From capturing leads to conducting surveys, to handling agreements or online payments, WordPress forms play an integral role in various online activities. The correct form builder plugin can make a significant difference if you manage an online business or target your audience for seamless conversions. With numerous companies offering different SaaS products, it’s easy to fall for marketing stunts. In this article, we’ll compare two popular WordPress form builders, Cognito Forms and Fluent Forms, and help you decide which one is the best for your website.
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Features and Functionalities: How to Choose the Best Form Builder Plugin
When selecting a form builder, it’s crucial to consider its features and functionalities before purchasing. This guide will help you make an informed decision by comparing Cognito Forms and Fluent Forms.
Overview
What is Fluent Forms?
Fluent Forms is a simple, easy-to-use, and lightweight form builder for WordPress. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, numerous integrations, and continuous updates. With over 100,000 businesses using Fluent Forms, it’s a growing favorite due to its user-friendly approach and innovative features like Conversational Forms. The team behind Fluent Forms consistently works on improvements, ensuring the plugin stays current and effective for users.
What are Cognito Forms?
Cognito Forms is another robust WordPress form builder with various features. It offers a drag-and-drop interface and caters to developers and beginners. Despite its extensive offerings, Cognito Forms has a smaller user base than Fluent Forms. It’s known for its flexibility and robust capabilities, although some key features are locked behind a paywall.
Feature Comparison
1. Ease of Use
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms has a straightforward and polished interface. Its drag-and-drop functionality allows users to customize forms without coding easily. The preview option lets users see changes before publishing, and the setup process is intuitive. Even beginners can quickly get the hang of building forms, making it accessible for users of all skill levels.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms has a simple interface with fields on the left side. It allows users to preview forms but lacks the inline editing feature available in Fluent Forms. The interface is clear but might feel slightly dated compared to the more polished Fluent Forms UI.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms is more user-friendly and offers inline editing, making it the winner. Its intuitive design ensures that even first-time users can create professional forms easily, enhancing the overall user experience.
2. Input Fields
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms offers 50 input fields in four categories, with 25+ fields for free. The fields range from basic to advanced, catering to various needs. These fields include unique options like Color Picker, Action Hook, Hidden Field, and GDPR, allowing users to create highly customized forms.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms offers 22 input fields, with five being premium. The limited input fields restrict its functionality. The available fields are practical but don’t offer the same variety as Fluent Forms, which might be limiting for complex forms.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms offers more input fields, providing greater flexibility for form creation. This variety ensures that users have all the tools they need to create forms that meet their specific needs, whether simple or complex.
3. Conversational Forms
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms provides Conversational Forms, which are interactive and engaging. These forms enhance user experience and reduce abandonment rates. Fluent Forms even allows payments through these forms. Conversational Forms create a unique user experience by simulating a conversation, making form filling less tedious.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms lacks this feature, limiting its interactivity. While it provides functional forms, it doesn’t offer the same level of engagement as Fluent Forms’ Conversational Forms, which can impact user interaction.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms’ Conversational Forms are innovative and offer a unique user experience. This feature is particularly useful for improving user engagement and creating a positive impression of your brand.
4. Pre-built Form Templates
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms provides 70+ pre-built templates, 25 of which are free. These beginner-friendly templates cover various use cases, from simple contact forms to more complex applications. The templates save time and make it easy for users to start without building forms from scratch.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms offers templates, but most are for paid versions. The limited free fields further restrict their functionality. While the available templates are practical, they lack the variety and accessibility Fluent Forms offers.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms offers more templates and greater flexibility. The wide range of templates ensures that users can quickly find a form that fits their needs, enhancing efficiency and user satisfaction.
5. Conditional Logic
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms offers robust Conditional Logic, allowing dynamic form creation. It supports conditional email routing, input field containers, and more. This feature adds intelligence to forms, enabling them to adapt based on user input, which is invaluable for creating interactive and responsive forms.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms also provides Conditional Logic but lacks the versatility of Fluent Forms. While it allows for basic conditional logic, it doesn’t offer the same level of customization, which might be limiting for advanced users.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms offers more advanced Conditional Logic options. This flexibility allows users to create sophisticated forms that can adapt to user input, enhancing functionality and user experience.
6. Layout Features
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms allows custom layouts with up to six fields in a row. It offers flexibility in label alignment and positioning without coding. The dedicated container category makes it easy to customize the layout, giving users more control over their forms’ appearance.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms offers layout options but lacks the flexibility of Fluent Forms. While it allows for custom layouts, the options are more limited, which might not meet the needs of users requiring more complex layouts.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms offers more flexibility in layout customization. This flexibility allows users to create visually appealing forms that align with their brand, enhancing user experience and engagement.
