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7 Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress (Free & Paid)

Without a contact form, your WordPress site is missing the easiest way for visitors to reach you.

Adding one is easy. The hard part is choosing from the many plugins that all promise to do it well.

At WPBeginner, we’ve tested dozens of WordPress contact form plugins. Some are overcomplicated nightmares that require a developer. Others are so basic they can’t handle anything beyond “name and email.”

The best ones sit in between: powerful enough to grow with your business, simple enough to set up without a developer.

In this guide, I’ll share my findings on the 7 best contact form plugins for WordPress. You’ll see what makes each one different, who it’s best for, and its pros and cons.

best-contact-form-plugins

Contact Form Plugins at a Glance

ProductStarting PriceBest For
WPFormsFree (Paid plans from $49.50/year)Beginners and small businesses
Formidable FormsFree (Paid plans from $39.50/year)Directories and data-driven apps
Gravity Forms$59/yearAgencies and accessibility-focused sites
Contact Form 7FreeLightweight, code-based forms
WS FormFree (Paid plans from $59/year)Deep customization
Ninja FormsFree (Paid bundles from $99/year)Feature-packed on a budget
Fluent FormsFree (Paid plans from $55/year)A lightweight, fast-loading builder

Why Add a Contact Form to Your WordPress Site?

A contact form gives visitors a structured way to reach you without exposing your email address to spam bots. It is often the first contact someone has with your business, so a form that is broken, confusing, or buried under spam costs you leads before you know they exist.

You can add a professional contact form to any WordPress site in a few minutes, and here are the benefits of using a plugin:

  • You own your data. Form submissions go directly to your site, not a third-party service.
  • Plugins handle the hard part. No coding needed to add fields, conditional logic, or spam protection.
  • Integrations are built in. Most form plugins connect to your email list, CRM, or payment processor.
  • Setup is fast. Most plugins let you publish a working form in under 5 minutes.
  • You can grow over time. Start with a basic contact form and add payments or surveys later.
How I Evaluated the Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress

I personally installed and tested each plugin on a WordPress site to understand how it performs from setup to submission. My goal was to find which ones are easy to use and reliable in practice.

Here’s what I focused on during testing:

  • Installation and setup: I installed each plugin from the WordPress dashboard and timed how long it took to publish a working contact form from scratch.
  • Builder usability: I tested the drag-and-drop interface (or lack of one) to see how quickly I could add fields, reorder them, and adjust settings without checking documentation.
  • Feature depth: I tested every major feature listed by the developer, including conditional logic, multi-step forms, spam protection, and calculations, to see how each worked in practice.
  • Integrations: I checked how easily each plugin connected to common tools like Mailchimp, Stripe, and Google Sheets.
  • Spam protection: I looked at what spam prevention options each plugin offers out of the box, since this is one of the most common pain points with contact forms.
  • Pricing and free tier value: I compared what each free version actually includes and whether paid plans offer fair value for the features unlocked.
  • Support and documentation: I checked the quality of official docs, tutorials, and response channels for each plugin.

This process showed me which plugins hold up in real use and which only look good on a feature list.

Why Trust WPBeginner

Our team installs and tests every plugin we recommend on real WordPress sites. We only recommend plugins that meet our internal standards for usability, reliability, and honest value. You can read more about our process in our editorial guidelines.

Now, let’s look at the 7 best contact form plugins for WordPress.

1. WPForms – Best Contact Form Plugin for Beginners and Small Businesses

🟢 We run this in production. It powers WPBeginner’s main contact form, reader survey, and migration form (40,000+ submissions/year).

WPForms homepage

WPForms is the contact form plugin I recommend most to beginners and small business owners, and it’s the one we use on our own websites. It’s not the cheapest option, but it’s the easiest to use and offers plenty of integrations and customization options.

I’ve used and tested WPForms dozens of times, and the pattern is always the same: log in to the WordPress admin area, click ‘Add New Form,’ pick a template, and have a working form live in under 5 minutes. There’s no need for tutorial videos or support tickets.

If you need a detailed walkthrough, see our WPForms review.

My Experience

The template library saves you a lot of time. With over 2,100 pre-built templates, you rarely start from scratch. Whether you need a donation form, event registration, a survey with conditional logic, or something more specialized, templates cover most common use cases.

WPForms also includes an AI-powered form builder with a chat interface. I described a basic client feedback form in plain English, and WPForms generated a complete form with the right fields in seconds.

The drag-and-drop builder makes customizing those templates straightforward. You drag fields into position, labels are easy to edit, and nothing requires touching code.

A contact form template

Smart conditional logic also lets you show or hide fields based on what a user selects. It’s intuitive to set up and works reliably across different devices.

