Gravity Forms has a reputation that most plugins spend years trying to earn.
Launched in 2009, it became the gold standard for serious WordPress form building. Developers love it. Agencies build entire client workflows around it. Its conditional logic is deep, its hook system is extensive, and its ecosystem of addons has grown into one of the most comprehensive in the WordPress space.
So when people ask “why would I switch from Gravity Forms to anything else?” It is a fair question.
The answer is not that Gravity Forms are broken or bad. The answer is that what Gravity Forms offers at its entry price has fallen significantly behind what modern form builders now include as standard, and what it offers at its full-feature price has a direct, much cheaper alternative that most people comparing in 2026 are genuinely surprised by.
At $59 per year, Gravity Forms Basic gives you one site with core form fields, conditional logic, and a handful of integrations. It has no AI form builder. No surveys or quizzes. No conversational forms. No digital signature. No PDF generation. No cloud file storage routing. No user registration forms. All of those require either a Gravity Forms Pro or Elite license, or a separate paid addon.
SureForms starts at the same price, $59 per year for one site, and includes every one of those features without a single add-on.
That is the comparison in its simplest form. Everything that follows explains the nuance.
Table of Contents
- How Each Plugin Works
- Pro Feature Comparison: What Each Plan Actually Gives You
- Pricing: Tier by Tier with the Real Add-On Math
- The 5-Year Cost Comparison
- Where SureForms Wins
- New SureForms Capabilities That Gravity Forms Does Not Have
- Migrating from Gravity Forms to SureForms
- Which Plugin Is Right for You?
- Conclusion
- FAQs
1. How Each Plugin Works
Understanding the architecture of each plugin tells you immediately which one fits your workflow.
SureForms: Built Inside Gutenberg
SureForms is built natively on the WordPress block editor. When you create or edit a form, you work inside Gutenberg, not inside a separate interface. Fields are blocks. Layout is handled with the same tools you use everywhere else in WordPress. There is no proprietary drag-and-drop builder to learn because the builder is WordPress itself.
This has practical daily consequences:
- No context switching. Open a page, insert a SureForms block, configure the form in the same editor panel. Done.
- Consistent styling. The form inherits your theme’s global typography and color tokens. Your forms look like part of your site because they are built with the same tools.
- Instant Forms are built in. Every SureForms form automatically gets its own standalone shareable landing page with a unique URL with no extra configuration. Share it anywhere.
- Free to start. SureForms has a free version on WordPress.org that includes limited AI generation, core form types, anti-spam protection, entry storage, and Instant Forms. You can build and test before spending anything.
Gravity Forms: Custom Drag-and-Drop Builder, No Free Version
Gravity Forms uses a custom drag-and-drop builder that runs in a separate interface from the block editor. When you build a form in Gravity, you leave the page editor and work inside Gravity’s own UI. For developers who have been using this interface for years, it is deeply familiar. For new users, it is a separate environment to learn.
Gravity Forms has no free version. The minimum cost to use it is $59 per year for the Basic license. There is no trial.
The developer ecosystem is Gravity’s standout characteristic: 100+ official hooks and filters, a REST API, a Gravity-specific addon marketplace, and third-party extensions like GravityView (frontend data display), Gravity Flow (workflow automation), and Gravity Wiz (a bundle of 40+ addons). For development teams building complex, custom-logic-heavy workflows, this ecosystem has no direct equivalent.
2. Pro Feature Comparison: What Each Plan Actually Gives You
This is where most comparisons get vague. The table below maps verified features against verified plan requirements as of August 2026.