7. Spam Filtering
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms offers robust spam filtering through reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, honeypot, and Akismet. It also prevents blank form submissions and uses hidden fields to distinguish bots from humans. These features provide multiple layers of protection against spam, ensuring genuine form submissions.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms uses a “smart” captcha but lacks customizable options and other protections like Akismet. While the built-in protection is functional, it doesn’t offer the same level of control and customization as Fluent Forms.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms provides more comprehensive spam filtering options. This ensures that form submissions are legitimate, protecting the integrity of the data collected and reducing the need for manual spam filtering.
8. Entry Management
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms offers seamless entry management through a VueJS-powered backend. It supports various export formats and allows visual representation of entries through charts. The robust entry management ensures that users can easily manage and analyze form submissions, enhancing productivity and decision-making.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms allows data sorting, filtering, and exporting to Excel. It supports unique entry views and custom reports. While it offers practical entry management, it doesn’t match the versatility and customization of Fluent Forms.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms offers more entry management options and customization. This versatility ensures that users can effectively manage and analyze form data, enhancing efficiency and decision-making.
9. Third-party Integrations
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms integrates with over 40 platforms directly and offers Zapier integration for over 3000 apps. Some integrations, like MailChimp and Slack, are available for free. The extensive integration options enhance functionality and allow Fluent Forms to fit seamlessly into existing workflows.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms offers integrations through its pro version and supports Zapier for over 1000 apps. While it provides essential integrations, it lacks the variety and accessibility of Fluent Forms.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms offers more free and cost-effective integrations. This enhances the plugin’s versatility and ensures it can integrate with various third-party platforms, enhancing functionality and user satisfaction.
10. Partial Entries
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms allows partial entries, enabling users to resume forms later. This feature prevents potential customers and enhances user experience by allowing users to complete forms conveniently. The option to resume a session ensures that partially completed forms are not lost, which is crucial for user retention.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms lacks partial entry functionality, limiting its ability to retain incomplete submissions. This can lead to lost data and missed opportunities, impacting user experience and potential conversions.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms prevents data loss through partial entries. This feature enhances user experience and ensures incomplete forms are not wasted, improving user retention and satisfaction.
11. Documentation & Support
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms offers detailed documentation and excellent customer support. Its support team is highly responsive and available to all users. The comprehensive documentation ensures that users can access clear instructions and guidance while the responsive support team promptly addresses any issues or questions.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms provides basic user guidelines but lacks the level of support found in Fluent Forms. While it offers practical support, it doesn’t match Fluent Forms’s comprehensive documentation and responsive support team.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms excels in documentation and customer support. The comprehensive
documentation and responsive support team ensure that users have the guidance and assistance they need, enhancing user satisfaction and experience.
12. Pricing & Licensing
Fluent Forms:
Fluent Forms offers affordable annual and lifetime licenses. The single-site permit is $79 annually or $63 for a lifetime, while the unlimited-site license is $299 annually or $239 for a lifetime. The pricing is transparent and offers great value, especially considering the extensive features and functionalities included.
Cognito Forms:
Cognito Forms charges based on user count and entries, starting at $15 for two users and $99 for 20. The tiered pricing can be limiting, especially for larger teams or high-volume usage.
Winner: Fluent Forms
Fluent Forms is more cost-effective and offers a free version with ample features. The affordable pricing and transparent licensing ensure that users get great value for their investment, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.
Conclusion
Final Verdict: Cognito Forms vs. Fluent Forms
After a thorough comparison, it’s clear that both form builders are capable, but Fluent Forms stands out due to its superior features, flexibility, and affordability. Key advantages of Fluent Forms include:
- Free Version: Fluent Forms offers a feature-rich free version, providing excellent value without immediate investment.
- Input Fields: Fluent Forms provides 50+ input fields, covering a wide range of form needs.
- Conditional Logic: Fluent Forms offers versatile and dynamic Conditional Logic, enhancing form interactivity.
- Entry Management: Fluent Forms provides detailed entry management and customization, streamlining data handling.
- Conversational Forms: Fluent Forms offers interactive Conversational Forms, improving user engagement.
- Pricing: Fluent Forms is more affordable with flexible licensing options, offering great value for its extensive features.
For businesses seeking a robust, user-friendly, and cost-effective WordPress form builder, Fluent Forms is the clear winner. The extensive features, continuous updates, and dedicated support make it a standout choice for any WordPress site.