Choosing the right contact form plugin is crucial for connecting with your website visitors and leads. The best WordPress contact form plugins make it easy to create custom, professional contact forms while providing helpful features like conditional logic, multi-page forms, file uploads, and integrations with popular third-party services.
In this comprehensive guide for 2024, I‘ll compare the top seven contact form plugins on the market today based on:
- Features
- Ease of use
- Pricing and value
- Use case examples
- Pros and cons
Let‘s dive in to find the best WordPress contact form plugin options for your site and goals…
1. Formidable Forms – Best Overall Contact Form Plugin
Formidable Forms continues to lead the pack when it comes to powerful WordPress contact form plugins thanks to its drag-and-drop form builder and flexibility to create complex, multi-page forms for a wide range of use cases.
Features
- Intuitive drag-and-drop form builder
- 300+ pre-built form templates
- Multi-page forms
- Smart conditional logic
- Repeatable fields
- Calculated fields
- File & image uploads
- Payment integrations (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net)
- Partial entries
- Conversational forms
- Workflow automation
- Zapier integration
- CRM integrations
- Spam protection
Pros
- Powerful yet intuitive form builder
- Great flexibility for diverse use cases
- Robust workflow automations
- Industry-leading conditional logic
- New "Conversational Forms" feature for guided data collection
- Improved styling flexibility
- Trusted security protections
Cons
- Steeper learning curve for advanced features
- Higher cost than some competitors
Formidable Forms strikes the best balance of advanced functionality and ease of use. Their latest improvements to guided forms and styling flexibility solidify it as our top pick for 2024.
Pricing
Starts at $399/year. Offers first-year discounts up to 40%.
2. WPForms – Most User-Friendly Contact Form Plugin
Known for their incredibly simple WordPress drag-and-drop form builder, WPForms makes creating contact forms intuitive for beginners. It remains a solid choice for its responsive forms and library of helpful templates.
Features
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- 100+ templates
- Instant form responses
- Multi-step forms
- Smart conditional logic
- Partial entries
- File uploads
- Payment integrations
- Webhooks & workflows
- CRM & email marketing integrations
Pros
- Extremely easy to use form builder
- Quality templates
- Helpful backends features like workflows
- Responsive on all devices
Cons
- Less robust vs other premium plugins
- Limited design flexibility without code
WPForms is the best WordPress contact form plugin focusing purely on simplicity and ease of use.
Pricing
Starts at $199/year. Offers first-year discounts up to 30%.
3. Gravity Forms – Great for Payment Forms
Gravity Forms has been an industry leader since 2008 for its versatile payment integration options, Partial Entries feature to save incomplete submissions, and ease of use.
Features
- User-friendly drag-and-drop builder
- Frameworks for complex form logic
- Multiple payment integrations
- Surveys & polls
- Partial Entries
- Signatures & file uploads
- Automatic form backup
Pros
- Payment integration flexibility
- Useful Partial Entries feature
- saves incomplete form submissions
- Reliable support & updates
- Trusted security protections
Cons
- Less form customization flexibility
- No native Zapier integration
Gravity Forms is the best choice if accepting payments or allowing people to save partially completed forms.
Pricing
Starts at $59/year. Offers discounted multi-year plans.
4. Caldera Forms – Great Free Option
Caldera Forms remains one of the most full-featured free WordPress contact form plugins. It‘s an excellent way to test the waters before upgrading to a paid form solution.
Features
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- Multi-column layouts
- File & image uploads
- Calculation fields
- Geolocation integration
- Custom callbacks
Pros
- No limitations despite being free
- Great functions out of the box
- Active development & updates
Cons
- Limited free templates
- Support focused on premium users
- Some features require upgrade
Caldera Forms remains the most full-featured free contact form plugin for getting started.
Pricing
Free version. Paid upgrades from $75/year for add-ons.
5. Fluent Forms – Great for Developer Flexibility
Fluent Forms stands out from the WordPress form plugin crowd thanks to its developer-friendly customizations, hooks and filters, and seamless integration with modern WP Stack technologies.
