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Top Ten Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress

Every website needs a contact page. Without one, you could be missing out on all kinds of business opportunities and connections!

Contact form plugins for WordPress come with many useful tools and options to help you to build professional forms. For example, CAPTCHA fields help to prevent the avalanche of spam submissions you’d get if you displayed your email address publicly on your website.

They also simplify the process of styling and structuring your forms, and, perhaps more importantly, they allow you to dictate exactly what information you receive from users. You specify exactly what fields need to be completed and decide when the form can be submitted.

WordPress has a huge number of contact form plugins available, and these can be used to create everything from simple feedback forms to complex order forms and questionnaires. The question is, which one should you choose?

I’ve been actively using WordPress since it launched and I’ve tested hundreds of contact form plugins. However, the marketplace is always evolving, so I’ve recently spent time uncovering the best contact form plugins available for WordPress in 2021.

Let’s take a look at what I consider to be the best free and premium contact form solutions available to WordPress users.

1. Gravity Forms — $59+

Gravity Forms has been a favourite of WordPress users since its launch several years ago. It’s a user-friendly solution that can be used to create basic forms or complicated multi-page solutions that include file uploads, conditional logic and payment systems.

Forms are created using a simple drag-and-drop system that includes dozens of standard fields, advanced fields and unique fields for posts, pricing and other post types. A host of options are available for each field, including styling, priority, visibility and more.

Gravity Forms Form Using Conditional Logic
Conditional logic can be used to build advanced forms and surveys.

The functionality included with Gravity Forms depends on the package you go for, so make sure you check what each license includes before you make your choice.

Dozens of plugin add-ons are available. These add-ons are categorised as basic, pro or elite, but most email marketing add-ons are marked as basic. This includes integration add-ons for MailChimp, AWeber and GetResponse.

The pro add-on collection has more variety and includes multiple CRM add-ons, a Dropbox add-on, a PayPal payments add-on and more. The elite add-on collection offers more payment options and adds functionality for user registration.

Gravity Forms Form Settings
Gravity Forms allows you to configure every aspect of your forms and their submissions.

While no free version of Gravity Forms is available, you can test the WordPress plugin using the free demo to get an idea of how it works.

Gravity Forms costs $59 a year for the basic license, while upgrading to the pro license at $159 a year increases website usage from one website to three, and makes the pro add-ons available.

The elite license is favoured by agencies. Costing $259 per year, it has no website usage restrictions, supports WordPress multi-site and offers the elite add-ons in addition to the basic and pro options.

If you’re looking for an advanced contact form solution, Gravity Forms is one to consider.

Official Website

2. Ninja Forms — FREE/$29+

Ninja Forms is a popular contact form solution that allows users to add functionality using extensions (add-ons). The core version of Ninja Forms is free to download and has more than a million downloads on WordPress.org.

You can create a new form using either a blank template or one of the many pre-made form templates, and you can then customise your form and adjust fields.

What’s really impressive, though, is how much is included in the free version of Ninja Forms. You’ll find many advanced fields that others charge for, as well as anti-spam options, form importing and exporting, and the ability to store submissions in your website database.

Ninja Forms Form Settings
The Ninja Forms builder loads quickly and is easy to navigate.

Comparing the premium features of Ninja Forms with other contact form plugins can be difficult. It features many unique extensions that add functionality you won’t find elsewhere, however this comes at a price. Unfortunately, determining the annual price is a little more complicated than it needs to be.

The $99-a-year personal license restricts usage to one website. It includes form-building essential functionality such as conditional logic, several email marketing integration extensions and support for PayPal Express payments. You also receive a 20% discount on any other extensions you buy.

Moving up to the $199-a-year professional license increases usage to 20 websites and gives you a discount of 40% on future extension purchases. It also includes plugin extensions for enhancing form functionality, Zapier integration and additional payment support for Stripe and Recurly.

The agency plan has no website usage restrictions and includes all plugin extensions, but, at $499 a year, it’s nearly twice the cost of agency alternatives such as Gravity Forms.

