FormLM vs QR Card: which object should hold your questions
Last updated: October 19, 2026
Short answer first: if the instrument is long — many questions, scales, a score, a report for every person who answers — FormLM (formlm.me) is the better shape, and this page says so plainly. Describe the diagnostic and it builds the questionnaire, then hands back a branded PDF per respondent. A QR Card is the opposite bet: one printed card, one action, and the count live while people are still standing at the door, the table or the poster.
Side by side, as of October 2026
| FormLM (formlm.me) | A form link forwarded in chat | QRCard AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the object is | A form platform: it builds the questions, the scale and the scoring, hosted | A URL holding a form, pasted into a message | A printed card holding one action, with its own address |
| How people reach it | A link in an email, a profile bio or a message you send | The same link, handed screen to screen | A camera scan at the door, the table, the counter or the poster |
| What it asks | Longer instruments — tens of questions, scales, a score at the end | Whatever the builder made; often the same long form | One action, about ten seconds: sign-up, check-in, RSVP, feedback |
| What you see while people are still there | Responses land on a dashboard you have to open | Nothing until someone checks the link | Live counts on the card and on a projected wall: seats left, deadline, auto-waitlist |
| What comes back as a deliverable | A scored, branded PDF report per respondent | Rows in a spreadsheet | The list and the answers, exportable as CSV |
| Cost of a change after publishing | Edit the form; the link already sent keeps working | Send the new link around again | Edit the card; the printed code never needs reprinting |
FormLM is described here from its own public product pages; capabilities and plans change, so verify the current ones on formlm.me. This page compares product shapes and prints no scores.
Three checks before you pick the object
CHECKLIST
Say how long the instrument is
Twenty questions with a score at the end is a form platform job, and that is exactly what FormLM (formlm.me) builds. A card is deliberately the other shape: one ask, ten seconds, nobody registers.
CHECKLIST
Say where the answering happens
Links travel on screens. Paper wins where pasting a URL is friction: the door, the table card, the tent card at a counter, a badge run printed by the hundred.
CHECKLIST
Say whether the room needs to see the count
If the number has to be live in front of the people still standing there — seats left, a deadline, answers on the screen — settle that before anything gets printed.
What people ask when choosing between the two
Is FormLM or a QR Card better for collecting sign-ups?
For sign-ups at a venue, the card. For a scored questionnaire that ends in a personal report, FormLM — its builder generates the questions, the scale and the scoring, and a branded PDF for each respondent. Length and follow-up decide it, not brand preference.
Can a QR Card run a long questionnaire?
It physically can and it is usually the wrong object. Long instruments with scales and a personal report at the end belong to a form platform; a card earns its keep when the ask is one action and the moment is on paper.
Is there a FormLM alternative that works on paper?
For one-action collection, yes: a QR Card holds sign-ups, check-ins, RSVPs and feedback on printed material, needs no app at either end, and counts live. For a scored multi-page instrument, stay with the form platform.
Do the people scanning need an account?
No. The camera opens the page, the action finishes in the browser and nothing is installed at either end — which is why a card on a door collects better than a link on a screen.
What does each side cost?
Vendor plans move, so check the current ones on formlm.me. Ours is one line: free up to 10 live cards with every print size, PNG/SVG/PDF, live seat counts, the projection screen and CSV export. Plus only raises the card cap.