The 6 Best WordPress Form Builder Plugins Compared (2024)

A well‑designed form can help your website visitors reach out to you, generate new leads, and grow your email list. While you can add forms to your website by writing code, most WordPress website owners use a WordPress form builder to take care of this task. But, with a search for ‘forms’ on the WordPress plugin directory retrieving hundreds of results, it can be challenging to know which is the best option for yoursite.

To help, we’ve put together this essential guide to WordPress form builders, which will assist you in deciding on the best WordPress form plugin for your site. We’ll explore the key features any good WordPress form builder plugin should have, look at seven of the top choices, and answer all of your burning questions about WordPress forms. Let’s divein!

What features should a quality form builderhave?

While each WordPress form plugin offers different features, here are some that all shouldinclude:

An integration with Akismet to blockspam

Sadly, online forms are a target for bots that attempt to flood your site (and email inbox) with contact form spam submissions, which can leave you wading through a sea of spam to find one genuine entry from yourvisitors.

This makes it essential that your WordPress form plugin defends against spam, and Akismet is the gold‑standard spam protection for WordPress. The service has blocked an astonishing 545,500,000,000+ pieces of spam todate.

Akismet gets to work silently in the background and protects your forms from spam without requiring any form of CAPTCHA or manual user input. Instead, it uses advanced AI technology and one of the world’s largest anti-spam databases to filter out WordPress form spam. It does all of this with more than 99.9% accuracy.

The great news is that most leading WordPress form builders offer an integration with Akismet, so you can easily guard your forms with the best WordPress spam protection available.

Customization options

Consistency is key when it comes to branding and the visual appearance of your site. A quality WordPress form builder should allow you to easily modify the colors, fonts, and layouts of your forms, so they reflect your brand’s style and blend seamlessly into the overall design of yoursite.

Templates for common formtypes

Most modern form plugins try to simplify the creation process with a drag-and-drop builder, but it can still take time to add and configure and style exactly what you need.

To help, some solutions offer a range of templates or patterns covering common form types, which act as a great foundation while allowing you the flexibility to adjust and customize asneeded.

Notification settings

Your form builder lets you decide what happens after a visitor clicks submit on your form. For example, do they go to a “thank you” page, see a confirmation message, or get a copy of their submission viaemail?

For most types of forms, you’ll also want to ensure that you or a member of your team is promptly notified of new form submissions. So it’s important to check out the notification options offered by each WordPress form builder.

Most plugins will provide a range of options that allow you to configure the emails you receive each time a form is submitted, as well as choose if you want to send your data to any third‑party services or store the data in your WordPressdatabase.

A review of the best form plugins forWordPress

1. JetpackForms

Jetpack Forms is one of the best WordPress form builders. It works from within the WordPress block editor, making it easy to add forms to any post or page on yoursite.

Jetpack Forms comes with a large set of patterns that allow you to quickly create common form types, including a basic contact form and registration and feedback forms. You can also build your own from scratch using the handy drag‑and‑drop builder, which allows you to select from a wide range of fieldtypes.

Jetpack’s innovative AI assistant can also be used to help you effortlessly create advanced forms. Just describe the type of form you want, and Jetpack AI will get to work creating it. And you can use the AI Assistant to edit your existing forms. For example, you can ask it to autopopulate a country drop-down, or to add a field for event attendees to let you know their dietary requirements.

You can use Jetpack Forms to create as many forms as you need and capture unlimited responses. You can also configure email notifications for each one, which are sent using the native WordPress email function.

All form responses are stored in the “feedback” menu of your WordPress dashboard, and you can export them straight to Google Sheets or download them as a CSV file for further analysis. Jetpack Forms also integrates with several popular services, including Jetpack CRM for contact management and Creative Mail for emailmarketing.

Jetpack is a free WordPress form plugin that lets you match your site’s design and branding by selecting the background and text color for the block and submit button. You can make form fields mandatory to ensure that you’re collecting the information you need from each visitor, configure a custom confirmation message, or redirect users to a “thank you”page.

Jetpack Forms helps keep form spam at bay with a powerful two‑pronged approach. First, all forms contain a honeypot field, which is designed to trick bots and prevent them from submitting your form in the first place. Jetpack Forms also works seamlessly with Akismet to add invisible AI‑powered spam detection to your site, scan all form submissions to identify spam, and ensure that you only get notified about genuine formsubmissions.

