# What is a good free alternative to Google Forms for event registration?

> Free alternatives to Google Forms for event sign-ups: Tally, Jotform, Typeform, Luma, Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor, Zeffy and AET. Limits checked 15 Oct 2026.

Canonical URL: https://anyeventtool.com/en/learn/google-forms-alternatives-for-event-registration
Updated: 2026-10-15

## Short answer

Pick by what Google Forms is missing. For a better form with payments: Tally (unlimited free submissions within fair use) or Jotform (free: 5 forms, 100 submissions a month). For an event page with QR check-in: Luma (free; 5% fee on paid tickets) or AnyEventTool (AET), whose free plan adds approvals and 0% ticket fees but allows 3 new events a month. Checked 15 October 2026.

## Key facts

- 8 alternatives compared; every limit checked on the vendor's own pricing or help pages on 15 October 2026
- Google Forms is free with a personal Google account; file-upload questions require respondents to sign in to Google; no native tickets, payments or QR check-in
- Tally free plan: unlimited forms and submissions within fair use, 10 MB per uploaded file, Stripe payments with no extra Tally fee
- Jotform Starter (free): 5 active forms, 100 submissions and 10 payment submissions a month, 100 MB upload space; no Jotform transaction fee
- Typeform Free: 10 responses a month across all forms; the Basic paid plan raises that to 100
- Event platforms with check-in on the free plan: Luma (5% platform fee on paid tickets), AET (0% platform fee, 3 new events a month)
- Zeffy has no platform or card fees, but only for nonprofits in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and Germany
- Disclosure: written by the AnyEventTool team; AET is included with its limitations

### 1. Tally
- Best for: A better free form with no response cap
- Pricing: Free: unlimited forms and submissions (fair use), 10 MB per file; Pro 24 USD/month
- Pros: Unlimited submissions on the free plan; Stripe payments on free with no extra Tally fee; Clean, document-style editor
- Cons: No event page, tickets or check-in; File uploads capped at 10 MB each on free; No recurring payments
- https://tally.so/pricing

### 2. Jotform
- Best for: Complex forms with many field types and a few payments
- Pricing: Starter free: 5 forms, 100 submissions/month, 10 payment submissions, 100 MB; Bronze 39 USD/month (34 USD billed yearly)
- Pros: Large set of templates and field types; No Jotform transaction fee on payments; Many payment gateways
- Cons: 100 submissions a month on free; Only 10 payment submissions a month on free; Not an event platform: no tickets or door check-in
- https://www.jotform.com/pricing/

### 3. Typeform
- Best for: Conversational forms where the look matters most
- Pricing: Free: 10 responses/month across all forms; Basic: 100 responses/month
- Pros: Very polished one-question-at-a-time flow; Stripe payment questions; Many integrations
- Cons: Only 10 free responses a month; forms go private at the limit; Gets expensive as registrations grow; No tickets or check-in
- https://www.typeform.com/pricing/

### 4. Luma
- Best for: Free community events with a polished page and QR check-in
- Pricing: Free: unlimited events and guests, 5% fee on paid tickets; Luma Plus 59 USD/month billed annually, 0% fee
- Pros: Unlimited free events and guests; QR check-in with wallet passes; Good-looking event pages and calendars
- Cons: 5% platform fee on paid tickets on free; Check-in-only staff role requires Plus; No seat maps
- https://luma.com/pricing

### 5. Eventbrite
- Best for: Getting found by people who do not know you yet
- Pricing: Free events free; US paid tickets 3.7% + 1.79 USD per ticket + 2.9% processing
- Pros: Large discovery marketplace; Organizer app with check-in and ticket scanning; Free events cost nothing
- Cons: Per-ticket fees on paid events; Less control over page design; Attendee data sits on Eventbrite's platform
- https://www.eventbrite.com/organizer/pricing/

### 6. Ticket Tailor
- Best for: Paid tickets with a flat per-ticket fee
- Pricing: Pay-as-you-go £0.60 + VAT per paid ticket; no fees for up to 5,000 free tickets a year
- Pros: No percentage commission; Check-in app included; Free tickets free within the yearly allowance
- Cons: Per-ticket fee on every paid ticket; Pricing page shown in GBP; Fewer page-design options than event-page builders
- https://www.tickettailor.com/pricing

