Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Formstack VS Appian

Compare Formstack VS Appian and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Formstack logo Formstack

Use our drag and drop online form builder for surveys, registrations, payment collections, lead generation and more. Our online forms offer robust features and 50+ integrations that allow you to automate workflows, capture leads & more.

Appian logo Appian

See how Appian, leading provider of modern low-code and BPM software solutions, has helped transform the businesses of over 3.5 million users worldwide.
  • Formstack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-21
  • Appian Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20

Formstack features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Formstack offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for non-technical users to create forms without the need for coding knowledge.
  • Variety of Templates
    The platform provides a wide range of customizable templates for various purposes such as surveys, contact forms, and event registrations, which can save time for users.
  • Integrations
    Formstack integrates seamlessly with a plethora of third-party applications including CRM systems, email marketing tools, and payment gateways, enhancing its versatility.
  • Security Features
    With advanced security measures like SSL, data encryption, and compliance with standards such as GDPR and HIPAA, Formstack ensures data privacy and integrity.
  • Powerful Analytics
    The platform provides robust analytics and reporting tools, which help users to gain insights from form submissions and improve decision-making processes.

Possible disadvantages of Formstack

  • Cost
    Formstack can be relatively expensive, especially for small businesses or individual users, with tiered pricing plans that might not fit all budgets.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic form creation is straightforward, some of the more advanced features and functionalities may require a steeper learning curve for new users.
  • Customer Support
    Some users have reported that customer support can be slow or unresponsive at times, which can be a drawback when immediate assistance is needed.
  • Form Limits
    Lower-tier plans come with limitations on the number of forms, storage, and submissions, which can be restrictive for users with high-volume needs.
  • Customization Restrictions
    Although Formstack offers a range of templates, customization options can be somewhat limited without access to higher-tier plans or additional purchases.

Appian features and specs

  • Low-Code Development
    Appian allows users to create applications with minimal hand-coding, catering to business analysts and developers alike. Its drag-and-drop interface simplifies development and accelerates time-to-market.
  • Process Automation
    Appian excels in automating complex business processes, improving operational efficiency, and reducing human error. Its powerful BPM tools streamline workflows effectively.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Appian provides strong integration capabilities with various third-party systems, databases, and cloud services. This ensures that applications can seamlessly communicate with existing enterprise systems.
  • Enterprise-Grade Security
    Appian offers robust security features, including role-based access control and data encryption, making it suitable for businesses with stringent security requirements.
  • Scalability
    As a cloud-native platform, Appian is highly scalable, supporting the needs of growing enterprises by easily handling increased loads and more complex applications.
  • User Experience
    The platform provides a user-friendly interface, both for developers building the applications and end-users interacting with them, enhancing overall user satisfaction.

Possible disadvantages of Appian

  • Cost
    Appian can be expensive, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses. Its pricing model might not be feasible for organizations operating on a limited budget.
  • Learning Curve
    Although it simplifies development, mastering Appian still requires a learning curve. Users need to invest time in training, which can slow down the initial development phase.
  • Complex Customization
    Highly tailored or very specific customizations can be challenging to implement within Appian. Some complicated functionalities may require extensive workarounds.
  • Limited Offline Functionality
    Appian's offline capabilities are limited, which can be a disadvantage for field services or users who need to access the application without a reliable internet connection.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Due to its proprietary technology, organizations may face vendor lock-in, making it challenging to migrate applications or data to another platform if needed.
  • Performance Issues at Scale
    While Appian is scalable, some users report performance issues when running extremely large and complex applications, which can impact user experience and overall efficiency.

Analysis of Formstack

Overall verdict

  • Formstack is a reputable and reliable form-building tool that caters to a variety of needs, from simple form creation to complex workflow automation. It is well-suited for users looking for an intuitive and versatile platform to manage data collection effectively.

Why this product is good

  • Formstack is considered good for several reasons. It offers a user-friendly interface that allows individuals and businesses to create forms without extensive technical expertise. The platform also provides a wide range of customization options, integrations with various third-party applications, and robust data management features. Furthermore, its security measures ensure that user data is protected, making it a trustworthy option for sensitive information gathering.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized businesses seeking easy-to-use form solutions.
  • Organizations requiring secure data collection and storage.
  • Marketing teams looking to integrate form data with CRM tools.
  • Non-profits and educational institutions that need to gather and manage data efficiently.
  • Event planners and coordinators who need to manage registrations and RSVPs.

Formstack videos

Formstack Review - Build Payment Forms

More videos:

  • Review - How it works | Formstack Workflows Add-on
  • Review - Hi, we're Formstack!

