2019’s Top 20 Online Form Builders

Give Paper Forms and Fillable PDF’s the Flick

Google Forms, Typeform, Gravityforms, Contact Form 7, this form, that form, the other form… there’s nearly thousands of form-builder programs out there waiting for you to use.

But which one is the best fit for your unique situation? That all depends on which tech stack you use and why you may need to create forms in the first place.

We’ve analysed the 20 best online form builders on the market as of April 2019 and listed them here for your convenience.

Take a close read. Every single one of these form-building SaaS products has its strengths…and maybe even a few weaknesses. Some may specialise in a particular sector or use case, while others might have better integration ability out of the box. Still others may require heavy upgrading, while many may count as simple data harvesters. Last but not least, there also may be those that are all about data integrity and secure local storage.

With so many different solutions available, the trick will be finding the one that suits your needs. It might even be a good idea to try out a few and see exactly how they work before committing.

But, without further ado, let’s begin our rundown of the top 20.

(We’ll present this list in alphabetical order for easy reference.)

123FormBuilder

Review of 123Formbuilder

As its name suggests, 123FormBuilder’s data-focused, easily-integratable solutions make form building as simple as, well, counting to three.

Not a coder? Not a problem. 123FormBuilder features drag-and-drop tools that facilitate easy construction of everything from contact forms to order forms, support requests, even registration forms, quizzes, and surveys. Unsure where to begin? 123FormBuilder provides ready-to-use templates for your convenience. Plus, forms can be synced with other tech services (such as CRMs, automation platforms, etc.) allowing you to aggregate all your data and ultimately gain powerful insight using comprehensive analytics.

Good to Know: Do a bit of research before making a final decision on a 123FormBuilder plan. They have special solutions designed for corporations as well as small businesses (and can likewise tailor their services to specific industries), so be sure not to sign up for any added bells and whistles you may not need.

Price of 123Formbuilder

Free (for a basic plan) to $44.99/month for the high-end “Platinum” plan. Corporate plans start at $84.99/month (billed annually).

Demo Video of 123Formbuilder

Example Templates for 123Formbuilder

Contact Form Template
Online Order Form Template

Cognito Forms

Review of Cognito Forms

With special emphasis placed on customer convenience, Cognito Forms promises tried-and-tested form building that packs an extra logistical punch.

Cognito Forms advertises “superpower” choice fields that can be fitted with dynamic dropdowns or programmed to make quick calculations––all while offering customers the ability to save their work mid-form and finish filling out their information at a later date (as well as the option to edit their fields even after they’ve submitted a form). Forms can also embed payment services such as PayPal, Stripe, or Square (but be warned: Cognito Forms will collect a 1% commission on all Stripe sales).

Good to Know: Cognito Forms’s vast array of features includes settings for language and country, HIPAA compliance, and customisable rating scales. Plugins are also available for WordPress, Zapier, and Microsoft Flow, and there’s even a Windows App for mobile usage.

Price of Cognito Forms

Free to $99/month for the Enterprise plan.

Demo Video

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Templates

All Templates

Device Magic

Once again, the name provides a clue. Device Magic aims to make magic with mobile devices, i.e., to make it easier for workers out in the field to capture information in real time––network service or no.

If your operations take you to remote locations for inspections, surveys, or audits, your business forms need mobility. So, built with hand-held devices in mind, Device Magic’s app solution lets you create detailed forms for in-field use and allows your team members to complete them off site using a phone or tablet (regardless of whether or not there’s a network connection in play). Forms can be outfitted with geo-tagging, imaging, calculations, and a host of other form field features, and all submissions can be monitored from your business headquarters using various platform integrations.

Good to Know: Device Magic is more for industry administrators and fieldworkers than for customer-facing enterprises. If your work doesn’t take you off site that much, you may want to keep looking. If you do find yourself out in the field, however, you stand to save a lot of time (and paper!) with this mobile solution.

Price Range: $25/month (per device, billed annually) – $34/month (per device, billed annually). Enterprise-level organisations are advised to contact Device Magic directly for pricing options.

Demo Video

Case Studies
https://blog.devicemagic.com/international-committee-of-the-red-cross-uses-device-magic-for-field-data-collection
https://blog.devicemagic.com/how-greenewable-solar-brings-solar-power-to-pakistan-with-mobile-forms

FormAssembly

Billed as a diverse form solution with a personal touch, FormAssembly’s features largely cater to the finance, healthcare, higher education, and nonprofit industries.

