Gravity Forms vs Paperform

Gravity Forms vs Paperform: Side-by-Side Feature & Pricing Comparison

An honest comparison of Gravity Forms and Paperform for Australian mid-market Australian businesses. See feature ratings, pricing, pros and cons to make the right choice - or let our Harvard-educated experts help you decide.

Features compared

50+

Clients advised

98%

Client retention

12+

Years experience

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Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature analysis for Gravity Forms and Paperform.

Form builder UX

Gravity Forms

Native WordPress integration means forms are managed within the WordPress admin, with submissions stored in the WordPress database

Paperform

Rich content blocks (text, images, video, dividers) create forms that feel like beautiful landing pages rather than traditional form layouts

Both platforms are strong here. Gravity Forms emphasises this as a core strength, and Paperform also invests heavily in form builder ux. Review each platform's approach to see which aligns with your team's workflow.

Question types

Gravity Forms

Developer-friendly with hooks, filters, and custom field types allowing extensive customisation for WordPress developers

Paperform

Paperform provides question types functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses

Gravity Forms highlights question types as a core strength. Paperform offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.

Conditional logic

Gravity Forms

Conditional logic on fields, pages, and notifications creates dynamic, multi-step forms that adapt to user input

Paperform

Calculation fields with conditional pricing create dynamic order forms, quotes, and pricing calculators within the form itself

Both platforms are strong here. Gravity Forms emphasises this as a core strength, and Paperform also invests heavily in conditional logic. Review each platform's approach to see which aligns with your team's workflow.

Design customisation

Gravity Forms

Developer-friendly with hooks, filters, and custom field types allowing extensive customisation for WordPress developers

Paperform

Limitation: Form creation takes longer than simpler builders because the rich content options invite more design effort per form

Gravity Forms highlights design customisation as a core strength. Paperform offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.

Payment collection

Gravity Forms

Add-on ecosystem with 30+ official add-ons covers CRM connections, payment gateways, email marketing, and advanced features

Paperform

Built-in payment processing with Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Braintree covers both one-time and recurring payment collection

Both platforms are strong here. Gravity Forms emphasises this as a core strength, and Paperform also invests heavily in payment collection. Review each platform's approach to see which aligns with your team's workflow.

Data export and integrations

Gravity Forms

Native WordPress integration means forms are managed within the WordPress admin, with submissions stored in the WordPress database

Paperform

Paperform connects with 41+ tools natively, offering one of the broadest integration ecosystems in its category

Gravity Forms highlights data export and integrations as a core strength. Paperform offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.

Analytics and reporting

Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms includes analytics and reporting capabilities. Feature depth varies by plan tier

Paperform

Paperform includes analytics and reporting capabilities. Feature depth varies by plan tier

For analytics and reporting, evaluate both platforms against your specific workflow requirements rather than feature lists alone. A free trial or vendor demo will clarify the differences.

Collaboration features

Gravity Forms

Add-on ecosystem with 30+ official add-ons covers CRM connections, payment gateways, email marketing, and advanced features

Paperform

Paperform includes team collaboration features. Multi-user capabilities vary by plan tier

Gravity Forms highlights collaboration features as a core strength. Paperform offers the capability but does not position it as a primary differentiator.

Spam protection

Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms provides spam protection functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses

Paperform

Paperform provides spam protection functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses

If spam protection is a daily-use area for your team, the onboarding curve and keyboard ergonomics matter more than feature counts - trial both with a real operator, not an evaluator.

Embedding options

Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms provides embedding options functionality, popular with Professional Services businesses

Paperform

Limitation: Form creation takes longer than simpler builders because the rich content options invite more design effort per form

Edge cases in embedding options (bulk edits, exports, undo, permissions) are where Gravity Forms and Paperform diverge; map your five toughest scenarios and reproduce them in each trial.

Ease of setup

Gravity Forms

Gravity Forms provides onboarding resources. Setup complexity depends on your configuration requirements

Paperform

Paperform provides onboarding resources. Setup complexity depends on your configuration requirements

Gravity Forms and Paperform take different philosophical approaches to ease of setup; the better fit is usually the one that matches how your team already thinks about the problem.

Value for money

Gravity Forms

Basic Licence from approximately $86/year (1 site), Pro Licence from approximately $171/year (3 sites), Elite Licence from approximately $343/year (unlimited sites) (AUD). All plans include unlimited forms and entries. Add-on access varies by tier.

Paperform

Essentials from approximately $33/month (1,000 submissions), Pro from approximately $67/month (5,000 submissions), Business from approximately $135/month (10,000 submissions) (AUD). Annual billing discounts. 14-day free trial.

Pricing models differ significantly. Compare the total cost of ownership including add-ons and per-user fees, not just the headline price.

Pricing Comparison

General pricing information for each platform.

Gravity Forms

Pricing may vary based on team size, features, and region. Contact the vendor for the latest Australian pricing.

Paperform

These figures are estimates based on publicly available pricing. Actual costs depend on your usage, team size, and any negotiated rates.

Pros & Cons

An honest look at the strengths and limitations of each platform.