Like Akismet, Jetpack Forms was built by the team behind WordPress.com, so you know that it’s a powerful and safe WordPress form builder designed for ease of use. It’s considered one of the best WordPress form plugins available.

Key features of JetpackForms:

• The ability to create forms from within the WordPresseditor
• A range of templatesprovided
• A drag‑and‑drop formbuilder
• Integration with Akismet for powerful spamfiltering
• A range of field types including text, date picker, drop‑down, checkbox, and radiobuttons
• AI‑powered formcreation
• Mobile responsivedesigns
• Unlimited forms andsubmissions
• Configurable emailnotifications
• Integration with CRM and email marketingservices
• Google Sheetsintegration
• Customizable actions upon formsubmission

Pros of JetpackForms:

• Jetpack Forms offers a range of powerful features that allow you to create custom forms for free from within the WordPresseditor.
• The Jetpack form builder works perfectly with Akismet to catch any spam formsubmissions.
• Jetpack Forms is part of the wider Jetpack plugin, which offers a range of useful site management, performance, and securityfeatures.

Cons of JetpackForms:

• Jetpack Forms is designed to meet the needs of the average WordPress site owner, so it doesn’t have some specialty features, such as multipage forms, that are found in many paid WordPress form builderplugins.

Ease ofuse:

Jetpack Forms has a simple visual form builder that works within the WordPress editor. It’s simple to configure your form settings, actions, and design. Plus, patterns and AI-powered tools make it quick and easy to create the perfect form for your needs.

Detailed documentation is available, and you can also access email support from Jetpack’s Happiness Engineers.

Pricing:

Jetpack Forms is part of the Jetpack plugin, which is free to download from the WordPress plugin directory. Jetpack’s AI Assistant offers 20 free requests, with unlimited requests (for both forms and the many other features offered by Jetpack AI) available for about $8 permonth.

2. WPForms

WPForms is a popular plugin for WordPress that helps you create a wide range of forms for yoursite.

Like most plugins in this list, WPForms is built around an intuitive drag‑and‑drop builder, and offers a range of templates for some of the most popular form types. Once you’ve created your form, you can embed it in any post or page using the WPForms block and tailor its appearance to match your site’sbranding.

This WordPress form plugin offers full control over what you do with the data you collect, including the option to send all form submissions by email or store the entries in your database.

Premium versions of WPForms offer integrations with popular email and CRM services, including Mailchimp and Salesforce, along with payment gateways which allow you to create paymentforms.

All versions of WPForms integrate with Akismet so that you can keep form entry spam at bay with the leading spam detection plugin for WordPress.

Key features ofWPForms:

• Integration with Akismet to protect your forms fromspam
• Pre‑made templates for common formtypes
• A drag‑and‑drop formbuilder
• Support for custom fieldtypes
• Multipage forms
• Mobile responsiveforms
• Unlimited forms andsubmissions
• Advanced customization options, including Webhook support(Pro)
• Integrations with popular CRM and email marketing services(Pro)
• Email notifications for formentries
• A wide range of field types, including fileupload
• The ability to accept payments(Pro)
• Form abandonment notifications(Pro)
• Support for a range of complex forms, including surveys, ratings, and polls(Pro)

Pros ofWPForms:

• WPForms uses a drag‑and‑drop interface that simplifies building forms and changing formsettings.
• WPForms’ premium versions make it possible to use forms to accomplish tasks that go beyond a traditional contact form, including taking payments and creatingposts.

Cons ofWPForms:

• WPForms does not allow you to create forms from within the WordPresseditor.
• Some features of WPForms, including advanced field types and integrations with email or CRM systems, are only available in premium versions of theplugin.

Ease ofuse:

WPForms’ drag‑and‑drop interface makes the plugin easy to use. Comprehensive documentation is available, and email support is offered for premiumcustomers.

Pricing:

WPForms Light is available in the WordPress plugin directory and allows you to create basic forms for free. Several different premium versions of WPForms are available, which range from the Basic plan at $499 a year to the Elite plan, which unlocks all features, for $599.50 ayear.

3. GravityForms

Gravity Forms is a well‑known premium form plugin for WordPress that offers a range of advancedfeatures.

