Tally vs Fillout: Which Free Form Builder Wins for Lean Businesses
Tally and Fillout are the two best alternatives to Typeform that have emerged. Both are dramatically cheaper and shockingly capable. The question for a small business is which one you can stay on as you grow.
The free tiers
| Feature | Tally free | Fillout free |
|---|---|---|
| Submissions/mo | Unlimited | 1,000 |
| Forms | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Branding | Made with Tally | Made with Fillout |
| Logic | Basic jumps | Full conditional |
| Integrations | Major included | Limited |
Tally’s free tier is genuinely usable for any volume. Fillout’s 1,000-per-month cap will bite at scale.
Paid tiers
- Tally Pro: $29/month — removes branding, custom domain, advanced features
- Fillout Pro: $25/month — 10K submissions, full integrations
- Fillout Business: $59/month — 100K submissions, more advanced
Where Tally wins
Simplicity
Feels like Notion for forms. Type to add fields, no menu diving. Fastest editor in the category. Typical contact or intake form publishable in 5 minutes.
Free tier generosity
Unlimited submissions is the killer feature. Rare in SaaS.
Native database integration
Tally’s Notion / Airtable / Sheets integrations feel first-class. Submissions land in your database with minimal mapping headaches.
Where Fillout wins
Conditional logic depth
Multi-step forms with conditional branching that Tally can’t match. Need a form that branches on Q1 to show different question sets? Fillout handles cleanly.
Scheduling and payments built-in
Native scheduling steps (book a calendar slot mid-form) and native Stripe integration. Tally requires linking out to Calendly/Stripe separately.
Integration breadth
Direct integrations with more tools (HubSpot, Salesforce) without needing Zapier.
Form layout flexibility
Multi-column layouts, custom branding, conditional layouts more refined. For polished forms, Fillout wins.
Use cases by tool
Pick Tally if:
- Your forms are simple-to-moderate (intake, signup, feedback, lead capture)
- You want unlimited submissions on the free tier
- You’re integrating into Notion, Airtable, or Sheets
- You value editor simplicity over feature depth
Pick Fillout if:
- You’re building multi-step or quiz-style forms with conditional branching
- You need built-in scheduling or payment collection in form flow
- You’re integrating with CRMs natively
- You’re moving from Typeform and miss the polish
What about Typeform itself?
Typeform pioneered the conversational form pattern but has gotten expensive — $25/month with strict submission caps. For lean businesses, Tally or Fillout deliver 80-90% of Typeform’s experience at significantly lower cost.
Real performance: completion rates
The form that gets completed beats the one that looks polished:
- Tally and Fillout completion rates typically 5-15% higher than Google Forms
- Within Tally vs Fillout: similar completion rates for matched complexity
- Conditional logic (Fillout’s strength) can improve completion 10-20% on longer forms
What about Google Forms?
Functional, free, ugly. Fine for internal team forms. For customer-facing, brand and UX hit aren’t worth the savings.
Migration between the two
If you start with one and want to switch, expect to rebuild from scratch — neither has a direct importer. Most forms take 5-15 minutes to rebuild.
Key Takeaways
- Tally wins on free-tier generosity and editor simplicity.
- Fillout wins on conditional logic depth, native scheduling/payments, and CRM integrations.
- For simple-to-moderate forms, Tally is better; for complex multi-step or branching, Fillout.
- Both dramatically outperform Typeform on cost; both outperform Google Forms on UX.
- Using both is a legitimate strategy for ~$25/month.
- Form completion rates matter more than aesthetics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tally really free forever with unlimited submissions?
Yes, on the free tier — they’re explicit. Free forms carry a small “Made with Tally” badge. Paid plans remove it.
Does Fillout’s 1,000-submission cap apply per form or total?
Total across all forms on free tier. For most small businesses, you’ll upgrade to Pro ($25/month) for 10K submissions once past hobbyist scale.
Can I embed these on my website?
Yes — both offer embeds (iframe, inline, popup, slider). Works on free tier of both.
Which has better mobile UX?
Both competent on mobile. Tally feels more native-app-like; Fillout more polished for complex layouts.
Should I use Notion’s native forms instead?
Notion forms are functional but limited. Fine for internal forms; not as good as Tally or Fillout for customer-facing.