With a wealth of security and compliance safeguards and an impressive list of “smart” datafield options (including e-signatures, payments, and Salesforce integration), FormAssembly offers a highly-detailed platform with hands-on customer service and training. Organisations that face strict regulations and/or require a verifiable data trail can most likely expect a noticeable uptick in workflow effectiveness and an immense reduction in stress.

Good to Know: FormAssembly’s “robust,” no-nonsense approach to form building is probably not the immediate choice for businesses that require a lot of customer-facing forms or surveys. They seem to deal in function more than “fun.”

Price Range: $89/month (one-user Professional plan, billed annually) to $599/month (three-user Enterprise Cloud plan, billedannually). Potential clients curious about the more extensive Compliance Cloud plan are advised to contact FormAssembly for pricing options.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0yZJ-l6pfg

Case Studies: https://www.formassembly.com/blog/case-study-san-francisco-public-utilities-commission/ , https://www.formassembly.com/blog/case-study-baltimore-corps-application-process/

Formbakery

“Baked” and ready to go in minutes, Formbakery’s forms are short, sweet, and to the point.

Designed with beginners and less-than-confident coders in mind, Formbakery’s drag-and-drop service lets you build simple forms using customisable fields and then spits back a coded version of your personalised forms via email. The solution model doesn’t involve a host server, so you’ll be able to collect and save your form codes to your own servers (eliminating any anxieties about what to do in the event of Formbakery’s untimely demise). Editing and embedding should then be as easy as pie.

Good to Know: Subsidies are available for educators, and those looking for a hosted solution can check out Formbakery’s sister platform, FormKeep (see below).

Price Range: $19 for a one-license/one-form Professional plan to $49 for a 5-license Form Pack plan. (Subsidies available for educators.)

Demo Video: http://formbakery.com/

Formdesk

This versatile SaaS tool streamlines the form-building process and provides next-level statistical reporting that rivals CRM capabilities.

Formdesk’s multilingual solution brings international scope to an already highly extensive SaaS––one that includes “intelligent” forms that shapeshift according to how your subject answers each question, PDF and barcode generators, and aggregate data reporting that can be displayed in terms of numbers or reimagined in chart format. The seemingly endless list of features (SMS notifications, autoresponses, calculating fields, etc.) will no doubt help enhance your surveys, registration forms, order forms, applications, and the like, but the real star here Formdesk’s data-harnessing powers.

Good to Know: Formdesk is well versed in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish and can be programmed to translate notification messages for your readers.

Price Range: Free (three-month trial plan) to €49/year (one-year Standard plan, billed annually) to €1000/year (one-year Business plan, billed annually). (Please note that the Free and Standard plans have a “forms closed” policy attached that will render your forms unavailable if you surpass your allotted quota.)

Demo Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD-uPWCZUS8WhRFvhbfyNXQ

Example Templates: https://fd7.formdesk.com/demo/google-maps-marker2 , https://fd7.formdesk.com/demo/expenses2/?get=1&sidn=58e85836529a402994ce022413d8751b

FormKeep

Say goodbye to backend headaches when you employ this cloud-based, form-building tool.

Advertised as a software that “enables you to build and design your forms using any technology,” FormKeep’s API works with your existing systems to help you gather your form data and store it in the cloud (to be accessed and processed by your team at any time). Integrations include Trello, MailChimp, Salesforce, and more, all of which can be leveraged to facilitate better interdepartmental communications or to gather and analyse customer information.

Good to Know: FormKeep “keeps” your form data for you so you never have to worry about backend storage. If your operations involve a wide array of static sites, FormKeep may be a uniquely helpful option.

Price Range: $4.99/month (one-form Starter plan) to $99/month (30-form Agency plan). Free five-day trials are also available.

Overview Video: https://formkeep.com/

Interactive Demo: https://formkeep.com/guides/live-demo

Formsite

A payment-collector powerhouse, Formsite’s platform puts over 100 templates at your fingertips and can also help you home in on customer satisfaction rates using polling and other types of high-def reporting.

