Creating a website or blog is not an easy task to do. When it comes to a WordPress-based website, most of us start off with a simple form submission system like Gravity Forms or Ninja Forms. At first glance, they are great, but both have their drawbacks. Then, what is the difference between Gravity Forms vs Ninja Forms? And which one should you use? We’re going to explain all this and more, so keep on reading!
Ninja Forms vs Gravity Forms | Differences and Comparison
According to the usage, Gravity Forms is a full-featured contact form plugin that can help you to boost your website’s conversions and handle your client inquiries. On the other hand, Ninja Forms is for developers who know what they’re doing. It can be used as an add-on to WordPress sites (WordPress, WooCommerce, etc.) to create complex multi-page forms on the fly. It offers many features that are not present in Gravity Forms, such as the loading of different themes, email notifications when payment is confirmed, Google reCAPTCHA support, and so on.
However, Ninja Forms has a rather steep learning curve and requires development skills to get the best out of it, while Gravity Forms makes it easy for users with basic technical knowledge to use it effectively. Considering all these things, let’s dig deeper to find out more about these widely used plugins.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Gravity Forms | Ninja Forms |
| Free version | No | No |
| Minimum starting price | $59/year | $49/year |
| Available plans | Three | Four |
| Templates | No | Multiple |
| Form import tool | Yes | Yes |
| Continuous preview | No | Yes |
| File uploads | Supported | Supported |
| Entry reports | Only data | Statistics & insights |
| Advanced features | Available | Available |
| Third-party add-ons | Yes | No |
| Customer Support | Ticket submission | Request submission |
Basic Characteristics
Gravity Forms is a premium WordPress plugin that offers a variety of features and functionality, including form creation, submission, and management. It also comes with powerful theme customization options to help you build your own unique web forms.
On the contrary, Ninja Forms is a free plugin that allows you to create WordPress forms and collect data from your visitors. It’s ideal for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs who don’t have the resources for a full-fledged Gravity Forms license.
Form types
Gravity Forms has two types of form types: Basic and Advanced. Basic form types include text and select boxes, while Advanced form types include tabs, radio buttons, and dropdown menus. There are also Custom Form Types, which allow for unlimited customizations like color choices for fields or input types per field.
Ninja Forms has primarily one type of form with three types of form fields: Text Field (default), Button Field, and Input Field. These three fields are all customizable, like Gravity Forms’ fields, but they do not have the same number of customization options as Gravity Forms’ Advanced Fields or Custom Fields options.
User Interface
The user interface of Gravity Forms and Ninja Forms are very similar. Both have a setup wizard that guides you through the process of creating your form. When you start a new project in Gravity Forms, it will ask you to choose a theme, which is a way to give your form a unique look and feel. Next, it will guide you through setting up your fields and adding them to your form.
Once all the fields have been added, Gravity Forms will show you how many errors there are on the page and where they are located. The same thing happens when starting up Ninja Forms. You can see what fields are included in the form by looking at the list on the left side of the screen and deleting any or all of them if needed.
Once your form is completed and ready for submission, Gravity Forms gives you two options: save or preview. If you choose to save, your form will be saved into its own folder within the admin area of your site; otherwise, it will be saved in its current location (assuming it is not already saved). Once saved, both forms allow users to submit them using either email or Facebook/Twitter buttons at the bottom of each page containing their content.
Features
The Gravity Forms plugin is used by millions of people every day, and it has been downloaded more than 30 million times. This is because this plugin has many features that can help you create a successful web form for your business or blog. Here, we’ve listed all its key features below:
- Form Builder: The form builder is an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that allows you to create simple to complex forms with ease. The form builder allows you to add, remove and reorder fields, as well as create collections of fields. So, the primary interface features an easy-to-use design. The design of Gravity Forms makes it look like a professional form builder and makes it easier for users to fill out the form without any issues.
- Diverse Language Support: Gravity Forms also supports multiple languages. So, you can choose another language if you want to place an order online with your clients who live in different countries worldwide.
- Custom Fields: Custom fields allow you to add custom data in forms instead of using pre-defined fields like name, email, and address. Here, you can specify whether new users need to provide a value for each field or not. Similarly, you can set custom fields so that your visitors can send messages or comments directly on the form. Because of this benefit, they don’t need to leave your site while they are filling out your contact form.
