Forms · checked 2026-10-14

Can I vibecode Tally?

YES· one-shottable

A form builder for yourself comes down to a schema, a public page that renders it, a table of submissions and a notification. An agent can build that, including show-or-hide logic between questions, CSV export, file uploads and a webhook, in a single sitting. Tally's own free plan already has unlimited forms, so Pro only buys your own domain, no Tally branding, partial submissions and team workspaces. A copy still needs a public address, and spam on an open form is yours to fight.

$29/moprice

$348you'd save a year

one sittingbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeAn afternoon, plus time to put it online

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
A public addressA tunnel or a small VPS with HTTPS; respondents must reach /f/<slug>.
A list of your forms and questionsWe found no documented export of a form's structure, only of submissions.

Before you buildTally Free already has unlimited forms, payments, signatures and conditional logic. A DIY build mostly saves the $29 for your own domain and no branding.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a self-hosted form builder to replace Tally. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify API and a React front end built with Vite. `npm start`
  builds the UI and serves everything on http://localhost:4500; public forms live at /f/<slug>.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/forms.db: forms (slug, title, schema JSON, theme JSON,
  published), submissions (form, answers JSON, created_at). Uploaded files go to ./data/files/.
- Editor: a vertical list of blocks added from a "/" menu and reordered by dragging (`@dnd-kit`):
  short text, long text, email, number, date, single choice, multiple choice, dropdown, rating 1-5,
  file upload (10 MB cap), heading and plain text. Each block has a required flag and a
  placeholder, and a live preview sits beside the editor.
- Logic: per-block "show only if" rules (an earlier answer equals / contains / is empty), evaluated
  in the browser and again on the server, plus hidden fields read from the URL (?source=...).
- Public page: one question at a time or all at once (a toggle per form), a progress bar, and
  either a thank-you message or a redirect URL. Validate with `zod` on the server and drop the
  answers of hidden blocks.
- Spam: a honeypot field, `@fastify/rate-limit` per IP, and optional Cloudflare Turnstile
  (TURNSTILE_SECRET in .env).
- After each submission: an optional email through nodemailer (SMTP settings in .env) and an
  optional webhook POST of the answers as JSON, signed with an HMAC header.
- Results: a table per form with search and delete, and a CSV export where files appear as links.
- The admin sits behind one password in .env (signed cookie); only /f/* and the submit endpoint
  are reachable without it.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first.
- Out of scope: payments, signatures, team workspaces, calculations, version history.
- README: exposing only the public form routes (tunnel or reverse proxy), where ./data lives, and
  the Turnstile setup.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Tally.

Add a Google Sheets sync to the form builder in this folder. Requirements:

- Per form, an optional spreadsheet id and tab name; auth with a Google service account (JSON
  path in .env) that I share the sheet with.
- On each submission, append a row: timestamp, then one column per block in the form's order.
  Write the header row when the sheet is empty.
- Retry failed appends 3 times with a growing delay and show failures on the form's results page.
- Update the README with the service account steps (budget 20 minutes in the Google Cloud console).

Add partial submissions to the form builder in this folder. Requirements:

- The public page saves answers to the server after each question under a draft id kept
  in the browser's local storage; reopening the form resumes where the person stopped.
- Mark a draft "abandoned" after 24 hours without activity; a completed submission replaces
  its draft.
- A Partial tab beside Results shows drafts with the last answered question, a CSV export,
  and a per-question drop-off count.
- Update the README.

Add a payment block to the form builder in this folder. Requirements:

- A block with a fixed amount and currency, or a choice block whose options carry prices.
- On submit, create a Stripe Checkout session (STRIPE_SECRET_KEY in .env); store the
  submission as "unpaid" and mark it "paid" from a signed webhook at /stripe/webhook.
- Results show a paid or unpaid badge; unpaid submissions older than 24 hours are hidden by default.
- Test mode only until I switch the key. Update the README with the `stripe listen` command.