Like many WordPress form plugins, Gravity Forms allows you to create forms without any programming knowledge using a drag-and-drop interface.

You can include 30 different field types within your forms to build almost any type — create contact forms, quizzes, surveys, and even user registration forms.

Gravity Forms offers various field types, along with features that allow you to create in a range of styles, including conversational forms or multipage forms. The plugin integrates with many popular services, like email marketing programs, CRM systems, and paymentgateways.

Gravity Forms also helps you keep your submissions spam‑free by integrating with Akismet, meaning you can benefit from world‑class AI‑powered spam protection on all the forms on yoursite.

Key features of GravityForms:

• A visual formbuilder
• Akismet‑powered spamprotection
• Integrations with external services, including email automation tools and paymentprocessors
• Customizable notifications, emails, and on‑submitactions
• The ability to register users and update profiles through registrationforms
• Support for quizzes, polls, andsurveys
• Conditional logic
• A variety of fieldtypes
• Form response analyticstools
• Responsive forms
• Multipage forms
• Conversational styleforms
• Support for mergetags
• Hooks and functions, which allow developers to expand pluginfunctionality

Pros of GravityForms:

• Gravity Forms allows you to create advanced forms using a simple drag-and-drop interface and easily integrates with a range of external services.
• There are a wide variety of add‑ons that can expand upon the plugin’s functionality without needing to hire adeveloper.

Cons of GravityForms:

• Many form appearance settings can only be customized by using custom CSS or a third‑partyplugin.
• Unlike the other WordPress form plugins on this list, Gravity Forms does not offer a freeversion.

Ease ofuse:

While Gravity Forms has a drag‑and‑drop form builder, the number of advanced integrations and settings may be confusing if you’re only looking to create simple forms. A comprehensive knowledge base is available, and all users benefit from emailsupport.

Pricing:

Gravity Forms has a range of pricing plans, each of which activates more features and integrations. Plans vary. The Basic plan starts at $59 a year and the Elite plan, which enables all features and integrations, is $259 a year. The anti‑spam integration with Akismet is available on allplans.

4. NinjaForms

Ninja Forms is a popular WordPress form builder that offers a basic, free version alongside a range of premiumadd‑ons.

Ninja Forms’ free version allows you to create simple forms using a drag‑and‑dropform

builder. The plugin contains a number of templates, or you can select from over 27 different field types to create the perfect custom form for your site. Like all plugins on this list, Ninja Forms allows you to create an unlimited number of forms and places no limit on the number of submissions you canreceive.

Ninja Forms offers several different options for notifications, and it allows you to display custom confirmation messages to your users or redirect them to a different page on your site. You can protect any form you create against spam, thanks to its Akismetintegration.

The functionality of Ninja Forms can be extended through a large number of official add‑ons, which allow you to add features such as user registration, payment integration, conditional logic, and multistepforms.

Key features of NinjaForms:

• Pre‑built formtemplates
• A drag‑and‑drop formbuilder
• 27+ fieldtypes
• Form customizationoptions
• Spam management withAkismet
• Ajax formsubmissions
• Conditional logic(pro)
• Webhook support(pro)
• Front‑end post submissions(pro)
• The ability to create user registration and management forms(pro)
• File uploads(pro)
• Form analytics(pro)
• Integrations with popular email and CRM services(pro)
• PayPal and Stripe payment integrations(pro)
• Hooks and filters, which enable developers to extend functionality

Pros of NinjaForms:

• Ninja Forms automatically uses the colors and fonts from your WordPress theme to help your forms match the look and feel of the rest of your site without the need to useCSS.
• The add‑on system that Ninja Forms uses allows you to only pay for the additional features youneed.

Cons of NinjaForms:

• While you can guard against form submission spam using the Akismet integration, this has to be enabled by adding the Akismet action and selecting the field you wish to protect on each form youcreate.

Ease ofuse:

The drag‑and‑drop builder and simple configuration options offered by Ninja Forms make the plugin generally easy to use. Adding Akismet protection requires several additional steps compared to some other plugins in this list. This may be more complicated than necessary if you just want to create a simple WordPress contact form that’s protected fromspam.

