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

(www.ikiform.com)
183 points preetsuthar17 | 3 comments | 10 Jul 25 09:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.502s | 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

1. TheNewsIsHere ◴[10 Jul 25 13:03 UTC] No.44520547[source]▶
The Google and Microsoft Forms solutions always seem like a fantastic fit until you actually try to seriously use them for clients.

I’ve run into this too.

I had a client that needed to collect HIPAA protected data. Putting their marketing site into scope for HIPAA was not a sane choice. Their EMR vendor didn’t have any options that didn’t require migrating to a new EMR offering in order to create/publish/accept forms. All the other options were clunky and required a lot more work and niche expertise or training in those applications.

So we went with Google Forms. They already used Google Workspace and had executed the HIPAA addendum to the terms.

That lasted less than a year. The physicians and patients were both put off by the fact that it was a Google Form and it looked unprofessional.

They’re back to posting PDFs on their website.

replies(2): >>44522849 #>>44522891 #
2. ◴[10 Jul 25 16:37 UTC] No.44522849[source]▶
3. kccqzy ◴[10 Jul 25 16:42 UTC] No.44522891[source]▶
I'm probably in the minority here but I don't find Google Forms unprofessional, much like I don't find Google Docs or Sheets unprofessional. That said, I hate TypeForm and its auto-scrolling behavior.