Another feature I liked is Quiz mode. It lets you build interactive quizzes with automatic scoring, making it a great fit for everything from classroom assessments to fun personality quizzes.

Assigning options to personalities

If you’re building payment forms, then WPForms connects to Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Authorize.Net through its addons. Setting up a simple order or donation form with payment processing took me less than 10 minutes.

Beyond payments, the 40+ addon library covers nearly every use case: file uploads, surveys, conversational forms, repeater fields, and calculations.

Conversational form preview

I connected WPForms to Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and HubSpot. You can also integrate with Google Workspace apps like Drive, Sheets, and Calendar.

WPForms also includes spam protection out of the box. I could switch on a honeypot, Akismet, or a CAPTCHA like Cloudflare Turnstile or reCAPTCHA without installing anything extra.

The form abandonment recovery feature was also useful in testing. It captures partial entries before someone submits, so you can follow up with leads who didn’t finish the form. User journey tracking provides even more context by showing how visitors interact with your forms before submitting.

When it comes to WPForms Lite, it includes basic field types, unlimited forms, and unlimited submissions. You’ll need a paid plan to access conditional logic, multi-page forms, most integrations (beyond email), and crucially, form entry storage in the WordPress dashboard.

WPForms Pros

  • Most beginner-friendly interface
  • 2,100+ templates and AI form builder
  • Excellent documentation and support
  • 5+ million active installations with a 4.8 rating (WordPress.org)
  • 40+ addons for payments, surveys, and more
  • Integrates with all major CRMs and email marketing services
  • Form abandonment recovery included

WPForms Cons

  • Free version is limited (basic form fields only, no entry storage)
  • Addon costs can add up quickly once you need several premium features

Pricing: Free (Paid plans from $49.50/year)

Why I Recommend WPForms: It gets beginners from zero to a working form quickly, and the template library and addon ecosystem handle almost every use case you’ll run into.

Note: If you are a registered nonprofit organization, you can qualify for the WPForms nonprofit discount, which gives you 75% off the regular price.

2. Formidable Forms – Best for Building Directories and Data-Driven Apps

🟡 Hands-on tested for this review. Built 2 form types on a staging site: a real estate directory with Views and a payment form with conditional logic.

Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms is more than just a contact form plugin. If you need to turn form submissions into searchable directories, calculators, or data-driven listings, it’s built for those use cases.

I first tried Formidable Forms to build a real estate agent directory. What stood out immediately was how it stores form submissions as structured database entries instead of simply forwarding them by email.

For more insights into the plugin, see our Formidable Forms review.

My Experience

The drag-and-drop builder covers the basics well. With 100+ templates and built-in AI form generation, getting a form up and running doesn’t take long.

What the Formidable Forms editor looks like

Where Formidable separates itself is the Views feature. After I tried submitting information through the form, Formidable Views automatically turned those entries into a searchable directory with filters, maps, and individual agent pages.

You also don’t need to add custom code or database queries. And form data becomes something you can display, filter, and build entire workflows around, not just store in an inbox.

How to preview the directory listing layout

Formidable also handles advanced data work well. Calculations, quizzes, user registration, PDF generation, and charts are all built into the platform. I used the calculation feature to build a simple mortgage estimator, and it worked cleanly.

Payment processing connects to PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net, and many other popular payment gateways. Setting up a paid submission form was straightforward once I understood the field mapping.

The 60+ integrations cover the tools most businesses already use. I connected Formidable to HubSpot and Google Sheets, and the Zapier and ChatGPT integrations add flexibility for more complex workflows.

Formidable Forms covers the spam basics too, with CAPTCHA and honeypot fields available to filter out bot entries.

Formidable also has a developer-friendly layer. Hooks and APIs give you deep control if you want to extend Formidable beyond what the UI offers.

Note that while Formidable Forms’ free version includes a drag-and-drop builder, basic forms, and limited integrations, it lacks the Views feature that makes Formidable special. Views, directory displays, and advanced data functionality require the Plus plan or higher.

If you’re considering Formidable specifically for directories or data-driven apps, budget for at least the Plus tier from the start.

Formidable Forms Pros

  • Goes beyond forms to build apps and directories
  • Views turns entries into searchable directories, listings, and calculators
  • Strong developer community and documentation
  • 300,000+ active installations with a 4.8 rating (WordPress.org)
  • AI form generation built in
  • Supports payments, quizzes, PDFs, and charts
  • 60+ integrations including Salesforce and HubSpot

Formidable Forms Cons

  • More complex than beginner-focused plugins
  • Requires time investment to learn Views feature
  • Free version is very limited

Pricing: Starts at $39.50/year (Free version available)

Why I Recommend Formidable Forms: It turns submissions into structured, displayable data, saving you from hiring a developer when you need directories, listings, or calculators built on form data.