### 7. Zeffy
- Best for: Nonprofit fundraisers, school and charity events
- Pricing: 0 USD: no platform or card fees for eligible nonprofits; funded by optional buyer tips
- Pros: No fees at all for nonprofits; Ticketing with check-in and QR scanning; Donations and raffles in the same tool
- Cons: Nonprofits only; Only in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and Germany; Needs a bank account in the organization's name
- https://www.zeffy.com/pricing

### 8. AnyEventTool (AET)
- Best for: Registration with approvals, QR tickets, check-in and paid tickets at 0% fee
- Pricing: Free 0 USD: 3 new events/month; Pro 29 USD/month or 290 USD/year: 30 events/month; 0% platform fee on all plans
- Pros: Event page, approvals, QR tickets and check-in on free; 0% platform fee; you are the merchant; Hide venue, date or time until the ticket
- Cons: 3 new events a month on free; No live Google Sheets sync, Zapier or REST API; No discovery marketplace or recurring-event series yet
- https://aet.events/en/events

## Which alternative should I pick? The short answer

| You need... | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A nicer-looking form with no response cap | **Tally** | Unlimited forms and submissions on the free plan (fair use); Stripe payments with no Tally fee |
| Many field types, conditional logic and a few payments | **Jotform** | Free Starter plan: 5 forms, 100 submissions and 10 payment submissions a month |
| A conversational one-question-at-a-time form | **Typeform** | Polished respondent experience; free plan is only 10 responses a month |
| A free community event with a real event page and check-in | **Luma** | Unlimited events and guests, QR check-in on the free plan |
| Strangers to find your event | **Eventbrite** | Discovery marketplace; free events cost nothing |
| Paid tickets with a small flat fee instead of a percentage | **Ticket Tailor** | £0.60 + VAT per paid ticket pay-as-you-go; free tickets free up to 5,000 a year |
| A nonprofit fundraiser or school event | **Zeffy** | No platform or card fees for eligible nonprofits |
| Registration with approval, QR tickets, check-in and 0% ticket fee | **AnyEventTool (AET)** | All on the free plan; limited to 3 new events a month |
| Just a quick list of names for colleagues | **Keep Google Forms** | Free, familiar, answers go straight to Sheets |

## When should you just keep Google Forms?

Google Forms is free with a personal Google account, everyone recognises it, and responses land in Google Sheets where you can run your own formulas. Google's Forms page does not list a response cap. Respondents do not need a Google account unless you add a file-upload question, which requires them to sign in.

For an internal workshop, a volunteer rota, a potluck or an interest poll before you even pick a date, that is usually all you need. Switch when guests need something to show at the door, when you take money, when you approve applicants, or when the link is shared in public and needs to look like an event rather than a questionnaire. Our [AET vs Google Forms](/en/learn/aet-vs-google-forms) page goes through those breaking points one by one.

## Form builder or event platform: what is the difference?

The eight alternatives fall into two groups.

**Form builders** (Tally, Jotform, Typeform) replace the form itself: better design, more field types, logic, file uploads and payments through Stripe or PayPal. They do not create an event page, tickets or a door list. They are the right move when your problem is the form.

**Event platforms** (Luma, Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor, Zeffy, AET) replace the whole workflow: an event page, registration, a confirmation or ticket for each guest, check-in at the door and, if you charge, ticket sales. They are the right move when your problem is everything that happens after someone fills in the form.

A practical test: if you are copying names from a spreadsheet into a printed list on the day, you need an event platform, not a better form.

## Free-plan limits side by side

Checked on each vendor's own pricing or help pages on **15 October 2026**. A dash means the vendor page we checked does not state it.

| Tool | Free plan limit | File uploads | Payments on free plan | Tickets and check-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Forms | No cap listed by Google | Respondents must sign in to Google | No native payments | No |
| Tally | Unlimited forms and submissions (fair use) | 10 MB per file | Stripe; no extra Tally fee | Form builder only |
| Jotform | 5 active forms, 100 submissions/month | 100 MB total | 10 payment submissions/month; no Jotform fee | Form builder only |
| Typeform | 10 responses/month | — | Stripe payment questions (plan not stated) | Form builder only |
| Luma | Unlimited events and guests | — | 5% platform fee + Stripe | QR check-in |
| Eventbrite | Free events cost nothing | — | US: 3.7% + 1.79 USD per ticket + 2.9% processing | Organizer app with check-in and scanning |
| Ticket Tailor | Up to 5,000 free tickets a year | — | £0.60 + VAT per paid ticket | Scan tickets with phone or scanner |
| Zeffy | Nonprofits only | — | No fees; buyers may tip Zeffy | Check-in and QR scanning |
| AnyEventTool (AET) | 3 new events a month | — | 0% platform fee; processor fee only | QR tickets by email, check-in scanner |

Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Square, plata by mono) charge their own fee on every platform except Zeffy, which covers card fees for nonprofits.

