Contact Form 7 vs Formidable Forms (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Formidable Forms grades higher than Contact Form 7: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Contact Form 7 grades higher on the free plan. Formidable Forms grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Formidable Forms
WordPress form builder that also displays entries as Views
Which one is for you
Pick Contact Form 7 if
- Fits if you run WordPress and want a plain contact form without paying
- Works for sites that need many simple forms with nothing to subscribe to
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as the plugin only runs there
- Not for you if you want paid support, because the listing points to documentation and a forum
- Watch out: reviews on the WordPress.org page mention incompatibility with some PHP versions
- Too light for forms with payments, polls or visual builders, none of which are listed
- Tight if you want listed integrations, as none are named
Pick Formidable Forms if
- Fits if you want to show form entries back on a WordPress page
- Works for WordPress sites that take payments through forms
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't run WordPress, as there is no hosted version
- Watch out: the first-year price is a discount and renewals are at full price
- Pricey if you need surveys, quizzes or signatures, since they start on Business at $399 a year
- Watch out: if your license lapses you lose support, updates and editing of premium fields already used
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAContact Form 7Fair | 2.8GPAFormidable FormsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree and open source, but it needs a WordPress site you host yourself, so it isn't a program anyone can just download and run. | BBasic is $79 a year for one site, about $6.60 a month, but surveys, quizzes, signatures and PDFs sit on Business at $399 a year, about $33 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright with no paid edition or caps on the listing. Install it from the plugin directory. | BThe free plugin on WordPress.org builds forms from templates and takes Stripe and PayPal payments, with a transaction fee until you hold a Pro license. |
| Features | CForms in the WordPress admin, an editor block, validation and translations. It's a basic form tool, and the listing shows no paid add-ons for more. | BViews, payments, logic, calculations, multi-page forms and AI forms. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. |
| Ease of use | DYou need your own WordPress site that you host and update, and each form is built by hand in the admin. No rating on record. | CNo store rating on record. You build forms inside the WordPress admin. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, inside WordPress, with no integrations listed on the plugin page. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Salesforce, HubSpot, WooCommerce and Authorize.net. |
| Best for | free contact forms on a WordPress site | WordPress forms that show entries as Views |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Contact Form 7 and Formidable Forms. How we grade
Price against what you get
Contact Form 7 has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Formidable Forms starts at $6.58 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
Formidable Forms scores higher, and starts $6.58 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, none scores higher than Contact Form 7 for less, and none scores higher than Formidable Forms for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Contact Form 7 is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Formidable Forms also covers databases, templates and surveys.
At a glance
| Contact Form 7 | Formidable Forms | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $79 per year for 1 site, after a first year at $39.50 |
| Free plan | Free and open source; install it from the WordPress plugin directory. | Free plugin on WordPress.org with form building, templates and Stripe and PayPal payments (a transaction fee applies without a Pro license). |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Rock Lobster Inc. | Strategy11, LLC |
| Price read from | wordpress.org | formidableforms.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Contact Form 7
- It runs only inside WordPress.
- The plugin's listing links to documentation and a support forum, not a paid support plan.
- Reviews on the WordPress.org page include complaints about incompatibility with some PHP versions.
Formidable Forms
- It runs only inside WordPress and has no hosted version.
- Introductory prices are for the first year; the vendor says renewals are at full price.
- Surveys, quizzes, signatures and PDFs need the Business plan at $399 a year.
- A license that lapses loses support, updates and the ability to edit premium fields already used in forms.
Key features
Contact Form 7
- Forms in the WordPress admin
- Forms are created under a Contact menu in the WordPress admin screen.
- Block for the editor
- The plugin provides one block for inserting a form into a page.
- Schema-Woven Validation
- The plugin's description names this validation technology and a modular architecture.
- Translations
- The plugin is translated into 69 locales.
Formidable Forms
- Views of entries
- Views show stored entries on the site as grids, tables, calendars or timelines, so a form can feed a directory or listing page. They start at the Plus plan.
- Payment forms
- Stripe and PayPal one-time and recurring payments, with ACH, Klarna and others through Stripe. A 3% fee applies on Basic and Plus and is removed on Business.
- Logic, calculations and multi-page forms
- Conditional logic, calculations, repeaters, file uploads and multi-page forms are on the paid plans, starting with Basic.
- Surveys, quizzes and signatures
- The Business plan adds survey fields such as NPS and Likert, scored quizzes, digital signatures and PDF generation.
- AI forms
- An AI form builder creates forms from a description. Paid plans include a monthly AI request allowance, from 1,000 on Business to 3,000 on Elite.
- Integrations
- Email marketing starts at Plus, and CRM connections such as Salesforce and HubSpot are on Elite.
Plans
Contact Form 7
Plugin$0
Free open-source plugin, hosted on your own WordPress site.
Formidable Forms
Basic$79
per year for 1 site, full price after first year
100+ templates, file uploads, multi-page forms, repeaters, conditional logic and calculations. First year $39.50.
Plus$199
per year for 3 sites, full price after first year
Adds Views (grid, table, calendar), Mailchimp, AWeber and ConvertKit connections and graphs. First year $99.50.
Business$399
per year for 7 sites, full price after first year
Adds surveys, quizzes, digital signatures, forms to PDF, user registration and no payment fee. First year $199.50.
Elite$599
per year for unlimited sites, full price after first year
Adds Salesforce, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, WooCommerce, white labeling and multisite. First year $299.50.
Ways to pay less
Contact Form 7
No public discounts listed.
Formidable Forms
- Other savings
50% off the first year of any paid plan
Introductory pricing shown on the pricing page takes 50% off the first year: Basic $39.50, Plus $99.50, Business $199.50, Elite $299.50. Renewals are at full price.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contact Form 7 or Formidable Forms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Contact Form 7 is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $6.58 a month when paid by the year for Formidable Forms. Contact Form 7 is free, and Formidable Forms starts at $79 per year for 1 site, after a first year at $39.50.
Which has a free plan, Contact Form 7 or Formidable Forms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Contact Form 7 and Formidable Forms have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.