Plugin extensions can be bought individually at a cost of between $19 and $129 a year for a single license. If you only need one specific feature for one website, this can work out cheaper, but costs rise quickly when you need to use the extension on multiple websites.

Ninja Forms Example Form
Ninja Forms has simplified the process of building forms.

I strongly recommend installing the core version of Ninja Forms and then reviewing the available extensions to see what you need.

Depending on your situation, you may find Ninja Forms to be a little cheaper than other premium contact form solutions or significantly more expensive. You may even find the free version does everything you need.

Unfortunately, if you do want access to multiple Ninja Forms extensions, it can be costly. Figuring out your total cost can be a pain too. You need to compare the cost of buying extensions individually, in a package or as a package together with other extensions bought on an individual basis.

At the time of writing, there was a 50% discount on all licenses. This reduces the cost of the personal, professional and agency plans to $49.50 a year, $99.50 a year and $249.50 a year, respectively. It’s not clear how long this promotion will last, but these discounts do make Ninja Forms’ pricing much more competitive.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

3. Contact Form 7 — FREE

With more than five million active installations, Contact Form 7 is by far the most popular WordPress contact form plugin on the market. This may surprise some people, as it’s less stylish and less user-friendly than other contact form solutions on this list.

Contact Form 7 uses a non-beginner-friendly form template system, although I do believe that once you’ve learned how it all works, you should be able to create the form you want in minutes.

However, there’s no denying the whole set-up does look dated when compared with modern drag-and-drop form builders.

Contact Form 7
Contact Form 7 isn’t going to win any style awards.

Where Contact Form 7 excels is integration. It’s one of the most versatile contact form solutions available to WordPress users because of the number of plugins available to it that can extend functionality. The vast majority of these add-ons are also free to download.

It can be used with Akismet and various reCAPTCHA plugins to reduce spam, Flamingo to store messages and Google Analytics for stats. You can also add conditional fields, support for MailChimp, file uploads, customisable form skins, PayPal & Stripe payments, and more.

Contact Form 7 Example
Out of the box, Contact Form 7 forms look basic, but you can improve things greatly with the help of third-party plugins.

Contact Form 7 won’t be winning any style awards any time soon, and the form template system could be improved in a number of areas, but you’ll struggle to find a free solution that’s more flexible.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

4. WPForms — FREE/$39.50+

WPForms is a user-friendly professional contact form solution that uses a drag-and-drop system for building forms, and also includes many pre-made templates to help you to create forms quickly.

The free version, which has more than four million active installations, has Constant Contact support, an import and export system, and reCAPTCHA functionality to help to prevent spam.

This core version is suitable for a basic contact form, although you may find it a little limited as fields such as ‘Website/URL’ and ‘File Upload’ aren’t included. Entries aren’t saved in this version either.

Select a template in WPForms.
Pre-made templates simplify the process of building forms.

A basic license for WPForms costs $39.50 a year. Suitable for one website, it allows unlimited forms and entries, and also unlocks all advanced fields, form templates, multi-page forms and conditional logic.

The plus license at $99.50 a year increases usage to three websites and unlocks newsletter functionality and integration support for email marketing services such as MailChimp. Jumping up to the pro license at $199.50 a year increases usage to 20 websites and adds support for user registrations, payment systems, signatures, offline forms and more.

The elite license at $299.50 a year is aimed towards agencies. It has no usage restriction, and adds support for WordPress multisite and client management.

WP Forms Form Settings
I started using WPForms on my own blog in 2020.

WPForms is a quality form plugin that’s easy to use. Some users may find the free version limited, but a basic license for WPForms Pro is fairly priced at $39.50 a year, and offers useful features such as conditional logic.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

5. Formidable Forms — FREE/$49.50+

Formidable Forms is a fantastic contact form plugin that allows you to create forms quickly using a drag-and-drop builder.

The free version has a good selection of fields, including dropdown menus, website URL, HTML and a reCAPTCHA anti-spam field. It saves form submissions and supports form importing and exporting too.