A help center is provided for all users, as is support through the plugin’s WordPress support forum. Users with a Ninja Forms membership plan can also access emailsupport.

Pricing:

Ninja Forms has a free version available on the WordPress plugin directory, which allows you to create basic forms. Various paid add‑ons are available to extend the plugin’s functionality for $49 each. Membership plans are also available, ranging from $99 – $299 a year, each of which includes a selection of add‑ons and access to premiumsupport.

5. Contact Form7

Contact Form 7 was one of the first free contact form plugins created for WordPress. You can use Contact Form 7 to create basic WordPress contact forms or more advanced forms with a range of field types like text boxes, check boxes, drop‑downs, file uploads, and dates. You can also set fields as required to help ensure your form submissions aren’t missing essentialinformation.

You’re able to protect fields on any form you create against spam, thanks to Contact Form 7’s Akismet integration. Contact Form 7 allows you to configure the email notifications you receive for each form, as well as set custom confirmation messages displayed to users when they submit yourform.

Key features of Contact Form7:

• The ability to create unlimitedforms
• Unlimited submissions
• Email notifications on formsubmission
• Support for fileuploads
• Form styling via CSS andHTML
• Akismet Anti-spam integration

Pros of Contact Form7:

• Contact Form 7 is a lightweight plugin that won’t hinder your siteperformance.
• Because Contact Form 7 is a popular WordPress form plugin, there are a number of third‑party add‑ons that you can use to enhance itsfeatures.

Cons of Contact Form7:

• You have to use custom CSS and HTML to style the form, which can make it more challenging to match yourbrand.
• While you can add contact forms you have created to your posts and pages using the Contact Form 7 block, you can’t create forms from within the WordPresseditor.
• Contact Form 7 doesn’t store contact form submissions. This means that to use Akismet’s ability to review form submissions, you’ll need an additional plugin that stores entries in your site’sdatabase.

Ease ofuse:

While there is a very active support community on the plugin’s WordPress support forum, along with comprehensive documentation, some users may find Contact Form 7 to be more difficult to use than others on this list. It uses text‑based form tags rather than a drag‑and‑drop interface, and you have to style forms through CSS, which might make it difficult forbeginners.

Pricing:

Contact Form 7 is available free of charge from the WordPress plugindirectory.

6. FormidableForms

Formidable Forms is a freemium WordPress form plugin built around a drag-and-drop builder. The plugin has an integrated live preview feature that helps you see how your form will look to visitors as you build it.

It offers comprehensive options for form styling and comes with many templates that speed up the process of creating common form types, such as contact forms or reviewforms.

Both the free and premium versions of Formidable Forms help you keep spam at bay by integrating with Akismet. The plugin’s premium versions offer integrations with external email marketing and CRM services, as well as a number of additional features that allow you to create a plethora of different formtypes.

Key features of FormidableForms:

• A drag‑and‑drop formbuilder
• A visual formstyler
• Unlimited forms andsubmissions
• Form templates
• Akismet spamprotection
• Email notifications and formautoresponders
• Fully responsiveforms
• Field placeholders
• File uploads(pro)
• Conditional logic(pro)
• Multipage forms(pro)
• User registration(pro)
• A range of views, tables, and charts to analyze data(pro)
• Form automation(pro)
• Integration with third‑party tools(pro)

Pros of FormidableForms:

• Formidable Forms features an advanced form styler that allows you to fully customize the look and feel of yourforms.
• The premium versions of Formidable Forms enable a wide range of features that allow you to create complex forms and actions without any codingknowledge.

Cons of FormidableForms:

• Your forms are not automatically protected from spam with Akismet, as it has to be enabled on each form youcreate.
• Unlike some WordPress form builders, such as Jetpack Forms, Formidable Forms does not include any integrations with email marketing or CRM services in the freeversion.

Ease ofuse:

The plugin’s drag‑and‑drop interface and visual form styler make Formidable Forms easy to use. A knowledge base is provided, and support for the free version is offered via the plugin’s WordPress support forum. Premium users can also access emailsupport.

Pricing:

Formidable Forms has a basic, free version available from the WordPress plugin directory. Premium versions range from $79 – $599 per year, with each plan providing additional functionality on top of the base plugin.

