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Orbeon Forms
What it is
Orbeon Forms manages web forms from design and testing through publication, data capture, validation, and submission. Form Builder supports validation, visibility and editability rules, calculations, repeating sections and grids, and multi-page forms. Forms can collect attachments and produce PDF and Excel files. The software runs on-premises or in the cloud inside a Java servlet container. Integrations include Liferay, server-side and JavaScript embedding, React and Angular components through JavaScript APIs, plus HTTP and database service endpoints. Supported databases include Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and DB2, with an API for other backends. Selected fields can be encrypted at rest and in transit through the persistence API, but the search API cannot search encrypted fields or return decrypted values. Orbeon offers approval workflows, conditional routing, webhooks or an API, and self-hosted deployment. The Community Edition is free and open source; paid PE plans start at $1,300 per server per year, with a 90-day trial.
For and against
For
- Validation and conditional form rules
- Attachments plus PDF and Excel output
- On-premises or cloud deployment
- Approval workflows and conditional routing
- Free Community Edition
Against
- Paid plans start at $1,300 per server yearly
- Encrypted fields cannot be searched
- Subscriptions are priced per physical server
- Cloud virtual machines may require separate subscriptions
The verdict
Orbeon Forms offers broad form lifecycle controls, deployment choices, integrations, and workflow features. Buyers should compare Community Edition capabilities with paid support needs and understand the encrypted-field search limitation.
Who it suits
Orbeon Forms suits organizations building, publishing, and routing data-rich web forms. It is relevant to teams needing self-hosting, database integrations, approval workflows, or conditional routing.
Plans and prices
Community Edition (CE)
Open-source use · evaluation · development · self-supported deployments
Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
PE Basic
PE features · 1-year license · Dev, QA, staging · 2 incidents
Read 15 Oct 2026 · orbeon.com
PE Silver
PE features · production · unlimited incidents · 1-business-day response
Read 15 Oct 2026 · orbeon.com
PE Gold
PE features · production · unlimited incidents · 4-business-hour response
Read 15 Oct 2026 · orbeon.com
On the record
- API coverage
- Documented APIs include CRUD, search, attachments, metadata, discovery, caching, versioning, leases, reindexing, revision history, ZIP export, JavaScript embedding, Java embedding, PDF, publishing, remote servers, and background processing.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company facts
- LinkedIn lists Orbeon, Inc. as privately held, founded in 1999, with 2–10 employees and a software-development focus.linkedin.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company history
- An Orbeon announcement says the company was founded in 1999 and delivers and supports Orbeon Forms.orbeon.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Company product description
- LinkedIn describes Orbeon Forms as software for creating, publishing, versioning, and running complex on-premises forms with access rights, PDF and Excel output, and attachments.linkedin.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Custom persistence
- A custom persistence layer can be implemented as REST services in any technology and configured without recompiling Orbeon Forms.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Data and documents
- The product can collect form data with attachments and produce PDF and Excel files.orbeon.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Database support
- Official pages list Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, DB2, SQLite, and custom persistence providers.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Orbeon Forms can run on-premises or in the cloud, and its server runs within a Java servlet container.orbeon.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Documentation and support
- Support resources include comprehensive documentation, a forum, Stack Overflow, Google Groups, commercial support, and development-support plans.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Encryption limitation
- The documentation says the search API cannot search encrypted fields or return their decrypted values.doc.orbeon.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Excel exchange
- Orbeon Forms supports Excel import and export, including row-by-row import.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Form Builder
- Form Builder is a browser-based visual designer with grid layouts, controls, validation, calculations, localization, and service actions.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Form building
- Form Builder supports validation, visibility and editability rules, calculations, repeating sections and grids, and multi-page forms.orbeon.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Form Runner
- Form Runner is the runtime that presents forms, manages definitions and data, and handles search, validation, saving, importing, and exporting.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Free trial
- A free PE trial license is available for local development on a developer's laptop or workstation, is valid for 90 days, and can be renewed by obtaining another trial license.orbeon.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Government compliance
- Orbeon states support for WCAG 2.1 AA, Section 508, GDPR-oriented retention controls, Friendly Captcha, and customer-controlled data location.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Hardware guidance
- Recommended starting hardware is a recent four-core-or-better Intel Xeon or Core i7-class CPU and at least 4 GB JVM RAM.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Installation requirements
- Server installation requires a Java runtime and a Servlet 2.5-or-newer container such as Apache Tomcat.doc.orbeon.com · read 15 Oct 2026
