A Tally alternative for answers that need a follow-up
Tally gives away more form than almost anyone. If you need a form, use it. Acquainto is for the case a form handles badly: an answer that has to be followed up, clarified or narrowed before you can act on it.
The short answer
- Tally is the better tool for almost any form, at almost no cost.
- Acquainto is the better tool when a submitted answer is not the end of the job, because it was too vague to use.
Where Tally is better than Acquainto
- Price. Tally’s free plan includes unlimited forms and submissions within fair use. Acquainto has a free trial, then paid plans.
- Logic. Conditional logic, answer piping, formulas and hidden fields give you precise control over what is asked.
- Integrations. Tally connects directly to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable and Slack, and through Zapier, Make and n8n. Acquainto delivers by webhook.
- EU data storage. Tally stores form data in Europe. Acquainto stores customer data in the United States.
- AI for the builder, free. Tally AI writes a whole form from a plain-language description on every plan.
What Acquainto does differently
Tally’s logic and its AI both work on the form before anyone answers it. Once a respondent types “it depends” or “a few hundred,” the form accepts it. Acquainto works at the moment of the answer:
- It asks again when an answer is incomplete, and offers a choice where precision matters.
- You describe what you need to find out, not the branches to get there. The conversation decides when to dig and when to stop.
- The person answering reviews every answer before it is sent, and is told who gets them before the first question.
- One clean value per question comes back by webhook, ready for your own columns.
Tally and Acquainto side by side
| Tally | Acquainto | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | "Unlimited forms and submissions, completely free, as long as you stay within our fair usage guidelines" (source: Tally, checked October 2, 2026) | No free plan. A 14-day trial that includes 75 completed conversations |
| Follow-up questions | Conditional logic, answer piping, formulas and hidden fields, set up by the form’s creator (source: Tally, checked October 2, 2026) | The whole exchange is a conversation: it asks again when any answer is incomplete, and offers a choice where precision matters |
| AI | Tally AI, free on every plan: describe a form in plain language and it generates the form (source: Tally, checked October 2, 2026) | The AI runs the conversation with the person answering, not only the setup |
| Integrations | Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, Slack, webhooks and more directly; Zapier, Make and n8n (source: Tally, checked October 2, 2026) | Webhook delivery to your own systems, one clean value per question |
| Where data is stored | "We fully comply with GDPR requirements and store all form data in Europe" (source: Tally, checked October 2, 2026) | In the United States (Virginia), with encrypted backups in Oregon |
Facts about Tally come from Tally’s own pages, on the date shown in each row. Prices and plans change; if one of these is out of date, tell us at support@acquainto.com and we will correct it.
Which should you choose?
Choose Tally if:
- you need a form, and a free one;
- your data has to be stored in the EU;
- you want precise, hand-built logic and direct connections to Notion or Airtable.
Choose Acquainto if:
- the answers that matter are the ones people type vaguely, and today you follow them up by email or phone;
- each submission is a lead, a client or a job, not one of many survey responses;
- you want the follow-up to happen before the answer reaches you.
For a worked example, see why clients don’t finish an intake form, and how to fix it. To try it, see how it works or compare plans.