Wondering what form builder to choose for your WordPress site? Today we're comparing Formidable Forms as a Ninja Forms alternative.
Are you looking for a form builder plugin but aren’t sure which one to go with? Whether you’re new to all this or are looking to break away from a plugin that isn’t working for you, we want to help!
Choosing the right plugin for your website can make all the difference to your efficiency, data management, and conversion rates. So, if you’re unhappy with the way things are now but can’t decide which is right for you, keep reading.
Need a Ninja Forms alternative?
The Ninja Forms plugin for WordPress may be on your list of form builders to learn more about. As always, we aim to be fair and objective. We’ll discuss what each plugin offers and the key elements to look for in a form builder. Or, if you'd like a quick summary, here you are:
| Formidable Forms | Ninja Forms | |
| Starting Price | $39.50 for first year | $49.50 for first year |
| Rating on WP.org | 4.7 (93% 4+ star) | 4.4 (84% 4+ star) |
| Free Form Layouts | Yes | No |
| Native Integrations | 10 | 16 |
| Form Templates | 165+ | <10 |
| Baseline Memory Load | 2.7 MB | 5.8 MB |
| Accessible Forms | Yes | No |
👉 Read more: Best Free WordPress Form Plugins
What is Formidable Forms?
Formidable Forms is form builder that gives you control over how you use submitted data. It's a complex form builder made easy with its drag and drop design. You can effortlessly build basic and advanced forms with its features and user friendly interface.
Not only can you build simple contact forms, but also calculators, surveys, quizzes, and payment forms. Then you can use the form data to create directories, real estate listings, classifieds sites, and whatever else you can come up with.
Our goal is to provide a tool that sparks confidence to take on big projects, without the need for big resources or heaps of experience.
What is a Ninja Form in WordPress?
Ninja Forms prides itself on being a user-friendly form builder. It includes a great user interface in both the premium and free versions of Ninja Forms.
Ninja Forms' goal is to offer more integrations for WordPress websites than competitors such as Gravity Forms, but at a lower cost. What they offer is a free alternative to get started, and flexible pricing plans to stay affordable.
Ease of use
Both Formidable Forms and Ninja Forms are easy to use, with a drag and drop interface to help you build a form with columns.
Formidable Forms is easy for beginners, but isn't limiting for developers.
Ninja Forms operates in a similar way for basic forms. They have a really handy form layout builder, which makes forms with side-by-side fields. This makes it easy for beginners.
However, Ninja Forms relies on add-ons for vital features such as conditional logic, multi-paged forms, file uploads, and form layout. This makes it more time consuming to use.
Support
Both plugins offer great support with a lot of documentation to learn how to get the most out of them. Support operates through a simple ticketing system for both plugins.
Formidable Forms is constantly developing new features and improving current ones.
Unfortunately, Ninja Forms' development has stagnated somewhat lately. Their Changelog shows that it's been a while since a big new feature or change was implemented. There have also been numerous big security issues, several of which have gone unfixed. When changes are made, a common issue among users is that installing updates causes websites to crash and go offline, or problems with Ninja Forms not showing up.
Additionally, a very low number of Ninja Forms support tickets have been resolved. Currently, only about 15% of requests have been resolved in the past two months.
Comparing support, you can see ratings for both plugins on WordPress.org. Formidable Forms' support has a rating of 4.7 vs 4.4 for Ninja Forms reviews.
Integrations
Formidable Forms offers a wide range of integrations including payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal, eCommerce platforms, as well integrations with marketing and CRM systems like Salesforce and HubSpot. It also offers email marketing service integrations to build subscription forms.
This means that Formidable Forms goes beyond just form building, as a multi-faceted business tool.
Many of Ninja Forms' major features are available through separate add-ons. This means that their plugin is built with integrations in mind. Ninja Forms offer similar integrations, but with a wider range of available apps. They also support popular business apps like Trello, Slack, and ConvertKit, on top of the usual payment, CRM and eCommerce integrations.
Pricing
Both plugins operate with a freemium model – which means there’s a free version and premium options.
Formidable Forms offers a free version plus plans ranging from $79 to $599 per year.
Ninja Forms also offers a free version, plus options ranging from $99 to $499 a year. Their fifth option is the à la carte plan which allows you to purchase each add-on separately. That way you only get the exact features you want, which can change as your business grows. Prices for this range from $29 to $129 for each add-on, depending on how many you need.
