Quick answer
- Choose WPForms if you want the easiest drag-and-drop builder for contact forms, signups and payments. It’s used on 5 million+ sites.
- Choose Formidable Forms if you need calculators, advanced surveys or to display form entries on your site with Views.
- Both have free versions, a 14-day money-back guarantee and 50% off the first year. Formidable starts lower ($39.50 vs $49.50 a year).
- Both renew at full price, so compare the second-year cost too.
WPForms and Formidable Forms are two of the most popular form plugins for WordPress. They overlap a lot, but they’re built for slightly different users: WPForms for simplicity, Formidable for power.
Here’s how they compare on features, pricing and ease of use, using each company’s official pricing and WordPress.org data.
Side-by-side comparison
| Formidable Forms | WPForms | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | WordPress plugin | WordPress plugin |
| Free version | Yes (300K+ active installs, 4.8 stars from 1,389 reviews) | Yes, WPForms Lite (5M+ active installs, 4.8 stars from 14,389 reviews) |
| Paid pricing | From $39.50/year for 1 site (Basic, normally $79); Plus $99.50, Business $199.50, Elite $299.50 | From $49.50/year for 1 site (Basic, normally $99); Plus $99.50, Pro $199.50, Elite $299.50 |
| Sites | 1 site (Basic) to unlimited (Elite) | 1 site (Basic) to unlimited (Elite) |
| Refund | 14-day money-back guarantee | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| Best for | Calculators, surveys and showing form data on your site | Beginners who want an easy drag-and-drop builder |
Formidable Forms
- Type: WordPress plugin
- Free version: Yes (300K+ active installs, 4.8 stars from 1,389 reviews)
- Pricing: From $39.50/year for 1 site (Basic, normally $79); Plus $99.50, Business $199.50, Elite $299.50
- Refund: 14-day money-back guarantee
- Best for: Calculators, surveys and showing form data on your site
- Good to know: Formidable Views (from Plus) displays entries as tables, grids and calendars; 3% payment fee until Business; renewals at full price
WPForms
- Type: WordPress plugin
- Free version: Yes, WPForms Lite (5M+ active installs, 4.8 stars from 14,389 reviews)
- Pricing: From $49.50/year for 1 site (Basic, normally $99); Plus $99.50, Pro $199.50, Elite $299.50
- Refund: 14-day money-back guarantee
- Best for: Beginners who want an easy drag-and-drop builder
- Good to know: 2,100+ templates; payments on Pro and Elite (a 3% fee applies on the free version); renewals at full price
Ease of use vs power
WPForms focuses on being quick to learn, with a large template library and a clean drag-and-drop builder. Formidable is also drag-and-drop, but it adds more advanced tools, like calculations on every plan and Views for turning entries into front-end tables, grids and calendars. If you just need contact forms, WPForms is simpler; if your forms do the heavy lifting, Formidable goes further.
Which one should you choose?
- Simple contact, signup and payment forms: WPForms.
- Quote calculators or complex logic: Formidable Forms.
- Directories or listings built from form entries: Formidable Forms (Views, from Plus).
- Lowest entry price: Formidable Basic at $39.50 for the first year.
Our verdict
WPForms is the better pick for most bloggers and small businesses because it’s so easy to use. Formidable Forms is the stronger choice when you need calculators, data displays or app-like forms. Try the free versions of both before you buy.
Comparing more options? See our roundup of the best WordPress form plugins.
FAQs
It depends. Formidable is more powerful for calculators and data displays; WPForms is easier for everyday forms.
Formidable Basic starts at $39.50 for the first year, compared with $49.50 for WPForms Basic. Both renew at full price.
Yes. WPForms Lite and the free Formidable Forms plugin are both on WordPress.org.
Both support payments. WPForms charges a 3% fee on the free version; Formidable charges 3% until the Business plan.
Yes, but you’ll need to rebuild your forms in the new plugin.
Both offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Prices and plans from each company’s official website, and plugin data from WordPress.org, checked on November 7, 2026.