Gravity Forms

Pros

Native WordPress integration means forms are managed within the WordPress admin, with submissions stored in the WordPress database
Add-on ecosystem with 30+ official add-ons covers CRM connections, payment gateways, email marketing, and advanced features
Conditional logic on fields, pages, and notifications creates dynamic, multi-step forms that adapt to user input
Developer-friendly with hooks, filters, and custom field types allowing extensive customisation for WordPress developers
One-time pricing for unlimited forms, entries, and websites (per licence tier) provides predictable costs without per-submission fees

Cons

WordPress-only plugin means it cannot be used on Shopify, Squarespace, or non-WordPress websites
Annual licence renewal required for updates and support, which some users find frustrating for a plugin they have already purchased
Form design is less visually polished than Typeform, with styling requiring CSS customisation or third-party themes
Performance can be affected by the number of add-ons activated, and some add-ons add significant page weight

Paperform

Pros

Rich content blocks (text, images, video, dividers) create forms that feel like beautiful landing pages rather than traditional form layouts
Built-in payment processing with Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Braintree covers both one-time and recurring payment collection
Booking and scheduling fields allow creating appointment booking forms without a separate scheduling tool
Calculation fields with conditional pricing create dynamic order forms, quotes, and pricing calculators within the form itself
Custom success pages with conditional logic show different thank-you content based on form responses, enabling personalised follow-ups

Cons

Pricing starts higher than Tally and Jotform for the feature set, particularly when submission volume grows
Form creation takes longer than simpler builders because the rich content options invite more design effort per form
Integration ecosystem is smaller than Typeform and Jotform, with some connections requiring Zapier or Make
Performance of complex forms with many content blocks, calculations, and conditional logic can be slower on mobile devices

Best For

Which tool suits which use case.

Choose Gravity Forms if you need

✓ Lead capture
✓ Teams needing extensive third-party integrations
✓ Moderate data needs (forms, entries)
✓ Professional Services businesses
✓ Survey management

Choose Paperform if you need

✓ Real-time data sync across platforms
✓ Data collection
✓ Form creation
✓ Professional Services businesses
✓ Moderate data needs (forms, submissions)

Expert Verdict

Our Harvard-educated consultants' take on this comparison.

Clever Ops Recommendation

Choose Gravity Forms if WordPress website owners that need powerful, developer-friendly forms with conditional logic, payment processing, and deep integration with the WordPress ecosystem. Choose Paperform if businesses that want their forms to look like beautifully designed landing pages with embedded payments, scheduling, and calculations, particularly creative agencies and service businesses. Avoid Gravity Forms if businesses not using WordPress, or non-technical teams who want a standalone form builder without managing WordPress plugins and updates. Avoid Paperform if businesses needing high-volume data collection where per-submission pricing becomes costly, or teams wanting the fastest possible form creation without design considerations. If you are still weighing the trade-offs, Clever Ops offers a free assessment where our Harvard-educated consultants map your requirements to the right platform.

Migration Notes

What to know about switching between Gravity Forms and Paperform.

Migrating Between Gravity Forms and Paperform

Since Gravity Forms and Paperform are both forms & surveys tools, they share similar data structures - making migration more predictable. Clever Ops maps forms along with custom fields, automations, and workflows. We have completed similar forms & surveys migrations many times and typically finish within 4-8 weeks.

Gravity Forms vs Paperform FAQ

Full onboarding for either Gravity Forms or Paperform, including configuration, data import, and team training, typically takes 4-8 weeks with Clever Ops support. Self-service onboarding can take longer and often results in suboptimal configurations that limit the platform's value.

Yes. Gravity Forms provides a REST + Webhook API and Paperform provides a REST + Webhook API, so we can build reliable integrations between them. Common sync patterns include forms. Our integrations include error handling, retry logic, and monitoring. Clients typically save 8+ hours/week once the integration is live.

Yes. Both platforms share 1 common data object types (including forms), which simplifies field mapping. Clever Ops runs a structured migration process: discovery, data mapping, test migration, verification, and cutover. Most migrations complete within 4-8 weeks, with 3 months of post-migration support included.

Gravity Forms limitations: WordPress-only plugin means it cannot be used on Shopify, Squarespace, or non-WordPress websites. Annual licence renewal required for updates and support, which some users find frustrating for a plugin they have already purchased. Paperform limitations: Pricing starts higher than Tally and Jotform for the feature set, particularly when submission volume grows. Form creation takes longer than simpler builders because the rich content options invite more design effort per form. Understanding these trade-offs in the context of your specific workflows is critical. Clever Ops can help you weigh which limitations matter most for your business during a free assessment.

Switching costs include data migration, team retraining, workflow rebuilding, and potential downtime. Gravity Forms pricing: Basic Licence from approximately $86/year (1 site), Pro Licence from approximately $171/year (3 sites), Elite Licence from approximately $343/year (unlimited sites) (AUD). Paperform pricing: Essentials from approximately $33/month (1,000 submissions), Pro from approximately $67/month (5,000 submissions), Business from approximately $135/month (10,000 submissions) (AUD). Beyond licensing costs, budget for implementation (Clever Ops typically completes migrations in 4-8 weeks) and training. We run parallel systems during transitions and provide 3 months of post-migration support to minimise disruption.

If both tools are in the same category, you typically choose one as your primary system. However, some businesses run both during migration periods or for different teams. Gravity Forms and Paperform share 1 common data types, making integration feasible. Clever Ops can sync them so your data stays consistent across both platforms.

We audit your current workflows, team size, budget, and growth plans, then recommend the platform that fits. Our advice is vendor-neutral: we do not earn commissions from Gravity Forms, Paperform, or any vendor. Our Harvard-educated consultants have helped 50+ businesses make informed technology decisions over 12+. Book a free assessment to get started.

Free trials are useful for testing the user interface, but they rarely reveal how a platform performs at scale, with your specific data model, or alongside your existing integrations. Gravity Forms manages 6 data object types and Paperform manages 6. Evaluating that complexity in a trial period is difficult. A more efficient approach is to combine a short trial with expert advice from our Harvard-educated consultants, who can identify the right fit based on 12+ of implementation experience.