Tally is a no-code form builder that lets you create any form in seconds — no limits, no hidden fees.
Introduction: Rethinking Form Building with Simplicity
Online forms are ubiquitous – used for everything from simple contact requests and surveys to complex lead generation and payment processing. Yet, many traditional form builders often feel clunky, restrictive, or surprisingly expensive, especially for users needing more than just basic functionality. Enter Tally.so, a relatively new player that has rapidly gained popularity by challenging the status quo. Tally adopts a refreshingly simple, Notion-inspired approach: building a form feels like writing a document. Users type / to insert various blocks – text, questions, images, payment fields, signatures, and more. What truly sets Tally apart is its incredibly generous free tier, which offers unlimited forms, unlimited submissions, and access to nearly all its features, including conditional logic, calculations, and numerous integrations, without hitting immediate paywalls. This starkly contrasts with competitors like Typeform or Jotform, where similar functionality often requires a paid subscription. But is Tally’s free offering too good to be true? Does its simplicity compromise on power? This comprehensive 2025 review dives deep into Tally.so, examining its features, ease of use, pricing (including the Pro plan), integrations, pros, cons, and how it stacks up against established players like Google Forms and Typeform, to help you determine if it’s the right form builder for your needs.
What is Tally.so? The Notion of Form Builders
Tally.so is a web-based online form builder that distinguishes itself with a unique, document-like interface heavily inspired by Notion. Instead of dragging and dropping elements onto a canvas, users type directly onto the page and use slash commands (/) to insert various question types (multiple choice, dropdown, file upload, signature, payment, etc.) and layout blocks (columns, images, text). This intuitive approach significantly lowers the barrier to entry, making form creation fast and straightforward, even for non-technical users. Tally positions itself as “the simplest way to create forms,” emphasizing ease of use and a generous free offering that includes features often gated behind paid plans in other tools. It caters to a wide range of use cases, from basic surveys and contact forms to more complex scenarios involving conditional logic, calculations, and payment collection via Stripe.
Key Features: What Can You Do with Tally?
Tally packs a surprising amount of power into its simple interface. Most features are available on the free plan:
Core Building Blocks (Free):
- Unlimited Forms & Submissions: Create as many forms and collect as many responses as needed (subject to fair use).
- Intuitive Doc-Style Editor: Build forms by typing and using slash commands.
- Wide Range of Input Types: Collect text, numbers, emails, dates, files (10MB limit/file free), signatures, ratings, rankings, payments (Stripe), etc.
- Conditional Logic: Show/hide questions or pages based on previous answers.
- Calculations: Perform calculations based on user input (e.g., scoring quizzes, calculating order totals).
- Hidden Fields: Pass data into forms via URL parameters (e.g., UTM tracking, pre-filling user info).
- Answer Piping: Reference previous answers in later questions for personalization.
- Customization: Add logos, cover images, custom colors, fonts, buttons, and use column layouts.
- Multi-Page Forms: Break long forms into manageable sections.
- Embed & Share: Embed forms on websites (WordPress, Webflow, Notion, etc.), share via direct link, or create popups.
- Integrations: Connect natively with Notion, Airtable, Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, Coda, Webhooks.
- Security & Compliance: GDPR compliant, hosted in EU, reCAPTCHA, password protection.
Tally Pro Features ($29/month):
- Remove Tally Branding: White-label forms.
- Custom Domains: Host forms on your own subdomain (e.g., forms.yourdomain.com).
- Team Collaboration: Invite unlimited members to shared workspaces.
- Partial Submissions: Capture data even if users don’t complete the form.
- Unlimited File Uploads: Removes the 10MB per file limit.
- 0% Payment Commission: Removes the 5% Tally commission on Stripe payments.
- Advanced Customization: More granular control over form appearance, custom CSS.
- Custom Email Notifications: Tailor emails sent to respondents and yourself, send from custom domains.
- Premium Integrations: Google Analytics, Meta Pixel.
- Code Injection: Add custom scripts (via custom domain).
Tally.so: Pros and Cons – Simplicity Meets Generosity
Tally’s unique approach comes with distinct advantages and some limitations:
Pros:
- Unbeatable Free Plan: The most generous free offering in the market, providing unlimited forms/submissions and advanced features like logic/calculations.
- Incredibly Easy to Use: The Notion-like interface is intuitive and fast, making form building feel natural.
- Clean & Aesthetic Forms: Produces visually appealing, modern-looking forms.
- No Code Required: Powerful features accessible without writing any code.
- Good Integration Support: Native integrations with key tools (Notion, Airtable, Sheets) plus Zapier/Make cover most needs.
- Privacy-Focused: GDPR compliance and EU hosting are significant pluses.
- Excellent Value (Pro Plan): The Pro plan is competitively priced for the features offered (team collaboration, custom domains, no branding).
- Fast Development: The team ships updates and new features regularly.
Cons:
- Branding on Free Plan: Free forms include Tally branding (though it’s relatively unobtrusive).
- File Upload Limit (Free): 10MB per file might be restrictive for some use cases.
- Payment Commission (Free): 5% commission on Stripe payments can add up.
