Formidable Forms vs Gravity Forms (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Formidable Forms grades higher than Gravity Forms: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Formidable Forms grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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
Gravity Forms
WordPress form builder plugin sold as a yearly license
Which one is for you
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
Pick Gravity Forms if
- Fits if you run WordPress and want form entries kept on your own site
- Works for agencies building forms across many client sites on the $259 Elite license
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't have a self-hosted WordPress site or a WordPress.com Business plan, since it's only a plugin
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, as there's no free version or trial, only an online demo
- Pricey if you need Stripe, PayPal or Zapier ($159 Pro) or surveys, quizzes, signatures and webhooks ($259 Elite)
- Tight if you have more than one site, as Basic covers 1 site and Pro 3
- Watch out: asking for a refund within the 30 days switches the license off at once
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAFormidable FormsGood | 2.0GPAGravity FormsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BGraded against its alternatives. Basic is $59 a year for one site with unlimited forms and entries, a fraction of what hosted builders like Jotform or Typeform charge. Stripe and PayPal need Pro at $159 a year, and you need a WordPress site and hosting to run it on. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | FNothing free and no trial, just an online demo. There are refunds within 30 days, but asking for one switches the license off at once, and a refund isn't a trial anyway. |
| Features | BViews, payments, logic, calculations, multi-page forms and AI forms. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. | C30+ field types, conditional logic, multi-page forms, calculations, payments and, on Elite, surveys, quizzes, polls and signatures. The gap is the listing's own: it only runs as a WordPress plugin, so without a WordPress site it does nothing. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build forms inside the WordPress admin. | CNo rating on record. Fields are dragged into place inside WordPress, but first you need a self-hosted WordPress site or a WordPress.com Business plan, then the plugin and its add-ons installed, then each form built. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Salesforce, HubSpot, WooCommerce and Authorize.net. | BIt runs in the browser inside WordPress and connects to Stripe, PayPal, Square, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier and Slack, with a REST API and 500+ hooks for developers. No desktop or phone app of its own. |
| Best for | WordPress forms that show entries as Views | forms on your own 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: Formidable Forms and Gravity Forms. How we grade
Price against what you get
Formidable Forms starts at $6.58 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Gravity Forms starts at $4.92 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
Formidable Forms scores higher, and starts $1.66 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 Formidable Forms for less, and 1 scores higher than Gravity 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
- Formidable Forms also covers databases.
At a glance
| Formidable Forms | Gravity Forms | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $79 per year for 1 site, after a first year at $39.50 | $59 per year |
| Free plan | Free plugin on WordPress.org with form building, templates and Stripe and PayPal payments (a transaction fee applies without a Pro license). | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Strategy11, LLC | Rocketgenius Inc. |
| Price read from | formidableforms.com | gravityforms.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Gravity Forms
- It runs only as a WordPress plugin, so you need a self-hosted WordPress site, or a WordPress.com Business plan with a custom domain.
- There is no free version and no trial; the vendor offers an online demo instead.
- Stripe, PayPal and Zapier need Pro, and surveys, quizzes, signatures, user registration and webhooks need the $259 Elite license.
- Refunds are given within 30 days of a payment, and requesting one deactivates the license immediately.
Key features
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.
Gravity Forms
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Build forms inside WordPress from 30+ field types, a template library and layouts of up to four columns per row, then embed them on any page.
- Conditional logic and multi-page forms
- Show or hide fields, sections and pages based on answers, split long forms into pages, and route notification emails by what was submitted.
- Calculations and payments
- Fields can be calculated from a formula. The Stripe, PayPal Checkout and Square add-ons, which handle subscriptions, need Pro; discount codes need Elite.
- Surveys, quizzes and polls
- Elite adds add-ons for surveys, graded quizzes, polls, signatures, partial entries from abandoned forms and conversational one-question-at-a-time forms.
- Entries stored on your own site
- Entries and uploaded files are saved to your WordPress database and server, with unlimited forms and entries, CSV export and tools for handling personal data and consent.
- REST API and hooks
- A REST API, 500+ actions and filters and an add-on framework let developers build their own integrations; the Webhooks add-on needs Elite.
Plans
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.
Gravity Forms
Basic$59
per year
1 site, standard support, and the Basic add-ons for email marketing tools such as Mailchimp, HubSpot and ActiveCampaign, plus reCAPTCHA and Akismet.
Pro$159
per year
3 sites and standard support. Adds the Pro add-ons, including Stripe, PayPal Checkout, Square, Zapier, Slack, Dropbox and Trello.
Elite$259
per year
Unlimited sites, WordPress Multisite, priority support and every add-on, including surveys, quizzes, polls, signatures, user registration and webhooks.
Ways to pay less
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.
Gravity Forms
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit License at $129 a year
Registered nonprofits can apply for a $129-a-year license covering 3 sites with add-ons such as Stripe, PayPal, Survey and User Registration. It renews at the same price.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Formidable Forms or Gravity Forms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gravity Forms is cheaper to start with: $4.92 a month when paid by the year, against $6.58 a month when paid by the year for Formidable Forms. Formidable Forms starts at $79 per year for 1 site, after a first year at $39.50, and Gravity Forms starts at $59 per year.
Which has a free plan, Formidable Forms or Gravity Forms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Formidable Forms has a free plan. Gravity Forms does not.
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.