Selecting the perfect form builder for your WordPress site can feel overwhelming with so many options available. Whether you need simple contact forms or advanced data collection tools, your choice of plugin can significantly impact your website’s functionality and user experience. Ninja Forms and Fluent Forms are two of the most popular options, each offering robust features, but which one is the right fit for you?
In this blog, we’ll compare Ninja Forms and Fluent Forms feature by feature. From basic functionalities to advanced capabilities, pricing, and customer support, we’ll analyze how each plugin performs and declare a winner for each section. By the end, you’ll know which plugin is better suited to your specific needs.
Quick Comparison: Ninja Forms vs Fluent Forms
| Feature | Ninja Forms | Fluent Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Prebuilt Templates | 16 templates, limited variety | 75+ templates, diverse and beginner-friendly |
| Input Fields | 25+ fields (basic options) | 45+ fields (basic + advanced options) |
| Conditional Logic | Paid feature (from $99) | Included for free |
| Multi-Column Layout | Requires manual adjustments | Smooth and intuitive |
| Entry Management | Basic viewing, editing, and exporting | Advanced tools, bulk actions, visual reports, and PDF generation |
| Spam Filtering | Honeypot, reCAPTCHA (basic setup) | Honeypot, reCAPTCHA, Akismet integration, and blank form rejection options |
| Integrations | 30+ integrations (premium only) | 45+ integrations (some available for free) |
| Conversational Forms | Not available | Included for interactive form filling |
| Payment Gateways | Multiple gateways, paid add-ons | Multiple gateways included in Pro plans |
| PDF Generation | Requires third-party tools or add-ons | Dedicated PDF add-on with templates and branding options |
| Quiz and Survey Module | No dedicated module, requires manual setup | Dedicated module with templates and advanced input fields |
| Styling Options | Basic customization, advanced options require CSS | Global styler with templates and CSS support |
| Pricing | Starts at $99/year (features sold separately) | Starts at $79/year (all features included) |
| Customer Support | Good support, lower resolution rate | Excellent support, active community, and fast issue resolution |
Ninja Forms vs Fluent Forms (Detailed Comparison)
Fluent Forms outshines Ninja Forms in almost every category, making it the better choice for most users. However, if you need basic forms and prefer add-ons, Ninja Forms could still work for you. Let’s find out by comparing key features of both the forms.
Basic Functionalities: Prebuilt Templates and Input Fields
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms provides 16 prebuilt form templates that cater to standard use cases like contact forms and event registration. While these templates are easy to use, the limited number might feel restrictive for users managing diverse or complex projects. Ninja Forms also includes 25+ input fields in its free version, covering essentials like single-line text, checkboxes, and dropdowns. However, it lacks some advanced input fields unless you purchase premium add-ons.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms goes above and beyond with 75+ prebuilt templates, including options for surveys, job applications, and payment forms. This variety saves users time, especially beginners who can simply select a template and customize it to fit their needs. Fluent Forms also offers 45+ input fields, with 25+ available for free. The input fields range from basic options like name and email fields to advanced features like signature, calculated fields, and multi-step forms.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins this round for its extensive library of templates and advanced input fields, making it a more versatile and powerful option for users of all levels.
User Interface and Multi-Column Layout
Ninja Forms: The drag-and-drop interface of Ninja Forms is straightforward, making it beginner-friendly. However, when it comes to multi-column layouts, the plugin requires users to manually drag and drop input fields into place, which can be time-consuming. While it allows users to create multi-column forms, the process is less seamless compared to Fluent Forms.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers a smoother and faster drag-and-drop experience, allowing users to create forms effortlessly. Its multi-column layout feature is highly intuitive, enabling users to add up to six fields in a single row. This helps create professional-looking forms that hold users’ attention. The ease of styling and rearranging fields gives Fluent Forms an edge in usability.
Winner: Fluent Forms stands out with its polished interface and advanced multi-column layout capabilities, making it a better choice for users who value efficiency and aesthetics.
