Jotform vs Ninja Forms (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Jotform grades higher than Ninja Forms: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Jotform grades higher on features and ease of use. Ninja Forms grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Jotform
No-code form builder with payments, e-signatures and workflows
Ninja Forms
WordPress form builder with a free core and paid add-ons
Which one is for you
Pick Jotform if
- Fits if you want forms, payments and signatures in one account, not three
- Works for field teams collecting answers with no signal, like on a building site
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if all you need is a quick survey, because Google Forms is free
- Tight if you want to stay on free, with 5 forms, 100 responses a month, 500 kept and Jotform's logo on each form
- Pricey if two of you build forms, since only Enterprise takes more than one user and its price isn't published
- Not for you if you need HIPAA features on a budget, as they start on Gold at $99
- Watch out: there's no trial, full storage deletes your oldest responses, and sale prices renew at full price
Pick Ninja Forms if
- Fits if you run WordPress and want to start free and add only what you need
- Works for agencies that manage 3, 20 or unlimited sites
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't use WordPress, as there is no hosted version
- Watch out: the first-year discount is for the first year only, and licenses auto-renew at full price
- Tight if you want payments or CRM links on Plus, because they need Pro at $199 a year
- Watch out: add-ons have no demo or trial, only a 14-day money-back guarantee
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAJotformVery good | 2.6GPANinja FormsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$34 a month on yearly billing lands between this category's $24 middle and its dearer quarter at $39, and that's 25 forms for one person. Fair if it replaces a signing tool too. Steep if you only need forms, and a second builder means Enterprise. | BPlus is $99 a year for 3 sites, about $8.25 a month, but payments and CRM connections sit on Pro at $199 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CNearly every feature is in the free plan, and it never expires, but the caps are ones you'll hit: 5 forms, 100 responses a month, 500 responses kept, and Jotform's logo on every form. | BThe core plugin is free with unlimited submissions, spam protection and 28+ fields, though add-ons cost extra. |
| Features | AForms, payments, e-signatures, approvals, tables, reports, an app builder and AI agents, from more than 20,000 templates. Two things the rest of this category hasn't got: a phone app that collects answers with no signal, and agents that run a form over chat, phone or WhatsApp. | CConditional logic, multi-step forms, payment gateways and email add-ons exist, but payments, CRM and automation are gated to higher plans. |
| Ease of use | A4.9 from about 44,600 App Store ratings, the highest score in this category. Pick a template, drag the fields around, send the link. One reviewer's car club, run by volunteers with little tech experience, got on fine. | CNo store rating on record. You build each form inside the WordPress admin. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone and Android, with the phone app working offline, and it hooks into PayPal, Stripe, Google Sheets, Slack and Zapier, with an API key even on free. No desktop app, which is the one thing short of top marks. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with PayPal, Stripe, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier and Slack. |
| Best for | forms that take payments and signatures | a free WordPress form core with paid add-ons |
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: Jotform and Ninja Forms. How we grade
Price against what you get
Jotform starts at $34 a month and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Ninja Forms starts at $8.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
Jotform scores higher, and starts $25.75 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 Jotform for less, and 4 score higher than Ninja 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
- Ninja Forms is open source, according to its own site.
- Jotform also covers AI agents and app builder.
At a glance
| Jotform | Ninja Forms | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $34 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $99 per year for 3 sites, after a first year at $59.40 |
| Free plan | Starter plan: 5 forms, 100 monthly submissions, 100 MB of upload space, 10,000 monthly form views and 500 stored submissions for one user. Forms and signed documents carry Jotform branding. | Core plugin is free: unlimited submissions, spam protection and 28+ form fields; add-ons are optional. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Jotform Inc. | Saturday Drive, Inc. |
| Price read from | jotform.com | ninjaforms.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Jotform
- Bronze, Silver and Gold are single-user plans; Enterprise is the only multiuser plan.
- The free Starter plan allows 5 forms and 100 submissions a month, and its forms show Jotform branding.
- HIPAA compliance features are limited to the Gold and Enterprise plans.
- Paid plans have no trial period, only a 30-day money-back guarantee; once submission storage is full, the oldest responses are deleted.
Ninja Forms
- It runs only inside WordPress; there is no hosted version.
- The first-year discount is for the first year only; licenses renew at full price each year unless cancelled.