Add calculations to the form builder in this folder. Requirements:

- A "calculated" block holding a formula over earlier answers, evaluated with `mathjs` in a
  locked-down instance (no import, createUnit or evaluate).
- Choice options can carry a numeric value; the formula refers to blocks by their key.
- The result can be shown to the respondent, used in a "show only if" rule, and is stored with
  the submission; recompute it on the server.
- Update the README with three example formulas.

What you lose

The slash-command block editor and its polish
Ready connections to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Zapier and Make
Payment blocks and signatures
Calculations, answer piping and the other advanced logic
Workspaces, version history and drop-off analytics for a team

Why people still pay

Free covers almost everything, so most people never pay. The $29 buys what makes a form look like yours: your own domain, no Tally name, custom CSS, plus partial submissions and shared workspaces. People pay to take Tally's branding off forms that clients and customers see.

Moatexecution polish integrations

Do the math

Tally or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time3h ×$/h

Tally, 1 yr$348

Your own copy, 1 yr$44running + build session

You keep$305pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Runs on a free tunnel or a $5 VPS; SMTP at this volume fits free tiers. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Tally

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Tally

1Open the form, go to the Submissions tab and click Download CSV. Partial submissions export the same way from the Partial tab.
2Check the file-upload columns in the CSV and download any uploaded files you still need while the account is active.
3The help pages we read describe no export of a form's structure; keep screenshots of the editor or a duplicate of each form.

2 · Cancel Tally

1Open Settings > Billing and click Manage subscription, then cancel; it can be done at any time.
2Cancellation is effective immediately, but Pro or Business features stay until the last day of the prepaid period.
3Tally issues no refund for late cancellations or unused time, so cancel before the renewal date.

The billing page doesn't say what happens to custom domains and branding removal after Pro ends. Test on a copy before sending form links to customers.
Billing is in USD or EUR based on your location, so check which currency your invoices use.
Point links in emails and on sites at your new form address before cancelling, in case your custom domain stops working with Pro.

Checked 2026-10-14 against Tally's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

OpnFormOpen sourceNo-code form builder with unlimited forms and submissions, conditional logic, file uploads, embeds and Slack, Discord and webhook integrations. The core is AGPL-3.0; an enterprise directory carries a separate license.★ 3.8k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗HeyFormOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 builder for conversational forms with conditional logic, file uploads, webhooks, custom CSS, drop-off analytics and CSV export.★ 9.0k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗FormbricksOpen sourceOpen-source survey platform with link, website, in-app and email surveys. Aimed at product feedback rather than general forms; parts of the code sit under a separate license.★ 13k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

The numbers

Tally pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0/workspace	$0/workspace	Unlimited forms and submissions, conditional logic and calculations, payments, signatures, file uploads, answer piping, webhooks and the Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Zapier and Make connections. Uploads are capped at 10 MB per file.
Pro	$29/workspace	$24.17/workspace	Everything in Free plus no Tally branding, custom domains, partial submissions, team collaboration with workspaces and folders, custom CSS, custom email domains, drop-off analytics, 30-day version history and no 10 MB upload cap.
Business	$89/workspace	$74.17/workspace	Everything in Pro plus data-retention controls, email verification and 90-day version history.

Free tier: 10 MB per uploaded file and Tally's fair-use policy; branding, custom domains and partial submissions need Pro.
Billing: Monthly or yearly (yearly is two months free), billed per workspace in USD or EUR according to your location. No free trial. Cancel under Settings > Billing > Manage subscription; access lasts to the end of the prepaid period, and there is no refund for late cancellations or unused time.
Hidden costs: None found: Pro includes unlimited team members.
Source: tally.so

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Questions

Tally, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Unlimited forms and submissions under a fair-use policy.

Yes. An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can build a usable personal version in one session with the prompt on this page, running on your own machine.

About $29 a month on the Pro plan, $348 a year (checked 2026-10-14).

The slash-command block editor and its polish; Ready connections to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Zapier and Make; Payment blocks and signatures; Calculations, answer piping and the other advanced logic; Workspaces, version history and drop-off analytics for a team. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.