Yet another solution that aims to keep things as stress-free as possible, Formsite utilises the drag-and-drop method to help users zip through the form-building process. Even better, Formsite’s services allow you to embed complex response tools (such as QR codes, captchas, and more) into your forms. And, like Formdesk, Formsite enables you to reformat your aggregated data into a chart or a graph. Data can also be integrated with a variety of other systems for added analysis.

Good to Know: A real Fromsite highlight is its payment-collector capabilities. Integrations include Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and Braintree––and standard credit card payment fields can also be embedded into your forms.

Price Range: Free (five-form plan) to $99.95/month (100-form Pro 3 plan). (There’s also a free 14-day trial for the 10-form Pro 1 plan, which usually costs $29.95/month.)

Demo Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/OnlineForms/videos

Templates: https://www.formsite.com/templates/

Formstack

Created to help you keep things humming along on the home front, Formstack specialises in
optimising internal processes and organising workflows.

When it comes to administrative forms and interorganisational data, Formstack has your back. With drag-and-drop forms that can employ conditional logic, e-signatures, and a comprehensive array of other features, Formstack can serve as a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to maximise team efficiency and streamline any and all data collection procedures (including those involving fundraising invites, employee onboards, marketing surveys, and more). Over 200 templates are available, and Formstack’s 40+ integrations let you sync with everything from Act-On to Zoho CRM. There’s even a “Conversion Kit” add-on for anyone hoping to kick their conversion rate optimisation into high gear.

Good to Know: Like FormAssembly, Formstack is well suited to those in the nonprofit, healthcare, and higher education industries who deal in large volumes of data and must remain compliant with industry or government regulations (security and compliance are touchstones of the Formstack brand).

Price Range: $19/month (one-user, five-form Bronze plan) to $249/month (10-user, 1,000-form Platinum plan). Enterprise clients are advised to contact Formstack directly for pricing options.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-DcdzA3l4g

Templates: https://www.formstack.com/templates

Formstreamer

Our bias may be showing a bit here, but Formstreamer’s game-changing platform is sleek, simple, effective, SLA-compliant, and secure. Who could ask for anything more?

Described by one enthusiastic project manager as “Google Forms with workflow on steroids,” Formstreamer is cutting-edge digital form building that’s custom-fitted to stimulate your workflows and make your day-to-day a whole lot more efficient. Streamlined integration? We’ve got that. Fully-managed cloud servicing that stows your data in the Google Cloud Platform? We’ve got that, too. There’s even SSO capabilities for enterprise customers so you’ll never have to worry about pesky logins.

Good to Know: Formstreamer is designed to scale to your business as it grows. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re already in full swing, Formstreamer has form-building services to support you every step of the way. Oh, and with Formstreamer, you’ll never be restricted to just a few forms. Even our free plan includes unlimited forms for all your needs.

Price Range: Free – $166/month (Business with basic integrations and 24/7 support). Customers interested in more powerful integrations should contact Formstreamer for pricing options surrounding our Enterprise plan.

Features: https://www.formstreamer.com/#features

frevvo

Easy form generation and visual workflow automation? Check and check. (Looks like there’s a reason frevvo has two checkmarks in its logo.)

A versatile solution that emphasises all things visual, frevvo is as at home in the office as it is in the field (that is, mobile capabilities come standard). The platform’s ultimate aim is to ease business and nonprofit pain-points––think student consent forms, time-off requests, purchase orders, government-issue onboarding forms, etc.–– and to provide expert assistance that helps make the form-building process suck a whole lot less (their word, not ours). In-built tools have been engineered to automate workflows and data collection at every turn, allowing you to sync your information to aggregate solutions like SharePoint and Google Apps so your intel can go the extra mile. And frevvo forms are inherently dynamic, featuring conditional, self-calculating, and pre-populating fields (among others).

Good to Know: Frevvo’s deployment is entirely flexible, meaning you can run your frevvo operations via the cloud or host frevvo at your headquarters.

Price Range: $150/month (Cloud plan) to around $740/year (includes Atlassian Confluence). Customers looking for on-premise deployment at their own data centers are offered separate plans for around $4,310/year for a five-concurrent-user plan.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=-z9cKI5zOGg

Example Templates: https://www.frevvo.com/edu-form-workflow-templates , https://www.frevvo.com/new-employee-forms

Google Forms

Just like its gold-standard search engine, Google’s form-building service is reliable, user-friendly, and free.