3. Gravity Forms – Best Contact Form Plugin for Agencies and Enterprise Users

🔵 We’ve used this before, then moved on. An older WPBeginner project ran on Gravity Forms.

Gravity Forms homepage

Gravity Forms is one of the best contact form plugins for agencies because it’s dependable. There’s no free version and no AI form builder, but you get strong accessibility support and a 15-year track record behind it.

When I first set it up on a test site, the first thing I noticed was how deliberately it was built. Every field uses proper semantic HTML, ARIA labels, and keyboard navigation support by default.

This way, accessibility is built in from the start instead of being something you have to add later. See our detailed Gravity Forms review for more information.

My Experience

The drag-and-drop interface covers 30+ field types and gets the job done cleanly. It won’t win awards for visual polish, but everything is where you expect it to be.

The Gravity forms drag and drop form builder

Gravity Forms builds in support for WCAG 2.1AA accessibility standards, so its forms work well with screen readers and keyboard navigation. You still apply the settings as you build, but the accessibility groundwork is there from the start.

It’s used on government sites, university systems, and enterprises where accessibility isn’t optional.

The conditional logic is powerful enough for most advanced workflows. I tested it with a form that displayed Section C only after users met multiple conditions, and Gravity Forms handled everything without issues.

Workflow automation connects directly to payment processing through Stripe, Authorize.Net, PayPal Checkout, and Mollie. During testing, I set up a multi-step application form with conditional routing and payment collection in a single afternoon.

Accepting payments on your WordPress website

The 50+ third-party integrations cover the tools agencies use most. I connected Gravity Forms to HubSpot, Slack, and Agile, and all three worked exactly as documented.

Plus, multisite support on the highest tier is a genuine advantage for agencies. Managing forms across multiple client sites from one license simplifies billing and maintenance.

For spam, Gravity Forms gives you reCAPTCHA, Akismet, and honeypot options in the settings, so you can block bot submissions without a separate plugin.

One downside is that Gravity Forms assumes you know what you’re building. There’s no AI form generator or large template library to guide you. Beginners who need more structure will find WPForms or Fluent Forms much easier to start with.

✅ Gravity Forms Pros

  • Built-in WCAG 2.1AA accessibility support
  • Reliable conditional logic for complex forms
  • Highest tier includes unlimited sites (great for agencies)
  • 30+ field types with semantic HTML markup
  • Ticket-based support included (priority on Elite)
  • 50+ third-party integrations

❌ Gravity Forms Cons

  • No free version
  • Steeper learning curve for beginners
  • Fewer pre-built templates than competitors

Pricing: Starts at $59/year. The free demo at gravityforms.com/demo gives you a hands-on look before buying, which is helpful given that there’s no free plan.

Why I Recommend Gravity Forms: It’s the most reliable option I’ve tested for accessibility and complex conditional logic. Agencies managing multiple client sites will get strong value from the Elite tier’s unlimited site licensing.

4. Contact Form 7 – Best Free, Lightweight Contact Form Plugin

🟡 Hands-on tested for this review. Built 2 form types on a staging site: a basic contact form and a multilingual form with reCAPTCHA. Tested the shortcode and Gutenberg block embed options.

The Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin

Contact Form 7 is the original free WordPress contact form plugin. It’s been around since 2007 and still has 10+ million active installations in 2026.

Developers continue to use it because it’s free, lightweight, and does exactly what it says.

My Experience

There’s no drag-and-drop builder here. You add fields by editing form markup manually, using shortcodes like [text* your-name] to define each input. For developers who prefer working with code over clicking through a GUI, this approach can actually be faster.

I built two contact forms from scratch, and the shortcode method was quicker than navigating a visual builder.

Contact Form 7's text-based editor for building a form

The plugin is deliberately lightweight, which means minimal server load even on resource-constrained hosting. I tested it on a site with 30+ active plugins and saw no performance degradation.

Contact Form 7 supports both shortcode and Gutenberg block embeds, so you can add forms to pages, posts, or widget areas using whichever method you prefer. I tested both approaches by embedding the same form in multiple locations.

Adding Contact Form 7 form into WordPress block editor

Built-in field validation handles basic input checking on submission. It covers the fundamentals reliably without being as polished as modern alternatives. Email validation and required field checks worked as expected during testing.

Optional integrations with reCAPTCHA, Akismet, Stripe, and Brevo are available, but none are active by default. You configure them manually, which suits developers but adds friction for anyone else.

Contact Form 7 integration

Multi-language support covers 68 locales, making Contact Form 7 a practical choice for multilingual sites without needing an extra translation plugin.

