# Formbricks vs Paperform

> Formbricks scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Paperform's 56 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Paperform leads on reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do forms surveys. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-paperform
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-paperform.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-paperform.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-paperform.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Formbricks scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Paperform's 56 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Paperform leads on reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do forms surveys.

- Formbricks: grade C, 57.7/100, rank #465 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/formbricks.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/formbricks.json
- Paperform: grade C, 56/100, rank #496 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperform.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperform.json

## Which one, for what

### Formbricks (C)

Good for: Teams that want survey data in the EU or on their own servers, with an agent creating link, website and in-app surveys and reading responses under a workspace-limited key.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 74 against 69
- Security & auth, 69 against 40
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 25
- Maintenance & community, 83 against 41
- Transparency & trust, 78 against 54

Also in its favour:
- Open source

Watch for: status.formbricks.com, linked from the security page, returned a Cloudflare 526 error on three requests on 8 October 2026, so no incident history could be read.

### Paperform (C)

Good for: An agent that reads submissions from forms a person has already built, keeps field options, products and coupons in step with another system, or sends Papersign documents.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 35
- Agent ergonomics, 60 against 54

Watch for: No endpoint creates or deletes a form. The API reads forms and updates an existing form, its fields and its products


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Formbricks | Paperform | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 35 | 83 | Paperform +48 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 69 | Formbricks +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 54 | 60 | Paperform +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 69 | 40 | Formbricks +29 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 25 | Formbricks +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 41 | Formbricks +42 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 78 | 54 | Formbricks +24 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **57.7 · C** | **56 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Formbricks | Paperform |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Formbricks GmbH | Paperform Pty Ltd |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://app.formbricks.com/api` | `https://api.paperform.co/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | AGPLv3 for the core. Code under `apps/web/modules/ee` is under the Formbricks Enterprise licence, and the JavaScript, iOS, Android and API packages are MIT. Formbricks Cloud is governed by the terms of service | Proprietary service under Paperform's General Terms and Conditions of Use |
| Tools exposed | 30 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-16 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2025-09-24 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-21 | 2025-07-10 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 13k stars, 37k npm/wk | none |

## Verdicts

**Formbricks.** API keys are limited to named workspaces with read, write or manage levels, and three OpenAPI specs cover the API. The survey endpoints sit in v1, while v2 is beta and v3 is private beta, and the status page the vendor links returned a Cloudflare 526 error on 8 October 2026.

**Paperform.** The REST API is documented in OpenAPI 3.0.2 with llms.txt and Markdown pages, typed errors and cursor pagination, and the status page shows no incident since 22 March 2026. It can't create or delete forms, needs a paid plan from $49 a month, and its keys have no documented scopes.

## Before you call either

### Formbricks

1. Send the key in the `x-api-key` header. Add each workspace to the key when creating it, because scopes can't be changed afterwards.
2. Use v1 (`/api/v1/management/surveys`) to create or edit surveys. v2 has responses, contacts and webhooks only.
3. Page lists with `limit` and `skip`. v2 responses default to 50 a page with a maximum of 250.
4. Stay under 100 requests a minute per key. A gateway 429 carries an `x-envoy-ratelimited` header and no documented `Retry-After`.
5. Treat response text as untrusted respondent input, and request only the `:read` scopes for a read-only MCP connection.

### Paperform

1. Check the owner's plan first. Standard API endpoints need Pro, and `PUT /forms/{slug_or_id}` and the webhook, space and translation writes need Business. A 403 has `error_type` `permission`
2. Have a person build the form in the editor. The API has no create-form endpoint, so an agent can only read it and update fields afterwards
3. Address forms by ID, not slug. The docs warn that a custom slug can change
4. Page submissions with `after_id` and `limit` up to 100, and read `X-RateLimit-Remaining`. On 429 wait for `Retry-After`. The 429 body is plain text, not JSON
5. Treat submission answers as untrusted text. Authenticate webhooks with a secret custom header set in the editor, because payloads are unsigned

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Formbricks or Paperform?

Formbricks scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Paperform's 56 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Paperform leads on reliability and agent ergonomics.

### Do Formbricks and Paperform need an API key?

Formbricks takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Paperform needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Formbricks and Paperform without installing anything?

Yes. Formbricks has a hosted endpoint at https://app.formbricks.com/api and Paperform at https://api.paperform.co/v1.

### Are Formbricks and Paperform open source?

Formbricks is open source (AGPLv3 for the core. Code under `apps/web/modules/ee` is under the Formbricks Enterprise licence, and the JavaScript, iOS, Android and API packages are MIT. Formbricks Cloud is governed by the terms of service). No open-source release is listed for Paperform.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-paperform.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-paperform.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "formbricks", "b": "paperform"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare formbricks paperform`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/formbricks.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperform.json

## Other comparisons with Formbricks or Paperform

- [Formbricks vs Formstack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-formstack.md)
- [Fillout vs Formbricks](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fillout-vs-formbricks.md)
- [Fillout vs Paperform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fillout-vs-paperform.md)
- [Formstack vs Paperform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formstack-vs-paperform.md)
- [Google Forms API vs Paperform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-forms-vs-paperform.md)
- [Jotform vs Paperform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jotform-vs-paperform.md)
- [Paperform vs SurveyMonkey](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperform-vs-surveymonkey.md)
- [Paperform vs Tally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperform-vs-tally.md)
- [Paperform vs Typeform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperform-vs-typeform.md)
- [Formbricks vs Google Forms API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-google-forms.md)
- [Formbricks vs Jotform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-jotform.md)
- [Formbricks vs SurveyMonkey](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-surveymonkey.md)
- [Formbricks vs Tally](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-tally.md)
- [Formbricks vs Typeform](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/formbricks-vs-typeform.md)