# Ninja Forms review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> WordPress form builder with a free core and paid add-ons

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Ninja Forms is a WordPress form plugin whose core builder is free and open source. Paid yearly plans bundle add-ons for conditional logic, file uploads, email marketing, payment gateways, CRMs and automation, and each plan covers a set number of sites.

- **Category:** Forms & Surveys
- **Made by:** Saturday Drive, Inc. (since 2011)
- **Website:** https://ninjaforms.com
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you don't use WordPress, as there is no hosted version.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 12, 2026, Ninja Forms has a free plan, and paid plans start at $99 per year for 3 sites, after a first year at $59.40.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Core plugin is free: unlimited submissions, spam protection and 28+ form fields; add-ons are optional.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://ninjaforms.com/pricing/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Ninja Forms before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **40% off the first year of a paid plan** (Other savings): 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. Source: https://ninjaforms.com/pricing/

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- WordPress sites that need a free form plugin to start with
- Owners who want to buy only the add-ons they need
- Agencies covering many sites under one Pro or Elite license

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Ninja Forms is a WordPress form builder with a free core and paid add-ons. Plus is $99 a year for 3 sites, but payments, CRM and automation connections need Pro or Elite, and licenses renew at full price.

- **Value for money: B.** Plus 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: B.** The core plugin is free with unlimited submissions, spam protection and 28+ fields, though add-ons cost extra.
- **Features: C.** Conditional logic, multi-step forms, payment gateways and email add-ons exist, but payments, CRM and automation are gated to higher plans.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You build each form inside the WordPress admin.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, inside WordPress, with PayPal, Stripe, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier and Slack.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Ninja Forms's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among form and survey tools

- Ninja Forms's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 41 of the 60 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 8.
- It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 43 of 60) and worst on features (C, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $8.25 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $19.50 for the category: 9 of the 51 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/forms

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Ninja Forms you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 41 of the 60 other form and survey tools we grade. It costs $99 a year. Ninja Forms is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.

- You could make: Forms and templates: an app builder makes these well.
- You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

PayPal, Stripe, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, Slack

**Tags:** Forms, Open source, Workflow automation, Templates, Public API

## Alternatives

- [WPForms](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wpforms): Drag-and-drop form builder plugin for WordPress sites. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ninja-forms-vs-wpforms)
- [Gravity Forms](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gravity-forms): WordPress form builder plugin sold as a yearly license. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gravity-forms-vs-ninja-forms)
- [Formidable Forms](https://toolgpa.com/tools/formidable-forms): WordPress form builder that also displays entries as Views. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/formidable-forms-vs-ninja-forms)
- [Fluent Forms](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fluent-forms): WordPress form plugin with annual and lifetime licenses. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fluent-forms-vs-ninja-forms)
- [Jotform](https://toolgpa.com/tools/jotform): No-code form builder with payments, e-signatures and workflows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/jotform-vs-ninja-forms)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026:

- https://ninjaforms.com/pricing/
- https://ninjaforms.com
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/ninja-forms/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/ninja-forms
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).