Why choose Formidable Forms as a Ninja Forms alternative?
Create complex applications with form data
One of the key elements of Formidable Forms is control over what you do with your data once you've collected it. This makes it stand out among many of our competitors.
One of our most popular features is built-in Views. This allows you to display a list of all your collected data on your website. For example, it's handy for real estate listings, job boards and event calendars. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy way to display Ninja Forms submissions in WordPress.
Display data in graphs or charts
Following on from the previous point, you can also do more with your data through graphs and charts. You can display entries on any View, page, post or widget. Any charts you create will display live data which will automatically update whenever new entries are received.
Provide front-end editing capabilities
If you need users to update their own form submissions, they can do so with our front-end editing tool. You can choose which submissions are editable for your users, whether that's a View, a list of clickable entries or a user's only entry.
Easily accept multiple items in one section
Some forms require users to input details of multiple items at once. With our Repeaters feature, you can do just that. Users can add a group of form fields any number of times. For example, you could use it to list multiple contact details or names for a sports team registration form.
Make use of data from other forms
Sometimes you need multiple forms to interact with each other behind the scenes. With our Cascading lookup fields feature, you can populate fields with values from other forms. Values can automatically be retrieved and used in a dropdown, checkbox or radio field.
For example, if you need customers to be able to search for car models, they can select the 'Year' in one field and 'Make' in the next one. From there, the 'Model' field will only show car models related to the chosen make. It will automatically pull that data from elsewhere to save users time and hassle.
Add variety to your forms with different fields
Want to add more variety to your forms, either to boost conversions or get more accurate results? You can add time, scale, slider and toggle fields to your forms to collect different types of submissions. Not everything can be answered with a checkbox or a one word answer. These fields can give users the freedom to give you more accurate answers in questionnaires.
Have total control over HTML
If you want more control over how your form looks and functions, you have the option to customize the HTML. You can add a CSS class or move fields around how you want, as well as having control over what sections are visible to your users.
Go paperless with electronic signatures
The era of paper forms is coming to an end. With Formidable, you can ditch the paper and allow electronic signature submissions on your forms. This saves everyone time, and reduces the reliance on paper.
Ensure your forms are accessible to all
With online forms so important to businesses and individuals alike, we think it's essential that forms are accessible to all. We have taken WCAG guidelines on board to make our forms more accessible and screen-reader friendly.
Why choose Ninja Forms?
Help users with handy tips/hints in your forms
Tooltips are really handy to provide more information to help people fill out a form. A user will be able to hover over an item and a small ‘hover box’ will appear to give them more information. This can help users fill in forms more accurately and improve conversions.
Manage more apps in one place
Ninja Forms support a wide range of add-ons with other apps to make everything easier to manage from one place. However, version 3.0 isn’t currently compatible with many of their add-ons, so bear this in mind.
Is Formidable Forms the best Ninja Forms alternative?
Overall, both form builder plugins offer file uploads, conditional logic, form templates, and spam protection. Simple contact forms are included free in both plugins.
Many users choose Formidable Forms for a simple and effective way to manage and display submitted data. This is what makes Formidable Forms really stand out in the market.
The Ninja Forms' free version doesn't allow you to style forms. Formidable Forms, on the other hand, offers a visual styler in the free version.
However, if you’re looking for easy form layouts and plenty of different add-ons, then Ninja Forms could be a good choice for you. Their à la carte plan is handy for those looking only for specific add-ons, and would rather not purchase a full plan.
We hope this post has helped you understand the key differences and features of each plugin, to help you make the best possible choice. We've also compared a few other WordPress form builder plugins to help you decide.
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The Best Gravity Forms Alternative: Formidable Forms vs Gravity FormsAre you a business owner or managing a site that needs a contact form plugin for WordPress? Take a look at the Formidable Forms great form builder features to see how we can help you create forms or build a website you want. With our drag and drop form builder, it's easier than ever!
Please can you make a comparison table? Thanks.
Can you Add another category to your comparison table. Forms are famous for there ability to collect and store data. I find it almost impossible to benchmark these add-ons to bridge from HTML to JavaScript and ultimately JSON Restful API effortlessly, or better put needing in-depth technical support. Can you include a comparison of what it takes to set up API.