- Offline Database: This feature of this plugin saves all forms of data in a secure database, so it works even when there’s no internet connection available.
- Responsive Design: Designing your site in a responsive manner means that your website will be able to adapt its layout according to the type of device being used (desktop, laptop, or mobile). This ensures that every visitor gets an optimal experience when using your site on any device.
When talking about the Ninja Forms, this plugin has been developed by the experts at WPForms, who have been working on the project since 2008. Ninja Forms uses the same framework as WPForms but with a few extra features added. Besides, this tool includes a range of design features to help you get started, including the following:
- Simple Form Builder: Using this simple form builder, you can collect data from users and use a drag-and-drop builder to create forms. Besides, you can add custom fields, buttons, labels, and more to Ninja Forms.
- Flexibility & Customization: Not only can you directly import data from Google Sheets, Excel, or other sources, but you can also email the form results directly to your customers. The interesting fact is that you can customize your forms with unlimited color options, background images, and more using Ninja Forms.
- Business card template: A simple business card template that will help you present yourself professionally on your website or blog.
- Contact form 7: This is a popular contact form plugin that lets users create an email address, phone number, or both. It also allows users to unsubscribe from future emails if they choose. You can customize each field independently in this form builder and upload images for each field as well.
- Email template: This feature includes fields for your email address, phone number, full name, and more! You can also choose different colors for each field in this builder.
Installation
The installation of each plugin is very similar between Gravity Forms and Ninja Forms. The only difference is that the Ninja Forms plugin requires a bit more setup than the Gravity Forms plugin.
To install Gravity Forms, you must have your domain name, hosting, and WordPress installation ready. After this, all you need to do is log in to your account dashboard, where you can find the latest version of Gravity Forms. You can also download the zip file directly from GitHub by clicking on the green button at the top right of the page or by going here.
After installation, this plugin allows you to create customized forms with drag-and-drop functionality, as well as integrate with third-party plugins such as MailChimp and PayPal. It also has a built-in LMS (Learning Management System) that helps you track student progress and see how they’re doing in the class.
On the contrary, Ninja Forms is available as a standalone plugin or part of an e-commerce platform such as WooCommerce or Shopify. This tool has been used by thousands of businesses over the years, including Udemy, The New York Times, and many others. You can download this plugin from the WordPress plugin directory or the official Ninja Forms website.
After that, this drag-and-drop form builder lets you build beautiful HTML forms without knowing how to code. So, it’s perfect for creating single sign-on forms and other custom forms that require some design chops.
Integration With Other Tools
Gravity Forms can be used with other tools to help you increase conversions, increase sales, and make your site more efficient. Check out the following tool integrations:
- Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a free tool that helps you understand how visitors interact with your website. You can use it to track visitors across multiple devices and platforms, so you know where they’re coming from, what they’re doing on your site, and how long they spend there. Gravity Forms integrates with Google Analytics for easy tracking of form submissions.
- Google Tag Manager: Google Tag Manager is a tool that allows you to add tracking tags to your forms without interfering with the code or JavaScript on your website. This makes it easy for you to track when people complete forms, products purchased on your site, or which pages on your site have been viewed. It also allows you to create ‘event triggers’ that fire when certain conditions are met (like when someone submits a form). The Gravity Forms plugin connects to Google Tag Manager when creating new forms and configures various settings automatically, so they work with Gravity Forms.
- MailChimp: MailChimp is a popular email marketing platform that allows you to send out emails and track opens, clicks, and other engagement metrics. You can integrate Gravity Forms with Mailchimp to create custom landing pages and follow-up sequences.
- Facebook Pixel: One of the best features of Gravity Forms is its integration with Facebook Pixel and Custom Audiences. With this integration, you can target users based on their real-time activity on Facebook, which helps you increase your engagement rates.
- Segment.io: Segment provides marketers with powerful analytics tools and automation capabilities to create effective campaigns across multiple channels, including email, social media, mobile apps, and more. You can also use it to create custom segments based on information collected through your email provider’s data feed or another third-party service.
- WpForms: Gravity Forms is built on WordPress itself, which means that you can use a lot of its existing functionality. WpForms is one of these. It adds a number of additional features to Gravity Forms, including support for third-party integrations like MailChimp and MailerLite.