Google Forms works on several level––from the fun and informal to the polished and professional––and its trademark easily-digestible interface makes it an ideal partner if you’re looking to create quick surveys, Q&As, polls, or registration forms that integrate masterfully with Google Sheets for lightening-fast analysis. Forms can be personalised with photos or logos (Google will then match the colour scheme for maximum aesthetic effect), and there’s also a range of colourful templates to choose from.

Good to Know: Be warned, though, this free service doesn’t come with options for payment capabilities. Google G Suite does offer more enhanced features for a price (including unlimited cloud storage for those who sign up for the higher-end plans and employ more than five users), but G Suite=powered forms don’t seem to be quite as flexible as some of their competitors.

Price Range: Free. (G Suite packages range from $5/month per user to $25/month per user). G Suite also offers free 14-day trials.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxlfPLPI0wM

Templates: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/?ftv=1

Gravity Forms

Your one-stop-shop form builder if WordPress is your website manager of choice.

An advanced form-building tool that plays solely to a WordPress audience, Gravity Forms features include calculations, conditional fields, file upload capabilities, payment integrations, and more. Their library of add-ons is likewise extensive and includes MailChimp, Stripe, PayPal, Dropbox, and Zapier. There’s also 30+ pre-built form fields to choose from if you have any trouble getting started.

Good to Know: Though Gravity Forms is exclusively for WordPress-powered sites, the benefits to WordPress users are pretty stunning. As a WordPress devotee, you’ll be able to embed your forms directly into your site, seamlessly transfer the information you collect into new WordPress posts, and have access to a network of third-party-contributor add-ons designed to “extend the power and reach” of the Gravity Form product.

Price Range: $59/year (Basic one-site license) to $259/year (Elite unlimited-site license)

Demo Sign Up: https://www.gravityforms.com/demo/

Video Tutorial (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNt_QKIC83U

HubSpot’s Form Builder

A hard-working top-of-funnel tool for sellers and marketers that comes standard with HubSpot’s higher-end Marketing Hub plans.

Primarily a marketing service, HubSpot’s forms feature focuses largely on gathering customer information to be processed via HubSpot’s Marketing Hub CRM. Data collected via your HubSpot forms will sync with the CRM to help build new contacts and nurture leads, and forms can be effortlessly embedded into your product website. Dozens of fields are available to help you build consumer surveys, and upper-echelon Marketing Hub users can also activate “progressive profiling” that will present new questions to returning site visitors, allowing you to glean even more detailed info from your prospective buyers.

Price Range: Hubspot’s form builder is a standard feature in the Marketing Hub Professional (starting at $800/month, billed annually) and Enterprise (starting at $3200/month, billed annually) plan levels.

Marketing Hub Starter Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m791NQ7DYQ8

CRM Templates: https://marketplace.hubspot.com/products?_ga=2.95823836.1942458112.1553655518-289027572.1549935517

JotForm

JotForm advertises “the largest selection of free form templates available online” and has a roster of over 4 million users. Oh, and did we mention there’s over 100 integrations?

You’d be hard-pressed to beat JotForm in terms of bang for buck. Its form capabilities run the gamut from basic application forms to more complex payment orders, and its features include both regular and fillable PDF builders––all for a monthly fee of no more than $82.50/month (unless you’re looking to go enterprise). With integrations that include PayPal, Square, Google Calendar, and Google Drive, we can’t find much to complain about.

Good to Know: Forms created with the free Starter plan will feature JotForm branding.

Price Range: Free to $82.50/month Gold plan (billed annually). Note: Gold and Silver ($32.50/month, billed annually) come with HIPAA-compliant form capabilities.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntazy2L6Q4c

Example Templates: https://www.jotform.com/form-templates/?classic

Leadformly

As with Hubspot, Leadformly’s form-building platform functions primarily as a lead generator. If your aim is to attract prospects and expand your lead database, Leadformly has you covered.

A veritable marketer’s Swiss Army knife, Leadformly comes outfitted with lead segmentation tools, in-built validation tech, and optimised templates created solely for the purpose of collecting leads and turning them into buyers. As such, Leadformly advertises a possible 300% lead increase per marketing dollar. There’s even a spam blocker to weed out false prospects.

Good to Know: Integrations? Leadformly boasts over 1,000 (thanks in part to a special agreement with Zapier). Other unique features include multi-user management and forms that produce conditional CTAs..

