whatayarn is our starting recommendation if you want more from your answers than Tally’s free plan gives you. Its free Summary tab narrows results to the people who gave a chosen answer or rating, and standard AI columns label each written reply, also on Free. Tally’s free plan is broad, so switch for a specific job: choose Typeform for a one-question-at-a-time layout, Fillout for forms that update a database, Cognito Forms for repeating records and heavy calculations, and Formbricks for recurring product feedback or self-hosting. Stay with Tally if you rely on its free payments and integrations.
Tally is a popular form builder because its free plan (opens in a new tab) is so broad. A reader in a recent thread, looking for better survey analysis, put it this way: “The form itself isn’t really the problem anymore” (r/nocode (opens in a new tab)). Start with the requirement Tally isn’t meeting, then decide whether that means switching, adding a tool alongside it, or staying.
What Tally already gives you for free
Before shopping, check what you would be giving up. Tally’s pricing page (opens in a new tab) lists, on Free:
- Unlimited forms and submissions within fair use.
- Conditional logic, calculations, signatures and password protection.
- File uploads up to 10 MB per file (opens in a new tab), with no respondent account.
- Payments, plus native connections to Google Sheets, Notion and Airtable.
Tally Pro (opens in a new tab) costs US$29 a month or US$290 a year. It removes branding and adds custom domains, team collaboration, partial submissions, drop-off insights and custom CSS.
Switch, add a tool, or stay
| What isn’t working | Likely move | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| You want to filter results and label written replies | Switch, or export and analyse | whatayarn, or a research tool |
| You want one question per screen | Switch | Typeform |
| Answers must update records in a database | Switch, or use an integration | Fillout |
| You need repeating sections or complex pricing rules | Switch | Cognito Forms |
| You run recurring in-product feedback or self-host | Switch | Formbricks |
| You need a large template library and signed documents | Switch | Jotform |
| You need partial submissions or drop-off data | Stay and upgrade | Tally Pro |
| Only the branding bothers you | Stay and upgrade | Tally Pro |
If exported answers support the analysis you need, keep your existing forms. For themes across many projects, a research tool fed with your exports will do more than any form builder here.
Compare seven Tally alternatives
| Alternative | Choose it forWhat Tally doesn't cover for you | Free plan and tradeoffWhat you give up compared with Tally |
|---|---|---|
| whatayarnFiltering and labelling answers | A filterable Summary and AI columns on FreeFilter results by a rating or choice; label written replies by sentiment, urgency and need for a reply.Review on Free | Unlimited forms and responses within fair useNo payments, integrations or password protection yet; 5 MB per file and 100 MB storage on Free.Loses Tally's free extras |
| TypeformOne question at a time | A conversational, full-screen layoutFree includes logic, calculations and exports.Different presentation | 10 responses a month on FreeBasic is US$39 a month for 100 responses; branding removal starts on Plus.Volume pricing |
| FilloutForms connected to a database | Creating and updating records in Airtable or NotionFree includes logic, calculations, payments and standard integrations.Connected workflow | 1,000 responses a month on FreeThe badge stays until Pro, US$49 a month.Monthly allowance |
| Cognito FormsRepeating records and calculations | Repeating sections and calculation-heavy intakeCalculations, logic and repeating sections are standard on every plan.Structured data | 100 entries a month on FreeSignatures and save-and-resume need Pro, US$24 a month.Small free allowance |
| FormbricksRecurring product feedback | Ongoing surveys, or hosting it yourselfHosted Free includes logic, partial responses and uploads; an open-source edition runs on your own servers.Product feedback | 250 responses a month on hosted FreePartial responses count. Pro is US$89 a month for 2,000.Monthly allowance |
| JotformTemplates and document workflows | Business forms with payments and signed documentsA large template library and document tools.Operational fit | Starter: 100 submissions a monthSeparate caps on active forms, storage, payments and signed documents.Several counters |
| PaperformA form that reads like a page | Rich pages mixing content and questionsFree includes logic and basic payments.Page-led design | 30 submissions a month on FreeCalculations and unlimited submissions, within fair use, need Pro at US$588 a year.Small free allowance |
whatayarn: filter results and label written answers
whatayarn’s free Summary tab shows completed answers beside each question, with counts and charts. Select an option or a rating to narrow the other questions to the people who chose it, then read what they wrote. Standard AI columns, also on Free, label each written answer for sentiment, urgency, spam and whether it needs a reply. On Creator you can write custom AI columns with your own categories. These label individual responses; they don’t find themes across projects.