Conditional Logic
Ninja Forms: Conditional logic in Ninja Forms is a paid feature, included in the Small Business plan starting at $99. This feature allows users to create dynamic forms by showing or hiding fields based on user inputs. While the functionality is robust, having it locked behind a paywall can be a dealbreaker for budget-conscious users.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers conditional logic for free, making it accessible to all users. It allows you to display or hide fields, send different email notifications, and even redirect users to specific pages based on their responses. This flexibility enhances the user experience without adding extra costs.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for offering powerful conditional logic features at no additional cost, making it an obvious choice for users who need dynamic forms.
Advanced Capabilities: File Upload and Multi-Step Forms
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms provides file upload functionality through a premium add-on, enabling users to collect documents, images, and other files. It also supports multi-step forms, but this feature is part of the Small Business plan, starting at $99. While these features work well, their cost and limited availability may deter some users.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers file upload and multi-step forms as part of its $59 Pro plan. The file upload field supports multiple formats, including documents, images, and videos. Multi-step forms help break down lengthy forms into manageable sections, improving user engagement. Additionally, Fluent Forms includes advanced customization options for these features.
Winner: Fluent Forms takes the lead again, offering these advanced features at a more affordable price point and with better user accessibility.
Entry Management
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms provides basic entry management tools, allowing users to view, edit, and export form submissions. However, it lacks advanced reporting or bulk action features. For users managing large volumes of form entries, this can become a limitation.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms excels in entry management with features like bulk actions, visual reporting, and PDF generation. Users can easily import and export entries as CSV or JSON files and even customize their reports with charts and graphs. The PDF add-on further enhances entry management by enabling users to generate invoices or submission summaries.
Winner: Fluent Forms is the clear winner here, thanks to its comprehensive entry management tools and additional customization options.
Spam Filtering
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms includes basic spam protection measures like honeypots and reCAPTCHA. While these features work well, implementing advanced spam filtering options can be tricky and often requires third-party tools or add-ons.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers robust spam filtering options, including honeypots, reCAPTCHA, and Akismet integration. Users can also implement conditional restrictions and reject blank submissions to further safeguard their forms. These features are easy to set up and highly effective.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for providing a more comprehensive and user-friendly approach to spam filtering.
Integrations
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms supports 30+ integrations, including email marketing tools like MailChimp and payment gateways like Stripe. However, most integrations are only available in premium plans, and the cost of adding multiple integrations can add up quickly.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers 45+ integrations, covering email automation, CRM, payment gateways, and more. Unlike Ninja Forms, some integrations like MailChimp and Slack are available even in the free version. Pro users can access additional integrations, including HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Twilio, at no extra cost.
Winner: Fluent Forms takes the crown with its larger number of integrations and better value for money.
Pricing and Licensing
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms starts at $99/year for its Personal plan and goes up to $599 for the Agency plan. Features are distributed across different plans, and add-ons are sold separately, which can make the overall cost significantly higher.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers a more straightforward pricing model, starting at $79/year for a single site license and $349 for a lifetime license. All plans include the same features, with differences only in the number of sites supported. This transparent pricing structure makes Fluent Forms more budget-friendly.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins with its affordable and inclusive pricing structure, making it a better choice for users of all budgets.
Customer Support
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms offers solid customer support through documentation, forums, and priority support for premium users. However, the WordPress forum has a lower issue resolution rate compared to Fluent Forms.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms provides top-notch customer support, including detailed documentation, video tutorials, and a highly active community. Their support team is known for quick response times and a high issue resolution rate.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for its exceptional customer support and user-centric approach.
Conversational Forms
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms does not have a dedicated conversational form feature. Users can create interactive forms with conditional logic, but the overall experience lacks the smooth and engaging design of conversational forms.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms includes a conversational forms feature, designed to provide an interactive form-filling experience. It mimics a chatbot-like interface, making the form process engaging and user-friendly. This feature is especially beneficial for surveys, feedback forms, and onboarding processes.
Winner: Fluent Forms takes the lead with its dedicated conversational form feature, a game-changer for improving user interaction.
Calculated Fields
Ninja Forms: Calculated fields are available in Ninja Forms as part of its premium add-ons. This feature allows users to create forms that automatically perform calculations based on user inputs. While functional, it requires a higher-tier plan or additional costs to access.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms includes calculated fields in its Pro version. Users can use these fields to create dynamic forms for tasks like order estimation, grade calculation, or loan calculators. The setup is straightforward and does not require extensive technical knowledge.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for offering calculated fields as part of its reasonably priced Pro plans, making it more accessible.
