Is Cognito Forms or Gravity Forms better?

Neither clearly leads. Cognito Forms starts at Free and Gravity Forms at $59/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Cognito Forms or Gravity Forms?

Cognito Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cognito Forms and $59/year for Gravity Forms.

Does Cognito Forms or Gravity Forms run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Cognito Forms for free?

Yes. Cognito Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gravity Forms starts at $59/year.

What is Cognito Forms best used for?

Cognito Forms is most often used for building hipaa-compliant data collection forms without coding, creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signing, collecting payments inline within customer intake forms, routing applications automatically based on responses. Of those, building hipaa-compliant data collection forms without coding and creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signing are not what Gravity Forms is typically brought in for.

Surveys · head to head

Cognito Forms vs Gravity Forms

Cognito Forms

Surveys

Powerful forms made easy

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Gravity Forms

Surveys

The most trusted WordPress forms plugin

From: $59/year
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Cognito Forms has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Cognito Forms individual free plan caps at 100 entries per month and 1 user; Gravity Forms basic license covers only 1 site and renews at $59/year after a discounted $44 first year
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cognito Forms and Gravity Forms actually diverge.

Attributes where Cognito Forms and Gravity Forms differ
Attribute	Cognito Forms	Gravity Forms
Starting price	Free	$59/year
Free tier	Yes	No

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Surveys).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cognito Forms

Building HIPAA-compliant data collection forms without codingnot Gravity Forms
Creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signingnot Gravity Forms
Collecting payments inline within customer intake formsnot Gravity Forms
Routing applications automatically based on responsesnot Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms

WordPress form building and lead capturenot Cognito Forms
E-commerce payment form processingnot Cognito Forms
Multi-site form managementnot Cognito Forms

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cognito Forms

Individual free plan caps at 100 entries per month and 1 user
Pro plan ($24/mo monthly, $19/mo billed annually) still limits to 2 users and 2,000 entries per month
HIPAA compliance and single sign-on are restricted to the Enterprise tier ($174/mo monthly, $129/mo annual)

Gravity Forms

Basic license covers only 1 site and renews at $59/year after a discounted $44 first year
Pro license is capped at 3 sites; using it on more requires the Elite tier at $259/year renewal
Marketing integrations like HubSpot and Mailchimp are Basic-tier only, while payment and workflow add-ons (Stripe, Zapier, Trello) require Pro or above

Pricing, plan by plan

Cognito Forms

Free

IndividualFree
- 100 entries per month
- 1 user
- Cognito Forms branding included
Pro$24/month
- 2000 entries per month
- 2 users
- Electronic signatures
Team$49/month
- 10000 entries per month
- 5 users
- 5 guest access
Enterprise$174/month
- Unlimited entries
- 20 users
- 20 guest access

Gravity Forms

$59/year

Basic$59/year
- 1 site license
- 20+ integrations including HubSpot, Mailchimp, Active Campaign
Pro$159/year
- 3 site licenses
- Payment processing with Stripe, Square, PayPal
- 15+ Pro-level add-ons
Elite$259/year
- Unlimited site licenses
- All add-ons included
- Advanced features: User Registration, Conversational Forms, Signature, Survey

Which should you pick?

Choose Cognito Forms if

You want to start without paying.

Cognito Forms review

Choose Gravity Forms if

Nothing in the data separates Gravity Forms from Cognito Forms on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Gravity Forms review

Questions people ask

Is Cognito Forms or Gravity Forms better?: Neither clearly leads. Cognito Forms starts at Free and Gravity Forms at $59/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cognito Forms or Gravity Forms?: Cognito Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cognito Forms and $59/year for Gravity Forms.
Does Cognito Forms or Gravity Forms run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Cognito Forms for free?: Yes. Cognito Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gravity Forms starts at $59/year.
What is Cognito Forms best used for?: Cognito Forms is most often used for building hipaa-compliant data collection forms without coding, creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signing, collecting payments inline within customer intake forms, routing applications automatically based on responses. Of those, building hipaa-compliant data collection forms without coding and creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signing are not what Gravity Forms is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cognito Forms: How much does Cognito Forms cost?

Cognito Forms offers a free Individual plan with 100 entries per month. Paid plans start at $24/month for the Pro plan, $49/month for the Team plan, and $174/month for the Enterprise plan. Annual prepayment provides up to 20% discount off monthly rates.

Source

Gravity Forms: What is the cheapest Gravity Forms plan?

The Basic plan is $59/year and includes 1 site license with 20+ integrations. The Elite plan at $259/year offers unlimited sites and all add-ons.

Source

Cognito Forms: What is the difference between Cognito Forms plans?

The Individual plan (free) includes 100 entries/month and 1 user. Pro adds electronic signatures and accommodates 2000 entries/month with 2 users. Team plan (Best Value) supports 10000 entries/month with 5 users and includes client portal and approvals. Enterprise provides unlimited entries, 20 users, and HIPAA compliance.

Source

Gravity Forms: Can I process payments with Gravity Forms?

Yes. Payment processing with Stripe, Square, and PayPal is included in the Pro ($159/year) and Elite ($259/year) plans, but not in the Basic plan.

Source

Cognito Forms: Does Cognito Forms have a free version?

Yes, Cognito Forms offers a free Individual plan that includes 100 entries per month, 1 user, unlimited forms, and payment processing capabilities. Higher-tier plans are available for increased capacity and features.

Source

Gravity Forms: How many sites can I use Gravity Forms on?

The Basic plan covers 1 site, Pro covers 3 sites, and Elite covers unlimited sites. All pricing is annual subscription.

Source

Cognito Forms vs Gravity Forms

Cognito Forms

Gravity Forms

The short version

Where they differ

What people use each for

Cognito Forms

Gravity Forms

Where each one falls short

Cognito Forms

Gravity Forms

Pricing, plan by plan

Cognito Forms

Gravity Forms

Which should you pick?

Choose Cognito Forms if

Choose Gravity Forms if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Cognito Forms

More on Gravity Forms

Keep looking

Other head to heads