Comparison of the top form builderplugins

Factors to consider when choosing a formbuilder

Akismet integration

To keep your WordPress forms spam‑free, it’s important that the WordPress form builder you choose has an Akismet integration. By using Akismet to protect your forms, you can benefit from an advanced AI‑powered spam filtering system that is trusted by over 100 million sites and boasts 99.9%accuracy.

Ease ofuse

The WordPress form builder you choose should be easy to use for visitors and site administrators alike. For your visitors, this means looking for a WordPress form plugin, like Jetpack Forms, that uses Akismet to protect your forms from spam, so they don’t have to solve a pesky CAPTCHA before submitting your form.

For site administrators, this means choosing a plugin that offers an intuitive drag‑and‑drop interface and allows you to easily make changes to the appearance and design of yourforms.

Tools with submission‑basedactions

It’s one thing being able to collect form submissions from your visitors, but it’s also important that you’re able to extract and take action on the information your visitors have givenyou.

All form plugins in our review allow you to receive email notifications of form submissions, but relying on email notifications alone can require you to manually enter data into a spreadsheet orCRM.

So, you should also look for a form builder, like Jetpack Forms, that stores your submissions in your WordPress admin dashboard, so you can see them in one place. You should also look for a plugin that allows you to easily export data or send it to an externaltool.

Frequently asked questions about form builderplugins

What makes a good WordPress formbuilder?

Top WordPress form plugins enable you to quickly create a range of different form types to quickly collect appropriate responses for site visitors. The best WordPress form plugin for your site, such as Jetpack Forms, should also integrate seamlessly with Akismet for industry‑leading spam protection that doesn’t hinder the userexperience.

How much does a good form builder plugin cost onWordPress?

Many good WordPress form builders, such as Jetpack Forms, are free of charge. Some plugins that offer features for complex forms, such as user registration and integration with payment gateways, have premium options that range from $49‑$599 ayear.

Can I block WordPress contact form spam when using a formbuilder?

Yes, you can block contact form spam by making sure that your plugin has a honeypot feature like Jetpack Forms and integrates with Akismet — the leading anti-spam solution for WordPress.

This state‑of‑the‑art service uses advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence technology to analyze submissions in real time without getting in the way of real, humanusers.

Should I use CAPTCHA on my contactform?

If you want to maximize conversions, you should not require users to complete a CAPTCHA.

Researchers from Stanford University found that CAPTCHAs can drive people away from your forms. The data shows that 29% of users leave a page when confronted with a CAPTCHA. This is particularly concerning if you rely on forms to capture leads or receive valuable customer feedback.

On average, sites using reCAPTCHA experience a 3.2% reduction in their conversion rates compared to those that do not, which could significantly impact revenue generated from yoursite.

CAPTCHAs can also have a significant impact on the accessibility of your forms. Individuals with vision or hearing impairments often find it impossible to complete a CAPTCHA, even with assistivetechnology.

For these reasons, millions of WordPress site owners have turned to Akismet to protect their sites with world-class, non-intrusive spam protection.

How do I enable the best anti‑spam protection for my contactforms?

To protect your site with the world’s leading anti‑spam solution, you need to select a WordPress form builder, like Jetpack Forms, that integrates with Akismet. You’ll first need to get an Akismet API key. These are available for free if you’re running a personal blog or through an affordable subscription for commercialsites.

You then need to download and activate the Akismet anti-spam plugin. Some form plugins, like Jetpack Forms, will start protecting your forms with Akismet straight away, whereas, in others, you’ll need to enable the Akismet spam protection within the plugin’s settings.

Akismet: AI‑powered anti‑spam for WordPressforms

Once you’ve built your website’s forms, it’s time to protect them from spam, and Akismet is your complete solution for spam detection andprevention.

Akismet blocks form spam using advanced AI technology that works in the background. It automatically analyzes submissions in real time and lets genuine entries through while discarding spam.

The Akismet plugin is simple to install and configure and works seamlessly with many popular WordPress form builders to protect your site without ever getting in the way of the userexperience.

Akismet is a safe, efficient, and secure solution from the team behind WordPress.com and is trusted by some of the biggest companies in the world, including Microsoft and ConvertKit. It has blocked a staggering 545 billion pieces of spam (and counting) with an industry-leading 99.9% accuracy rate.

Select your plan today and say goodbye to spamforever.