The plugin also sets no cookies and does no tracking by default, which simplifies GDPR compliance on privacy-conscious projects.

The official documentation is thorough. And because Contact Form 7 has such a long history and huge install base, you’ll find a large community and plenty of third-party tutorials when you need help.

The limitation that matters most is entry storage: Contact Form 7 doesn’t save submissions to your WordPress dashboard by default. It only emails them, so if an email fails to deliver, that message is gone unless you add a companion plugin like Flamingo to log entries.

It also ships with no built-in spam protection, and conditional logic requires a third-party add-on. If you want these things handled out of the box, a builder like WPForms or Fluent Forms will be less work.

Contact Form 7 Pros

  • 100% free with no premium version
  • Lightweight and fast (minimal code bloat)
  • Trusted by 10+ million active installations
  • Multi-language support (68 locales)
  • No cookies or tracking by default
  • Gutenberg block integration for easy embedding

Contact Form 7 Cons

  • No drag-and-drop interface (manual shortcode editing)
  • No built-in conditional logic or spam protection
  • No entry storage by default (submissions are emailed only, not saved to your dashboard)
  • Poor beginner experience compared to modern alternatives

Pricing: Free (100% free, open-source, no premium version)

Why I Recommend Contact Form 7: It’s the most lightweight free contact form option available, with zero bloat and a zero-cost price tag. Developers who are comfortable with shortcodes will find it faster to work with than any drag-and-drop builder.

Note: If you’re deciding between Contact Form 7 and WPForms, check out our detailed comparison of Contact Form 7 vs. WPForms.

5. WS Form – Best Contact Form Plugin for Developers Needing Maximum Customization

🟡 Hands-on tested for this review. Built 3 form types on a staging site with device-specific breakpoints: desktop-optimized inquiry form, mobile-responsive calculator, and form with calculation functions.

WS Form's homepage

WS Form is a favorite among WordPress developers. It doesn’t have WPForms’ install base or Gravity Forms’ name recognition, but it offers something neither of those provides: true breakpoint-based design and the deepest conditional logic system available.

My first impression was that the interface looks dense, with a lot happening on screen. But once I understood the layout, I realized the complexity is intentional. WS Form is built for people who want total control.

My Experience

The builder immediately showed why developers recommend WS Form. Instead of relying on a single responsive layout, I could customize how the same form appeared on desktop, tablet, and mobile (a feature known as breakpoint-based design).

That level of control is rare among WordPress form plugins and makes it much easier to fine-tune the user experience for different devices.

WS Form's editor

AI-powered form generation can also create a working form from a simple prompt, helping you get complex projects started faster.

Conditional logic is WS Form’s strongest area. During testing, I built a form that showed and hid sections, updated field values, and sent different email notifications based on users’ answers, all without writing custom code.

Combined with calculated fields that support 200+ variables and functions, it’s powerful enough to build pricing calculators, quote forms, and other interactive workflows.

WS Form also fits naturally into developer workflows and supports 90+ integrations. If you’re building custom WordPress sites, you’ll appreciate its integrations with ACF, Meta Box, and Pods, which let forms read from and write to custom fields.

WS Form handles spam through the usual tools, including CAPTCHA and honeypot fields you can add to any form.

If you’re testing WS Form to decide whether to buy, the free version gives you a decent sense of the editor. It includes the core builder, 30+ field types, and basic conditional logic, which is more generous than WPForms Lite. But you lose breakpoint-specific customization, advanced calculation functions, and most integrations in the free tier.

Plus, WS Form assumes you’re comfortable with concepts like breakpoints, data grids, and repeatable sections. If those terms feel unfamiliar, the learning curve will be steep. The smaller user base also means fewer community tutorials compared to more popular plugins.

WS Form Pros

  • Exceptional customization and conditional logic
  • Breakpoint-specific design (separate mobile, tablet, desktop layouts)
  • Native Bootstrap and Foundation rendering for theme consistency
  • 100K+ active installations and a 4.8 rating (WordPress.org)
  • 65+ field types with 200+ calculation functions
  • AI-generated forms via OpenAI, Google Gemini, and Anthropic
  • Bi-directional integration with ACF, Meta Box, and Pods

WS Form Cons

  • Complex interface (not beginner-friendly)
  • Smaller community and fewer tutorials than top plugins
  • Advanced features require understanding of web development concepts

Pricing: Starts at $59/year (Free version available as WS Form LITE)

Why I Recommend WS Form: It gives developers a level of layout control and conditional logic depth that no other WordPress form plugin matches. If you know what breakpoints and data grids are, this is your tool.