- Fair Use Limits: While generous, the “unlimited” submissions on the free plan have an underlying fair use cap (reportedly ~50k/month, though this needs official confirmation for specific cases).
- Lacks Highly Advanced/Niche Features: May not have every single feature found in enterprise-level tools like complex approval workflows or extremely granular analytics suites.
- Support Channels: Primarily relies on help docs and email support; no live chat mentioned.
Who Should Use Tally.so?
Tally is an excellent fit for a broad audience, particularly:
- Startups & Small Businesses: Needing professional forms without high costs.
- Creators & Solopreneurs: For lead capture, feedback, selling simple products/services.
- Notion Users: The familiar interface makes it a natural extension.
- Marketers: Creating landing page forms, surveys, and lead magnets quickly.
- Educators & Nonprofits: Leveraging the free plan for applications, feedback, quizzes, and signups.
- Anyone Frustrated by Complex/Expensive Builders: Seeking a simpler, more affordable alternative.
It might be less suitable for:
- Large enterprises needing highly complex, multi-stage approval workflows or deep enterprise system integrations not covered by Zapier/Make.
- Users requiring extremely advanced survey analytics features built-in.
- Organizations with strict policies against any third-party branding (requiring the Pro plan).
Tally.so Pricing (2025): Mostly Free, Optionally Pro
Tally’s pricing model is refreshingly simple:
- Free:
- Cost: $0
- Key Features: Unlimited forms, unlimited submissions (fair use), 99% of features including logic, calculations, payments (5% commission), file uploads (10MB limit), integrations, basic customization. Includes Tally branding.
- Tally Pro:
- Cost: $29 per month / $290 per year (per workspace/owner, includes unlimited members)
- Key Features: Everything in Free + No Tally branding, custom domains, team collaboration, partial submissions, unlimited file uploads, 0% payment commission, advanced customization, custom CSS, premium integrations (GA, Meta Pixel).
Value Analysis: The Free plan offers incredible value, making Tally accessible to almost everyone. The Pro plan is reasonably priced for the added benefits, especially for businesses needing branding removal, custom domains, and team features. The per-workspace pricing (including unlimited members) is simpler and often more cost-effective than per-user pricing models.
Tally.so vs. Competitors: Typeform, Google Forms
How does Tally compare to popular alternatives?
- Tally vs. Typeform: Typeform is known for its highly conversational, one-question-at-a-time interface and beautiful design. However, Typeform’s free plan is very limited (e.g., 10 questions/form, 10 responses/month), and paid plans can become expensive quickly. Tally offers far more functionality for free, a simpler block-based building experience (though less visually unique than Typeform’s default flow), and is significantly more affordable.
- Tally vs. Google Forms: Google Forms is completely free and integrates seamlessly with the Google ecosystem. However, it’s much more basic in terms of design customization, question types (no payments, signatures), conditional logic, and direct integrations beyond Google Sheets. Tally offers vastly superior customization, more powerful features, and broader integration options while still providing a generous free tier.
- Tally vs. Jotform: Jotform offers a massive feature set and a vast template library, arguably more features than Tally in some niche areas. However, Jotform’s interface can feel more cluttered, and its free plan has stricter limits on submissions, storage, and form views compared to Tally’s free offering.
Key Differentiator: Tally’s unique selling proposition is its combination of a Notion-like simple interface, powerful features, and an extremely generous free plan that doesn’t cripple usability.
Conclusion: The Best Free Form Builder?
Tally.so makes a compelling case for being one of the best, if not the best, free form builders available today. Its intuitive, document-style interface makes creating even complex forms surprisingly easy and fast. The decision to offer unlimited forms, unlimited submissions (within fair use), conditional logic, calculations, and key integrations for free is a game-changer that democratizes access to powerful form-building capabilities.
While the free plan includes Tally branding and has limits on file uploads and a commission on payments, these are reasonable trade-offs for the immense value provided. The Pro plan offers significant upgrades for businesses and teams needing white-labeling, collaboration, and unlimited capabilities at a fair price.
If you’re looking for a simple, elegant, yet powerful way to create online forms without the hefty price tag or complexity of many alternatives, Tally.so is an outstanding choice.
Our Verdict: 4.8/5
Tally excels in usability, generosity, and core functionality. It strikes an near-perfect balance between simplicity and power, making it suitable for a vast range of users.
Choose Tally.so if:
- You need a powerful form builder but are budget-conscious.
- You appreciate simple, intuitive interfaces (especially if you like Notion).
- You need features like conditional logic or calculations without paying.
- You integrate heavily with Notion, Airtable, or Google Sheets.
- You value privacy and GDPR compliance.
Consider alternatives if:
- You absolutely cannot have any third-party branding on a free plan.
- You need extremely niche, enterprise-level features or analytics.
- You require very large file uploads on the free plan.
- You prefer a traditional drag-and-drop form building interface.
Call to Action:
Ready to experience the simplest way to create forms?
- Try It Now (No Signup!): Create your first Tally form for free
- Explore Features: See the full list of Tally Features
- Check Pricing: Understand the Free vs Pro plans
- Get Inspired: Browse Tally Templates
