WPForms
Beginner-friendly drag-and-drop form builder from Awesome Motive with a free Lite plugin, 2,100+ templates and tiered Pro plans for payments and CRMs.
100
Formidable Forms
Drag-and-drop WordPress form builder with a visual styler, calculators, quizzes and Views for turning entries into directories and listings.
Free installs300K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~77KLikely 50K–120K
Vendor claims300K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.8/51,388 reviews
Price from$79/yrFreemium
Last updated16 Oct 2026Version 7.0
Overview
Formidable Forms is a WordPress form builder from Strategy11 that goes beyond contact forms into calculators, quizzes, surveys, payment forms and data-driven applications. Forms are assembled in a drag-and-drop builder, styled with a built-in visual styler, and every submission is stored in the WordPress database where it can be searched, edited and exported.
The free Lite plugin covers unlimited forms and entries, basic fields, around 30 starter templates, simple calculations, CSV export and a solid spam toolkit (honeypot, Akismet, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha and Cloudflare Turnstile). It also connects to Stripe, PayPal Commerce and Square, including recurring payments, but Formidable adds a 3% application fee on top of processor fees until you move to the Business or Elite plan.
What the paid plans add
Pro licences are tiered, and the tier matters a lot:
- Basic unlocks conditional logic, file uploads, repeaters, multi-page forms, full calculations, save drafts for logged-in users and front-end post creation.
- Plus adds Formidable Views (tables, grids, calendars), charts and email-marketing add-ons such as Mailchimp.
- Business brings quizzes, surveys, polls, signatures, PDFs, conversational forms, form abandonment tracking, user registration, Zapier, Google Sheets, the REST API/webhooks and AI form credits, and removes payment fees.
- Elite adds HubSpot, Salesforce, ActiveCampaign, white labelling and multisite.
Strengths
The standout is Views, which lets you display submitted data on the front end as directories, listings or calendars without a separate plugin. The calculation engine is capable enough for quote builders and mortgage calculators, and the visual styler means most branding work needs no CSS. Developers get documented hooks and the ability to edit form HTML.
Limitations
Many headline features sit in Business ($399/year at renewal), so the entry-level Basic plan can feel thin. Conditional logic and file uploads are not in the free version, which is stricter than some rivals. The builder has a learning curve once you get into Views and dynamic fields.
Who should pick it: sites that need forms to feed searchable listings, calculators or data apps, and agencies willing to pay for the Business tier to get the full toolkit.
Best for: Sites building calculators, data directories or form-driven applications that need entries displayed on the front end.
Formidable is one of the most capable form builders for data-heavy projects, thanks to Views and its calculation engine. The catch is a steep tier ladder: most people will need Business to get quizzes, PDFs and Zapier, which makes it pricier than rivals for simpler needs.
Pros
- Formidable Views turns entries into directories, tables and calendars
- Strong calculation engine for quotes and calculators
- Visual styler included even in the free version
- Stripe, PayPal and Square available in Lite, with recurring payments
- Broad spam options including Turnstile and honeypot for free
- Developer-friendly with hooks and editable form HTML
Cons
- Conditional logic and file uploads require a paid plan
- Quizzes, surveys, PDFs and Zapier need the $399/yr Business tier
- 3% payment fee on Lite, Basic and Plus
- HubSpot and Salesforce only on the top Elite plan
Key features
What Formidable Forms highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Unlimited forms and entries
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- Visual form styler
- 30+ free form templates
- Basic calculation fields
- Stripe, PayPal and Square payments
- Recurring payments (3% fee)
- Entries stored with CSV export
- Honeypot, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile
- GDPR consent and IP controls
- WCAG-accessible form markup
- Gutenberg block and shortcode
Pro / paid adds From $79/yr
- Conditional logic and file uploads
- Multi-page forms with progress bar
- Repeater and cascading fields
- Formidable Views for listings
- Quizzes, surveys and polls
- Digital signatures
- Conversational forms
- Form abandonment tracking
- PDFs from entries
- User registration forms
- Zapier, Google Sheets, webhooks API
- HubSpot and Salesforce (Elite)
- AI form builder credits
- No payment fees on Business+
Feature checklist
36 of 36 features we track in Form Builders, feature score 98/100
Building 14/14
Drag & drop builder Key
Visual editor for adding and arranging fields without code.