6. Ninja Forms – Best Contact Form Plugin for Budget-Conscious Users

🟡 Hands-on tested for this review. Built 3 form types on a staging site using the free version: a basic contact form, an event registration form, and a survey.

Ninja Forms' homepage

Ninja Forms has the most generous free version of any contact form plugin I’ve tested. While most free tiers give you a handful of basic fields, Ninja Forms gives you 28+ fields, unlimited forms, calculations, and free submission management out of the box.

There are no aggressive upsells or artificial limits designed to push you toward a paid plan. Read our complete Ninja Forms review for details.

My Experience

The free version includes more than I expected. During testing, I could build functional forms using a wide selection of fields, create as many forms as I needed, and access calculation features.

I tested building a simple lead capture form, an event registration form, and a multi-field survey, all without hitting any paywall friction.

Ninja Form's editor

Submission management is also included in the free version, so I could view, edit, and export entries directly from the WordPress dashboard. This is critical because many free form builders lock even basic entry management behind a paywall.

What really sets Ninja Forms apart is its modular add-on system.

If you need advanced functionality like file uploads, payment processing, or integrations with Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, or Constant Contact, you can purchase only the add-ons you need instead of paying for a large feature bundle.

Ninja Forms' addons

I tested adding the Stripe addon to collect payments on a form, and the integration was straightforward. That flexibility makes Ninja Forms a good choice if you’re working with a limited budget.

For developers, Ninja Forms also offers room to grow. You can inject custom code without modifying the core plugin, and compliance features for WCAG 2, HIPAA, and PCI make it suitable for projects with stricter accessibility or regulatory requirements.

Documentation and support are solid. The plugin has an active community forum and a responsive support team for paid users.

But Ninja Forms’ interface feels dated compared to modern alternatives like Fluent Forms or WPForms. It works well, but the builder lacks the visual polish that makes those plugins feel faster and more intuitive.

The form editor interface hasn’t changed much in years, which matters if you’re spending time in it daily. Keep in mind that buying three or four individual add-ons can also sometimes end up costing more than a single premium license from WPForms or Formidable Forms.

Ninja Forms Pros

  • Feature-rich free version with 28+ fields, unlimited forms, and calculations
  • Modular pricing lets you buy individual add-ons instead of a full bundle
  • 600,000+ active installations with long track record
  • Unlimited forms and submissions in the free version
  • Developer-friendly with accessibility and compliance-related features

❌ Ninja Forms Cons

  • Interface feels dated compared to modern alternatives
  • Add-on costs can add up if you need multiple integrations

Pricing: Core plugin 100% free; bundled plans start at $99/year

Why I Recommend Ninja Forms: No other contact form plugin gives you this much in the free version without pushing you toward an upgrade. The modular pricing model means you only pay for the integrations you actually need.

7. Fluent Forms – Best Contact Form Plugin for Speed and Modern UX

🟡 Hands-on tested for this review . Built 3 form types on a staging site: conversational contact form, multi-step form with conditional routing, and payment form with CRM integration.

Fluent Forms' homepage

Fluent Forms markets itself as the fastest WordPress form builder. In my testing, that claim holds up, and the interface is clean and modern.

If you’ve ever had a form builder freeze while dragging a field, Fluent Forms will feel like a significant improvement.

My Experience

The drag-and-drop builder impressed me with how responsive it felt. Even on an overloaded site, dragging fields felt instant, with no lag.

With more than 65 customizable field types available, I never felt limited by what I could build.

Fluent Forms' editor

Fluent Forms also packs in a lot of practical features. For example, you can create a workflow where users complete a multi-step form, see pricing updates automatically based on their selections, and receive a downloadable PDF confirmation after submitting.

You can even schedule when the form is available, all without needing extra plugins.

Fluent Forms' scheduling and restriction settings

The AI Form Builder is a nice time-saver. During testing, it generated a solid first draft in under a minute that only needed a few small adjustments before it was ready to use.

Fluent Forms also fits well into agency workflows. I connected it to Mailchimp and a CRM without trouble. The built-in reporting made it easy to review submission trends and field analytics directly from the WordPress dashboard.

Lifetime pricing is another advantage if you’re managing multiple client sites and want to avoid recurring subscription costs.

Fluent Forms’ free version includes the core drag-and-drop builder, basic field types, and form creation, but lacks advanced features like scheduled forms, PDF generation, and most integrations.

For a simple contact form, the free version is adequate, but if you’re planning to add emails, payments, or advanced workflows, the paid plan is necessary.

Additionally, Fluent Forms has a smaller user community than WPForms or Gravity Forms. That means fewer third-party tutorials and community answers when you run into something unusual.

