Looking for a free Formstack alternative? We'll compare Formstack to our WordPress plugin, Formidable Forms to help you choose the best option for your website.
Looking to compare Formstack and Formidable Forms? Or are you are searching for a Formstack alternative?
It's one of our most common presales questions. What's the difference between our WordPress form builder and the alternatives? Well, there's a lot to consider! Which you can see if you read any of the comparison articles we've already put together:
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Jotform Alternative: Formidable Forms vs Jotform ComparedFormstack Alternative
Once again, let's start by comparing another Formidable Forms alternative: Formstack.
If you're new to Formstack, it's a drag and drop form builder. It has a WordPress plugin integration, but you build forms and store form data on the Formstack server.
If you've tried Formstack already and are looking for something else, Formidable is a very worthy alternative. in this post, we'll look at these two form builders side by side so you can decide which one is best for yourself.
👉 Read more: Best Free WordPress Form Plugins
What is Formidable Forms?
Formidable Forms is a drag and drop form builder with dozens of powerful features. One of the things Formidable is recommended for is it's drag and drop interface. Actually, Formidable's form builder looks very much like the one in Formstack (see below). The clear difference is that Formidable allows you to build everything from your WordPress admin. Being a dedicated WordPress plugin also means that Formidable is regularly updated.
Formidable has plenty of advanced features, but it can also keep things simple. With Formidable, you'll be able to add simple contact forms no problem. At the same time, you can use Formidable to build more robust solutions, like multi-step forms for example.
One thing that Formidable does that other builders can't? It can be used to display form data anywhere on your site. That means you can collect data, images, and other media with your web forms and use that data to build your website in real-time. Forums, community websites, membership sites, and many other possibilities exist because of this one simple feature. Formstack does not have any such feature for a couple of reasons:
- In Formstack, data is stored on Formstack servers and is not easily accessible.
- Formstack doesn't have the features needed to manipulate your data to create anything other than reports (which are only viewable in a private website menu)
What is Formstack?
Formstack is a form builder that offers a range of form fields which should suit most users. It has some nice features, like the form builder, several integrations, and advanced security features.
So why would you use Formstack? If you are a WordPress user, that's not an easy question to answer. But for the sake of fairness, let's compare Formidable Forms and Formstack to learn more.
What should you look for in a form builder?
In this comparison, we'll be looking at 4 main areas:
- Ease of use
- Support
- Pricing
- Integrations and features
To find out who comes on top in the Formidable Forms vs Formstack comparison, read on!
Ease of use
When considering ease of use between Formidable Forms and Formstack, it's pretty hard to give either form builder the edge. They both function in pretty much the exact same way. We could give Formidable more points if you are a WordPress user because you can build directly in your WordPress admin. This isn't possible for Formstack, but it might not be a deal-breaker depending on what you are creating. Call this one a draw.
Support
Here's what we usually consider when it comes to support:
- The size and usefulness of the knowledgebase
- Easy access to a human support team
- Ratings from existing customers
When considering the knowledgebase, both Formidable and Formstack have a huge amount of resources. Formidable has hundreds of knowledgebase articles and so does Formstack. Formstack also has several guides that take users through the process of setting up different forms. Formidable also has several of these featured in their blog.
The quality of both knowledgebase sets is top-notch. Clearly a lot of effort has gone into the creation of either one.
Things differ when it comes to human support though. Formstack makes no guarantees about response time when it comes to their email support, which is ominous, to say the least. The lack of priority support could be a real problem for many websites.
Formidable however offers priority support to users on higher plans. Free support is even offered via the forum on the WP.org plugin directory to free plugin users. Formidable Forms also has an active Slack community where users can find answers. Support wherever you want it!
As far as ratings go, we'll compare on GetApp.com. Formstack reviewers give it an average of 4.2 stars, while Formidable reviewers give 4.9. Many of the negative Formstack reviews refer to the lack of support and exponential costs as their main reason behind the poor review.
Pricing
Formidable Forms has a free plugin, while Formstack does not. Let's run through the form fields offered by each plugin first, then talk about pricing in more detail.
Free form fields
Formidable Forms has 14 form fields in its free Formstack alternative. Formstack doesn't have a free plan (although they do offer a free trial for 14 days with no credit card required, which is nice).
Premium form fields
Formidable's premium plans unlock many more fields and features. There are also additional pricing fields designed to streamline payment forms.
