# Comparison (https://form.dimah.dev/docs/comparison)



dimah-form is a server-authoritative questionnaire runtime. It is designed for
forms that are part of your application, not for every kind of data-entry
problem.

<Callout>
  dimah-form is pre-v1. Prefer it when its snapshot and response-lifecycle model
  are a requirement, and evaluate its API stability before a long-lived
  integration.
</Callout>

## Choose by ownership [#choose-by-ownership]

* Choose **dimah-form** when your app must own auth, data, UI, drafts, and
  server-side validation against the definition a respondent started with.
* Choose **React Hook Form** when you need flexible React form state and
  validation, while your application defines the API, persistence, and
  multi-session lifecycle.
* Choose **SurveyJS** when you need a JSON-driven survey renderer or an
  embeddable drag-and-drop creator that you connect to your backend.
* Choose **Typeform** when a hosted, no-code, conversational form service and
  its account-based workflow are the right trade-off.

## Capability model [#capability-model]

| Concern                          | dimah-form                                                | React Hook Form                 | SurveyJS                                          | Typeform                             |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Primary model                    | Server-authoritative questionnaire library                | React form state and validation | JSON survey runtime; optional self-hosted builder | Hosted form and survey service       |
| Who renders the form             | Your UI, or optional `@dimah-form/ui`                     | Your React components           | SurveyJS renderer and themes                      | Typeform or its embed SDK            |
| Per-response definition snapshot | Built in                                                  | Application responsibility      | Application persistence design                    | Platform response model              |
| Draft, resume, abandon, and CAS  | Built in                                                  | Application responsibility      | Application responsibility                        | Service workflow                     |
| Auth and data storage            | Your application                                          | Your application                | Your application                                  | Typeform account and APIs            |
| Drag-and-drop authoring          | Not provided                                              | Not provided                    | Survey Creator                                    | Hosted builder                       |
| Best fit                         | App-embedded questionnaires with durable response history | Client-side React forms         | Schema-driven surveys and visual authoring        | Fast hosted collection and embedding |

This is a model comparison, not a performance benchmark or a claim that one
tool replaces another. A project can use a general form library for ordinary
settings screens and dimah-form for questionnaire flows.

## What dimah-form deliberately leaves out [#what-dimah-form-deliberately-leaves-out]

dimah-form does not provide a visual builder, hosted respondent collection,
user accounts, file uploads, dashboards, or a data warehouse. Your application
can add those capabilities around the library. The optional UI package renders
the existing fill session; it does not replace your product UI.

For the library's concrete boundaries, read [Integration](https://form.dimah.dev/docs/integration.md),
[Persistence](https://form.dimah.dev/docs/persistence.md), [Security](https://form.dimah.dev/docs/security.md), and
[Responses](https://form.dimah.dev/docs/responses.md).

## Sources [#sources]

* [React Hook Form: Get Started](https://react-hook-form.com/get-started) and
  [useForm](https://react-hook-form.com/docs/useform)
* [SurveyJS Form Library overview](https://surveyjs.io/form-library/documentation/overview)
  and [Survey Creator overview](https://surveyjs.io/survey-creator/documentation/overview)
* [Typeform Create API](https://www.typeform.com/developers/create/) and
  [Embed SDK](https://typeform.com/developers/embed/)

Last reviewed: 2026-09-24.