A free contact form API for any frontend.

curl -X POST https://splitforms.com/api/submit \
  -F "access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" \
  -F "name=Alex" \
  -F "email=alex@example.com" \
  -F "message=Hello"

await fetch("https://splitforms.com/api/submit", {
  method: "POST",
  body: new FormData(form),
});

import requests

requests.post(
  "https://splitforms.com/api/submit",
  data={
    "access_key": "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY",
    "name": "Alex",
    "email": "alex@example.com",
    "message": "Hello",
  },
)

<form action="https://splitforms.com/api/submit" method="POST">
  <input type="hidden" name="access_key" value="YOUR_ACCESS_KEY" />
  <input type="hidden" name="form_loaded_at" />
  <input type="checkbox" name="botcheck" style="display:none" tabindex="-1" />
  <input name="name" required />
  <input name="email" type="email" required />
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

<script>
  // time-trap: stamp the load time so instant bot submits get flagged
  document.querySelector('[name="form_loaded_at"]').value = Date.now();
</script>

What's included in the splitforms contact form API?

One POST endpoint (/api/submit) that accepts any HTML form or fetch/JSON request, a read API for pulling submissions back out, a free MCP server for AI agents, Storage-backed file uploads, custom redirects, and a replyto override — plus CC/BCC on Pro and above. Spam filtering (honeypot, time-trap, content heuristics, allowed-domains) and owner notification emails are included on every plan, including Free.

Do I need an API key to use it?

You need two different credentials. Every form has an access_key — a public identifier you put in a hidden field or POST body that tells splitforms which form a submission belongs to. Your account also has one API token, found at Dashboard → MCP, that authenticates the read API (GET /api/submissions) and the MCP server with an Authorization: Bearer header. Only the access_key belongs in client-side HTML.

Is the contact form API really free?

Yes. Free covers 500 submissions/month, unlimited forms, spam filtering, the dashboard, owner notification emails, and the MCP server — no credit card required. Starter is $1/month for 1,000 submissions and adds CSV/XML/PDF export, webhooks, integrations, and an auto-responder. Pro is $5/month for 5,000 submissions and adds CC/BCC and priority support. The 3-Year plan is a $59 one-time payment for 15,000/month.

What are the API's rate limits?

Submissions are capped at 6 per minute per IP address per form (a sliding 60-second window), plus a sustained limit of 20 per 15 minutes from the same IP. Go over either and you get HTTP 429. The read API (GET /api/submissions) is limited to 60 requests per minute per API token. Real visitors almost never hit the submission limit — it mostly catches bots.

How do I read submissions from another app or service?

Call GET https://splitforms.com/api/submissions with Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN. Filter with form (a form's id or access_key), and paginate with limit (default 25, max 100), before, and since. The response is { submissions, has_more }. Use it to sync leads into your own database, a CRM, or a script — the same token also powers the MCP server.

Do webhooks retry if my endpoint is down?

No. Each webhook is a single POST attempt with an 8-second timeout, HMAC-SHA256 signed (the signature header is prefixed sha256=). There's no automatic retry, so your endpoint needs to be up and fast. Webhooks are on Starter ($1/month) and above; native Slack, Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Mailchimp destinations are also available if you'd rather not run your own endpoint.

What's the MCP server for?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is how AI agents like Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf call external tools directly. splitforms' MCP server is free on every plan and ships 6 tools, including create_form, generate_form, and list_submissions — so an agent can build a form and read its submissions with the same API token as the REST API, without a bespoke integration.

Can I connect a form without writing backend code?

Yes — that's the point of the API. Build the form in the drag-and-drop dashboard (50+ templates) and grab a ready-made embed for WordPress (shortcode), Shopify (Custom Liquid), iframe, plain HTML, or a React component; or wire up your own markup by pointing action at https://splitforms.com/api/submit with the access_key field. Either way there's no server to run — submissions land in the dashboard and your inbox.