Creator, at US$19 a month or US$180 a year, adds Funnel, respondent journeys and visitor details and partial submissions. Tally Pro also offers partial submissions and drop-off insights, so check it before rebuilding for those alone.
Shared features include conditional logic, calculated fields, answer piping, pages and every question type on Free, including signatures, rankings, matrices and a built-in voice recorder. Respondents need no account to answer or upload.
Choose something else if you rely on what Tally does for free that whatayarn doesn’t yet: payments, Sheets, Notion and Airtable connections, and password protection are all coming soon, as are custom domains and custom CSS. Uploads are limited to 5 MB per file within 100 MB of account storage on Free, against Tally’s 10 MB per file; Creator raises storage to 50 GB but keeps the 5 MB limit. AI columns read written answers; they don’t transcribe recordings or analyse attachments.
Typeform: when you want one question per screen
Typeform’s full-screen, one-question-at-a-time layout is the main reason to choose it over Tally. Its Free plan (opens in a new tab) includes logic and calculations, but only 10 responses a month across the account. Paid plans (opens in a new tab) start at US$39 a month for 100 responses, and branding removal starts on Plus at US$79.
Choose something else if your volume is more than a handful of responses a month and the layout isn’t essential. Our Typeform alternatives guide compares that tradeoff in detail.
Fillout: when answers must update a database
Tally can send answers to Airtable or Notion. Fillout is worth trying when you need more than appending rows, such as updating an existing record or looking up a value. Its Free plan (opens in a new tab) includes 1,000 responses a month, uploads up to 20 MB per file, payments and standard integrations. Pro is US$49 monthly or US$480 a year.
Test the exact record operation before switching. If Tally’s existing connection already does it, stay.
Cognito Forms: when the data has structure
Cognito Forms suits intake where one submission holds a list, such as several attendees, line items or dependants. Repeating sections, calculations and logic are standard on every plan (opens in a new tab). The free Individual plan (opens in a new tab) allows 100 entries a month and 100 MB of storage; Pro is US$24 a month and adds signatures and save-and-resume.
Formbricks: recurring feedback or self-hosting
Formbricks focuses on product feedback, including surveys shown inside an app. Its hosted Hobby plan (opens in a new tab) is free for 250 responses a month, counting partial responses, and is hosted in Frankfurt. There is also a free open-source edition you can run on your own servers (opens in a new tab), which brings its own hosting and maintenance work. For a one-off survey, compare the 250-response monthly allowance with the replies you expect.
Jotform and Paperform: templates, documents and pages
Jotform (opens in a new tab) is worth a look when you need a specialised template, payments and signed documents in one place. Its free plan caps submissions at 100 a month, with separate caps on forms, storage, payments and signed documents. Paperform (opens in a new tab) suits forms that double as a designed page, with 30 free submissions a month. Our small business form builder guide compares both for operational forms.
Before you move a Tally form
- Name the missing requirement. Write one sentence: “We need to see which customers rated delivery poorly and why.” If an alternative doesn’t meet that sentence, don’t switch.
- Try it beside Tally. Rebuild one form in the alternative and run both for a week. Compare what you can do with the answers, not just how the form looks.
- Keep the old responses. Download your Tally responses and files before closing anything. Your response history stays with the old tool.
- Check what Tally was doing for free. Payments, integrations and password protection may need a paid plan elsewhere, or may not exist yet.
- Replace links last. Update embeds and shared links only once the new form has collected real answers.
For a broader comparison of free and paid builders, see our form builder guide. If your forms are mostly surveys, our survey tools guide compares the analysis each tool offers.
