Web forms are a must for your WordPress website, allowing you to collect leads, receive support tickets, process payments, scale your email marketing list, accept event registrations, and more. Without forms, engaging and communicating with consumers becomes a massive challenge. If you’re reading this post, you probably already know all of this — and that’s why you’re searching for the best form builder for WordPress.
The Best Form Builder for WordPress: A Comparison
Can you build forms in WordPress from scratch? Of course. But why spend so much time and effort when you can use a plugin? Let’s explore which form builder is best in WordPress. Below are some of the most popular and user-friendly form plugins. Review them all, then make the best choice for your website. (Some of them, like Ninja Forms, are even free!)
Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms simplifies form building with a drag-and-drop design plus ready-to-use templates. Anyone, not just developers, can create beautiful, responsive forms in minutes. Ninja Forms is available for WordPress.org and WordPress.com users, and the forms blend beautifully with any theme. The plugin also offers many features and add-ons.
Ninja Forms Features/Add-Ons
Ninja Forms is free, and it includes a great set of features that many competitors charge for, including:
- Unlimited forms, submissions, and sites
- Editable templates
- Theme matching
- Customizable emails
- Spam protection
- Dedicated support
You can also take your Ninja Forms to the next level. Premium plans grant you access to more advanced features and many incredible integrations. Premium offerings include:
- Conditional logic
- Multi-step forms
- Save progress
- Priority support
- Payments with PayPal, Stripe, and more
- Email marketing with Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and more
- CRM integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and more
Ninja Forms Pricing
As mentioned, this is a freemium plugin. Depending on the features you need, choose from these plans:
- Core: FREE forever!
- Plus: $99/year
- Pro: $199/year
- Elite: $499/year
Ninja Forms also has a unique individual add-on model. If the free contact form is enough, but you’d also like an email marketing integration, purchase that add-on without committing to a premium plan. Flexibility unlocked!
WPForms
WPForms is another drag-and-drop form builder for WordPress. It’s easy to use and includes many templates — edit them to your liking or use them right out of the box. It’s also developer-friendly, with customizable HTML, CSS, hooks, and filters.
WPForms Features/Add-Ons
This is a freemium form builder for WordPress. WPForms Lite packs the basic features for simple contact and payment forms, supporting unlimited sites, forms, and responses. You can also purchase a premium plan to take advantage of features like:
- Advanced form fields
- Field validation
- Conditional logic
- Form notifications
- Custom thank-you pages
- Payment processing, email, CRM, and other workflow tools
WPForms Pricing
Besides WPForms Lite (free), this plugin has four paid plans:
- Basic: $49.50/year
- Plus: $89.55/year
- Pro: $159.60/year
- Elite: $179.70/year
Unlike Ninja Forms, WPForms does not offer individual add-ons. You must purchase a premium plan to access advanced features or integrations. Additionally, Ninja Forms offers priority support to ALL plan holders, while WPForms reserves its best support for its highest plans.
Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is another consideration if you’re looking for the best form builder for WordPress. This plugin is a scalable solution, allowing users to create everything from simple contact forms to advanced forms with merge tags, custom CSS, paginated layouts, and more. Beginners can choose a ready-made template, while developers can harness an extensive API.
Gravity Forms Features/Add-Ons
This plugin has many features that support form building, data collection, eCommerce, security, and web development. These are just a few of the options:
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- 30+ form fields
- Quizzes and polls
- Digital signatures
- Automated payments
- Anti-spam technology
- Conditional pricing
- A selection of third-party add-ons for CRM, email, and more
Gravity Forms Pricing
Gravity Forms does not have a free plugin. To take advantage of their incredible feature set, you’ll need to purchase one of three licenses:
- Basic license: $59/year
- Pro license: $159/year
- Elite license: $259/year
Gravity Forms does not offer individual add-ons like Ninja Forms. You must purchase the full license. Still, this plugin has many useful features and functionalities, so that it may suit those looking for a powerful form builder.
Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 is one of the original WordPress form tools. It’s been around for a long time and has many active installations. Contact Form 7 is unique compared to the other form plugins discussed in this article. It’s an open-source software, which means users have total control over their customizations. You’ll need some basic technical knowledge to use Contact Form 7. (For example, working with tags and shortcodes to build or customize a form.)
Contact Form 7 Features/Add-Ons
Contact Form 7 supports a few basic features, including various field types, CAPTCHA, quizzes, and more. The plugin is generally best for those who only need simple forms.
To create a more robust form, you’ll need a third-party add-on. Contact Form 7 offers direct integrations with Brevo, Constant Contact, Stripe, and Google reCAPTCHA.
