GoCanvas is a popular mobile forms and workflow automation software used by trade businesses. It is known for its expansive library of over 30,000 form templates, as well as features such as e-signatures, offline data capture, and workflow automation.
However, many users discovered that the platform presents challenges, particularly around its high starting price, rigid, multi-year contracts, and stability issues. Explore top GoCanvas alternatives that are more affordable, scalable, and reliable, and can be a perfect fit for your team.
- Why Teams Are Looking for GoCanvas Alternatives (Based on Reviews)
- At a Glance: GoCanvas vs. The Top 5 Alternatives
- Top 5 GoCanvas Competitors & Alternatives (Paid)
- GoCanvas Free Alternatives: What to Expect
- How to Pick the Best GoCanvas Competitor For Your Team
- Which GoCanvas Competitor Is Right For You?
- FAQs
Why Teams Are Looking for GoCanvas Alternatives (Based on Reviews)
GoCanvas generally ranks well on major review platforms, often scoring around 4.4/5.0 across Capterra and G2. Users frequently praise its ease of digitizing paper processes, customizable forms, and offline functionality.
Despite its strengths, common themes in user feedback point to several pain points that drive teams to seek GoCanvas alternatives:
- Expensive Per-User Pricing: With plans starting around $49 per user/month (often with a minimum of 3 users), the platform quickly becomes costly. This per-user structure can be prohibitive, particularly for small to mid-sized businesses or those with many seasonal/occasional users.
- Rigid Contract Terms: User reviews frequently cite frustration with rigid, multi-year contracts and a difficult, non-transparent process for reducing seat count or canceling subscriptions. Customers report feeling “locked in” and being charged for users they no longer need.
- Some Forms are Hard to Customize: While the platform offers a lot of customization, some users report that building complex forms and creating polished, custom-branded PDF outputs can have a steep learning curve or be more challenging than expected.
- Poor App Performance (Occasional Issues): Some users have reported stability issues, noting that the mobile app occasionally crashes or performs slowly, which is a critical problem for field teams relying on it for real-time data capture.
At a Glance: GoCanvas vs. The Top 5 Alternatives
The following table provides a quick comparison of the top alternatives to GoCanvas, focusing on core pricing and primary use cases.
| Software | Starting Price | Free Trial | Templates | Dedicated CAPA | Offline Functionality |
| GoCanvas | $49/user/mo | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| GoAudits | $10/user/mo | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| TrueContext | ~$30-45/user/mo | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| GoFormz | $24/user/mo | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Formstack | $83/mo | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Fulcrum | $41/user/mo | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Top 5 GoCanvas Competitors & Alternatives (Paid)
Here are the top 5 apps like GoCanvas used by field teams, with a deeper dive into their features and pricing.
Alternative #1: GoAudits – Best GoCanvas Alternative for Inspections & Audits
GoAudits inspection software is a mobile-first inspection and auditing app designed for teams that need more than simple digital forms. Unlike GoCanvas, which was built primarily as a general-purpose form builder, GoAudits focuses on standardizing inspections, enforcing compliance, tracking corrective actions, and monitoring multi-site performance.
For teams that need to monitor quality and safety in construction, facilities & property management, hospitality, retail, or manufacturing, this purpose-built structure makes GoAudits a much stronger operational fit.
Key Features
- Structured Checklists & Forms: Create custom digital checklists or choose from template libraries for construction, property management, automotive, manufacturing, and more.
- Robust Offline Mode: Conduct full inspections or walkthroughs, capture unlimited photos, add annotations, and collect e-signatures even without internet connectivity. Everything syncs instantly once back online.
- Instant, Branded Reports: Generate professional PDF reports instantly upon completion of an audit, complete with scores, historical data, photos, and your company’s branding. Here’s a sample site inspection report generated using the GoAudits app.
- Corrective Action Management: Assign tasks, set deadlines, add severity levels, and track the resolution status of every issue until it is closed.
- Powerful Analytics: Spot recurring failures, track compliance trends over time, and compare performance across different sites or teams.
Pricing
GoAudits offers a transparent, per-user, per-month pricing model that makes it a significantly more affordable GoCanvas competitor for most small to medium-sized teams.
- Starter Plan: Starts at $10 per user/month (when billed annually). It includes offline access, instant field reporting, and the core corrective action feature.
- Enterprise Plan: Priced at $30 per user/month, it is for larger teams and includes advanced features like roles & permissions, scheduling & notifications, and advanced analytics.
👉 GoAudits Pricing: Explore various packages offered by GoAudits.