✅ Fluent Forms Pros

  • Fastest, most responsive interface
  • Lifetime pricing option (one-time payment)
  • Conversational forms for higher engagement
  • 700,000+ active installations with a 4.8 rating (WordPress.org).
  • 65+ customizable input fields
  • AI Form Builder using ChatGPT prompts
  • Visual data reporting with charts

❌ Fluent Forms Cons

  • Free version more limited than Ninja Forms
  • Smaller community and fewer third-party integrations than other popular contact form plugins

Pricing: Starts at $55/year (Free version available; lifetime plans from $279)

Why I Recommend Fluent Forms: It’s the fastest form builder interface I’ve tested, and the lifetime pricing option makes it an easy choice for anyone building client sites long-term. The conversational forms feature alone is worth exploring if you care about form completion rates.

What Is the Best Contact Form Plugin for WordPress?

After testing all seven contact form plugins, WPForms is my top pick for most users. It has the best balance of ease of use, template variety, and integration options. If you’re building your first contact form or managing forms for small business clients, WPForms gets you from zero to a working form faster than the others I tested.

For agencies, enterprises, and projects where accessibility compliance is non-negotiable, Gravity Forms builds in strong WCAG 2.1AA accessibility support and handles complex conditional logic reliably.

For directories and data-driven apps, Formidable Forms stands out: its Views feature turns form submissions into searchable directories, calculators, and listings.

For developers who need deep customization, WS Form offers breakpoint-based design and conditional logic depth that no other plugin in this list can match.

For speed and a modern interface, Fluent Forms had the most responsive builder I tested, plus conversational forms if you care about completion rates.

On the free side, Ninja Forms has the most feature-rich free tier: 28+ fields, unlimited forms, and calculations that cover most real-world contact form needs without spending a cent.

Contact Form 7 is the lighter, no-frills alternative, best if you’re comfortable building forms with a bit of shortcode.

Contact Form Plugin FAQs

Which is the best contact form plugin for WordPress?

WPForms is one of the best contact form plugins for most WordPress users. It’s beginner-friendly, has 2,100+ templates, offers AI tools, and works well for everything from simple contact forms to multi-step surveys.

What features should I look for in a contact form plugin?

Look for a drag-and-drop builder, form spam protection, conditional logic, and integrations with your email or CRM tool. Mobile responsiveness and active plugin updates are also important for long-term reliability.

How do I add a contact form to WordPress?

Install a contact form plugin like WPForms, create a new form using a template, and copy the shortcode or block onto any page or post. Most plugins let you publish a working form in under 5 minutes.

What’s the difference between WPForms and Gravity Forms?

WPForms is beginner-friendly with a large template library and a free WPForms Lite version. Gravity Forms has no free version but offers stronger accessibility support and more advanced conditional logic, making it better suited for agencies and enterprise sites.

How do I prevent spam on my contact forms?

Most contact form plugins support reCAPTCHA, Akismet, or honeypot fields. For example, you can find WPForms, Gravity Forms, and Fluent Forms’ spam protection options in their settings panels.

Which Is the Best WordPress Form Plugin? (Video)

This video walks through the key features of the best WordPress form builders:

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More Resources for Building WordPress Forms

I hope this guide helped you choose the best contact form plugin for your WordPress site.

If you want to go deeper on contact forms in WordPress, these guides will help you get the most out of whichever plugin you choose:

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

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Reader Interactions

205 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Just a quick thank you :)

    I have just created a 2 column form, made it 1 column for mobiles in less than 5 minutes with WPForms Lite.
    ..I feel pretty stupid struggling with Contact Form 7 for so long…

  2. Are there any FormBuilders available that let you filter the kind of email address a visitor enters? That is : refuse an entry when a visitor is using a general mail address like gmail, hotmail, yahoomail or similar?
    Thanks.

  3. I am looking for free Form Plugin which can allow user to submit CV / image files for my WP blog, plz help me…

  4. What plugin would you recommend if you wanted to store all the data in a database to export into a CSV or Excel file?

  5. Hi

    Please suggest , i added plugin of Ninja form in my website
    but i required more detail information in contact form like
    product description
    product quantity
    City
    state
    regards

  6. I love Contact Form 7. For me it is one of the best things that ever happened to WordPress. I came over from Joomla many years ago to WordPress because Joomla lacked a contact form module I could use and I use Contact Form 7 on all my sites (more than 10 sites). It deploys so fast – has an unfair advantage over drag-and-drop type contact forms – if you need lots of forms.

