Xano vs Fillout
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Xano and Fillout.
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Verdict: Fillout wins
Fillout scores 4.1/5, edging out Xano at 4.0/5. Small-to-mid teams that want Typeform-grade form design with far cheaper scaling and native two-way sync into Airtable, Notion or Salesforce.
Xano Build scalable backends without coding | Fillout Build forms and surveys without code in minutes | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.0 (1 review) | 4.1 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting Price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best For | Technical founders and small dev teams who want a production Postgres backend with compliance certifications, unlimited API calls at a flat rate, and no DevOps hire. | Small-to-mid teams that want Typeform-grade form design with far cheaper scaling and native two-way sync into Airtable, Notion or Salesforce. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | free tierno codeteam featuresapi access | free tierno codeapi access |
| Visit Xano → | Visit Fillout → |
Xano
Pros
- + Function Stack debugger steps through every layer of an endpoint with live intermediate values — in my testing this made a role-branching endpoint with an external API call debuggable in minutes
- + Flat-rate API pricing: Essential ($85/mo billed annually, xano.com/pricing at time of writing) includes unlimited API requests, so traffic spikes do not move the bill
- + Production compliance stack on paid plans — SOC 2, ISO 27001/27701/9001/42001, GDPR, HIPAA add-on — without building infra for procurement checklists
- + Developer toolchain parity with code-first backends: XanoScript GA, VS Code extension, CLI, Git sync with branching, sandbox environments
- + Auto-generated OpenAPI docs from the database schema; my test schema produced usable spec output with no extra work
Cons
- - The $29 Starter tier was retired in January 2026, making $85/month the production floor — a 193% jump for teams architected around the old pricing
- - No RAM/CPU usage dashboard despite documented 502s from exhausted instance resources; I saw no way to anticipate a ceiling before hitting it
- - XanoScript and Function Stacks do not port to any standard framework — leaving Xano means rebuilding the entire API logic layer
- - Free plan is a sandbox only: 10 requests/20s rate limit and 100K record cap surfaced immediately in my burst testing
- - Expression editor and admin UI get painful at scale; a 3-year user on r/xano cites unexplained 500s and poor function/table organization
Fillout
Pros
- + Free plan collects 1,000 responses/month with unlimited forms, questions and seats — verified against Typeform's 10/month free cap
- + No per-seat charges on any tier, so billing tracks usage instead of headcount
- + Bidirectional Airtable/Notion mapping with URL-parameter pre-fill and conditional display — form-as-front-end for internal systems
- + Deep free-tier feature set: conditional logic, payments, scheduling, PDF generation, workflows and resume-in-progress submissions
- + Pricing matrix is published server-side with concrete limits (20 MB vs 1 GB file ceilings) rather than hidden behind sales calls
Cons
- - Custom domains require the $75/month Business tier (annual billing) even for teams that need little else
- - Response caps (1,000/2,000/5,000) push you up tiers fast if a form catches traffic; only Business is uncapped
- - Partial submissions — recovery of abandoned entries — are gated to Business, where small teams need them most
- - Address autocomplete, enrichment and SMS/email verification are paid add-ons on top of plan prices
- - Hosted only: no self-hosting or on-prem option for teams with data-residency constraints
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Xano or Fillout?▼
Fillout scores higher at 4.1/5 vs 4.0/5 for Xano, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between Xano and Fillout?▼
Xano: Xano is a no-code backend that provides a database, business logic and REST APIs for applications, without managing servers. Fillout: Fillout builds forms, surveys and quizzes without code and writes responses into tools such as Airtable, Notion and Salesforce.
Is Xano or Fillout more affordable?▼
Xano starts at €0/mo, Fillout starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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