Opportunities › Open-source form builder for web developers › Proposed app
Formwright
Forms you own: embed in your app, store data in your database, no per-response fees
- Score
- 49
- confidence 59
- Evidence
- 7
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 2
- named in sources
- First version
- 45 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2012
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Developers design forms visually, configure logic and integrations, and review analytics in a builder requiring sustained focus and keyboard work. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Contact form
Draft saved- Full nameShort text
About this appAI proposal
Formwright is a form builder made for web developers. Design a form in a visual editor, then embed it in your app as a component or a script tag. Responses go to your own Postgres database or webhook, not to a vendor's dashboard.
It is for small teams and agencies that want the polish of a hosted form tool without monthly seats for every client. Run it on your own server for free, or let us host it and handle updates, backups and support.
Forms are stored as plain JSON in your repo, so you can review changes, version them and test them like code. Hosted plans add integrations, analytics and white-label options.
- Tagline
- Build the form. Keep the data. Ship it with your code.
- Voice
- PlainPracticalDependable
- Why this name
- A wright is a maker, as in wheelwright. Formwright suggests careful craft for forms, and it is easy to say and spell.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Visual editor, forms as JSON
Build forms by dragging fields, or edit the JSON schema directly. Both views stay in sync, and the file lives in your repo.
No member yet
Embed anywhere
Drop in a React component, a web component or a script tag. Style it with your own CSS variables so it matches your app.
No member yet
Your data, your database
Send responses to your Postgres, a webhook or a CSV export. Self-hosters keep everything on their own servers.
No member yet
Conditional logic and steps
Show fields based on earlier answers, split long forms into steps, and validate on both client and server.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#12372ADeep Pine · primary#F6F3EAPaper · surface#1B1F1DInk · text#C4622DCopper · accent#8FB39ASage · data
Typography
Aa
Formwright
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Build the form. Keep the data. Ship it with your code.
PricingAI proposal
Material: forms.md lists a free plan and paid plans of $99 to $299 one-time; Typeform lists $25 to $379 a month. Our monthly tiers sit below Typeform's range and are a starting point to test.
Self-hosted
Free
- Core builder and embed
- Your own database
- Community support
Cloud
$19 a month
- Hosted forms and updates
- Unlimited responses
- Integrations and webhooks
- Analytics
- Email support
Agency
$79 a month
- Many client workspaces
- White-label and custom domains
- Plugin access
- Priority support
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Visible inside customers’ products. Free and Cloud forms show a small 'Made with Formwright' link beneath the form on customers' sites. Paid tiers can remove it, which also gives an upgrade reason.
- Do they become customers?
- Form visitors are mostly end users, but some are developers who may notice the link. Test whether the badge produces signups and whether those convert to paid, not just clicks.
- First customers
- Freelance web developers and small agencies (1 to 10 people) building client sites in React or Next.js who now pay for a hosted form tool per client.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News and Show HN: Post the open-source core and a write-up on forms as JSON in a repo. Developers there already discuss this space.
- GitHub and docs: Publish a clear README, starter templates and a Next.js example so developers can try it in minutes.
- Developer communities: Answer form-handling questions on Reddit and Discord, linking to the embed guide where relevant.
- First milestone
- Ten agencies or small teams pay for Cloud or Agency within 60 days of launch.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedHacker News post received 26 points and 13 comments
- Public claimOpen-source form builder has attracted significant user adoption in early stage
- Public claimExisting form builders are expensive enough that users seek free open-source alternatives
- Public claimCurrent open-source projects in this space are not monetized
- Verified
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Embeddable widgetWeb component with React wrapperLets forms run inside customers' apps and inherit their styling.
- This app · Spam protectionHoneypot and rate limiting, optional captchaPublic forms attract bots; this keeps them clean without heavy tracking.
RisksAI inference
- Commercialforms.md already offers a free plan and low one-time prices. Developers may self-host forever, so paid hosting and support must clearly beat doing it themselves.
- TechnicalAn embeddable widget must work across many frameworks, styles and browsers without breaking host pages. Compatibility testing is costly.
- DataForms collect personal data. Hosted plans take on privacy duties, breach risk and deletion requests that self-hosters carry themselves.
- CommercialMatching Typeform's polish and integration count is a long road. A narrow developer focus may be needed first.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.