Lugatu vs Tally: Form Builder & Form Backend Comparison
Compare Lugatu and Tally objectively across form building, developer APIs, notification models, database persistence, and brand customization capabilities.
1. Core Architectural Differences
Tally is a document-style form builder designed around a Notion-like text editor. Lugatu offers a dual-paradigm architecture: a visual builder for independent hosted forms and an authenticated headless form backend API for custom websites (WordPress, Next.js, Astro, React, Angular, ASP.NET Core).
Lugatu developers can use their own frontend HTML/React components without being forced into an iframe or external hosted widget.
2. Submission Storage & Inbox Persistence
In Lugatu, every valid submission is durably stored in a central PostgreSQL database regardless of whether email notifications are enabled or paused. Even if your monthly email allowance is exhausted, incoming inquiries remain accessible, searchable, and exportable in your dashboard inbox with zero data loss.
3. Email Notification & Domain Quota Model
Lugatu allocates 500 outbound recipient-email deliveries per UTC calendar month for each independently verified root domain (eTLD+1). This allowance is shared across all forms and subdomains on that domain, supporting up to two verified recipient destinations.
4. Privacy & Data Ownership Commitments
Lugatu operates under explicit zero-sale, zero-advertising privacy commitments. Submitter responses are never profiled, monetized, or fed into public machine learning models. User passwords and raw OAuth access tokens are never stored.
Security & Authentication Invariant
Technical Invariant: Server-to-server API keys (lug_live_...) are strictly for backend use. Never expose live keys in client-side HTML or scripts. Public endpoints accept browser submissions without API keys.
Troubleshooting & Common Ingestion Errors
Recreate your form layout using the Lugatu Visual Form Builder. Choose an editorial theme (Forest, Wine, Midnight), customize typography and brand colors, and share the hosted URL directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lugatu require me to own a website to publish a form?
No. Like Tally, Lugatu provides independent hosted form links that can be shared in social bios, messaging apps, and email signatures without owning a website.
What happens when email quota is reached on a verified domain?
Submissions are safely persisted in your Lugatu Inbox. Only email notifications are paused until the next UTC calendar month begins.
How does Lugatu store submissions and verify domains?
Submissions are securely stored in a durable PostgreSQL inbox. Verified root domains receive 500 outbound recipient notification emails per UTC month, while unverified forms remain strictly domainless with inbox-only storage.
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