The free version also includes a feature-packed style editor that lets you change colors, font sizes and more. This is something most contact form plugins, free and premium, don’t offer.

Like many other contact form plugins, Formidable Forms has been released under the freemium business model, so you’ll need to upgrade to unlock advanced features and functionality.

Building a Form
Formidable Forms has a great selection of fields.

If you’re happy with the features included in the free version of Formidable Forms, you may want to consider upgrading to the basic license at $49.50 a year. In addition to support from the developers, it unlocks all advanced fields and allows you to create multi-page forms.

The plus license at $99.50 a year allows usage on up to three websites, adds additional styling options and includes integration support for MailChimp, Aweber and MailPoet. Functionality for reviews and comments are also added.

The business license retails at $199.50 a year, and increases usage to ten websites and adds more email marketing integrations, PayPal support, WPML integration, Zapier integration and more.

The elite license at $299.50 a year has no usage restrictions. It adds support for Stripe, Authorize.net, ActiveCampaign, Salesforce, HubSpot and WooCommerce. Over 125+ pre-made form templates are also included with this plan.

Formdiable Forms Actions
Actions allow you to perform tasks once a form has been submitted.

Formidable Forms is undoubtedly one of the best contact form plugins available for WordPress, and it stands out from the crowd because of its additional styling options.

Those of you who are looking for a free WordPress contact form plugin will also be pleased with what’s included in the core version.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

6. Form Maker — FREE/$30+

Form Maker is a WordPress form plugin that can be used to create contact forms, registration forms, surveys, quizzes, payment forms and more.

The free version of Form Maker has many great features. Forms can be created using a drag-and-drop form builder, and you can change what’s displayed using conditional logic. There’s a great selection of essential form fields and advanced fields too, such as password, date range and ratings.

Fifteen form themes are available, and each one can be styled using a beginner-friendly form styler. Form Maker will also save all form submissions, so you can view them in the WordPress admin area.

Please note that while the free version of Form Maker has many great features, it does limit your form to only seven fields. This won’t be an issue for simple forms, but it will prevent it from being used for more advanced forms.

Form Maker Theme Settings
Four different form types are available in Form Maker.

The full version of Form Maker comes with six months of support and updates, and features more than 40 field types and unlimited form submissions.

A basic license costs $30 and includes multi-page forms, file uploads, front-end form submissions and integration support for Google Maps and PayPal.

The $60 pro license increases usage from one website to six, and also adds support for Stripe payments, PDFs and WordPress registration. You can also export and import forms and submissions via an XML file.

The most expensive plan is the $100 10Web plugin bundle, which adds ten additional plugin extensions for form calculations, Google Drive support and more.

Form Maker Example Form
Form Maker looks great on desktops, tablets and mobile devices.

While the free version of Form Maker does restrict forms to only seven fields, it’s one of the most feature-rich free form solutions available to WordPress users.

Form Maker Pro is available from only $30. While upgrading unlocks many useful features, I believe there are better form solutions in the premium form market.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

7. Jetpack — FREE

Jetpack, or if you prefer its full title ‘Jetpack by WordPress.com‘, quickly grew to be one of the most popular plugins available to WordPress users, offering a range of tools and services from Automattic.

One of its lesser-known modules is the Jetpack contact form. It’s a simple solution that may suit those of you who don’t need all of the bells and whistles of dedicated WordPress form plugins.

If you have the Classic Editor WordPress plugin enabled on your website, you’ll see the Jetpack contact form in your visual editor via the button ‘Add Contact Form’. The form only has four fields: Name, Email, Website and Message.

Jetpack Contact Form
Jetpack still works for those who use the Classic Editor.

With the default WordPress Editor, you’ll find the Jetpack contact form block in the main block list. Originally, Jetpack only offered one simple form, but it now offers a standard form, contact form, newsletter sign-up form, registration form and more.

If the Jetpack Form Block isn’t displaying, check that the contact form module is enabled in the Jetpack settings page.

Jetpack Form Blocks
Jetpack now offers many different form options.

