PortForm vs Web3Forms
What is the difference between PortForm and Web3Forms?
PortForm and Web3Forms use the same basic model: a plain HTML form posts to a hosted endpoint with a public access key, and the submission is emailed to you. The difference is what happens to the data. Web3Forms’s docs FAQ says it does not store submissions and forwards them to your email or webhook, while its pricing table lists a submission-history window. PortForm writes every submission to its database first, then attempts delivery, and keeps 30 days of history on every plan.
New to the category? Read what a form backend is and how a form endpoint works. Last verified: , against Web3Forms's own pages listed under sources.
Web3Forms and PortForm at a glance
| Topic | Web3Forms | PortForm |
|---|---|---|
| How a form submits | An HTML form posts to https://api.web3forms.com/submit with a hidden access_key field. The key is emailed to you when you create it. By default the endpoint replies with JSON; a redirect field is needed for a no-JavaScript flow. (Web3Forms documentation: installation) | A plain HTML form post with a hidden access_key field works with no JavaScript; JSON, multipart and fetch also work |
| Are submissions stored? | The FAQ says: “We do not store any form submissions of our users. We process them and forward to your email or the endpoint you specified such as webhooks.” The pricing table separately lists “Form Submission History” of 30 days on Free, 3 months on Starter and 1 year on Pro and Agency. (Web3Forms documentation: FAQ, Web3Forms pricing) | 30 days of submission history on every plan. Every submission is written before delivery is attempted. |
| Free plan | 250 monthly submissions, unlimited forms and domains, hCaptcha, custom redirect page. (Web3Forms pricing) | 300 submissions per 30 days, unlimited forms, no card |
| Retry and failure handling | Not verified from the vendor's current public documentation. | Stored first. The notification email is attempted once, best-effort; a submission with no recorded attempt after 10 minutes gets one late recovery attempt, and failed sends can be retried manually from the dashboard. Integrations are retried automatically, up to 5 attempts over about two and a half hours |
What Web3Forms does well
- Free plan with unlimited forms and unlimited domains, plus a custom redirect page. (Web3Forms pricing)
- A long submission history on paid plans: 1 year on Pro and Agency in its pricing table. (Web3Forms pricing)
- A read-only Submissions API with Bearer-token keys, 20 requests per second per account, on Pro. (Web3Forms documentation: Submissions API)
- An affordable yearly-only Starter plan ($49 per year, 5k monthly submissions, no file uploads or autoresponders) for students, startups and non-profits, by application. (Web3Forms pricing)
- Documentation with per-platform how-to guides for HTML, JS frameworks, site builders, static site generators and WordPress. (Web3Forms documentation home)
Where PortForm differs
PortForm stores each submission first, then attempts the email, then runs integrations. See delivery retries for exactly what is and is not retried.
- Storage and delivery order. Web3Forms describes itself as processing and forwarding. PortForm’s submit path is store first, deliver second: the submission is written to the database, and only then is the notification email attempted, so a bounced or failed email cannot lose the submission. PortForm’s email is best-effort and is not retried automatically; onward integration deliveries are.
- Shared field names. PortForm’s reserved fields are access_key, email, replyto, redirect and botcheck, which overlap with Web3Forms’s access_key, replyto and redirect. A simple contact form often needs no field changes, only a new action URL and key.
- Fields PortForm does not treat specially. Web3Forms documents hidden fields such as subject, from_name and ccemail. PortForm does not reserve subject (so it cannot be used to set the subject of mail sent from PortForm’s domain); it stores such fields as ordinary submission data. CC addresses are a per-form setting in the dashboard on Pro and Agency.
- Agent access. PortForm ships an MCP server and an anonymous test sandbox for AI agents; a Web3Forms equivalent is not verified from its current documentation.
Pricing and limits
PortForm’s current prices are on the pricing page and its limits in the docs. Competitor prices are as listed on the dates above and change; check Web3Forms’s own pricing before deciding.
