Open Source Google Forms Alternative Guide | FilaForms [ ![Filaforms Logo](https://filaforms.app/logo.svg)FilaForms ](https://filaforms.app) [ Features ](https://filaforms.app#features) [ Pricing ](https://filaforms.app/pricing) [ Blog ](https://filaforms.app/blog) [ Documentation ](https://docs.filaforms.app) [ Try Demo ](https://filaforms.app/login) [ Buy a license ](https://filaforms.app/pricing#plans) [ Features ](https://filaforms.app#features) [ Pricing ](https://filaforms.app/pricing) [ Blog ](https://filaforms.app/blog) [ Documentation ](https://docs.filaforms.app) [ Try Demo ](https://filaforms.app/login) [ Buy a license ](https://filaforms.app/pricing#plans) 1. [Home](https://filaforms.app) 2. / 3. [Comparisons](https://filaforms.app/compare) 4. / 5. Open Source Google Forms Alternatives, Compared for Developers Open Source Google Forms Alternatives, Compared for Developers ============================================================== Compare open source Google Forms alternatives for data ownership, self-hosting cost, exports, analytics, and Laravel application workflows. Updated September 1, 2026 An open source Google Forms alternative makes sense when you need to control where form data lives. It also makes sense when a form belongs inside an application your team already operates. Google Forms is free and takes minutes to publish. Self-hosting only pays for itself when data ownership or an existing application makes the added work worthwhile. At a glance ----------- Open Source Google Forms Alternatives, Compared for Developers Capability FilaForms Google Forms Hosting Self-hosted inside your Laravel application Google-hosted service Data location Your application's database and infrastructure Google account and connected services Cost model One-time licence per plan, not per response Free to use Requires an existing app Yes, Laravel and Filament No Analytics Submission dashboard and analytics Response summary Export Application-controlled CSV export CSV download and Google Sheets export Best fit Forms embedded in an existing Laravel product Quick standalone forms The short answer ---------------- Use Google Forms for a quick survey, registration, or internal request. It avoids installation, upgrades, database administration, and deployment work. Use a self-hosted option when your team needs a defined data boundary. You can place the database, object storage, backups, and access logs under the same controls as the rest of your system. FilaForms fits the Laravel case. It installs as a Filament plugin inside an existing application. Form definitions and submission data stay with the application database. FilaForms is not an open-source project. It is a commercial, closed-source Filament plugin. It is not a hosted service. FilaForms has no cloud version. Your team runs the application, applies upgrades, and owns the operational work. The [Laravel form builder for Filament](/) is useful when forms are part of a product workflow. Its [form-building features](/features) include visual building, conditional logic, multi-step forms, and submission analytics. What open source changes for form data -------------------------------------- Source availability alone does not define the data boundary. Hosting determines which systems receive submissions, attachments, and metadata during normal operation. Self-hosting lets you choose the database region and backup destination. You can use existing application authentication and authorization. You can also apply the retention policy that already covers related records. Those choices bring work with them. Someone must patch dependencies, monitor queues, protect storage, test backups, and respond to failures. A self-hosted form product does not remove that responsibility. This is why a hosted tool remains a sensible default for many teams. Choose self-hosting because the control is useful, not because the word open source appears in a requirement. The wider self-hosted landscape ------------------------------- Different projects solve different form problems. Formbricks describes itself as a free, open-source survey platform with cloud and self-hosted deployments. It suits feedback collection across a customer journey. LimeSurvey offers a Community Edition for installation on your own server. It suits organisations that need a dedicated survey platform for research or structured questionnaires. FilaForms targets another boundary. It keeps the form builder in a Laravel and Filament application your team already runs. This avoids running a separate survey product beside the application. The table above helps separate those choices from Google Forms. The next question is where a submission should trigger work in your system. Where FilaForms fits in a Laravel application --------------------------------------------- Forms are built visually in the Filament panel. Developers then use the submitted data in Laravel workflows. For example, a support request can create a case in your domain model. An application can notify an owner, place a follow-up job on a queue, or retain the submission under a customer record. FilaForms provides more than 25 field types, conditional logic, multi-step forms, a submission dashboard, analytics, and email notifications. These features suit teams that need a form flow within an existing product. The limitation matters. FilaForms requires Laravel and Filament. It is the wrong choice for a non-technical team that needs a standalone link with no application to maintain. Google Forms can be the better decision in that situation. Its value is speed and low operational cost. A developer should not introduce a deployment pipeline for a form that does not need one. Exporting submitted data to CSV ------------------------------- Data ownership includes a practical exit path. Google documents a response option named "Download responses (.csv)" in its [response management guide](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/139706?hl=en-GB). You can apply the same principle to data held by your Laravel application. The command below writes each FilaForms submission's data to a CSV file. Each row contains JSON so fields can differ between forms without losing values. Save this command in `app/Console/Commands/ExportFilaFormsSubmissions.php`. Laravel discovers commands in that directory. Run `php artisan filaforms:export-submissions` to create the export. ``` argument('path') ?? storage_path('app/filaforms-submissions.csv'); $directory = dirname($path); if (! is_dir($directory) && ! mkdir($directory, 0755, true) && ! is_dir($directory)) { $this->components->error("Unable to create {$directory}."); return self::FAILURE; } $file = fopen($path, 'wb'); if ($file === false) { $this->components->error("Unable to write {$path}."); return self::FAILURE; } fputcsv($file, ['submission_data']); try { foreach (FormSubmission::query()->cursor() as $submission) { fputcsv($file, [json_encode($submission->data, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR)]); } } catch (JsonException $exception) { fclose($file); $this->components->error($exception->getMessage()); return self::FAILURE; } fclose($file); $this->components->info("Exported submissions to {$path}."); return self::SUCCESS; } } ``` The command exports each submission's data to a CSV file for review or transfer. You can run it from a deployment task, an administrative workflow, or a scheduled backup process. Keep exports in protected storage when submissions contain personal data. Limit access to the command in production. Delete temporary copies according to the retention policy for the underlying records. Making the decision ------------------- Start with the team that will operate the form. A marketing or operations team may need a fast hosted workflow. A research team may need a dedicated survey platform. A Laravel product team may need the submission lifecycle to live beside its code. Choose the smallest operational commitment that meets the data requirement. You can keep Google Forms when a hosted form is enough. You can self-host when control, integration, and long-term ownership justify the maintenance. Frequently asked questions -------------------------- Is FilaForms an open source Google Forms alternative? No. FilaForms is a commercial, closed-source Filament plugin. It runs inside an existing Laravel and Filament application, and submission data stays in your application's database. Is Google Forms still the better choice for simple forms? Google Forms is free and takes minutes to publish. It is the better choice when data ownership and application integration do not justify self-hosting work. Can I export FilaForms submissions to CSV? Yes. An Artisan command can write each FilaForms submission's data to a CSV file for review or transfer. Which self-hosted option suits research surveys? LimeSurvey suits teams that need a dedicated self-hosted survey platform. FilaForms suits Laravel teams that need forms inside an application they already run. Try the builder before you buy. ------------------------------- Build this form yourself in the live demo. No install, no credit card. [ Open the demo builder ](https://filaforms.app/login) [ See pricing ](https://filaforms.app/pricing) More comparisons ---------------- - [ An Open Source Typeform Alternative You Host Yourself Compare FilaForms and Typeform for self-hosted Laravel forms, including data control, resp... ](https://filaforms.app/compare/typeform-alternative-open-source) - [ The OpnForm Alternative That Lives Inside Your Laravel App Compare FilaForms and OpnForm for Laravel teams. 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