  7. Hi,

    am a beginner on wordpress.Am looking for something specific i just dont know the terminology for that functionality.i want a contact for that returns the desired value based on what the user type.I.e, If u type Apple it must return Green and if u type Orange it must return Orange,Sort of.or/and in more details,it must be a combination of two things then the form will return the value.What exaclty can i use? its an Array of about 1000 things or more to type.Thanks

  8. I am trying to use WP Forms with Elementor, but when I add the shortcode for the WP Form via the text editor widget, the save never finishes once I hit the save button.

    When I try to enter the shortcode in the shortcode widget and hit apply, nothing happens.

    Is there a way to use WP Froms with Elementor?

    Thanks!

    • Hey Trevor,

      WPForms works well with Elementor. However, Elementor’s live editor does not refresh to allow shortcode execution. This means that after adding your shortcode you’d need to save your page and then view the preview in a new window or publish the page and view your form on the live page.

      Admin

  9. Not sure why anyone uses Contact Form 7 today.

    Contact Form 7 may be the grand daddy of these plugins but it is now old and despite only using the form on a single page of a site it loads for every page on a site. So if you have 200 pages on your site and only one contact page with the Contact Form 7 installed on, it still loads for every single page……..slow, slow, slow sites.

    Syed, It would be interesting to know which, if any, of the other plugins that you mention also slows a WordPress site down.

  10. Ninja Forms is good, but they charge their plugins annually…I almost fell into that trap, thankfully I notice it just before I bought the plugin

  11. What form plugin can enable users to save dratfs of their appplication procedure and continue to complete it in later time maybe via an email link to where to edit their applications

  12. Hi, Contact Form 7 worked at first back some 2.5 years ago. The user interface for customizing is difficult to understand. Then all of a sudden, it stopped working, and yes I do the updates. I went in to their instructions on their website and followed exactly. Just looking at it again today after reading your post. Following their instructions to insert it onto my Contact Page. After Updating the page, all that shows is the copied and pasted coding, no form. Yes, I did copy and paste the form code into the Text version of the page.

    I am going to right now delete Contact Form 7, because I think it’s a pain in the you know what, and I don’t know why it is so popular. Going to try WPForms. Thank you for the article.

    • Update: Deleted Contact Form 7 from my two websites. Installed WP Forms free version. Easy easy easy. Done quickly, works! Thanks a bunch!

  13. It would be great if your review included how well these forms perform, such as formatting on a mobile device versus a desktop, how adaptable they are and how easy (or not) they are to properly size. Also, do any of them cause a drag on performance. These are the questions I have.

  14. I have a problem with all of the plugins listed. I am not able to receive any messages sent via contact forms even tough it works fine with the WP email SMTP test. no errors, nothing. The contact forms are still not working with gmail. could you guys please help me :)

    • Hey JO,

      If you are using the same Gmail Address in the sender field that is used in your WordPress admin account then you may not receive those emails. If you can change your WordPress admin or sender email address to some other email provider then it would start working.

      Admin

      • Sir,

        I have changed the email address by moving two pathways Wp > > Settings >> General >> Email Address.
        And Wp >> WPForms >> Notifications >>> Sent to Email Address.

        But still when I am testing the contact form its not working.

        Shall I recreate the form or m doing wrong at some place.

  15. I tried virtually all the contact forms and none of them accommodate my site. After setting them up, they are not for public access. What’s the point?

  16. WPForms has an issue with reCaptcha, where it allows forms to be submitted before checking reCaptcha. If there is a problem, the page does a full reload, resulting in all user inputted data being lost.

  17. I like Ninja Forms, but styling is not the best there. I hate Contact Form 7, is not user friendly and formating is hard. I love the contact form in Divi.

  18. THANK YOU! I installed WPForms and quit banging my head against screen trying to get another plugin to behave.

  19. I’d like to know which provide the best reporting tools. I’m currently using Contact Form 7 and the Contact Form DB and I’m struggling with reporting. (I can only get my data from a single form entry in a single row?)

  20. i tried wpforms set it up correctly but when i tried to send an email using the form on my website that i’ve just created i cannot receive it on my email. don’t know what to do i really like to use this plugin.

  21. I have a personal website and I want to give some service link SEO and Web design. But I can’t create order form. Please share with me an stylish order form. pro or free.

  22. Which of these forms is mobile responsive though?
    I’ve noticed that some email forms aren’t responsive at all.

  23. I use Gravity Forms on two of my sites but have found their support to be lacking. The form works great but I’m having trouble with hotmail & gmail email users receiving the automated notifications I’ve generated. Is this particular to Gravity Forms? If so – which other plugin would you recommend, and if not is there a way around this challenge? Thanks

    • Doesn’t sound like a form issue – more likely your shared hosting includes accounts blacklisted by gmail.

  24. Hello,

    What is the best form to use if someone wants a very basic contact form on a site, with replies going to two different email addresses?

