Short answer: Google Forms is enough if you want a free, no-frills request form and don't mind clients signing in to Google to upload photos. Jotform is the better pick if you want tattoo templates, consent forms with e-signatures, and card deposits collected in the form. Inkkore makes sense if you want more than a form: one link with a tattoo request page, all requests tracked by status, and a private page where you and the client keep talking. It doesn't process payments.
Facts about each tool come from its official pages, checked on the date shown above (sources at the bottom). Disclosure: Inkkore publishes this page.
The comparison table
| Google Forms | Jotform | Inkkore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | General-purpose form builder | General-purpose form builder with tattoo templates | Tattoo request link and request inbox |
| Entry price | $0 with a personal Google account | Starter $0: 5 forms, 100 submissions/month | Free plan: published limit of 10 requests/month |
| Paid plans | Not needed for a basic form | Bronze $39/mo ($34/mo billed yearly), Silver $49/mo ($39), Gold $129/mo ($99) | Solo €49/mo, Studio €129/mo, billed in euros; 14-day trial |
| Reference photo uploads | Yes, but the client must sign in to a Google account to upload | Yes (100 MB total upload space on the free plan) | Yes, up to 5 photos in the default field, no account needed |
| Tattoo-specific setup | Build it yourself | Ready-made Tattoo Booking, Request and Appointment templates | Default tattoo form: project type, placement, optional budget, description, references; your own questions on the Solo plan and up |
| Payments / deposits | No payment feature listed by Google | Yes: 45+ payment gateways incl. PayPal and Stripe (free plan: 10 payment submissions/month) | No card payments. Deposit request paid directly to you (PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, bank transfer…), you confirm receipt; 0% commission, no client fees |
| Tracking requests | Response summary; export to Google Sheets | Submissions list; uploaded files reviewable | Pipeline by status (new, quoted, confirmed, declined), client records, search |
| Talking to the client | Outside the tool (email, DMs) | Outside the tool (email, DMs) | Private client page with chat; the client gets an email each time you reply |
| Public artist page | No (the form itself) | No (the form itself) | Yes: inkkore.com/yourname |
| Reminders | None listed | Automated email confirmations and reminders | Email reminder to the client the day before a scheduled session; no SMS |
| Consent forms | Build your own as a form (no e-signature feature listed) | Consent and waiver forms with digital signatures | Consent documents you write, sent to the client to sign online |
| Client languages | Whatever language you write the form in | Whatever language you write the form in | Request page available in 11 languages, including Spanish |
Prices as listed on October 23, 2026. Jotform shows separate monthly and yearly-billed prices. Google Forms' price comes from a secondary source because Google's product page doesn't state one.
When Google Forms is enough
Google Forms is a perfectly good choice when:
- You get a manageable number of requests and are happy reading them in a spreadsheet.
- You don't need photos, or you're fine with clients signing in to Google (or emailing references separately).
- You want zero cost, and you already have a Google account.
- You don't want a third-party tattoo tool and prefer something neutral.
Tip: if you don't want clients to hit a Google sign-in, leave out the upload question and ask them to email or DM their references after submitting.
What you give up: no payment collection, no reminders, no status tracking beyond what you add to the Sheet by hand, and every conversation happens somewhere else.
When Jotform is the better choice
Pick Jotform over Inkkore when:
- You want the deposit charged by card inside the form. Jotform connects to payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe. Inkkore doesn't process payments.
- You want consent and waiver forms with e-signatures from a form builder you can shape any way you like.
- You want automated email confirmations and reminders from the same tool.
- You like starting from a template and customizing every field and layout.
- You already use Jotform for other parts of your business.
Watch the free plan's limits (100 submissions and 10 payment submissions a month). And Jotform is still a form: the conversation, quote and scheduling happen elsewhere.
What Inkkore adds, and what it doesn't
Inkkore is not a form builder. It's a request page plus a place to work through each request. Compared with a generic form, it adds:
- A tattoo request page behind one link (inkkore.com/yourname). It asks for first and last name, email, phone, Instagram handle, project type, placement, an optional budget, a description and optional reference photos, with no Google account or sign-up for the client.
- Your own questions (Solo plan and up), plus an optional availability question that only offers the days and hours you actually work.
- A request pipeline by status, with a client record for each person and search.
- A private page for each client where you chat. The client doesn't create an account and gets an email when you reply.
- Next steps from the same thread: a quote they accept or decline (accepting sends your deposit request automatically), one to three time slots you offer for them to pick, and the deposit paid directly to you.
- An email reminder to the client the day before the session.
What Inkkore doesn't do:
- No payments. It can't charge a card, and you confirm deposits yourself.
- No self-booking. Clients pick from the slots you offer, not from an open calendar.
- No SMS reminders.
- No Instagram DM integration. You share the link.
- No automatic replies.
- No dedicated size field by default. Project type works as a size range, and you can add a custom question for measurements.
When neither is the right tool
If you want clients to book a slot and pay by card in one go, with text reminders, a form builder or an inquiry tool is the wrong category. Look at booking software instead. See tattoo booking software vs. inquiry management and the best tools by job to be done.
Questions worth putting in any of the three
Whatever tool you pick, these are the questions that save the most follow-up messages. If you're building the form yourself, the second column gives the matching question type in Google Forms (Jotform has equivalents):
| Question | Google Forms question type |
|---|---|
| What's your idea? (A few sentences is perfect.) | Paragraph |
| Where on your body? | Short answer, or multiple choice with "Other" |
| Roughly how big? (Small, palm-sized, half sleeve… or inches if you know.) | Multiple choice |
| Color or black and grey? | Multiple choice (skip it if you only do one) |
| Any reference photos? (Optional.) | File upload (requires a Google sign-in), or ask for them by email or DM |
| Budget range (optional, helps me suggest what fits) | Multiple choice with ranges |
| When are you usually free? (Days, mornings or evenings.) | Checkboxes |
| Is this your first tattoo? | Multiple choice (yes / no) |
| Name, email, phone, Instagram handle | Short answer |
Why each question matters, plus statuses and reply templates: How to organize tattoo inquiries.