Why Choose GoAudits Over GoCanvas
Firstly, GoAudits offers one of the lowest starting prices among field work solutions, and its pricing is known to be transparent and upfront. All forms offered by the platform are 100% customizable and easier to access, even offline in remote locations.
Moreover, GoAudits offers advanced features such as automated corrective actions, scheduling, and trend reports, which are included in all its plans, unlike most GoCanvas competitors that restrict these features to their top-tier packages.
Lastly, GoAudits is known to have a very responsive customer support team, a better experience than what some reviewers report for GoCanvas.
Here are a few examples of checklist templates offered by GoAudits:
- Property damage report template
- Facility maintenance checklists
- HVAC maintenance checklists
- Scaffold inspection checklists
- Building inspection checklists
- Truck inspection checklists
- Roof inspection checklists
Here’s how GoAudits compares with GoCanvas:
| Feature | GoAudits | GoCanvas |
| Primary Use Case | Dedicated to audits, inspections, quality, and compliance management. | General mobile forms, field data capture, and workflow automation. |
| Pricing & Flexibility | The Starter Plan is priced at $10/user/month, and the Enterprise Plan costs $30/user/month, with no minimum user requirement. | The Pro Plan starts at $49/user/mo, and the Max Plan is priced at $79/user/mo, with each plan requiring a minimum of 3 users. |
| Corrective Actions | Dedicated corrective action workflow with assignee tracking, due dates, and auto-email of tasks, even in the Starter plan. | Follow-up Tasks are restricted to the Max Plan. |
| Templates & Customization | Unlimited custom checklists with the Enterprise Plan. The Starter Plan includes 10 checklist templates. Free checklist setup assistance is offered. | Access to unlimited forms. |
| Reporting & Analytics | Instant, scored, branded PDF reports with advanced features like trends, consolidated reporting, and trend analysis. | Configurable PDF reports are included in all plans. Custom PDF reports and advanced analytics are available as extra, costly add-ons. |
| Documentation | Supports photo capture, annotation, e-signatures, GPS, and custom action types. | Supports photo/video capture (Max), e-signatures, GPS, Dispatch & Scheduling, and Customer & Project Management. |
What Users Say About GoAudits
GoAudits was a game-changer for us. One of the key benefits is how easily we can capture the data and share it with our Trade Partners, keeping everyone on the same page. A great tool that simplifies my role and helps us deliver better homes to our Customers. And the GoAudits team is AAA rated in my opinion!
Ciaran Mullins, General Superintendent, Woodside Homes
The feature of GoAudits that I appreciate the most is its ease of use and how it can be adapted to suit any working environment, from a Construction Site to a Care Home to a Hotel. I can only give the GoAudits platform and team my sincere thanks for a product that has not only saved us time, effort, and money but is highly rated by my staff and our Clients!
Bill Rogerson, Director, Bill Rogerson Safety
👉 Read Full Story: Explore how Woodside Homes and Bill Rogerson Safety leverage GoAudits for their field operations.
How to Migrate From GoCanvas to GoAudits
Start by prioritizing your most critical GoCanvas forms. Connect with the GoAudits team to convert your existing forms and checklists into the new platform’s format. Next, roll out the new GoAudits app to a small team of users to gather feedback on usability, testing features like corrective actions, and instant reports.
Before canceling your GoCanvas subscription, verify that all data is successfully exported. Our team can offer personalized tips and help you transfer your existing processes to the platform quickly.
Alternative #2: TrueContext
TrueContext is a mobile workflow platform that focuses on connecting field workers with back-office systems, making it a strong GoCanvas competitor for organizations with complex integration needs.
Key Features
- Advanced integrations with systems like Salesforce and ServiceNow
- Complex workflow logic
- Security and compliance with SSO and other industry standards.
Pricing
- Essentials Plan: Starts around $25 per license/month.
- Advanced Plan: Priced at $45 per license/month.
- Enterprise Plan: Contact sales for final per-user pricing.
Alternative #3: GoFormz
GoFormz is an alternative for companies whose existing forms are critical to their process. Its specialty is accurately replicating and digitizing any existing PDF or paper form into a mobile-ready format.
Key Features
- PDF form replication
- No-code workflows
- Barcode scanning
Pricing
- Basic: $0 forever (limited to 1 template, 1 user).
- Team: Starts at $24 per user/month (billed annually).
- Advanced: Starts at $48 per user/month (billed annually).
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing.
Alternative #4: Formstack
Formstack is a broader workplace productivity suite that offers more than just mobile forms, providing solutions for data collection, document generation, and e-signatures in one bundle.