Formstack has 18 total form fields in their form builder. We should also point out that there are no custom field options in Formstack, while Formidable allows you to create whatever fields you want (limited only by your web development knowledge).
The Formstack pricing model is where it all falls apart. The basic plan is $50 per month which has significant limitations, and is higher than the top Formidable Forms plan. You'll be limited to 20 forms and 1000 total submissions. If you need more than 1000 submissions ever, you'll have to either upgrade or delete them.
For comparison, you could get Formidable's highest level plan with dozens more features for less than $34 per month for the first year.
Does Formstack stack up against Formidable? Well, if we look at the pricing model, the answer is definitely not. If you are using the most basic Formstack plan and won't need many forms, submissions, or file storage space, then it might be a good option for you.
So what if you upgrade to the top Formstack pricing plan? Then you'd be paying somewhere over $208 per month (that's at least $2,500 per year!!). Since the highest pricing isn't published, it's unclear where the ceiling might be. But as you can see, even if we just compare these two form builders based on form fields, Formidable has vastly more features.
Integrations and features
When you evaluate the Formstack add-ons, their pricing model begins to make a bit more sense. They have a lot of integrations with enterprise-level custom solutions like Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, and Marketo. They also have a WordPress integration, although it's 3 years out of date at the time of this article. Formstack integrates with more than 260 different services!
Formidable doesn't have the same level of enterprise add-ons as Formstack, but there are also some Formidable offers that Formstack is missing. For example, Formstack is also missing WordPress integrations like WooCommerce.
In this comparison, it really depends on what you are using your forms for. If you need one of the hundreds of direct integrations Formidable doesn't offer, probably go with Formstack. If you run a WordPress website, you'd probably go with Formidable.
Formidable Forms vs Formstack: Which one wins?
Although there are some uses for Formstack (integrations for the most part), Formidable Forms is most likely going to be the better choice for most websites.
Does that mean that only beginners will find Formidable Forms useful? Not a chance! Formidable is called the most advanced form builder for a reason. Let's take a deeper look at what makes Formidable one of the top form builders for WordPress below.
Why choose Formidable Forms?
Formidable's free WordPress plugin is an extremely powerful option for free users. It's currently being used by more than 300,000 users around the world.
But advanced users can also find a lot to love when it comes to Formidable. This plugin has some serious power, with several features designed to maximize your online forms and make your WordPress website as strong as possible.
Top Formidable Forms features
Calculated Form Fields
Formidable Forms has one of the most advanced set of calculator features of any form builder. You can use Formidable to perform simple total calculations for eCommerce no problem. Of course, if you want to perform calculations across your form fields, that's possible too. But why stop there? Formidable can be used to compute advanced math equations too. Just be sure to follow the order of operations!
If that's not enough, you can even use stored values to calculate. Or you can save the results of your calculations to use for later. Or you can perform calculations within your Views... the possibilities are endless!
Integrations & Features
Formidable Forms has all the most popular platforms at your fingertips. All you need to do is install the correct add-on and you're good to go. Connect with the best CRM, email marketing platforms, eCommerce, and much more. Stripe, Paypal, MailChimp, Zapier, Hubspot, ActiveCampaign... all the platforms you use!
Surveys & Polls
Formidable has built an awesome suite of survey & poll features that make surveying your audience a breeze. Using Formidable's many more fields to create surveys is easy and, dare we say it, fun! Advanced form fields like the star rating and Likert scale make it easier to get the best survey data possible. And Formidable's charts and reports feature makes it easy to create beautiful reports on the fly.
Why choose Formstack?
You need an enterprise solution
If your business or website is heavily built around other expensive enterprise tools, you may want to consider Formstack. Having said that, it's not always necessary to integrate forms depending on what enterprise software you use.
You like Formstack workflow focus
Formstack got its start by putting together workflow systems for marketing, human resources, and other business uses. Some of them are really just glorified form templates, but with some research, you could find out if their workflow solutions will save you enough time to justify the increased price they demand.
Formidable Forms vs Formstack: Final Verdict
For most users, Formidable Forms will be the form maker of choice. Of course, the only catch is that users would need to be on a WordPress website.
We hope this Formidable Forms vs Formstack comparison has helped you learn the differences between the two form builders.
Formidable Forms is a great Formstack alternative. For more WordPress posts, stay tuned to the Formidable blog!
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