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Surveys · head to head

Gravity Forms vs KoboToolbox

Gravity Forms logo

Gravity Forms

Surveys

The most trusted WordPress forms plugin

From
$59/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
KoboToolbox logo

KoboToolbox

Surveys

Offline-first data collection for humanitarian, development and research field work

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only KoboToolbox has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Gravity Forms basic license covers only 1 site and renews at $59/year after a discounted $44 first year; KoboToolbox the free Community plan caps at 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage, and any form collecting photographs exhausts storage long before it exhausts the submission count.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Gravity Forms and KoboToolbox differ
AttributeGravity FormsKoboToolbox
Starting price$59/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by submission count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Android, Self-hosted

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Surveys).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Gravity Forms

Nothing recorded that KoboToolbox does not also cover.

Only in KoboToolbox

  • Offline data collection
  • XLSForm and browser form builder
  • Skip logic and validation
  • Multilingual forms
  • GPS and media capture
  • Case management
  • Exports and analysis
  • Self-hosting

What people use each for

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

Gravity Forms

  • WordPress form building and lead capturenot KoboToolbox
  • E-commerce payment form processingnot KoboToolbox
  • Multi-site form managementnot KoboToolbox

KoboToolbox

  • A rapid needs assessment after a disaster where enumerators work for days without mobile coveragenot Gravity Forms
  • A ministry of health running a national survey that must be self-hosted in country for data protection reasonsnot Gravity Forms
  • An NGO running the same longitudinal household survey in four languages across three countriesnot Gravity Forms
  • A research group that needs a free instrument for a modest sample and an SPSS export at the endnot Gravity Forms

Where each one falls short

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

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

KoboToolbox

  • The free Community plan caps at 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage, and any form collecting photographs exhausts storage long before it exhausts the submission count.
  • The Starter paid plan allows only 1,000 submissions a month for $21, which is fewer than the free nonprofit tier, so a small commercial user pays more for less than a charity gets free.
  • Eligibility for the free plan depends on Kobo's assessment of your organisation and purpose, which introduces an approval step that a consultancy working on behalf of an NGO may not clear.
  • Self-hosting is genuinely possible but the stack is substantial to deploy and maintain, so a ministry choosing it for data residency reasons takes on real infrastructure staffing cost.
  • Analysis and reporting inside the platform are basic compared with dedicated tools, so most serious use exports to Excel, Power BI or statistical software, and that export step is where data governance often gets loose.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

KoboToolbox

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Free for qualifying nonprofit and public good organisations
    • 5,000 submissions per month
    • 1 GB file storage
  • Starter$21/month
    • 1,000 submissions per month
    • 0.5 GB file storage
    • For private and for-profit use
  • Professional$129/month
    • 25,000 submissions per month or 300,000 per year
    • Unlimited file storage
    • Priority support
  • Teams$undefined/month
    • 50,000 submissions per month or 600,000 per year
    • Shared team administration
    • Pricing published by plan tier

Which should you pick?

Choose Gravity Forms if

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

Gravity Forms review

Choose KoboToolbox if

  • You need offline data collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, Self-hosted.
  • You also want xlsform and browser form builder.
KoboToolbox review

Questions people ask

Is Gravity Forms or KoboToolbox better?
Neither clearly leads. Gravity Forms starts at $59/year and KoboToolbox at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gravity Forms or KoboToolbox?
KoboToolbox has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $59/year for Gravity Forms and Free for KoboToolbox.
Does Gravity Forms or KoboToolbox run on more platforms?
Gravity Forms runs on Web. KoboToolbox runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted.
Can I use KoboToolbox for free?
Yes. KoboToolbox has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Gravity Forms starts at $59/year.
What is Gravity Forms best used for?
Gravity Forms is most often used for wordpress form building and lead capture, e-commerce payment form processing, multi-site form management. Of those, wordpress form building and lead capture and e-commerce payment form processing are not what KoboToolbox is typically brought in for.
What can Gravity Forms do that KoboToolbox cannot?
KoboToolbox covers Offline data collection, XLSForm and browser form builder, Skip logic and validation, Multilingual forms.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
KoboToolbox: Is KoboToolbox free?

Free for qualifying nonprofit and public good organisations under the Community plan, currently 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage. Commercial use requires a paid plan from $21 a month.

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
KoboToolbox: Who funds it?

Kobo Inc is a US nonprofit funded roughly 38 per cent by grants and contributions and 62 per cent by service contracts, subscriptions and training, based on its 2024 figures.

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
KoboToolbox: Can I host it myself?

Yes. The server stack is open source and is regularly deployed in country for data residency reasons.

KoboToolbox: Are forms portable?

Yes. It uses XLSForm and ODK standards, so instruments move between Kobo and other ODK-compatible servers.

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