CraftForms vs Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms has grown rapidly thanks to a generous free tier, competitive pricing, and a modern interface that punches above its weight. Here's how CraftForms compares.
- Compared with
- Fluent Forms 6.2.16
- Features checked
- 51
- Checked on
- Summary
- Where each one leads
| Feature | CraftForms | Fluent Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Platform & Builder | ||
| Free version available | Yes | Yes |
| Native Gutenberg block builder | Yes | No |
| Elementor native widget | Yes | Yes |
| Bricks native element | Yes | No |
| CF7 importer | Yes | Yes |
| Fields & Form Logic | ||
| Multi-step forms | Yes | Yes |
| Conversational forms (one question per screen) | Yes | Yesfree |
| Repeater field | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional logic | Yes | Yes |
| Swatches (color, image, text, card) | Yes | image only |
| Live data display (Info block) | Yes | No |
| File uploads | Yes | Yes |
| Digital signatures | Yes | paid add-on |
| Save & resume | No | Yes |
| Multilingual forms (one form, many languages) | Yesbuilt-in | via WPML add-on |
| Phone field with country picker | Yes | YesPro |
| Documents & Output | ||
| PDF generation (designed templates) | Yes | free add-on (presets) |
| QR code / barcode field | Yes | No |
| Layered Image | Yes | No |
| Product image viewer (swaps on selection) | Yes | No |
| Email & Delivery | ||
| Email template designer (Gutenberg) | Yes | No |
| Email delivery log | Yes | via FluentSMTP |
| SMTP per-form configuration | Yes | via plugin |
| Spam protection visitors never see | Yes | Yes |
| Commerce & Payments | ||
| Price calculations / formulas | Yes | YesPro |
| Price matrix (2D lookup tables) | Yes | No |
| Stripe payments | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal payments | Yes | Yes |
| Mollie / Square payments | Yes | YesPro |
| WooCommerce integration | Yes | No |
| Stock management | Yes | payment items only |
| Built-in orders system | Yes | No |
| Order analytics / reporting | Yes | No |
| Booking & Scheduling | ||
| Booking datepicker (hotel-style, slots) | Yes | No |
| Booking calendar view | Yes | No |
| Per-date / per-slot inventory tracking | Yes | No |
| Seasonal rates / date-based pricing | Yes | No |
| iCal sync (Airbnb, Booking.com etc.) | Yes | No |
| Developer & Integrations | ||
| Submission database / admin panel | Yes | Yes |
| Webhook submit action | Yes | Yes |
| Email-marketing integrations (Mailchimp, Brevo…) | Yes | Yes |
| CRM / Zapier / Google Sheets | via webhook | YesPro |
| Conditional submit actions ("Run only if") | Yes | Yes |
| Visual automation / flow builder | Yes | via FluentCRM |
| Register user submit action | Yes | Yes |
| Create post submit action | Yes | Yes |
| REST API / headless submissions | Yes | partial |
| Embed on external sites (JS embed) | Yes | No |
| AI Features | ||
| AI: Integrated form generation (chat) | Soon | Yes |
| AI: MCP / Abilities API | Yes | Yes |
| AI: Prompt guidance in docs | Yes | No |
Soon on the CraftForms roadmap. Competitor details as published on the date above; tell us if something has changed.
Where CraftForms leads
- Native Gutenberg form builder — real blocks, not a shortcode wrapper
- PDF Builder — design PDF templates in Gutenberg and auto-generate documents from submissions; Fluent PDF is a separate plugin with preset templates
- Price calculations — full formula engine with 50+ functions, lookup tables and Smart Variables; Fluent Forms Pro has numeric calculation fields only
- Price matrix (2D lookup tables) — not available in Fluent Forms
- QR code / barcode field — not available in Fluent Forms
- Layered Image — composite live preview images from selected options; Fluent Forms has no equivalent
- Product image viewer — thumbnail gallery with zoom that swaps the main product image live as options change; not available in Fluent Forms
- Full swatch set — color, image, text, and card selectors free; Fluent Forms supports image options only
- Live data display (Info block) — free and unique to CraftForms
- Bricks native element — Fluent Forms has Elementor/Oxygen widgets but no Bricks element
- Full email infrastructure — template designer, delivery log, SMTP per form
- Complete booking system — hotel-style datepicker, calendar view, slots, seasonal rates, iCal sync
- Standalone orders system with analytics — full order lifecycle and reporting without WooCommerce
- WooCommerce integration — forms attach to products with stock management and Edit configuration from the cart
- Embed on external sites — JavaScript embed (no iframe) with full calc & logic
- Signature included free — Fluent Forms sells its signature field as a separate add-on
- Visual Flows (paid plans) — branching automations started by a form or a WooCommerce order
- Multi-step forms in the free version — Steps block with a progress bar and per-step checks; Fluent Forms puts multi-step in Pro
- Translations built in, free — one form, its emails and PDFs in every language, with a glossary and CSV/XLIFF export; Fluent Forms relies on WPML and its translation add-on
- Phone field with a country picker, free — flag, dial code and a length check per country; Fluent Forms' phone field is Pro
Where Fluent Forms has an edge
- Conditional logic in the free tier — included free (CraftForms: paid plans only)
- Conversational forms — one-question-at-a-time style, basic version free (CraftForms: paid plans)
- Save & resume — available in Pro (CraftForms: roadmap)
- Free tier value — 25+ field types, conditional logic, Stripe and an AI builder at no cost
- Free AI form builder, plus an MCP server for AI assistants (CraftForms: roadmap)
- Integration breadth — 60+ integrations in Pro (CraftForms 2.0: four email-marketing tools)