    The website doesn’t want to take surveys or anything like that – just wants to use the form instead of having email addresses published on it.

  25. Anyone know offhand which of your 5 best contact forms offer a widget feature? Would like to place a contact form on the sidebar. Thanks

  26. I have been using contact form 7 and now I can see how much functionality there is in the pro plugins, many thanks for this post, I recommended it to someone I know who is struggling with contact form 7

    I also get some warning with contact form 7 about authenticating the form I am not sure what this means, does any body know about any issues with contact form 7

    Barry

  27. I don’t think WPForms has a free option. It has a pre-paid 14-day trial but that’s all I could find.

  28. I have a website on wordpress and i have used contact form 7 on that. Now i want to add a functionality so that when someone submits the contact form i receive all the data from phone on sms as well as email. Can you suggest some easy and reliable way for that.

    Thank you
    Adam

  29. I have a digitals marketing blog websites.I want to make my sidebars like yours.How can i do it?

  30. I was going to buy gravity based on the review here. I sent in pre sale question about editing color of form, fields, borders etc. They stated I needed to use css to style it. I was thinking for a paid form I could style it. I don’t see the value in it if i can’t style it. I was wondering if you were familiar with contact form generator. Seems a little difficult to figure out but they do have color editing. I bought web dorado a few years back and everytime i installed it my site ran very slow and front end visual composer would not work. I am just hesitant to pay for one and never use it. I used fast and secure and it is pretty good, but editing colors is difficult for me. I like to be able to edit a form and use transparent colors and not have huge fields like fast secure doues. For a legal website small attractive form is better, possible overlayed on a header background image.

    • Actually styling Gravity Forms is not that difficult. Most premium WordPress themes already come with CSS styles for Gravity Forms. There are also plugins that can allow you to edit and choose styles. Lastly, you can also use CSS Hero plugin. It allows you to edit any WordPress theme including Gravity Forms displayed on your website.

      Admin

    • A little late here, but have you tried the visual styler in Formidable forms? It’s even included in the free version.

    • I’m a little late, but I’ve never noticed Web-Dorado being slow. Try a theme with Gantry framework like Rocketthemes – now THAT’S slow! But using VIP hosting on SSD drives, multiple core processors and sufficient memory, and things speed up just fine.

      BTW, I would think a law firm would want a professional doing their websites.

  31. Can you do a post about Caldera Forms contact form? It’s a great plug-in, but I have a question about field length that I’m not sure how to ask, as I don’t know if it’s a CF question, a jquery question, java script question, or what type of question….I want a field in my contact form that holds only 35 or less characters, i.e., letters, numbers, white space, punctuation, etc. Is this done through an input mask? If so, I can’t figure out the format. *{0,35} gives me the 35 spaces but doesn’t allow for white space or special characters. Are input mask formats all the same, or do they differ depending on code the form is designed in? They use parsley.js I gather…thanks for any help you can shed on this issue.

  32. Hi,

    Can you please tell which one should I go for if I have to build contact form with option of file upload by the users?

    Only Single Site License.

  33. Hey, Editor!

    I think you should add Caldera Forms in this post. I’m using it for quite some time now, and it works great.

    Esp. the multi-page intuitive form-building interface and responsive forms for free.

    Worth a shot.

  34. Great article. But question – why not just use the Jetpack contact form that’s already available?

      • Like me. Can’t stand Jetpack at all. Too bloated for a wordpress site, and that is only few features activated too.

        • I agree about jetpack. All my sites kept getting slower and slower. Jetpack was using up so much resource and I removed jetpack from all my sites and speed went right back up immediately. Their form is ok, but not one that should be in a list of best.

  35. From a developer standpoint, I have used both Gravity and Formidable Pro and Formidable Pro has a LOT more hooks and is eminently more customizable than Gravity. I have also found Formidable Pro support to be friendlier and quicker to respond.

    However, I have also found that more of my clients use Gravity than anything else.

    • I use Formidable Pro on several sites too, and like it very much. Formidable Pro includes PayPal & MailChimp integration, while Gravity forms charges extra for those. Formidable Pro gives you free updates even if your support subscription lapses, so each site isn’t committed to annual payments forever.

  36. Sad to say this post was very predictable. Every comparison post for contact forms you come across compare the same old plugins and if you’ve read one contact form comparison then you’ve read them all! It would be nice if for once someone took the time to discover the not so obvious plugins out there and did comparisons on them. Not only will it highlight other developers but you never know you may come across some real gems…

  37. hmm, this is rather basic. Could you include perhaps some photos of form creation and also performance benchmark with

    1) A few fields
    2) A few hundred fields? :)

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