A good fisherman wouldn't go fishing without a net, just like a successful website owner wouldn't have a site without high converting forms.
Whether your goal is to collect employment applications, get more orders, manage event registrations, gain subscribers or collect contact details, a form builder is what you need. This tool is crucial for capturing leads and important user information that will help you get customer feedback, convert visitors and collect data.
But with so many form builder platforms out there, how do you know what makes a great builder? How will you choose the best one? Our team of experts examined the marketplace to help you find the best form builder that is customizable, fast and simple to use, has advanced features, integrations and provides rich analytics.
Best online form builders
01. Wix
Best form builder for: An all-in-one WYSIWYG solution for capturing the user information you need.
Wix's form builder combines easy-to-use customizable drag and drop website design features with professional-level integrations. You can choose from a variety of professional templates to build your own contact forms, employment application forms, registration forms, order forms and questionnaires.
Easily select exactly which fields you want your visitors to fill out with the option of conditional rules, autofill and file upload features. Wix Forms can also collect payments, add signature fields and translate forms with its multilingual capabilities. On top of that, you can easily collaborate with co-workers on projects. All of this is done with a multi-layered security solution to ensure your information is safe.
For the post-submission process, the form builder is connected to a professional email marketing tool that allows you to trigger a variety of automations once a form is filled. The email marketing tool also lets you easily answer repeat form submissions, manage custom communications, quickly sort user information and create mailing lists. The platform's built-in CRM and Marketing suite lets you keep track of all your visitor info in one place and access in-depth analytics. You can import and export the data you need and integrate the form builder with your favorite business apps.
Top features:
Choose from various professional form templates that you can publish on a dedicated web page or add forms from the app market when you start making a website.
Connect your forms to an email marketing tool to communicate with your contacts and leverage automated emails.
Advanced Wix features such as business app integrations, conditional rules, mobile app notifications, payment forms, upload file, signature fields and download file after submission options. All of which make it easier to monetize your website this way.
Free: Up to 5 forms with unlimited submissions
Premium: Included within premium plans
Learn more: How much does a website cost
02. Wufoo
Best form builder for: Graphs and advanced reporting
The Wufoo form builder software is owned by SurveyMonkey and has been on the market since 2006. One of the most notable features is quick graphical reports creation, which allows you to create graphs and charts without exporting the data to external platforms.
The platform offers over 400 form templates for anything from invitations, lead generation, online orders to registrations. You can add your logo to any of the themes to match your website. The Wuffoo form builder also allows you to add payment fields, automate workflows, and integrate with other business tools.
Top features:
Custom reports that get built in your own account. Easily export the data into spreadsheets to further analyze responses.
Wufoo collects all types of files and lets you access them when you need them.
Integrate your data with other business tools to help you be most productive.
Free: 5 forms, 100 responses per month and 10 fields per form
Premium: Starts at $14.80/month which includes 10 forms and 1,000 responses
03. Typeform
Best form builder for: Conversational human-like forms
Typeform is widely considered one of the best free form builder platforms because of the conversational, friendly experience it provides to the end-user. By showing one question at a time and being fun and interactive, their form filling experience is far from overwhelming. You can even personalize the form ending based on the answers the user has given. Due to their human-like nature, their builder is often used for questionnaires and surveys.
Typeform has over 90 templates that can include images, videos and GIFs. Customizing the templates is easy since it shows you in Live Preview how the form will look. Lastly, its large buttons on mobile make their forms easy to use on a touchscreen.
Top features:
People-friendly forms that are very interactive and conversational.
Anticipates the type of question you ask.
Draws the audience's attention with plenty of aesthetic design options.
Free: 3 forms, 100 responses per month and 10 fields per form
Premium: Starts at $35/month which includes unlimited forms and questions and 1,000 responses
04. JotForm
Best form builder for: Large selection of form types and templates
JotForm has over 10,000 form templates which give you a large selection to choose from. The categories with the most options are registration forms, request forms and application forms. All of these types of forms can be multi-page forms and are mobile-friendly with JotForm. You can even import an existing form and download the responses into reports.
Extensive offerings don’t end with templates. You can create secure payments with 30+ trusted payment gateway integrations such as with Paypal, Square and Stripe. Other popular tool integrations exist with apps such as Slack, Dropbox, and Mailchimp.
Top features:
10,000+ free online form templates that can be relevant and easy to use for almost every business.