## What does AET do that a form cannot, and where is it weaker?

On the free plan, AnyEventTool gives you an event page (poster, description, place with map, date with countdown, program and speakers), a registration form with standard fields plus custom field types, applications with organizer approval, anonymous registration, QR tickets by email, a check-in scanner in the phone browser and participant export to Excel. You can reveal the venue, date or time only in the ticket, and sell paid tickets with a 0% platform fee: the guest pays your own account (Stripe, or plata by mono in Ukraine).

Where it is weaker than the alternatives: the free plan allows **3 new events a month** (Pro: 30, for 29 USD a month); there is no live sync to Google Sheets, no Zapier or REST API and no native mobile apps; there is no discovery marketplace like Eventbrite's; and there is no recurring-event series yet. If you only need a list, Tally or Google Forms is simpler. Step by step: [how to create a registration page for free](/en/learn/how-to-create-an-event-registration-page-for-free).

## How did we check?

We opened each vendor's own pricing page and, where the pricing page was silent, its help centre, on **15 October 2026**, and recorded only what those pages state. Where a vendor page was inconsistent (Typeform lists two different prices for its Basic plan; Ticket Tailor's FAQ mentions a 2,000-ticket threshold next to the 5,000 free tickets in its pricing table) we left the number out or used the figure from the pricing table. We did not use third-party reviews.

**Disclosure.** This page is published by the team behind AnyEventTool. AET is listed with its limits, and we recommend other tools where they fit better. Prices change; check the linked pages before you decide.

## Questions and answers

**What is the best free alternative to Google Forms for event registration?**

If you only want a better form, Tally: its free plan has unlimited forms and submissions within fair use. If you want an event page, tickets and check-in, Luma for free community events or AnyEventTool (AET) if you also need approvals or paid tickets at 0% platform fee; AET's free plan allows 3 new events a month.

**Which free form builder has no response limit?**

Tally's free plan allows unlimited forms and submissions under its fair-use guidelines, and Google does not list a response cap for Google Forms. Jotform's free plan stops at 100 submissions a month and Typeform's at 10 responses a month (checked 15 October 2026).

**Can Google Forms send QR code tickets?**

Not natively. Respondents can get a copy of their answers, but there is no ticket and no check-in scanner; you would need third-party add-ons. Luma, Eventbrite, Ticket Tailor, Zeffy and AET all issue tickets and support check-in at the door.

**Can I take payments on a free registration form?**

Yes. Tally takes Stripe payments on its free plan without adding its own fee; Jotform's free plan allows 10 payment submissions a month with no Jotform fee; AET charges a 0% platform fee on paid tickets; Luma's free plan charges 5%. The payment processor's own fee applies in every case except Zeffy for eligible nonprofits.

**Do people need a Google account to fill in a Google Form?**

Not by default. Respondents have to sign in to a Google account only if the form contains a file-upload question; uploaded files then go to a folder in the form owner's Google Drive.

**Is Zeffy free for any event?**

No. Zeffy is free only for nonprofits and registered charities in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and Germany that have a bank account in the organization's name. Zeffy is funded by optional tips that buyers can choose to add.

## Related answers

- [AnyEventTool vs Google Forms: is a form enough for event registration?](https://anyeventtool.com/en/learn/aet-vs-google-forms.md)
- [What are the best free event registration tools in 2026?](https://anyeventtool.com/en/learn/best-free-event-registration-tools.md)
- [How do I create an event registration page for free?](https://anyeventtool.com/en/learn/how-to-create-an-event-registration-page-for-free.md)
- [How do I run QR code check-in at an event?](https://anyeventtool.com/en/learn/how-to-run-qr-code-check-in-at-an-event.md)
- [How do I collect applications and approve attendees before the event?](https://anyeventtool.com/en/learn/how-to-collect-applications-and-approve-attendees.md)