- Add-ons have no demo or trial, though each purchase has a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- Payments, CRM and automation connections need Pro or Elite.
Key features
Jotform
- Drag-and-drop Form Builder
- Build forms without code, starting from more than 20,000 premade templates, with conditional logic to show or hide fields and widgets that extend what a form can do.
- Online payments
- Collect one-time payments and recurring subscriptions through gateways such as PayPal, Stripe and Square. Monthly payment submissions are capped by plan, from 10 on Starter to 1,000 on Gold.
- Jotform Sign
- Create, share and e-sign documents. Signed documents count against a monthly limit that runs from 10 on Starter to 1,000 on Gold.
- Workflows, Tables and reports
- Jotform Workflows automates approval steps, Jotform Tables organizes submissions in a workspace, and Report Builder turns responses into charts and grids.
- Mobile app with offline collection
- The free iOS and Android app collects submissions without an internet connection and has a kiosk mode for gathering many responses on one device.
- AI Agents
- Agents trained on URLs, uploaded documents or custom Q&As answer questions and guide people through a form over chat, phone, SMS, WhatsApp and email.
Ninja Forms
- Free open-source core
- The plugin on WordPress.org is the complete free form builder, with unlimited forms and submissions and 28+ form fields.
- Add-on based plans
- Plus, Pro and Elite bundle add-ons; buyers on lower plans can add others at 20% or 40% off the list price.
- Conditional logic and multi-step forms
- Conditional Logic, File Uploads, Multi Step Forms, Layout and Styles and Conversational Forms come with the Plus plan.
- Payment gateways
- PayPal is included from Plus, and Stripe, Authorize.net and Elavon from Pro.
- CRM and automation connections
- Pro lists HubSpot, Salesforce and Zoho CRM, plus Zapier, Slack and Trello add-ons.
- Email marketing add-ons
- Plus lists ActiveCampaign, AWeber, Campaign Monitor, Constant Contact, Mailchimp, MailPoet and other email service add-ons.
Plans
Jotform
Starter$0
5 forms, 100 monthly submissions, 100 MB of space and 10 payment submissions a month, with Jotform branding.
Bronze$34
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
25 forms, 1,000 monthly submissions, 1 GB of space and 100 payment submissions a month for one user.
Silver$39
per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
50 forms, 2,500 monthly submissions, 10 GB of space and 250 payment submissions a month for one user.
Gold$99
per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly)
100 forms, 10,000 monthly submissions, 100 GB of space and optional HIPAA compliance features, for one user.
EnterpriseCustom
The only multiuser plan: unlimited forms and submissions, SSO, user management, data residency and a custom domain.
Ninja Forms
Core$0
Free plugin with unlimited submissions, spam protection, submission restrictions and free support.
Plus$99
per year for 3 sites
16 add-ons: conditional logic, file uploads, multi-step forms, PayPal, email marketing. First year $59.40.
Pro$199
per year for 20 sites
28 add-ons, adding Stripe, Authorize.net, CRMs, Zapier and Slack. First year $119.40.
Elite$499
per year for unlimited sites
Every add-on, including future releases, with priority support. First year $299.40.
Ways to pay less
Jotform
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page advertises up to 20% off for yearly payment. Bronze is $34 per month billed annually versus $39 monthly, Silver $39 versus $49 and Gold $99 versus $129.
- Nonprofit
50% off for nonprofits
Approved nonprofits get 50% off the Bronze, Silver and Gold plans and 30% off the Enterprise plan.
- Education
50% off for educators and schools
Verified teachers and academic institutions get 50% off Bronze, Silver and Gold and 30% off Enterprise. Fees for HIPAA, SSO and other add-ons are excluded.
Ninja Forms
- Other savings
40% off the first year of a paid plan
A first-time discount takes 40% off the first year: Plus $59.40, Pro $119.40, Elite $299.40. The subscription then renews at full price.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Jotform or Ninja Forms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Ninja Forms is cheaper to start with: $8.25 a month when paid by the year, against $34 a month for Jotform. Jotform starts at $34 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), and Ninja Forms starts at $99 per year for 3 sites, after a first year at $59.40.
Which has a free plan, Jotform or Ninja Forms?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Jotform and Ninja Forms have a free plan.
Which platforms do Jotform and Ninja Forms run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Jotform lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.