You can specify whether a field is required and edit its label, but you need to use CSS classes if you want to style your forms.

Contact Form Block
An example of the Jetpack contact form using the WordPress theme Twenty Twenty-One.

If you want to add a basic form to your website and you already have Jetpack installed, Jetpack’s form blocks are useful. If you need more than just a few basic fields in your contact form, Jetpack is too limited, so I’d recommend using an alternative WordPress plugin.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

8. Quform — $29

Quform is the best-selling WordPress form builder plugin on CodeCanyon. Retailing at only $29, it’s a user-friendly product that’s packed full of features.

The plugin allows you to create stylish, complex, multi-page forms, and you can use conditional logic to change which fields are displayed and control which notifications are sent.

Three CAPTCHA options are available: Honeypot, image and reCAPTCHA. There are also 15 validators available to help you to verify data.

Quform Contact Form
I found it quick and easy to add fields and construct a form in the Quform form builder.

Quform boasts a drag-and-drop interface with a complete theming and layout system. In addition to the 11 included themes, you’ll find 11 button styles, button animations, CSS styling and more. All form changes can be previewed when customising.

While all of the solutions on this list are responsive, Quform is undoubtedly one of the prettiest form options available for mobiles and tablets.

Quform Form Example
Few WordPress plugins produce contact forms as well as Quform does.

Quform is one of the most feature-rich contact form solutions available to WordPress users, and, at only $29, it’s one that’s easy to recommend. Be sure to test Quform using its public demo to familiarise yourself with its user-interface.

Official Website | Plugin Sales Page

9. Caldera Forms — FREE/$74.99+

Caldera Forms is a versatile WordPress contact form plugin that uses a drag-and-drop interface. You can create a new form from a blank template, or select one of several pre-made form templates.

The free version of Caldera has many features that other developers reserve for premium editions, such as file uploading, multi-page forms, conditional logic and support for Easy Digital Downloads.

An anti-spam honeypot is available too, and you can import and export forms.

Caldera Forms Form Settings
Building forms in Caldera Forms is straightforward.

Functionality in Caldera Forms can be expanded through 27 plugin add-ons. Most sell for either $19 or $39, but there are a few that sell for more. For example, the Custom Fields add-on costs $79. Because of this pricing structure, for most website owners it makes much more sense to purchase the pro version of Caldera Forms.

The $49.50 Toolbelt license offers conditional logic, PayPal and Stripe payments, integration support for email marketing services and Slack. Upgrading to the $99.50 Toolbox license adds YouTube signup forms, custom fields and support for Google Analytics, Authorize.net and Zapier.

The most expensive license is the $249.50 Toolchest plan. It adds many advanced features, such as membership functionality, integration support for Easy Digital Downloads, PDF form submissions and more.

All plans allow use and support on an unlimited number of websites.

Caldera Forms Example Form
Caldera Forms can be used to create any type of website form.

Those of you who are looking for a free contact form solution will be impressed with what the core version of Caldera Forms offers.

The plugin really comes into its own when you install the available plugin add-ons. While these can be purchased separately, the Caldera Forms Pro plans give you better value.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

10. ARForms — FREE/$39

Since its launch in 2013, ARForms has been known as one of the best professional contact form plugins for WordPress, with high-quality design in the back end and front end that’s set it apart.

ARForms Lite boasts the same colorful drag-and-drop interface as its premium counterpart. The interface places all fields (elements) on the left-hand side of the page, the form in the middle and styling options on the right-hand side. It’s an absolute joy to use.

The developers have been incredibly generous in the free version, offering a wide range of form fields and styling options, as well as the ability to save form submissions. You can also define what action occurs when a form’s been submitted.

Create ARForms Form
The ARForms form builder looks fantastic.

The free version of ARForms is impressive, but there are many good reasons to upgrade to the full version of the plugin.

Upgrading gives you access to 52 professional pre-made form designs for booking forms, registration forms, newsletter forms and more. Several pre-made templates for common forms are included too.