Price Range: $37/month (two-user Essential plan, billed annually) to $149/month (10-user Team plan, billed annually).

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1vb_mFw1gs

Templates: https://leadformly.com/features/

Paperform

Give your forms a personal spin with this highly-adaptable, multi-faceted form builder.

Not a techie but still hoping to create dynamic forms that will dazzle the eye? Paperform may be the solution for you. Order forms, payment/donation pages, quizzes, RSVPs, and more can be elegantly formatted using Paperform’s doc-simulated platform––meaning the form of your dreams is a only a few clicks away (and you’ll be able to use customised text wherever and whenever you want). And if you’re tired of functional forms that don’t display much personality, Paperform lets you spice things up with your own images, logos, or videos.

Good to Know: Embedding and integration are a snap with Paperform, as are payment capabilities, submission notifications, and respondent analytics.

Price Range: $12.50/month (one-user Essentials plan, billed annually) to $82.50+/month (5+-user Agency plan, billed annually).

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=pkZE0M-fr4o

Templates: https://paperform.co/templates/

Typeform

Yet another solution that’s great for marketers, Typeform’s platform carries uniquely engaging “conversational forms,” surveys, quizzes, and more.

For those who feel the standard “please fill out this form and we’ll get back to you” format is a bit impersonal but still want to collect as much information as possible, Typeform has come up with a clever compromise. Their forms (designed by you according to your style, colour, theme, and photographic preferences) progress more or less like a conversation, with one question feeding logically into the next, one at a time. Questions can also grouped into distinctive “blocks” according to possible answers, giving the user experience an extra-responsive feel. Easy integrations with CRMs, analytical tools, email, etc. abound, and payment capabilities are likewise available.

Good to Know: Typeform’s form-building solution perhaps works best when gathering and nurturing leads, hence its impressive array of templates engineered with an eye towards getting to know customers better.

Price Range: Free (Basic 100-responses-per-month plan) to $700/year (PRO+ plan)

Demo Videos: https://www.typeform.com/product/

Templates: https://www.typeform.com/templates/

Wufoo

With a client roster that includes Amazon, Disney, Microsoft, and Twitter, SurveyMonkey’s Wufoo form builder appeals to a variety of industries and offers extensive backend custom reporting.

No need to integrate with a CRM or any other analytical tool, Wufoo can handle your data aggregation and organisation all by itself. A branch of SurveyMonkey, Wufoo’s team is clearly passionate about out-of-the-box analytics, and every plan comes standard with unlimited reporting. Still, if you feel like exporting your data to a different system for processing and analysis, Wufoo can do that for you as well; integrations range from PayPal, to Dropbox, Facebook, Asana, Salesforce, and much, much more. Forms are customisable, but there’s over 400 templates for your convenience.

Good to Know: Wufoo take security very seriously. All forms are hosted on SSL-encrypted pages, and Wufoo’s own servers (for those who wish to employ Wufoo’s file storage services) are housed in an SOC 2, Type II audited data center.

Price Range: Free (five-form plan) to $183.25/month (unlimited-form Ultimate plan, billed annually).

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9k6jggKJg

Templates: https://www.wufoo.com/gallery/templates/

Zoho Forms

A perfect partner for Zoho users, Zoho Forms works as an extension of Zoho’s other CRM and workflow tools, or can stand alone as an independent form builder with excellent mobile functionality, customisable themes, and dynamic fields.

It’s no question that Zoho is the obvious choice for anyone already using Zoho apps. Still, with thoughtful features like instant email notifications, PDF generators, and custom reporting, Zoho has much to offer those who operate outside the Zoho app family. The Zoho form template library anticipates almost every type of business scenario––from the e-commerce order form to the healthcare patient admission form––and integrations with Salesforce, Google Sheet, Zapier and WordPress are readily available for those who prefer other organisational systems.

Good to Know: Zoho Forms has apps compatible with iOS and Android for anyone looking to “create forms on the fly” in an easy, breezy mobile format.

Price Range: $8/month (one-user Basic plan, billed annually) to $80/month (100-user Premium plan, billed annually). There’s also a three-form starter’s plan that’s accessible for free.

Demo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp_0n5Ko74s

Templates: https://www.zoho.com/forms/templates.html