Carbone vs Formstack Documents
Carbone
carbone.io
Formstack Documents
formstack.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbone | Formstack Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $31.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 18 | 10 |
| Spec score · PDF Creation Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.1 (#11) |
| Spec score · Document Generation Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.1 (#13) |
| Spec score · Mail Merge Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.1 (#9) |
| Spec score · Document Template Management Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.0 (#12) |
| Spec score · Docs Automation | 9.4 (#2) | 7.9 (#15) |
| Audience | Carbone says its customers span finance, healthcare, insurance, legal, public sector, retail, energy, software and telecom. | Formstack describes its products as no-code productivity solutions for organizations and teams that automate document generation and data-driven processes. |
| Integrations | Official connectors cover Airtable, Bubble, Glide, Make, n8n, Ninox, Retool, Zapier, HubSpot, Odoo, Pipedrive, Salesforce, DocuSign and Subnoto. | Formstack connects its products to more than 250 software tools, including Salesforce, Amazon S3, HubSpot, Airtable, and Microsoft. |
| Security | Carbone says its cloud infrastructure is hosted in France by OVHcloud and that it conducts annual security audits. | Formstack Documents uses SSL, encryption, firewall protection, secure downloads, and document encryption; no merged data is stored. |
| Support | The Essential plan includes chat support from 9 AM to 6 PM UTC+2, with asynchronous email responses outside those hours. | Customers can use the support site, 24/7 AI assistant, and live support Monday–Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. |
| Template formats | Templates can use formats including DOCX, ODT, ODS, XLSX, XML, Markdown and HTML. | Users can upload DOCX, PPTX, PDF, and CSV templates or create templates with the AI-powered builder. |
| What it does | Carbone merges JSON data with user-designed templates to generate PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODS, HTML and other files. | Formstack Documents is a no-code document generation tool that automates the document lifecycle and turns raw data into professional, dynamic documents. |
Plans
Carbone
- Cloud FreeFree
- FreeFree
- On-Premise CommunityFree
- On-Premise FreeFree
- Amazon Web Services$0.15, paid once
- Cloud Essential$29 a month
- Essential€29 a month
- Cloud Essential Plus$95 a month
- Essential Plus€95 a month
- Advanced€159 a month
Formstack Documents
- Suite$250 a month
- Salesforce SolutionsPriced on request
- Enterprise SolutionsPriced on request
- Micro$31.99 a month
- Starter$91.66 a month
- Teams$183.33 a month
- Professional$219.99 a month
- Pro$366.66 a month
- Business$439.99 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Carbone
Carbone merges JSON data into document templates to generate files such as PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX. Templates can use formats including DOCX, ODT, ODS, XLSX, XML, Markdown, and HTML. Its conversion API handles more than 100 formats and supports LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, and Chromium. API access and bulk generation are listed, with Cloud, On-Premise, Private Cloud, and AWS deployment options. The pricing page lists free Cloud and On-Premise plans, plus a free 30-day trial for self-hosted On-Premise use. Cloud Essential costs $29.00 per month; documents are counted for each 1 MB of injected JSON and images, and additional documents beyond a plan allowance are invoiced separately. Carbone says Cloud stores templates for reuse but does not retain submitted JSON or generated documents beyond what rendering and delivery require. It says it has no access to customer templates, data, or generated documents in on-premise deployments. The service also offers an MCP server and an open-source Carbone Skill for connecting AI assistants and generating templates. Its listed platform options include API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows.
Formstack Documents
Formstack Documents is a cloud, no-code document generation service that turns business data into dynamic files. Users can create templates with the AI-powered Document Builder or upload DOCX, PPTX, PDF and CSV templates. Data from CRMs, form builders, databases and other business systems populates those templates. Conditional logic can show or hide sections, while routing can combine files or generate multiple documents from one source. CRM data can produce proposals, contracts, invoices and reports. Bulk generation, data merging and an open REST API support larger workflows. Documents can be sent to Formstack Sign or DocuSign for electronic signatures. Listed protections include SSL, encryption, firewall protection, secure downloads and document encryption; Formstack says merged data is not stored. HIPAA and GDPR compliance are listed. The service runs on the web and through an API, with documentation and ticket support. A free trial is available, but there is no free plan.