ARForms Pro adds 11 additional fields to the form builder, such as the password field and file upload field. Other functionality, such as conditional logic and email opt-ins, are also unlocked.

The full version also includes 20 plugin add-ons. These plugins add major functionality to ARForms, such as Google reCaptcha, payment support, email marketing integration and more.

ARForms Example
ARForms doesn’t just look great in the back end of WordPress — its pre-made forms are gorgeous.

ARForms is one of the best free contact form solutions available on WordPress.org. The full version takes everything to the next level with more features, styling options and advanced options. At only $39, ARForms Pro offers fantastic value for money, and I recommend checking it out.

Official Website | Plugin Sales Page | Plugin Download Page

Plus one more: Everest Forms — FREE/$29+

My last recommendation is beautiful lightweight form solution Everest Forms. It has a stylish drag-and-drop interface that simplifies the task of adding new fields and organising them into rows.

The free version of Everest Forms comes with 11 form fields. All of them can be customised and you can validate entries too. The plugin also stores submissions in your website database and you can configure Google reCAPTCHA to help to prevent spam.

In the tools section, forms can be exported and imported via JSON files.

Everest Forms Builder
The drag-and-drop user-interface works well.

Nineteen premium plugin add-ons are available for Everest Forms. These plugins can’t be purchased separately and are only available when you purchase Everest Forms Pro.

The $49-a-year personal license unlocks all 26 form fields, conditional logic, image uploads, style customisation, multi-page forms and email marketing integration. By upgrading to the $99-a-year plus license, you can increase website usage and support from one website to five. This license also unlocks PayPal payments, user registration forms, surveys and support for additional email marketing services.

The $149-a-year professional plan and the $199-a-year agency plan offer the same functionality. The only difference is the professional plan is a 25-website license and the agency plan allows unlimited usage. These plans unlock five additional plugin addons for Stripe payments, Zapier integration, post submissions, form restriction and email templates.

Everest Forms Example Form
An example of a hotel booking form created in Everest Forms.

I am a big fan of the free version of Everest Forms. It has a beautiful drag-and-drop form builder, and offers many advanced features. My only frustration with it is its limited number of form fields, but all fields can be unlocked by upgrading to Everest Forms Pro for $49.

I recommend installing Everest Forms and seeing for yourself what it can do.

Official Website | Plugin Download Page

Final Thoughts

The WordPress contact form plugin market is as good as it’s ever been, so, when it comes to selecting a contact form solution, you’re spoiled for choice.

One thing that pleases me is the standard of free contact form plugins for WordPress has improved significantly over the past few years. They’re generally more stylish, boast more features and use a modern user-friendly form builder. Long may this trend continue!

With so many great solutions on the market, it’s hard to single out a specific WordPress contact form plugin as ‘The Best’. Each of them excel in different areas and offer advanced functionality at different price points.

My advice is to test the plugins listed in this article to see if they’re a good fit for you and your website. Be aware that some contact form plugins can be costly if you require all advanced features, integration and functionality.

Used/using one of the above-mentioned form plugins? Any others? Thoughts?

By Kevin Muldoon

Kevin Muldoon is a professional blogger with a love of travel. He writes regularly about internet marketing on his personal blog and actively talks about technology on YouTube.
Comments (policy)
  1. Ajarn Spencer Littlewood says:

    contact form seven is a very extreme vulnerability and one of the easiest plug-ins to hack. I never use it, and every time I ever did a hack are used it to hack my website. Do not use a contact form on your website of any making.. send them to your Facebook page and let them message you there, much Better way to keep your word press site secure. Apart from that eight of the 10 you mention are not free! deceptive post indeed just to get search engine results. These are not free products. They are paid. You should put the 10 completely free products. Not paid ones which have her useless free test version

    • Segun Alalade says:

      Why the attack? He never said they were completely free. Some of the plugins are free like the Caldera plugin and very secure to use. Whether you use a contact form on your site or not, your website can still be hacked, nothing is completely secure in a digital world. Learn to appreciate posts instead of attacking the writer. Putting content online for people to read is not easy. Thanks.

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