| Topic | Web3Forms | PortForm |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, 250 monthly submissions, 30 days of history. (Web3Forms pricing) | 300 submissions per 30 days, unlimited forms, no card; 30 days of submission history on every plan |
| Low-cost tier | Starter, $49 per year, 5k monthly submissions, 3 months of history, by application. (Web3Forms pricing) | No equivalent tier. |
| Pro | $12/month billed yearly ($149 a year), 10k monthly submissions, 1 year of history. (Web3Forms pricing) | $9/month ($91 billed yearly), 10,000 submissions |
| Agency | $33/month billed yearly ($399 a year), 20k monthly submissions. (Web3Forms pricing) | $29/month, 20,000 submissions |
Features
| Topic | Web3Forms | PortForm |
|---|---|---|
| Spam and CAPTCHA | Honeypot and hCaptcha on Free; reCAPTCHA v3, Cloudflare Turnstile and domain restriction listed on the Pro plan. (Web3Forms pricing, Web3Forms documentation: FAQ) | Honeypot on every plan; hCaptcha on Free; reCAPTCHA and Turnstile on Pro and Agency |
| File uploads | Pro feature. File attachments: single file up to 5 MB; an advanced uploader allows multiple and larger files. (Web3Forms documentation: Pro features) | Pro: up to 3 files per submission, 5 MB each |
| Integrations | Webhooks on Pro, with Google Sheets, Notion, Slack and others listed as third-party integrations. (Web3Forms pricing) | Pro and Agency: Slack, Discord, Telegram, Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, HubSpot and webhooks (Zapier, Make and n8n connect through webhooks) |
| Autoresponder and CC | Pro features. (Web3Forms documentation: Pro features) | Pro and Agency. |
| Read submissions programmatically | Read-only Submissions API on Pro. (Web3Forms documentation: Submissions API) | CSV and JSON export from the dashboard on every plan; MCP tools return metadata, not contents. |
When Web3Forms may make more sense
- If you need a submission history longer than 30 days inside the service: Web3Forms lists 1 year on Pro and Agency, while PortForm keeps 30 days on every plan. (Web3Forms pricing)
- If you want a programmatic, read-only API for submissions: Web3Forms documents one on Pro. (Web3Forms documentation: Submissions API)
- If you qualify for and want a low-cost yearly plan for a small project: Web3Forms lists a $49 per year Starter plan by application. (Web3Forms pricing)
Migrating from Web3Forms to PortForm
Migration means changing a form’s action and key, not moving data automatically. Ready-made forms are in templates, for example Basic HTML contact form and File upload form.
- Create a form in PortForm and copy its access key.
- Change the form’s action to PortForm’s endpoint and the hidden access_key value to the new key. The field name is the same.
- Keep redirect and replyto as they are. Move any ccemail into the form’s CC setting (Pro), and note that subject and from_name are not applied to PortForm’s emails.
- Web3Forms’s submission history is not something PortForm imports. Export what you need from Web3Forms before you cancel: Not verified from the vendor’s current public documentation whether an export tool exists beyond the Pro Submissions API.
- Send a test submission, then confirm it in the dashboard and in the destination inbox before removing the old key.
Which should I use?
There is no single answer. It depends on which requirement matters most to you.
- If your priority is you want a submission stored before any email or integration is attempted, the relevant difference is: PortForm’s documented order is store, then email, then integrations. Web3Forms’s FAQ describes forwarding rather than storing. (Web3Forms documentation: FAQ)
- If your priority is you need more than 30 days of history in the service, the relevant difference is: Web3Forms lists up to 1 year on Pro; PortForm keeps 30 days on every plan. (Web3Forms pricing)
- If your priority is you want the lowest-cost plan for a tiny project, the relevant difference is: Compare Web3Forms’s Starter ($49 per year, by application) with PortForm’s free tier of 300 submissions per 30 days. (Web3Forms pricing)
- If your priority is an AI agent should set up or check forms, the relevant difference is: PortForm ships an MCP server and an anonymous sandbox; Web3Forms’s equivalent is not verified.
Questions about Web3Forms and PortForm
- What is the difference between PortForm and Web3Forms?
- Both are hosted form endpoints keyed by a public access key. Web3Forms’s FAQ says it forwards submissions without storing them; PortForm stores each submission first, then delivers, and keeps 30 days of history.
- Does Web3Forms store submissions?
- Its documentation FAQ says it does not store submissions, while its pricing table lists a submission history of 30 days on Free and up to 1 year on Pro and Agency. The two pages do not explain how they relate, so check with Web3Forms if this matters to you.
- Do I need JavaScript for Web3Forms or PortForm?
- No for either. Web3Forms’s docs say a redirect field is needed when submitting without JavaScript because the default response is JSON. PortForm also returns JSON by default and redirects when a redirect field is present.
- Do the field names match?
- The reserved fields access_key, replyto and redirect exist on both. Web3Forms’s subject, from_name and ccemail have no equivalent hidden fields in PortForm.
Related comparisons
Sources
Every Web3Forms statement above was read from these first-party pages on . Anything not found there is marked as not verified.