Contact Form 7 vs WPForms (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, WPForms grades higher than Contact Form 7: 2.6 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. WPForms 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.
WPForms
Drag-and-drop form builder plugin for WordPress sites
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 WPForms if
- Fits if you run a WordPress site and want a drag-and-drop form builder
- Works for agencies with 3, 5 or unlimited sites
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't use WordPress, as it is not a hosted form service
- Tight if you stay free, because multi-page forms, uploads and conditional logic are paid
- Watch out: payment add-ons need Pro and CRM connections and webhooks need Elite
- Watch out: every plan is shown at 50% off a higher normal price, so check the renewal figure
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAContact Form 7Fair | 2.6GPAWPFormsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 $49.50 a year for one site, about $4 a month, but payments sit on Pro at $199.50 and CRM links on Elite at $299.50 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright with no paid edition or caps on the listing. Install it from the plugin directory. | CWPForms Lite on WordPress.org builds forms with the basics. Multi-page forms, file uploads and conditional logic are paid. |
| 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. | BBuilder, templates, logic, multi-page forms, payments, entries, CRM links and AI form building. 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 each form 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, Square, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier and Airtable. |
| Best for | free contact forms on a WordPress site | drag-and-drop forms on a WordPress site |
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 WPForms. 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. WPForms starts at $4.13 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
WPForms scores higher, and starts $4.13 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 WPForms 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.
- WPForms also covers templates, workflow automation and surveys.
At a glance
| Contact Form 7 | WPForms | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $49.50 per year for 1 site |
| Free plan | Free and open source; install it from the WordPress plugin directory. | WPForms Lite on WordPress.org: a form builder with the basic features; the paid plans add multi-page forms, file uploads and conditional logic. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Rock Lobster Inc. | WPForms, LLC |
| Price read from | wordpress.org | wpforms.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.
WPForms
- It runs only inside WordPress; it is not a standalone hosted form service.
- Prices are per year for a set number of sites, and every plan is shown at 50% off a higher normal price.
- Payment add-ons need Pro, and CRM connections and webhooks need Elite.
- The vendor lists a 14-day money-back guarantee on the pricing page.
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.
WPForms
- Drag-and-drop builder and templates
- Forms are built in a visual editor, and the vendor lists more than 2,000 ready-made templates covering contact, feedback, registration and similar uses.
- Conditional logic and multi-page forms
- Fields can show or hide based on earlier answers, and long forms can be split into pages with a progress bar. Both are paid features.
- Payments
- Pro adds Stripe, Square and PayPal payment fields with no WPForms fee. The free version and inactive licenses carry a 3% platform fee on transactions.
- Entry management
- Submissions are stored and viewed inside the WordPress dashboard and can be exported as Excel, PDF or CSV files.
- Marketing and CRM connections
- Plus connects to email marketing services and Elite to CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot, with webhooks for anything else.
- AI form building
- A WPForms AI chat can create a whole form from a prompt and edit existing forms.
Plans
Contact Form 7
Plugin$0
Free open-source plugin, hosted on your own WordPress site.
WPForms
Basic$49.50
per year for 1 site
Normally $99 a year, shown at 50% off with no end date. Templates, file uploads, conditional logic and multi-page forms.
Plus$99.50
per year for 3 sites
Normally $199 a year, shown at 50% off. Adds email marketing connections (Mailchimp, AWeber, Constant Contact and others) and standard support.
Pro$199.50
per year for 5 sites
Normally $399 a year, shown at 50% off. Adds Stripe, Square, PayPal and other payment add-ons plus recurring subscriptions.
Elite$299.50
per year for unlimited sites
Normally $599 a year, shown at 50% off. Adds CRM connections (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho), webhooks, multisite support and premium support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Contact Form 7 or WPForms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Contact Form 7 is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4.13 a month when paid by the year for WPForms. Contact Form 7 is free, and WPForms starts at $49.50 per year for 1 site.
Which has a free plan, Contact Form 7 or WPForms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Contact Form 7 and WPForms 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.