Features
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- Smart conditional logic
- Partial entries
- Multi-column layouts
- Repeater fields
- WP Stack & REST API integration
- Unlimited templates
Pros
- Developer flexibility for customization
- Smart conditional logic rules
- Multilingual capability
Cons
- Steeper learning curve
- No native payment options
Fluent Forms is the most customizable advanced contact form plugin for developers and agencies.
Pricing
Starts at $39/year.
6. Contact Form 7 – Great for WordPress Experts
Contact Form 7 remains popular among the WordPress community for its lightweight, extensible code base. But the lack of a drag-and-drop editor means it‘s better suited for developers and site owners comfortable writing HTML and shortcodes.
Features
- Lightweight solution
- Total HTML form customization
- reCAPTCHA support
- Validation filters
- Spam filtering
Pros
- Trusted & lightweight plugin
- Infinitely customizable markup
Cons
- Requires HTML knowledge
- No drag-and-drop editor
- Few native features like conditional logic
Contact Form 7 remains a powerful option for developers prioritizing customization and flexibility.
Pricing
Free
7. Ninja Forms – Great for Beginner-Friendly Features
Ninja Forms makes it easy to create functional, quality contact forms complete with useful features and integrations that just work well together.
Features
- Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
- Quality form templates
- File uploads & multi-page forms
- Workflows & mailing lists
- Payment integrations
- Zapier integration
- Spam filtering
Pros
- Straightforward drag-and-drop editor
- Great well-rounded capabilities
- Helpful workflows feature
Cons
- Design flexibility requires CSS code
- Higher pricing tiers
Ninja Forms strikes the right balance of essential features and usability aimed at non-developers.
Pricing
Starts at $99/year. Offers first-year discounts up to 20%.
Comparing Top Plugin Functionality Head to Head
When evaluating the advanced capabilities of premium WordPress contact form plugins beyond core features, there are some key areas where they differentiate themselves.
Conditional Logic
The ability to change form field visibility or requirements based on user responses is extremely powerful. Here‘s how the top plugins stack up for conditional logic:
| Plugin | Conditional Logic Capability |
|---|---|
| Formidable Forms | Robust rules w/ flexible triggers |
| WP Forms | Decent functionality |
| Gravity Forms | Wide range of triggers |
| Fluent Forms | Very advanced smart conditions |
Anti-Spam & Security
Ensuring genuine, bot and spam-free submissions is crucial. Here are some top anti-spam and security protections:
| Plugin | Protections Offered |
|---|---|
| Ninja Forms | CAPTCHAs, Honeypots, Rate Limiting |
| WP Forms | CAPTCHAs, Activity Logs, IP Blacklists |
| Formidable Forms | reCAPTCHA, Honeypot Traps, WordFence Integration |
As you can see, the most robust plugins combine multiple layers like CAPTCHAs, activity monitoring, and integration with security plugins.
Key Factors for Choosing the Best Contact Form Plugin
While all the most popular WordPress contact form plugins have helpful core features, there are some additional key factors to guide your buying decision:
Features Needed
Consider whether you just need a simple contact form, multi-page subscription form, appointment scheduler or even payment integrations. Leading plugins like Gravity Forms and Formidable Forms offer maximum flexibility no matter the use case.
Ease of Use
Look for an intuitive drag-and-drop form builder that allows both beginners and developers to quickly create forms. Prioritize ease of use but while still providing advanced functionality for growth.
Security & Compliance
Data collection forms require air-tight security and spam prevention together with compliance like GDPR and accessibility standards. Lean on trusted form plugins that make compliance easy.
Budget
Paid contact form plugins offer considerably more features, updates and great support. But quality free plugins like Caldera Forms and Forminator can still get the job done. For middle ground, consider discounted first-year pricing from top plugins like Formidable Forms and WP Forms to maximize value.
Over to You
At the end of the day, your website goals and technical capabilities determine the best WordPress contact form plugin. Use this guide to weigh the options based on features versus ease of use and pricing.
Focus on core features like flexible form building plus any advanced must-haves like payment integrations or design personalization. And don‘t be afraid to compare a few leading contenders to determine the best fit!