You can create secure payment forms for free with no additional transaction fee. After you customize your form, integrate it with your preferred payment gateway.
Ability to manage forms from your phone or tablet.
Free: 5 forms, 100 responses per month and unlimited fields per form
Premium: Starts at $24/month which includes 25 forms and 1,000 responses
05. Paperform
Best form builder for: Landing page user experience
What makes Paperform a popular form builder is the look and feel of their product. Their forms resemble a landing page that tells a story with pictures, videos with a unique user experience. Therefore, it makes sense that Paperform can be of great use for online advertising campaigns. If you’re looking into how to create a landing page, Paperform’s features can help enhance your lead generation and application forms.
Paperform takes bookings, collects payments and integrates with over 1,000 apps. Another neat feature is that they have more than 20 question types used in conjunction with logic rules that show only relevant questions.
Top features:
Not just a typical question and answers form. Paperform feels like a landing page when you use it .
Creating a form feels like writing a doc as it is very quick and intuitive.
Conditional questions that define your own logic rules can be used to control the content users see in each section.
Free: 14-day trial, no credit card required
Premium: Starts at $12.50/month, including an unlimited number of forms and 1,000 responses a month
06. Formsite
Best form builder for: Secure forms and sensitive data
Formsite’s ability to encrypt its form submissions and produce password-protected reports makes it one of the best online form builders for collecting sensitive data. Additionally, the platform also offers spam prevention and secure link-sharing options.
Their templates are sorted by industry and are known to get used for market research and customer feedback. With over 40 question types, you can ask exactly what you need. To simplify the answering experience, users can save and return to complete filling out the form later. Another way Formsite helps the user experience is by providing a QR bar scan for quick accessibility.
Top features:
Create secure forms that encrypt sensitive data and let you protect your data without any complicated protocols.
Publish your forms and surveys using a QR code that will allow your users to access your form easily.
Share a secure link to your form, which is responsive on all devices.
Free: 14-day trial, no credit card required
Premium: Starts at $21/month, including 5 secure forms and 500 responses per form
07. Formstack
Best form builder for: Payment security
Similar to Formsite, Formstack prides itself on its safety, especially for PCI (payment card industry). Furthermore, their forms are also both GDPR and MPPA compliant. When it comes to inclusion, Formsite ensures their forms are accessible regardless of disability status.
Formstack lets you choose the type of form you need in combination with your industry to help you easily use the form for your needs. You can reorder content on the page and also allow users to see one question at a time. When you’re done building your forms, you can add UTM tracking codes and conduct A/B testing for different versions to help you get the best results.
Top features:
Create secure and reliable payments that help you get subscriptions and process transitions. They have PCI compliant forms, payment processors, discount codes and calculating fields.
A/B test variations of your forms against one another to help you boost your conversion rates.
Attribute form submission to specific campaigns with UTM Tracking.
Free: 14-day trial
Premium: Starts at $50/month, including 20 forms and 1,000 responses
08. Google Forms
Best form builder for: Quick and simple forms
We can’t gather the best online form builder list without including the renowned Google Forms. The tool has several ready templates like feedback forms, order forms, job application forms and work requests. To customize any of these templates, you can add your logo and upload photos. You are also given many types of question formats like multiple choice, checklist, and short answer submissions.
People often choose Google Forms because it creates real-time charts, instant data, offers Google Forms add-ons and is free. However, those who need payment options, which Google Forms does not provide, will turn to other form building platforms.
Top features:
Real-time info and charts based on your submissions. You can even take your data and analyze it further by using it in Google Sheets.
Many questions options for you to choose from and can add on page branching and question skip logic.
Add collaborators to work on form-building projects with you, just like you would add co-workers to Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides.
Free: You only need a Google account to use Google Forms with no number of form limitations
Premium: Starting at $6/month, you can sign up for Google Workspace, which includes all Google products for businesses
09. POWR
Best form builder for: Notifications and autoresponders to submissions
Powr website app claims it can help you close sales faster by creating easy payment forms with branded autoresponders that allow you to respond to inquiries in more personalized and relevant ways. By setting up branded and conditional autoresponder emails for your customers who contact you after submitting a form, you can create a better user experience for them. You can also set up email notifications for abandoned carts. When a user submits your form but doesn't complete payment, you will be alerted to help bring the user back to your site.
