Zoho Forms added Spotlight forms in May 2026: every field sits on one scrollable page while focus follows the scroll. SharaForms has built its whole product around that same idea, and it keeps two practical advantages: the spotlight view is a switch you flip on any form rather than a separate form type, and the free plan carries no limits on forms or submissions.
What Zoho’s Spotlight form does
Zoho introduced Spotlight forms on May 29, 2026 as a third form type next to Standard and Card. The concept matches what SharaForms has shipped from the start: all fields live on a single page, the field in focus gets highlighted while surrounding fields dim, and respondents scroll back up to review earlier answers without pressing a back button. There is no welcome page, so people start answering immediately.
- Every field stays visible on one page, so total effort is never hidden.
- Focus shifts automatically as the respondent scrolls.
- Scrolling replaces Next and Previous buttons entirely.
- It joins Zoho’s lineup as a distinct form type, chosen per form alongside Standard and Card.
Where the two spotlight experiences differ
Both products share the core idea, so the honest differences show up in how answered questions behave and how much the layout is locked in.
| Behavior | Zoho Spotlight | SharaForms Spotlight |
|---|---|---|
| Page structure | One scrollable page | One page built as a card stack |
| How focus moves | Scroll position picks the active field | Answers advance the active card, with arrows and auto-advance on by default |
| Answered questions | Stay full size and dimmed | Collapse into compact checkmarked cards you can tap to reopen |
| Choice questions | Standard field inputs | Large tap-target cards for selects, multi selects, and checkboxes |
| Layout changes | Spotlight is a separate form type | Classic, Focused, and Spotlight are settings on the same form |
The collapse behavior matters more than it sounds. On a fifteen question form, Zoho respondents scroll past a wall of dimmed fields they have already answered. SharaForms shrinks each finished answer into a small checkmarked card, so the page gets shorter as people progress and the active question is always the biggest thing on screen. Finished questions stay one tap away for corrections.
The pricing gap that decides it for most teams
Feature lists rarely close a decision; limits do. Zoho Forms’ free plan covers one user, three forms, and 500 submissions per month. That is workable for evaluation but tight for anything real: a contact page, a newsletter signup, and one survey exhaust the allocation. Paid Zoho tiers scale by monthly submission volume, so every response you receive has a price attached.
SharaForms includes Spotlight, Classic, and Focused modes on every plan, and the free plan puts no ceiling on forms or submissions. Run spotlight on your contact page, your survey, your order form, and every template you copy, and the bill stays at zero. Built-in calculations, conditional logic, signature capture, and PDF generation ride along on the free plan too.
What Zoho genuinely does well
Comparisons help you most when they stay honest. Zoho Forms is a mature product with real strengths:
- Deep integration with the Zoho ecosystem, including CRM, Desk, and Zoho One bundles.
- Mobile apps built for field work, including offline data collection.
- Enterprise-grade admin, reporting, and support from a large, established company.
If your company already runs Zoho One across every department, keeping form data inside that ecosystem has practical value. SharaForms connects through webhooks, Zapier, and a REST API instead, which covers most destinations but will not feel as native as a same-vendor pipeline.
Which one to pick
Choose SharaForms when you want spotlight as your default form experience, expect volume, or dislike per-response pricing. You keep the freedom to flip any form into Classic steps or Focused one-at-a-time screens later, which helps when a survey underperforms and you suspect the layout. Choose Zoho when your operations already live inside Zoho apps and your form volume fits comfortably within a paid tier.
Templates to start from
Frequently asked questions
- Does Zoho Forms have spotlight forms?
- Yes. Zoho Forms introduced Spotlight forms in May 2026 as a third form type alongside Standard and Card. Fields sit on one scrollable page and focus shifts to whichever field the respondent scrolls to. SharaForms has offered the same core experience since launch, along with Classic and Focused modes on the same form.
- Is spotlight mode included on the SharaForms free plan?
- Yes. Every SharaForms plan includes all three presentation modes, and the free plan has no cap on forms or submissions. Zoho’s free plan covers three forms and 500 submissions per month with one user, so heavier usage moves to paid tiers there. On SharaForms you can run spotlight on every form you ever publish.
- Can I change layouts without rebuilding my form?
- In SharaForms, yes. Classic, Focused, and Spotlight are presentation settings on one form, so you can flip between them whenever you like and your fields, logic, and responses stay untouched. In Zoho, Spotlight is a separate form type you pick when creating, so plan your choice there before you build.
- Which builder handles high submission volume for free?
- SharaForms. The free plan carries no submission cap, so a form linked from a viral post or a busy season keeps collecting. Zoho’s free tier stops at 500 submissions per month and its paid plans are priced by monthly volume, so cost scales with every response you receive.
Put this to work on a real form
Free plan, unlimited forms and submissions, all three presentation modes included.