Drag-and-drop builder in the free plugin.
Included
Multi-step forms
Split long forms into pages with a progress indicator.
Multi-page forms with progress bars on all paid plans.
Paid version Basic
Conditional logic Key
Show or hide fields and change actions based on answers.
Show/hide logic is a paid feature from the Basic plan.
Paid version Basic
Calculations
Compute totals, quotes or scores from field values.
Lite handles basic calculations; advanced math fields need a paid plan.
Partial
File uploads
Let visitors attach files to a submission.
File upload field is included in all paid plans, not Lite.
Paid version Basic
Repeater fields
Let visitors add repeating sets of fields.
Repeater fields included from the Basic plan.
Paid version Basic
Form templates
Ready-made forms to start from.
30+ templates free; full library of 300+ on Business and above.
Included
Save and resume
Visitors can save a partial entry and finish later.
Drafts for logged-in users on all plans; logged-out drafts need Business.
Paid version Basic
Conversational forms
One-question-at-a-time, typeform-style layout.
One-question-at-a-time forms from the Business plan.
Paid version Business
Signature field
Capture a drawn or typed signature on a form.
Digital signature add-on included in Business and Elite.
Paid version Business
Quizzes
Scored quizzes with right and wrong answers.
Scored and personality quizzes on Business and above.
Paid version Business
Surveys and polls
Survey fields such as Likert scales and poll results reporting.
Surveys and polls with charts on Business and above.
Paid version Business
Visual styling controls
Change colours, spacing and layout without writing CSS.
Visual styler for colours, fonts and spacing is available in Lite.
Included
AI form builder
Generate a form from a written prompt.
AI form generation with monthly credits from Business; more credits on Elite.
Paid version Business
Payments 4/4
Stripe payments Key
Take card payments through Stripe.
Stripe in Lite with a 3% application fee; fee removed on Business+.
Included
PayPal payments
Take payments through PayPal.
PayPal Commerce works in Lite; 3% fee applies below Business.
Included
Square payments
Take payments through Square.
Square payments are included in the free Lite plugin.
Included
Recurring payments
Subscriptions or repeating charges.
Subscriptions via Stripe, PayPal Commerce and Square, even in Lite (with fee).
Included
Entries & workflow 7/7
Entry management Key
Browse, search and export submissions in the dashboard.
All submissions saved to the database with CSV export.
Included
Custom email notifications
Configurable admin and user emails per form.
Email notifications and autoresponders in the free version.
Included
Webhooks
Send submissions to any URL.
Formidable API add-on with webhooks from the Business plan.
Paid version Business
User registration
Create WordPress users from a form.
User registration add-on from the Business plan.
Paid version Business
Front-end post submissions
Create posts or custom post types from a form.
Front-end post creation included on all paid plans.
Paid version Basic
Partial entries
Capture what visitors typed before abandoning a form.
Form abandonment tracking captures unfinished entries on Business+.
Paid version Business
PDF generation
Create PDFs from submissions, for example receipts or applications.
Forms to PDF add-on on Business and Elite.
Paid version Business
Integrations 5/5
Mailchimp
Add subscribers to Mailchimp lists.
Mailchimp add-on from the Plus plan.
Paid version Plus
Zapier
Connect submissions to thousands of apps via Zapier.
Zapier add-on from the Business plan.
Paid version Business
HubSpot
Send leads to HubSpot CRM.
HubSpot integration is Elite-only.
Paid version Elite
Google Sheets
Append submissions to a Google Sheet.
Google Sheets add-on from the Business plan.
Paid version Business
Salesforce
Send leads and contacts to Salesforce.
Salesforce integration is Elite-only.
Paid version Elite
Spam & compliance 4/4
reCAPTCHA
Google reCAPTCHA spam protection.
reCAPTCHA v2 checkbox, invisible and v3 in Lite.
Included
Cloudflare Turnstile
Privacy-friendly CAPTCHA alternative.
Cloudflare Turnstile supported in the free plugin.
Included
Honeypot / built-in anti-spam
Invisible spam filtering without a CAPTCHA.
Invisible honeypot and JavaScript token checks built in.
Included
GDPR tools
Consent fields, data export/erasure, IP storage controls.