Key Features
- All-in-one suite
- Conditional logic & approvals
- Wide range of integrations
Pricing
- Forms Plan: Starts around $83/month (billed annually). This is typically a flat rate for a team, not per user, but it may require add-ons for additional users or usage limits.
- Suite Plan: Starts around $250/month (billed annually) for access to forms, documents, and sign tools.
Alternative #5: Fulcrum
Fulcrum is a mobile inspection platform that focuses on geospatial data, making it a powerful tool for environmental, engineering, and utility-based field teams where location and GIS are critical.
Key Features
- Geospatial data collection
- Offline mapping
- Advanced data management
Pricing
- Professional: Starts around $41 per user/month (billed annually).
- Elite: Starts around $52 per user/month (billed annually, but includes advanced features).
- Enterprise: Custom-quoted with unlimited users and advanced security/integration features.
GoCanvas Free Alternatives: What to Expect
While dedicated mobile form apps provide the best experience, several options can serve as basic GoCanvas free alternatives for small teams or simple data collection:
- Google Forms/Sheets: Excellent for simple surveys and field data collection. It’s 100% free but lacks offline support, advanced fields (like signatures or photos in the form), and professional report generation.
- Jotform: Offers a generous free plan with limited submissions and storage. It’s a great, easy-to-use form builder, but it quickly requires an upgrade for business-level usage or to remove branding.
- Basic/Free Plans from Paid GoCanvas Competitors: Platforms like GoFormz offer a basic free plan with a single user and template, which can be a good way to test the platform before committing.
Expect these free GoCanvas alternatives to lack critical features like e-signatures, dedicated inspection reporting, advanced workflow automation, or robust integration with your core business systems.
How to Pick the Best GoCanvas Competitor For Your Team
To select the right GoCanvas alternative, focus on your team’s specific pain points and requirements:
- How complex are your forms/checklists? If your forms are mostly standard checklists and audits, a specialized platform like GoAudits or Fulcrum (if you need GIS) is likely best.
- What level of integration is required? For deep, mission-critical integration with major FSM, CRM, or EAM systems, TrueContext or the Enterprise Plans of other platforms are necessary.
- Do you need scheduling and dispatch capabilities? Some alternatives, particularly those focused on field service, offer task management and scheduling features to dispatch work to field teams.
- Do you need multi-location auditing and compliance management? If your main goal is to standardize field inspections, track compliance trends across multiple sites, and automatically assign corrective actions, GoAudits is an ideal, cost-effective solution.
- What’s your budget, and are you willing to commit to a year-long contract? If your budget is tight and you want predictable, lower per-user pricing without being locked into a rigid contract, try flexible providers like GoAudits.
Which GoCanvas Competitor Is Right For You?
While evaluating alternatives to GoCanvas, clearly define your business’s primary pain point to ensure a successful transition.
Is the core issue the high cost and lack of scalability due to the $49 per user minimum and rigid contracts? If so, go for platforms that offer transparent, per-user pricing and flexibility.
However, if your pain point stems from a missing feature or an inefficient field workflow, your choice must align with your main operational goal. For example, if your goal is to ensure compliance, run standardized safety audits, generate instant reports, and track issues to resolution, a dedicated inspection platform, like GoAudits, would be the most effective and affordable fit.
FAQs
GoCanvas is a SaaS platform that allows users to build mobile forms using a web-based, drag-and-drop builder. Field workers then use the GoCanvas mobile app on their smartphones or tablets to fill out these forms offline. Once an internet connection is restored, the collected data is synced to the cloud, processed, and often sent as a professional PDF report.
GoCanvas has a reputation for being relatively easy for field staff to use for data capture. However, some users report a steeper learning curve for administrators trying to build complex forms or fully customize the resulting field reports.
Several software platforms like GoAudits, TrueContext, GoFormz, Formstack, and Fulcrum offer offline data capture for field teams. They all allow data to be captured without a signal and then automatically sync when connectivity is restored.
Typically, the following steps are involved when switching from one mobile form app to a competitor service:
1. Identify a dedicated team within the competitor to assist with migration.
2. Prioritize and convert 3-5 of your most-used forms first.
3. Run a side-by-side pilot for a few weeks to ensure the new platform meets all requirements before full migration.
4. Export all historical data from your old platform before canceling the contract.
Some popular cloud-based paperless form apps include GoAudits, TrueContext, GoFormz, Formstack, and Fulcrum. They store data securely on cloud, allowing for real-time visibility, reporting, and integration with other cloud services like Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox.
Many field audit and inspection software companies offer customizable mobile inspection forms. For example, GoAudits has an extensive library of industry-specific checklists.






