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

(www.ikiform.com)
183 points preetsuthar17 | 1 comments | 10 Jul 25 09:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.209s | 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

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dev-ns8 ◴[10 Jul 25 15:00 UTC] No.44521865[source]▶
What is the value proposition for these form libraries? Is it scale? Is it the custom builder? How complex are people's HTML forms these days from a UX perspective?

I was browsing the code, and noticed this forms library was using Supabase, presumably a paid service if this OSS library takes off. I just can't seem to grasp why a custom form building library needs a 3rd party, managed Database included. Scale maybe?

These are genuine questions as I'm woefully unaware of the state of HTML forms / Frontend in 2025

replies(2): >>44522470 #>>44522732 #
1. gbalduzzi ◴[10 Jul 25 16:00 UTC] No.44522470[source]▶
They are not libraries, they are form builders.

You create the form / survey without touching code and without provisioning or setup any infrastructure.

They are particular useful to companies wanting to do surveys without involving a development team