Consent fields, option to not store entries and IP tracking controls.
Included
Developer 2/2
Developer hooks & API
Actions, filters and/or REST API for custom work.
Hooks and filters free; REST API add-on needs Business.
Included
Block editor block
Embed forms with a native block.
Gutenberg block for embedding forms.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Basic
$79per year1 site
First year shown at $39.50; payment add-ons still carry a 3% fee on this tier
Plus
$199per year3 sites
First year shown at $99.50; adds Views and email-marketing add-ons
Business
$399per year7 sites
First year shown at $199.50; quizzes, surveys, PDFs, Zapier, no payment fees
Elite
$599per yearUnlimited
First year shown at $299.50; adds HubSpot, Salesforce, white label
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Formidable Forms?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
300K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
300K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~77K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: WordPress.org shows 300K+ free installs, which could mean anything from 300K to 400K. The vendor says 300K+ sites, so we put the free count halfway between the middle of that range and the vendor figure, at about 330K. Website scans by WPoptic find the paid plugin (folder formidable-pro) on 49,163 live sites; they find the free version on 202,888 sites against about 330K WordPress.org installs, so each site found stands for about 1.6, giving 79K. About 330K free installs x 20% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when many key features are paid) gives 65K. Combining these (weighted average) gives about 77K. Likely range: 50K to 120K. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
38,230 downloads last week, 28.1M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 7.0 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 16 Oct 2026 (17 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 6.3+, PHP 7.0+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 1 of 1 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 12 Dec 2009 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|
| G2 rating | 4.8/5 (92 reviews) (source, 5 Oct 2026) As displayed on the vendor homepage. |
Formidable Forms compared
Formidable Forms/MetForm
Formidable Forms/Quform
Formidable Forms/JetFormBuilder
Formidable Forms/SureForms
Formidable Forms/Forminator
Everest Forms/Formidable Forms
Contact Form 7/Formidable Forms
Fluent Forms/Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms/Gravity Forms
Formidable Forms/WS FormFormidable Forms/WPForms
Formidable Forms/Ninja Forms Alternatives to Formidable Forms
Fluent Forms
Fast WordPress form builder from WPManageNinja with a generous free tier (conversational forms, Stripe, AI builder) and one-tier Pro licences.
99
Gravity Forms
Premium-only WordPress form builder from Rocketgenius with deep conditional logic, calculations and an official add-on library for payments and CRMs.
94
SureForms
Block-editor form builder from Brainstorm Force with AI form creation and free Stripe forms; paid plans add logic, multi-step and integrations.
96
Forminator
Generous free form, quiz and poll builder from WPMU DEV with payments, logic and integrations included; Pro adds PDFs, e-signatures and subscriptions.
92
Everest Forms
Drag-and-drop WordPress form builder from WPEverest with a free AI form builder; one Pro licence unlocks all add-ons, payments and integrations.
96
FAQ
Is Formidable Forms free?
Yes. Formidable Forms has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $79/yr.
How many sites use Formidable Forms?
WordPress.org reports 300K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 300K+ sites in total. We estimate around 77K sites run the paid version.
Does Formidable Forms have drag & drop builder?
Yes: included. Drag-and-drop builder in the free plugin.
Does Formidable Forms have conditional logic?
Yes: paid version (Basic). Show/hide logic is a paid feature from the Basic plan.
Does Formidable Forms have stripe payments?
Yes: included. Stripe in Lite with a 3% application fee; fee removed on Business+.
Does Formidable Forms have entry management?
Yes: included. All submissions saved to the database with CSV export.
Is conditional logic free in Formidable Forms?
No. Conditional logic, file uploads, repeaters and multi-page forms all start at the Basic paid plan.
Can I take payments with the free version?
Yes. Lite connects to Stripe, PayPal Commerce and Square, including subscriptions, but Formidable adds a 3% fee per transaction until you hold a Business or Elite licence.
Which plan do I need for quizzes, PDFs or Zapier?
Business ($399/year at renewal, discounted in year one) is the lowest tier that includes quizzes, surveys, PDFs, signatures, Zapier and Google Sheets.
What are Formidable Views?
Views display stored entries on the front end as tables, grids, calendars or listings, available from the Plus plan upward.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.