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Show HN: Typeform was too expensive so I built my own forms

(www.ikiform.com)
183 points preetsuthar17 | 4 comments | 10 Jul 25 09:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source

Hey HN,

I'm a solopreneur and run a web design agency.

I create open-source apps, but I also work as a freelancer and designer. I was accepting any new freelance project via forms on my agency website.

I was using Typeform, but as time went by and more people submitted forms, it got more and more expensive. That time, I thought to use Google Form, but it was way too blocky and looked very unprofessional on my agency website.

So I thought to build my own forms for my own usage, and it turns out it almost doubled form submissions and inquiry calls.

I was happy, so I thought to build it for everyone and make it open-source.

I added AI functionalities using Vercel AISDK. I can generate forms almost instantly using AI and also added analytics AI so that users can talk with their forms—more like talk with their analytics data.

I've been building this publicly, sharing updates on my X account (preetsuthar17)

I hope this product will be as helpful to you as it was for me. Would love your feedback pls

Preet

Show context
Brajeshwar ◴[10 Jul 25 11:04 UTC] No.44519614[source]▶
> An open-source alternative to Typeform and Google Forms

Those two are the two extreme ends of the target audience archetypes. So, decide which is yours.

> I was using Typeform, but as time went by and more people submitted forms, it got more and more expensive.

When people say they build cheaper alternatives, I often assume that the original is becoming better and more successful. Competing on price rarely wins.

I've found https://formbricks.com to be kinda the closest competition to Typeform, and also Open Source.

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1. dangus ◴[10 Jul 25 12:50 UTC] No.44520430[source]▶
A lot of comments here are saying that competing on price is a losing proposition, but I think they’re forgetting that this is a solo project and not a 500 person company that’s trying to be as profitable as possible to be attractive for acquisition like Typeform. The bar for success for a solo project is far lower.

Typeform has to blow money on a lot of overhead that this author doesn’t have.

And let’s not just ignore a whole bunch of products that ousted market leaders specifically because they competed on price/value. Examples include: Google Docs, Mailchimp, a gigantic list of Adobe competitors, Unity, Backblaze, Robinhood, and the list goes on.

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2. preetsuthar17 ◴[10 Jul 25 12:58 UTC] No.44520499[source]▶
I tried my best :)
3. immibis ◴[10 Jul 25 21:24 UTC] No.44525793[source]▶
Didn't Google Docs win because it was online and (more) mobile-friendly, not because it was free? Almost everyone had Office on their PCs at the time, but not on their tablets.
replies(1): >>44527765 #
4. sokoloff ◴[11 Jul 25 02:04 UTC] No.44527765[source]▶
My view is that where Google workspace apps have won, it’s on price (for enterprise) or because it’s free (for easy online sharing, etc.)