom event can produce a bill materially above the $20 or $200 headline before anyone notices.
  • It is maintained by a small team, so the pace of new capability is modest and enterprise expectations such as SSO, granular role permissions and formal support agreements are limited compared with commercial analytics vendors.

Pricing, plan by plan

Formstack

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Formstack review.

Umami

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • No event limit imposed by the software
    • Unlimited websites and users
  • Cloud HobbyFree
    • Up to 100,000 events per month
    • 3 websites
    • 6 months data retention
  • Cloud Pro$20/month
    • Up to 1,000,000 events per month
    • Unlimited websites
    • Unlimited team members
  • Cloud Business$200/month
    • Up to 10,000,000 events per month
    • All Pro features
    • Higher volume overage rate

Which should you pick?

Choose Formstack if

  • You need form builder.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want document generation.
Formstack review

Choose Umami if

  • You need cookie-free tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want self-hosting.
Umami review

Questions people ask

Is Formstack or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Formstack starts at On request and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Formstack or Umami?
Umami has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Formstack and Free for Umami.
Does Formstack or Umami run on more platforms?
Formstack runs on Web, Cloud. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Umami for free?
Yes. Umami has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Formstack starts at On request.
What is Formstack best used for?
Formstack is most often used for processes where a submitted form must become a signed document, regulated intake needing hipaa-capable handling, salesforce shops wanting forms and documents inside the crm. Of those, processes where a submitted form must become a signed document and regulated intake needing hipaa-capable handling are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Formstack do that Umami cannot?
Formstack covers Form builder, Document generation, E-signature, Workflow routing. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Formstack: What does Formstack cost?

It publishes tiered monthly pricing; document generation and e-signature sit in higher tiers, and HIPAA-capable plans are priced separately.

Umami: Is Umami really free?

Self-hosted, yes; it is MIT licensed with no event cap. You pay for the server and database. Umami Cloud has a free tier at 100,000 events a month and paid tiers from $20.

Formstack: What makes it different from a plain form builder?

It generates documents from submissions and collects signatures on them, which is the step that otherwise involves retyping form data into a template.

Umami: Do I need a cookie consent banner?

For Umami analytics specifically, generally no, because it sets no cookies and stores no personal data. Other tags on your site may still require one.

Formstack: Is it HIPAA compliant?

It offers HIPAA-capable plans for regulated data. That is a plan-level feature, not the default.

Umami: Can it replace Google Analytics?

For traffic, referrers and event counts, yes. For attribution modelling, audiences and advertising integration, no.

Umami: What does it need to run?

A container and a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. Most people deploy it on infrastructure they already pay for.

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