Contradictorily, Ninja Forms also integrates with a lot of other tools, and it’s pretty easy to do so. For example, you can use our export feature to export your forms to a CSV file, which is compatible with almost every tool on the market.
- MailChimp: If you want to integrate Ninja Forms with your existing email marketing tool, you can use MailChimp or Aweber, as they both have API integrations built in.
- Slack: Ninja Forms also offer a Zapier integration that allows you to connect their forms with other apps such as Slack, Trello, and more like them.
- Google Drive: Here, you can add new users, add and delete groups, add or remove permissions for existing users, and much more. All from the Ninja Forms interface.
- G Suite: It is possible to send forms from your G Suite account to Ninja Forms.
- Zoho CRM: You can create and edit forms in Zoho CRM directly from Ninja Forms.
Excluding the above-mentioned tools, Ninja Forms can be integrated with many other tools, including Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager (GTM), Drip (formerly ConvertKit), SendGrid, Calendly, etc.
Pricing
Gravity Forms is the more expensive of the two solutions, but it has some prominent features that may justify this price difference. However, Ninja Forms is a lot cheaper than Gravity Forms and offers many of the same features. However, it also comes with some limitations. So, if you’re looking to save money on your website-building project, then Ninja Forms can be suitable for you.
According to the highest pricing, Gravity Forms is $49 per month. You get a free 14-day trial, but after that, you’ll pay $49 per month until you give up. On the other hand, Ninja Forms is $69 per month. Similar to Gravity Forms, you get a free 14-day trial, but after that, you’ll pay $69 per month. One thing to remember is that Gravity Forms’ pricing includes a free domain name, while Ninja Forms does not. Overall, the total cost of ownership for both plugins is approximately the same.
Gravity Forms vs Ninja Forms: Which Is The Right Option For You?
Both Ninja Forms and Gravity Forms are premium eCommerce WordPress plugins that allow you to create custom forms. They both offer a range of features that are designed to help with the process of collecting information from your customers, but which one is better for you?
Gravity Forms is the best choice if you want a plugin that can be used on its own or if you’re looking for something that’s easy to use and gives you lots of customization options. It’s also great for those who want to create forms without going through all the hassle of learning how to use WordPress. You should understand that Gravity Forms is the most powerful and robust form builder available. It has so many features that it can build any form you can imagine. Gravity Forms is actually more than just a form builder; it’s an entire platform that allows you to manage your entire e-commerce store and collect data from users at scale.
Ninja Forms, on the other hand, is excellent if you want a more advanced form builder with lots of customization options. If you’re not sure what kind of form builder you need, it’s worth checking out Ninja Forms before making a decision about which plugin to go with. In fact, Ninja Forms is a great option for those who want a simple, easy-to-use form builder that allows you to create your forms in minutes. It’s made for people who don’t want to spend hours learning how to code. Ninja Forms also has a great mobile app, which makes it even easier to use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ninja Forms Secure?
Yes, Ninja Forms is a secure plugin. The plugin uses SSL encryption for transferring all your data to and from the server. This means that no one can intercept your data or attempt to hack into your website. The plugin also uses cookies and session tokens to lower the risk of hacking attacks on the administrator’s account.
Does Gravity Forms Have A Free Version?
Gravity Forms does not come with a free version. Basically, Gravity Forms and Gravity Forms Pro are both premium products that offer a superior level of functionality, flexibility, and customization that any other free version of form builders won’t be able to offer.
Are Gravity Forms And Ninja Forms WordPress-compatible?
Yes, Gravity Forms and Ninja Forms are both compatible with WordPress. Identically, Gravity Forms is the premium WordPress contact form plugin that enables users to create, manage and track their forms, whereas Ninja Forms is a free WordPress contact form plugin that allows you to create and manage your own custom forms.
Final Thoughts
Despite having some glaring flaws mentioned above, Ninja Forms is still a viable solution for many website builders. And for many others, it’s just not enough, and they need the advanced functionalities that Gravity Forms offers. Whatever the case, if you’re considering getting a form plugin for your WordPress site and want to make an educated decision, hopefully, this has helped shed some light on the situation.