Appian videos

Appian CEO: Delivering โ€˜Mission-Criticalโ€™ Software | Mad Money | CNBC

More videos:

  • Review - This is Appian
  • Review - Appian Application Designer: Build Applications in Days, not Years

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Formstack and Appian)
Forms And Surveys
100 100%
0% 0
BPM
0 0%
100% 100
Surveys
100 100%
0% 0
Workflow Automation
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Formstack and Appian. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Formstack and Appian

Formstack Reviews

10 SurveyMonkey Alternatives and Competitors in 2024
From simple contact forms to complex surveys and event registrations, Formstack Forms offers a versatile platform to collect feedback and organize data effectively. This SurveyMonkey alternative provides more advanced features like conditional logic, data routing, and third-party integrations with popular apps, ensuring seamless data flow and automation.
Source: clickup.com
10 Better Alternatives to Survey Monkey for Comprehensive Data Collection
Formstack emerges as a strong alternative to Survey Monkey, particularly for users who prioritize versatile form-building capabilities, robust integration options, and advanced security features. Its emphasis on data security and compliance makes it a reliable choice for organizations in regulated industries. While it offers a free trial, the paid plans provide a...
Source: www.zoho.com
19 Best Online Documentation Software & Tools for 2023
Formstack is another documentation tool that eliminates all the paperwork and automates the document creation process. It is a simple document creator that lets you produce different kinds of documents, right from proposals and applications to business contracts and agreements. With a drag-and-drop interface, you can build dynamic documents from a single source and upload...
Typeform Alternatives: Tools for Surveys, Forms, and Quizzes
Overall, Formstack gets great reviews regarding administering the tool and customer support. While Formstackโ€™s pricing is not very competitive, they have fewer restrictions on the number of forms and responses you can receive.
Source: survicate.com
27 Best Typeform Alternatives In 2022 (Free & Paid)
Formstack's pricing is higher than Typeform's ... and the majority of alternatives on our list. It's a truly enterprise-grade product, and so if you're an entrepreneur or a small business, you might need to look for more affordable options.

Appian Reviews

Top 10 Microsoft Power Apps Alternatives and Competitors 2024
Strengths: A powerful low-code platform, Appian caters to large enterprises with complex business process automation needs. It offers robust workflow management capabilities, allowing you to automate intricate business processes with decision-making logic and case management features. Appian excels in industries like finance, insurance, and healthcare, where complex...
Source: medium.com
7 Best Business Process Management Tools (2023)
Appian is used by companies to automate their routine tasks, integrate with other enterprise tools, and create custom workflows. It offers a wide range of features such as mobile app development, chatbots, AI assistants, etc.
11 Business Process Management (BPM) Software for SMBs
Experience the power of business workflow automation with Appian and accelerate your business governance, results, and efficiency. Appian simplifies your workflow design to empower users and pro developers to draw processes, such as a flowchart.
Source: geekflare.com
10 Best Low-Code Development Platforms in 2020
Verdict: Appian is the provider of the software development platform. The Appian low code development platform is a combination of intelligent automation and low-code development.
Best Google App Maker alternatives in 2020
Appian excels when used to create form-based apps. The product does allow building custom UI components, but only by using Appianโ€™s in-product customization tools. Appianโ€™s reasoning for this is security and to ensure JS compliance across browsers and devices.
Source: retool.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Appian should be more popular than Formstack. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Formstack mentions (1)

  • [FOR HIRE] Senior Software Engineer - Full Stack
    Tired of paying $50 monthly for form mail on your website from https://formstack.com. Source: about 5 years ago

Appian mentions (7)

  • AI Coding Adoption at Enterprise Scale Is Harder Than Anyone Admits
    AI coding adoption at enterprise scale is hard because the real project is not installing a tool. It is redesigning trust, review, ownership, and delivery discipline around a new source of code generation. That's where platforms like Retool, ToolJet, Appian, etc. shine. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Enterprise App Builders That Are Actually Enterprise-Ready (Top 5)
    You are process-heavy and regulated, and your app is basically a workflow engine: Appian. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Low-Code tools & Frontend
    Does any of you use a low-code tool like Retool or Appian? If so, what is the most common use case? Source: over 3 years ago
  • Appian Associate Developer Certification help
    Look for use case inspiration in the Solutions area of appian.com and within the AppMarket. See if you can build proof of concepts of some of these. Source: over 3 years ago
  • What is best way to create an online responsive database driven website to help manage my small orchard?
    There are low code database driven website creation systems out there at the moment e.g. OutSystems and Appian however they have very limited free trials (e.g. auto-disable after a few days of no use), and then the paid options are again too expensive. Although I will note that they seem to be great in terms of their usability and would be perfect for creating a simple interface without too much diving into code. Source: almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Formstack and Appian, you can also consider the following products

Typeform - Create beautiful, next-generation online forms with Typeform, the form & survey builder that makes asking questions easy & human on any device. Try it FREE!

Camunda - The Universal Process Orchestrator

Survey Monkey - Create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time. SurveyMonkey provides free online questionnaire and survey software.

Kintone - Build business apps and supercharge your company's productivity with kintone's all-in-one...

Google Forms - Simple web forms from Google.

Bizagi - Bizagi is a Business Process Management (BPMS) solution for faster and flexible process automation. It's powerful yet intuitive BPM Suite is designed to make your business more agile.