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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://doc.spike.ac/docs/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Overview

Netlify Forms is a built-in feature of the Netlify hosting platform. Spike is a standalone form backend that works with any hosting provider. Here’s how they compare.

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Feature Comparison

FeatureSpikeNetlify Forms
Submissions (free)Unlimited100/month
Works with any host✅❌ Netlify only
File uploads✅✅
Spam protection✅ Honeypot, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile, ML✅ Akismet, honeypot
Email notifications✅ Customizable✅ Basic
Webhooks✅✅ (via Netlify functions)
API access✅✅ (Netlify API)
Integrations21+Slack, email (via Zapier for more)
Dashboard✅ Dedicated form dashboard✅ In Netlify dashboard
AJAX support✅✅
Custom redirects✅✅

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Why Choose Spike

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Not Locked to Netlify

Netlify Forms only works if your site is hosted on Netlify. Spike works with any hosting provider — Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, AWS, GitHub Pages, or any static host.

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Unlimited Submissions

Netlify’s free tier gives you 100 form submissions per month. Going over costs $19/month for the next 1,000. Spike gives you unlimited submissions on the free plan.

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More Spam Protection

Netlify uses Akismet and honeypot. Spike offers honeypot, reCAPTCHA v2/v3, hCaptcha, Cloudflare Turnstile, ML-based filtering, blocklists, and work email validation.

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21+ Integrations

Spike connects directly to Slack, Discord, Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, HubSpot, Mailchimp, and more. Netlify Forms requires Zapier or custom functions for most integrations.

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Dedicated Form Dashboard

Spike’s dashboard is built specifically for managing forms — search submissions, export data, configure notifications, and manage integrations. Netlify’s form UI is a small section of a larger hosting dashboard.

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When Netlify Forms Might Be Better

  • If you’re already on Netlify and need fewer than 100 submissions/month
  • If you want zero-config forms with just a netlify attribute on your HTML form
  • If you prefer keeping everything in one platform

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Setup Comparison

Spike: 
<form action="https://api.spike.ac/f/YOUR_FORM_SLUG" method="POST">
  <input type="text" name="_gotcha" style="display:none">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
Netlify Forms: 
<form name="contact" method="POST" data-netlify="true">
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>
Netlify’s setup is slightly simpler if you’re already on Netlify. But Spike’s setup is just as easy and works everywhere.