deploybase vs Netlify Forms
A European alternative to Netlify Forms: one action URL, every submission stored in Paris, nothing else in the path. Your site can stay where it is. Netlify Forms still does one thing we do not; here is when that matters.
Choose deploybase if you
- need form data to stay in the EU, and to show it
- want no Akismet or reCAPTCHA near your visitors
- need retention purge, an erasure API and IP minimisation built in
- want forms on any host, Netlify included
Choose Netlify Forms if you
- need file uploads today
- are fine with US storage under standard contractual clauses
- want forms found at build time, with no endpoint to paste
- already have forms included in your Netlify plan
Who handles your data.
A data processing agreement tells you what a company promises. The list of companies behind it tells you where the data actually goes.
What touches a submission on deploybase. No third party scores it and no CAPTCHA runs in the visitor's browser.
- Scaleway Stores every submission Paris, FR
- deploybase Spam filter: honeypot, rate limits, quarantine Paris, FR
- Lettermint Sends your notification email Zwolle, NL
What touches a submission on Netlify Forms, from Netlify's documentation and its support forum.
- Netlify Stores submissions; no published EU option US, per staff
- Akismet Filters every submission, not documented as optional US
- reCAPTCHA Google's widget, the documented escalation US
Netlify's side from docs.netlify.com (forms spam filters) and a staff answer on answers.netlify.com, read 24 September 2026.
Netlify Forms and deploybase, line by line.
| Capability | Netlify Forms | deploybase |
|---|---|---|
| Where a submission goes | ||
| Where submissions are stored | No published EU option; staff confirmed US storage | Paris, on Scaleway |
| Third parties in the path | Akismet (Automattic, US) | None |
| When spam escalates | Google reCAPTCHA v2, including a Netlify-injected widget | Quarantine and rate limits, never a CAPTCHA |
| Privacy controls | ||
| Raw IP addresses | No per-form controls documented | Never stored: cut to a /16, or not kept at all |
| Retention | You delete by hand | Kept forever, or purged after 30, 90 or 365 days |
| Erasure requests | No API documented | An erasure API with an audit trail |
| Building the form | ||
| How a form is wired up | An attribute, found at build time | An action URL you paste |
| Server-rendered and JavaScript forms | Need workarounds | Work as they are |
| Where the site can be hosted | On Netlify | Anywhere, Netlify included |
| Included at no cost | On Netlify's credit plans | 100 submissions a month; spam never counts |
| Where Netlify Forms is ahead | ||
| File uploads | Yes | Not yet |
Your form, attribute by attribute.
Moving a Netlify form is three edits to one tag, and the site can stay on Netlify. Only a file field stays behind.
<form name="contact" method="POST"
data-netlify="true"> <form action="https://api.deploybase.eu/f/your-form-id" method="POST">. The address identifies the form, so nothing is parsed at build time.
<input type="hidden" name="form-name"
value="contact" /> Delete it. Each form has its own address instead of a name.
netlify-honeypot="bot-field"
A hidden _gotcha field. Rename it per form in the form's settings.
action="/thanks/"
A hidden _next field with the page to show afterwards. _replyto and _subject work too, as on Formspree.
<input type="file" name="cv" />
Remove the field, or keep this form on Netlify for now.File uploads are not supported yet.
Questions from Netlify Forms users.
Something else? Write to support@deploybase.eu. A person answers.
Is there a European alternative to Netlify Forms?
Yes. deploybase Forms stores and processes every submission in the EU, on Scaleway in Paris, with no third-party service in the path: no Akismet, no reCAPTCHA. Spam is handled with a honeypot, rate limits and a quarantine that never drops a message. Raw IP addresses are never stored, retention can purge automatically, and data-subject requests go through an erasure API. The form is one action URL, so it works from any host, Netlify included.
Where does Netlify store form submissions?
Netlify has not published an EU data-residency option for Forms. On its support forum, staff have confirmed that submissions are handled on US infrastructure, with standard contractual clauses covering the transfer. That is a valid legal mechanism; many European teams still prefer not to rely on it for a contact form. deploybase stores every submission in Paris.
The thread on Netlify's forumDoes Netlify Forms use reCAPTCHA?
Netlify's documented escalation for spam is Google reCAPTCHA v2, either a widget you add or one Netlify injects into the form. Before that, every submission is filtered through Akismet, Automattic's US spam service. In Germany, reCAPTCHA needs prior consent under §25(1) TDDDG, even after Google became a data processor for it in April 2026. deploybase uses no CAPTCHA at any level.
How does deploybase stop spam without Akismet or reCAPTCHA?
In layers that put no puzzle in front of visitors and send nothing to a third party: a honeypot, an optional allow-list of origins, a rate limit per IP address, flood quarantine and duplicate absorption. Suspected spam is quarantined, never dropped, and one click marks it as not spam. Spam never counts against your quota.
How forms workCan I keep my site on Netlify and move only the forms?
Yes. The endpoint accepts form-encoded or JSON posts from any origin, so the site can stay where it is. Send Accept: application/json and you get a JSON answer for your own script.
Is Netlify Forms free?
It is included in Netlify's credit plans. Our Free plan includes 100 submissions a month, with spam never counted, and paid plans raise that. This comparison is not about price, or feature count: Netlify Forms has file uploads and we do not yet. It is about where submissions live and what touches them on the way in.
Submission limits per planMove one form and watch the inbox.
Free plan, 100 submissions a month, no card.