Powr also helps get your customer's attention by letting you promote offers with popups on your website and display visitors that are currently on the page.
Top features:
Include star ratings, emoji feedback, picture choices and downloads in your forms.
Use multi-page forms that are great for surveys or long forms which break up questions into multiple pages.
You can redirect customers to a custom message or share results with them after they submitted a form.
Free: 25 responses per month
Premium: Starts at $8/month for 100 responses per month
10. 123 Form Builder
Best form builder for: Data collection
You can use 123 Form Builder as a stand-alone tool or integrate the 123 Form Builder app into your web builder. Choose from 1,900 templates and more than 30 elements. Some element examples are logic fields, multi-language forms, email notifications, file uploads, and excellent internal workflow.
The 123 Form Builder tool connects with your database, marketplace or e-commerce platform, email marketing platform, project management tools, CRM, payment storage and cloud storage. With all these places to connect your data, 123 Form Builder is excellent for having all your data in one location without an endless need for exporting.
Top features:
Set up SMS and email notifications for each time you’ve received a new submission.
Create forms in multiple language versions so that your audiences in different locations can understand your form.
Enterprise customer care that provides customers with the assistance they need.
Free: 3 forms, 20 responses per month
Premium: Starts at $19.99/month which includes 5 forms and unlimited responses
What makes the best online form-building software?
The best form-building software offers a range of features and capabilities designed to make it easy for users to create, customize and manage online forms for various purposes. Here are some key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of form-building software:
Ease of use: The software should have an intuitive and user-friendly interface that allows users to create forms quickly and easily, without requiring coding knowledge or technical expertise.
Drag-and-drop editor: A drag-and-drop editor enables users to build forms by simply dragging form elements (such as text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, etc.) onto the form canvas and arranging them as desired.
Customization options: Users should have the ability to customize form designs to match their branding and style preferences. This includes options for changing colors, fonts, backgrounds and adding logos or images.
Form fields and elements: The software should offer a variety of form fields and elements to cater to different data collection needs, such as text fields, dropdown menus, file uploads, date pickers and more.
Conditional logic: Advanced form builders allow users to set up conditional logic, where certain form fields or sections are displayed or hidden based on the respondent's previous selections or answers. This helps create dynamic and interactive forms that adapt to users' inputs.
Integration with third-party tools: Integration with other software and platforms, such as CRM systems, email marketing tools and payment gateways, allows users to automate workflows and streamline data collection processes.
Security features: Form-building software should prioritize data security and offer features like SSL encryption, data encryption at rest, compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and options for secure form submission.
Analytics and reporting: Built-in analytics and reporting tools provide insights into form performance, including metrics like form submissions, completion rates, conversion rates and respondent demographics. This data helps users track and measure the effectiveness of their forms.
Form management and collaboration: The software should offer tools for managing multiple forms, organizing them into folders or categories and collaborating with team members on form creation and editing.
Affordability and scalability: The software should offer flexible pricing plans that accommodate users with different needs and budgets. Additionally, it should be scalable to grow with users' requirements as their form-building needs evolve.
Online form builders design best practices
Once you’ve chosen the best form builder for your online goals, it’s time to start building. Make sure to first read up about how to create an online form and follow these best practices:
Keep it short and simple: Avoid intimidating people with lengthy forms. Keep content short with only the fields you really need. If for any reason you need a large amount of information, use multi-step forms, conditional forms and save and finish later options.
Arrange form fields by importance: Put the most critical information at the top. People are most focused and show more interest at the beginning of the process.
Use field titles and placeholder text: Exemplify what it is you expect the user to fill out by putting placeholder text in different sections. For instance, next to the date of birth, you can show them MM/DD/YY, or next to the name, you can write Jane Doe.
Only make the critical fields mandatory: By not making all fields mandatory, you can increase your site's conversion rate. Be strategic with which areas are a must-have and a nice to have.
Add reCAPTCHA software to reduce spam and bots: ReCAPTCHA protects your website from fraud and abuse. They help websites with bot mitigation and malicious software. Using reCAPTCHA you can lessen getting spam in your form fields and make sure only humans fill them.
Best online form builders FAQ
What's the best platform to make a form?
The best platform to make a form depends entirely on the type of form you want to create and your budget. Wix is a great all-round solution but Google forms, is very accessible if you need a quick and simple form.