Quick Verdict
Choose Gravity Forms if...
Developers and agencies building complex, data-driven forms who need calculated fields and a rich add-on ecosystem.
Choose Ninja Forms if...
WordPress users who want a free core and only need to pay for specific features as they grow.
Choose WPForms if...
Beginners and small business owners who want quick setup with templates and don't need advanced calculations.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Gravity Forms | Ninja Forms | WPForms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drag & Drop Builder | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Step Forms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| File Uploads | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Payment Forms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Calculated Fields | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| User Registration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Frontend Post Submission | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conversational Forms | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gutenberg Block | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gutenberg-Native | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI Form Builder | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Digital Signatures | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Surveys & Polls | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quizzes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling / Date Limits | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Entry Management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Entries | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Partial Entries | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Geolocation | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Webhooks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom CSS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Responsive Design | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ajax Submission | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Anti-Spam | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| reCAPTCHA | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| hCaptcha | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cloudflare Turnstile | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Honeypot | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Pricing Comparison
| Plan | Gravity Forms | Ninja Forms | WPForms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Version | ✗ | ✓Free | ✓Free |
| Starting Price | $59/year | $99/year | $49.5/year |
| Top Tier | Nonprofit: $129/year | Elite: $499/year | Elite: $299.5/year |
Integrations
Email Marketing
| activecampaign | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| aweber | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| brevo | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| campaign monitor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| constant contact | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| convertkit | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| drip | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| getresponse | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| hubspot | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| mailchimp | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| mailerlite | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Payment
| 2checkout | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| authorize net | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| mollie | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| paypal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| square | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| stripe | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
CRM
| hubspot | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| salesforce | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| zoho | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Automation
| make | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| uncanny automator | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| zapier | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Other
| dropbox | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| google sheets | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| rest api | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| slack | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| trello | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| twilio | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Pros & Cons
Gravity Forms
Pros
- ✓Calculated fields built into every plan (no add-on needed)
- ✓Best-in-class third-party ecosystem (GravityView, Gravity Perks, Gravity Flow)
- ✓All core form capabilities identical across plans — only add-ons differ
- ✓Strong REST API and developer hooks
- ✓Nonprofit pricing ($129/yr for Elite-level) is excellent
Cons
- ✗No free version or trial — requires upfront payment
- ✗Most advanced features (signatures, surveys, geolocation, webhooks) require Elite ($259/yr)
- ✗Third-party ecosystem can make total cost unpredictable
- ✗No AI form builder
- ✗Conversational forms only available at Elite tier ($259/yr)
- ✗Not Gutenberg-native; block merely embeds the classic builder
Ninja Forms
Pros
- ✓Free core plugin with genuinely useful features (calculated fields included free)
- ✓Calculated fields available in the free version — unlike most competitors
- ✓Modular add-on model lets you pay only for what you need
- ✓Good developer extensibility with hooks and filters
- ✓Easy drag-and-drop interface suitable for beginners
Cons
- ✗Add-on model gets expensive quickly if you need multiple features
- ✗Not Gutenberg-native (uses its own drag-and-drop builder)
- ✗No conversational forms or signatures
- ✗Heavy first-party scripts compared to Fluent Forms
- ✗Renewal pricing after first-year discount is a common complaint
WPForms
Pros
- ✓Largest template library (2,100+) in the form plugin space
- ✓Most beginner-friendly UI with drag-and-drop visual builder
- ✓AI form builder included
- ✓Native Gutenberg block for embedding forms
- ✓Free version available on WordPress.org
Cons
- ✗Most powerful features locked behind Pro ($199.50/yr) or Elite ($299.50/yr)
- ✗Renewal pricing nearly doubles the intro price
- ✗Calculations Addon available but only on Pro tier ($199.50/yr) and above
- ✗No true Gutenberg-native experience (block embeds a separate form builder)
- ✗Webhooks only available at Elite tier ($299.50/yr)