Contact Form 7 Pricing
As an open-source tool, Contact Form 7 is 100% free and has no paid plans. The developers do accept donations, which help them continually improve and update the software.
It’s a great solution if you have basic needs, aren’t afraid to dig into some code, and prefer complete developer-level control. If you’d rather try a more user-friendly free-form builder, Ninja Forms is better for non-techies.
Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms is among the best form builders for WordPress due to its user-friendliness and feature-rich offerings. This plugin suits many user needs, from simple contact forms to complex, ultra-dynamic payment forms. Beginners can use templates or the drag-and-drop builder, while more advanced users can customize forms through hooks, HTML, and CSS.
Formidable Forms Features/Add-Ons
Building and styling in Formidable Forms is easy with features like conditional logic, polls and surveys, radio buttons, and conversational forms. Other features support lead generation, payments, marketing, and more:
- Geolocation
- Digital signatures
- Front-end editing
- Autocomplete fields
- Integrations with Stripe, PayPal, MailChimp, Salesforce, and more
- WooCommerce compatibility
While Formidable Forms doesn’t have as many native integrations as Ninja Forms, its features are still impressive.
Formidable Forms Pricing
This plugin has a free Lite version (with basic features) along with four premium plans:
- Basic: $39.50/year
- Plus: $99.50/year
- Business: $199.50/year
- Elite: $299.50/year
However, be aware that Formidable Forms does not offer support to free users (another Ninja Forms win!).
Google Forms
Did you know that Google Workspace includes a form builder? Google Forms is a simple tool often used by educators and employers to collect data in a streamlined way. It’s free (to an extent) and very simple to use. Google Forms is not a WordPress plugin. To add a form to your WordPress website, you must embed an external code, which can slow your site’s performance.
Google Forms Features
It’s worth repeating: This is a simple tool. Google Forms works fine if you need a basic survey or contact form. But the service has minimal features otherwise. Payments, file uploads, and email notifications all present particular challenges in Google Forms. Design is limited as well, so you won’t be able to match your theme cohesively.
Google Forms Pricing
Google Forms has a free plan that includes 15 GB of cloud storage. The Business Standard plan costs $12/month and includes more storage and features.
But, considering the lack of features, you’re probably better off using the free or Lite version of one of the other form builder plugins in this article, like Ninja Forms or Formidable Forms.
Jotform
The final form builder for WordPress under consideration is Jotform. Like Ninja Forms, Jotform has a drag-and-drop interface and lots of features. The form builder is just one of Jotform’s extensive suite of tools: Jotform Tables, Apps, Report Builder, PDF Editor, etc. If your business is growing or has many workflow needs, Jotform may be an ideal solution.
Jotform Features/Add-Ons
Jotform has outstanding features and integrations. Users can create dynamic, powerful payment forms with conditional logic, answer piping, e-signatures, etc. Plus, there’s no shortage of third-party add-ons. Jotform offers these and more:
- Save and continue
- Form translation
- Offline forms
- ACH and credit card payments
- Google Analytics tracking
- Form submission management
- Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot integrations
- Support for recurring payments and donations
Jotform Pricing
This is a freemium plugin with a no-cost starter plan plus three premium plans:
- Starter: Free (5 forms)
- Bronze: $39/month (25 forms)
- Silver: $49/month (50 forms)
- Gold: $129/month (100 forms)
Jotform does things differently than Ninja Forms and other form builders. Instead of offering more features in higher plans, they include ALL features in every plan (even the free Starter plan) while restricting the number of form creations, views, and submissions.
Jotform is on the expensive side, but if you only need a few forms and don’t anticipate hundreds of submissions each month, access to all features is a nice perk.
The Title of Best Form Builder For WordPress Goes to…
Which plugin is best for forms in WordPress? Ninja Forms! While all of the form builders explored in this article have their benefits, Ninja Forms comes out on top in several ways:
- WPForms: No individual add-ons, making Ninja Forms a great free alternative to WPForms. Enhance the core experience without having to purchase a premium plan.
- Gravity Forms: Does not offer a free plan, while Ninja Forms does.
- Contact Form 7: Less user-friendly with fewer features and integrations than Ninja Forms.
- Formidable Forms: Fewer native integrations than Ninja Forms; no dedicated support for free users.
- Google Forms: Limited features and functionality; not as compatible with WordPress.
- Jotform: More expensive than Ninja Forms and has restrictions on form builds, views, and submissions.
Give Ninja Forms a chance by downloading the core plugin and creating a free form in WordPress today. Plus, if you upgrade to a premium plan, Ninja Forms offers a 14-day money-back guarantee. There’s no risk to taking advantage of these rewards.
