Formidable Forms vs Gravity Forms
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Quick verdict: Pick Formidable Forms if you want to start free, but choose Gravity Forms if you're on WordPress and need payments, automation, and add-ons together.
Best for: WordPress agencies and freelancers shipping many client sites per year who need reusable forms, calculators, and data-driven listings across projects., Small businesses that want self-service tools on their site — instant quotes, registrations, applications — without paying a developer for custom code.
Read the full Formidable Forms reviewBest for: WordPress site owners who need more than a basic contact form, Freelancers and agencies building client sites on WordPress
Read the full Gravity Forms reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Formidable Forms vs Gravity Forms: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Formidable Forms if
- You need flexible billing: monthly, yearly, one-time, or usage-based.
- You're testing form builders before spending anything.
Choose Gravity Forms if
- You want forms, payments, and automation inside WordPress.
- You rely on add-ons like Stripe, Zapier, Mailchimp, or HubSpot.
- You manage many sites and want unlimited-site Elite coverage.
Formidable Forms vs Gravity Forms: pros and cons
Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms goes beyond contact forms with multi-page flows, live calculations, and Views that publish submissions as directories or listings, all stored in your own WordPress database. The catch is that its best features are paid, and advanced setups take more work than simpler plugins. Overall, it's a strong pick for WordPress users who need forms that do real work.
Pros
- Goes beyond basic contact forms — multi-page flows, conditional logic, and calculated fields let one plugin handle applications, quotes, and registrations.
- Views turn submitted entries into live pages, tables, and directories — a capability most competing form plugins simply do not have.
- Form data stays in your own WordPress database rather than a vendor's cloud, which fits neatly into existing backup and compliance routines.
Cons
- The features that justify the platform positioning — Views, advanced fields, payment and marketing integrations — sit behind paid tiers, so the free plan is essentially a trial of the core builder.
- The pricing range tops out near $28,000 per year for the largest agency-level licenses, a serious line item compared with simpler form plugins.
- The breadth of options carries a learning curve; building calculated or multi-page forms takes noticeably more setup than a bare-bones contact plugin.
Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms bundles a visual form builder, payments, and workflow automation inside WordPress, with annual plans from $59 to $259. It's powerful and clearly priced, but there's no free trial, payments need the Pro tier, and it only runs on WordPress. Overall, it's a solid, recommendable pick for serious WordPress sites.
Pros
- Visual drag-and-drop form editor works entirely inside your WordPress dashboard, so you can build contact, payment, or survey forms without touching code
- Payment collection is built in—Stripe, Square, PayPal Checkout, and Mollie add-ons let you handle registrations, subscriptions, donations, and product sales in the same plugin as your forms
- Conditional logic shows or hides fields, sections, and entire pages based on user selections, keeping long or complex forms short and relevant for each visitor
Cons
- There is no free plan or free trial—licenses start at $59/year, and a fully functional online demo is the only way to test before buying
- Payment add-ons like Stripe and Square, plus automation tools like Zapier and Slack, are locked behind the $159/year Pro plan, so budget-conscious single-site owners can't collect payments on the Basic tier
- Priority support is reserved for the Elite plan; Basic and Pro users get standard ticket and email support with no published response-time guarantees
Formidable Forms and Gravity Forms in detail
Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms is a WordPress plugin for building forms of any complexity through a drag-and-drop interface. Basic use cases include contact, registration, and survey forms; advanced use cases include multi-page applications, conditional question flows, and forms that perform live calculations such as quotes or cost estimates. Beyond collection, the plugin can display submitted data on the front end of your site, so a form becomes the front door to a directory, listing page, or member-generated content. Everything runs inside your WordPress install, with entries stored in your own database.
Standout features
- Drag-and-Drop Form Builder with Templates
- Multi-Page Forms and Conditional Logic
- Views: Turning Entries into Site Content
- Integrations and Data Control
Use cases
- Contact Forms and Lead Capture
- Multi-Step Applications and Intake Forms
- Directories, Listings, and User-Generated Content
- Surveys, Polls, and Quizzes
Gravity Forms
Gravity Forms is a premium WordPress plugin for building custom web forms. It's aimed at freelancers, agencies, teams, and businesses running on WordPress. You can capture leads, collect payments like donations or subscriptions, and automate workflows. Plans scale from a single site to unlimited sites, so it fits solo owners and larger operations alike.
Standout features
- Build Forms Visually, No Code Required
- Smarter Forms with Conditional Logic
- Collect Payments in the Same Place
- Automate the Work After Submit
- Secure Data and Easy File Uploads
Use cases
- Capture Leads Without Code
- Collect Payments in One Place
- Automate the Busywork
- Manage Client Sites at Scale
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Formidable Forms | Gravity Forms |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $6.58/mo Basic | $4.92/mo Basic License |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | — |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | $6.58/mo Basic plan, billed annually | $4.92/moCheaper Basic License plan, billed annually |
| Cost for 5 users | $6.58/mo Basic plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) | $4.92/mo Basic License plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | $6.58/mo Basic plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) | $4.92/mo Basic License plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | $6.58/mo Basic plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) | $4.92/mo Basic License plan, billed annually · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 5 | 3 |
| Prices checked | Checked Oct 13, 2026 | Checked Oct 12, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 1 user (billed annually), Gravity Forms costs $4.92/mo vs Formidable Forms at $6.58/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.