CraftForms vs Formidable Forms
Formidable Forms targets advanced users and developers who need forms that do more than collect data — think front-end data display, application builders, and directory sites. Here's how CraftForms compares.
- Compared with
- Formidable Forms 7.0
- Features checked
- 52
- Checked on
- Summary
- Where each one leads
| Feature | CraftForms | Formidable 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 | No |
| Fields & Form Logic | ||
| Multi-step forms | Yes | Yes |
| Conversational forms (one question per screen) | Yes | YesBusiness |
| Repeater field | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional logic | Yes | Yes |
| Swatches (color, image, text, card) | Yes | image only |
| Live data display (Info block) | Yes | via Views |
| Front-end data display (Views) | No | Yes |
| File uploads | Yes | Yes |
| Digital signatures | Yes | add-on (Business+) |
| Save & resume | No | Yes |
| Multilingual forms (one form, many languages) | Yesbuilt-in | via WPML/Polylang |
| Phone field with country picker | Yes | Yespaid |
| Documents & Output | ||
| PDF generation (designed templates) | Yes | YesBusiness+ |
| 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 | No |
| SMTP per-form configuration | Yes | via plugin |
| Spam protection visitors never see | Yes | Yes |
| Commerce & Payments | ||
| Price calculations / formulas | Yes | Yes |
| Price matrix (2D lookup tables) | Yes | No |
| Stripe payments | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal payments | Yes | Yes |
| Mollie / Square payments | Yes | Square only |
| WooCommerce integration | Yes | add-on (Elite) |
| Stock management | Yes | No |
| 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 | Yespaid |
| CRM / Zapier / Google Sheets | via webhook | YesBusiness+ |
| Conditional submit actions ("Run only if") | Yes | Yespaid |
| Visual automation / flow builder | Yes | No |
| Register user submit action | Yes | Yes |
| Create post submit action | Yes | Yes |
| REST API / headless submissions | Yes | Yes |
| Embed on external sites (JS embed) | Yes | API add-on (Business+) |
| 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, free — design PDF templates in Gutenberg; Formidable's Forms to PDF needs the Business plan
- Price matrix (2D lookup tables) — not available in Formidable Forms
- QR code / barcode field — not available in Formidable Forms
- Layered Image — composite live preview images from selected options; Formidable has no equivalent
- Product image viewer — thumbnail gallery with zoom that swaps the main product image live as options change; not available in Formidable Forms
- Full swatch set — color, image, text, and card selectors free; Formidable supports image options only
- Bricks native element — Formidable has an Elementor widget 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 — products with stock, dynamic SKU, visual elements and Edit configuration from the cart; Formidable's add-on needs Elite
- Embed on external sites — JavaScript embed on the paid plans; Formidable's embed script needs the API add-on (Business)
- Lifetime deal — €129.99 one-time (unlimited sites); Formidable Forms is annual-only
- Signature included free and, since 2.0, free Mailchimp/Brevo/FluentCRM/MailPoet integrations with "Run only if" actions
- Multi-step forms in the free version — Steps block with a progress bar and per-step checks; Formidable's page breaks are on paid plans
- Translations built in, free — one form, its emails and PDFs in every language, with a glossary and CSV/XLIFF export; Formidable's WPML/Polylang support needs the Business plan
- Phone field with a country picker, free — flag, dial code and a length check per country; Formidable's international phone field needs Pro
Where Formidable Forms still has an edge
- Front-end data display (Views) — public-facing lists, directories, charts from submissions
- AI form builder — AI-assisted form generation (Business+), plus Abilities/MCP in Forms API 2.0 (CraftForms: roadmap)
- Save & resume — return to long forms later (CraftForms: roadmap)
- Application-building — Views + calculations + repeater for data-driven WordPress apps
- Surveys and quizzes — on the Business plan
- Integration breadth — Google Sheets, Zapier, Salesforce, HubSpot (CraftForms 2.0: four email-marketing tools)
- Free-tier anti-spam — honeypot, JS token, denylist and StopForumSpam built into Lite