Quiz and Survey Modules
Ninja Forms: While Ninja Forms can be adapted to create quizzes and surveys, it does not have a dedicated module for this purpose. Creating quizzes or surveys often involves combining conditional logic with other input fields, which can be tedious.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers a dedicated quiz and survey module that simplifies the creation process. It includes templates and specialized input fields like rating scales, net promoter scores, and sliders. Additionally, Fluent Forms offers data visualization tools to analyze the responses.
Winner: Fluent Forms emerges as the winner with its built-in quiz and survey module, saving time and effort.
Payment Intergration
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms provides multiple payment integrations, including Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net, but these are available as separate add-ons. Depending on your needs, the cost of these add-ons can quickly escalate, making it less budget-friendly.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers seamless payment integrations with Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, RazorPay, and Square. Unlike Ninja Forms, Fluent Forms includes these in all Pro plans without any additional charges, ensuring affordability and simplicity.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for its all-inclusive payment integration feature, making it the better choice for e-commerce and donation forms.
PDF Generation
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms does not include a native PDF generation feature. Users would need to rely on third-party tools or add-ons to generate PDFs from form submissions, adding to the overall cost and complexity.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms offers a dedicated PDF add-on that allows users to generate PDFs directly from form submissions. Users can customize the templates, add watermarks, or include company branding. This feature is particularly useful for generating invoices, contracts, or reports.
Winner: Fluent Forms takes the crown with its built-in PDF generation feature, which is both cost-effective and user-friendly.
Multi-Language Support
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms supports multiple languages but lacks comprehensive localization for advanced use cases. While it is compatible with some translation plugins, users might face limitations in translating all aspects of the forms.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms provides excellent multi-language support and integrates seamlessly with translation plugins like WPML and Polylang. This ensures that every part of your form, including error messages and placeholders, can be translated for global audiences.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for its robust and user-friendly multi-language support, making it ideal for international websites.
Custom CSS and Advanced Styling
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms offers basic styling options, allowing users to adjust the appearance of labels, wrappers, and input fields. However, for more advanced customizations, users need to rely on custom CSS, which requires technical knowledge.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms includes a global styler that provides an intuitive interface for customizing forms without any coding. Users can choose from various templates, adjust colors, fonts, and layouts, or use custom CSS for advanced styling.
Winner: Fluent Forms leads with its global styler, offering both beginners and advanced users a more flexible styling experience.
Mobile Responsiveness
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms is responsive and works well on mobile devices. However, some users have reported occasional issues with field alignment and spacing on smaller screens.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms is designed to be fully responsive, ensuring that all forms look and function perfectly on mobile devices. Its multi-column layouts automatically adjust to fit smaller screens, providing a seamless user experience.
Winner: Fluent Forms takes this round for its superior mobile responsiveness and adaptability.
User Role Management
Ninja Forms: Ninja Forms does not provide native user role management features. Users looking to assign form permissions to specific roles or users would need additional plugins or custom code.
Fluent Forms: Fluent Forms includes a built-in user role management feature, allowing admins to control who can view, edit, or submit forms based on their user roles. This feature is particularly useful for membership sites or internal company portals.
Winner: Fluent Forms wins for offering native user role management, enhancing its functionality for complex workflows.
Final Verdict
Both Ninja Forms and Fluent Forms are powerful plugins, but Fluent Forms consistently outperforms Ninja Forms in almost every category. It offers better functionality, more integrations, and a more affordable pricing structure.
Choose Fluent Forms if:
- You need an intuitive, feature-rich plugin with excellent templates and advanced options like conditional logic and conversational forms.
- You’re looking for better value with affordable Pro plans and extensive integrations.
- You want advanced tools like visual reporting, PDF generation, and seamless multi-language support.
Choose Ninja Forms if:
- You need a simple form builder for basic use cases like contact forms or event registrations.
- You prefer to purchase individual add-ons rather than an all-inclusive plan.
For most users, Fluent Forms is the better choice because of its comprehensive features and cost-effectiveness. However, if you have simple needs and prefer à la carte options, Ninja Forms may work well. Test their free versions to decide which fits your project best!
