CraftForms vs WS Form
WS Form is one of the most technically advanced WordPress form builders available — developer-friendly, extremely flexible, and packed with deep conditional logic and calculation capabilities. Here's how CraftForms stacks up.
- Compared with
- WS Form 1.12.15
- Features checked
- 52
- Checked on
- Summary
- Where each one leads
| Feature | CraftForms | WS Form |
|---|---|---|
| Platform & Builder | ||
| Free version available | Yes | Yes |
| Native Gutenberg block builder | Yes | No |
| Elementor native widget | Yes | Yes |
| Bricks native element | Yes | Yes |
| CF7 importer | Yes | No |
| Fields & Form Logic | ||
| Multi-step forms | Yes | Yes |
| Conversational forms (one question per screen) | Yes | Yespaid |
| Repeater field | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional logic | Yes | Yes |
| Swatches (color, image, text, card) | Yes | color + image |
| Live data display (Info block) | Yes | via calc. fields |
| File uploads | Yes | Yes |
| Digital signatures | Yes | Yes |
| Save & resume | No | Yes |
| Multilingual forms (one form, many languages) | Yesbuilt-in | Yes+ WPML |
| Phone field with country picker | Yes | Yes |
| Documents & Output | ||
| PDF generation (designed templates) | Yes | add-on (HTML) |
| 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 — no CAPTCHA | Yes | honeypot + CAPTCHAs |
| Commerce & Payments | ||
| Price calculations / formulas | Yes | Yes |
| Price matrix (2D lookup tables) | Yes | No |
| Stripe payments | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal payments | Yes | Yes |
| Mollie payments | Yes | Yesadd-on |
| Square payments | Yes | No |
| Authorize.Net payments | No | Yes |
| WooCommerce integration | Yes | Yes |
| Stock management | Yes | No |
| Built-in orders system | Yes | No |
| Order analytics / reporting | Yes | No |
| Booking & Scheduling | ||
| Booking datepicker (hotel-style, slots) | Yes | template only |
| 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 | Yesadd-ons |
| CRM / Zapier / Google Sheets | via webhook | Yesadd-ons |
| Visual automation / flow builder | Yes | No |
| Register user submit action | Yes | Yes |
| Create post submit action | Yes | add-on |
| 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(Lite + Pro) |
| 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 visually in Gutenberg, free; WS Form's PDF add-on uses hand-written HTML templates
- QR code / barcode field — not available in WS Form
- Layered Image — composite live preview images from selected options; WS Form has no equivalent
- Product image viewer — thumbnail gallery with zoom that swaps the main product image live as options change; not available in WS Form
- Full email infrastructure — template designer, delivery log, SMTP per form included free
- Complete booking system — hotel-style datepicker, calendar view, slots, seasonal rates, iCal sync; WS Form offers a booking template only
- Standalone orders system with analytics — full order lifecycle and reporting without WooCommerce; WS Form has no equivalent
- Stock management — per-date, per-slot, or quantity tracking; WS Form has no stock concept
- Price matrix (2D lookup tables) — not available in WS Form
- Full swatch set — color, image, text, and card selectors free; WS Form styles radios/checkboxes as color or image only
- Embed on external sites — JavaScript embed (no iframe); WS Form has no equivalent
- Invisible spam protection — behavioral scoring, no CAPTCHA or checkbox
- Starting price — €50.99/yr (gateways + PDF included) or €129.99 one-time; WS Form starts at $59/yr but gateways/PDF are add-ons below the $249/yr Agency plan
- Step map (paid plans) — every step and jump rule drawn as one diagram, with drag-to-connect
Where WS Form has an edge
- Save & resume — save progress and return to long forms later
- AI and MCP — OpenAI add-on, WP AI Client support and a built-in MCP server (CraftForms: roadmap)
- Authorize.Net and ConvesioPay gateways (CraftForms: Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Square)
- Deeper conditional logic — a very large set of IF conditions and THEN/ELSE actions
- Integration ecosystem — HubSpot, Salesforce, Constant Contact, Zapier and 100+ more (CraftForms 2.0: four email-marketing tools)