| Feature | SureForms | Gravity Forms |
| Free version | Yes, genuinely useful | No, $59 minimum |
| AI form generation | Unlimited on all paid plans | Not a native feature |
| Native Gutenberg editor | Yes | No, separate UI |
| Conditional logic | All paid plans (from $59) | All plans (from $59) |
| Multi-step forms | All paid plans (from $59) | All plans (from $59) |
| Calculator forms | All paid plans (from $59) | All plans (from $59) |
| Conversational forms | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Quizzes with scoring | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Surveys and polls | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Digital signature field | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| PDF generation | All paid plans (from $59) | Not native (addon required) |
| Partial entry capture | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| User registration forms | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Custom login forms | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available |
| Stripe payments | Free (with fee) and all paid | Pro and above ($159/year) |
| PayPal payments | All paid plans (from $59) | Pro and above ($159/year) |
| Zero transaction fees | All paid plans (from $59) | All plans (varies) |
| Recurring subscriptions | All paid plans (from $59) | Pro/Elite with addon |
| Payment lifecycle hooks | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available |
| Payment history widget | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available |
| Square payments | Not available | Pro and above ($159/year) |
| Google Drive routing | All paid plans (from $59) | Not native |
| Dropbox routing | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite with addon |
| Amazon S3 routing | All paid plans (from $59) | Not native |
| Webhooks | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Mailchimp, HubSpot | All paid plans (from $59) | Basic and above ($59/year) |
| Salesforce | Not native (Zapier/webhook) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Authorize.Net | Not available | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Google Sheets | All paid plans (from $59) | Via Zapier |
| Airtable, Notion | All paid plans (from $59) | Via Zapier |
| Telegram notifications | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available |
| Form analytics (built-in) | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available natively |
| Front-end entries shortcode | All paid plans (from $59) | Via GravityView (addon) |
| Post creation from submissions | All paid plans (from $59) | Pro and above |
| Save and resume | All paid plans (from $59) | Elite only ($259/year) |
| Form scheduling | All paid plans (from $59) | Via addon |
| Retry failed integrations | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available |
| Partial entry admin notifications | All paid plans (from $59) | Not available |
| Developer hooks and filters | Filters, actions, REST API | 100+ hooks, full ecosystem |
| Gravity Flow workflow engine | Not available | Separate paid product |
| Gravity Wiz addon suite | Not available | Separate subscription |
| Lifetime plan | $649 (1,000 sites, one-time) | Not offered |
| Free trial / demo | Yes (try.new/form) | Not offered |
| 14-day money-back guarantee | Yes | Yes |
| WPML multilingual | Yes | Yes |
3. Pricing: Tier by Tier with the Real Add-On Math
Gravity Forms Pricing (Verified June 2026)
Gravity Forms uses a three-tier model where the price difference reflects both the number of sites and which add-ons are included.
| Plan | Price | Sites | Key Features Included |
| Basic | $59/year | 1 | Core forms, conditional logic, email integrations (Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign), standard support |
| Pro | $159/year | 3 | Everything in Basic, plus Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Trello, WordPress Multisite |
| Elite | $259/year | Unlimited | Everything in Pro, plus surveys, quizzes, signatures, conversational forms, user registration, Authorize.Net, partial entries, priority support |
What this means in practice:
If you need Stripe payments, you need at least Pro at $159 per year. If you need surveys or quizzes, you need Elite at $259 per year. If you need digital signatures, Elite. Conversational forms, Elite. User registration, Elite. Partial entries, Elite. Webhooks, Elite.
Gravity Forms renewals stay at the same price year over year with no loyalty discount by default. One independent analysis notes an approximately 30% loyalty discount is sometimes offered to existing customers who renew before their license lapses, bringing Elite down to approximately $181 per year on renewal in practice. This is not advertised publicly and should not be relied upon as a guaranteed rate.
The add-on reality:
Gravity Forms’ official addon pricing sits on top of the base license for features not included in your tier. Third-party products extend this further. Gravity Perks Pro (the Gravity Wiz addon bundle), GravityView, and Gravity Flow are separate annual subscriptions ranging from $99 to $349 per year each. A developer-heavy Gravity Forms stack for a single client site can comfortably exceed $600 per year when all components are counted.
SureForms Pricing (All Features, Every Plan)
| Plan | First Year | Annual Renewal | Sites |
| Solo | $59 | $69 | 1 |
| Team | $149 | $179 | 10 |
| Agency | $229 | $279 | 1,000 |
| Lifetime | $649 (once) | No renewal | 1,000 |
Every plan includes every feature. There is no add-on math. There is no “you need the Elite tier for that.” If you are on SureForms Pro at $59 per year, you have the AI form builder, surveys, quizzes, conversational forms, digital signatures, PDF generation, cloud storage routing, payment lifecycle hooks, partial entry notifications, user registration forms, all CRM integrations, all email marketing integrations, form analytics, and every other capability in the plugin.
See the full SureForms pricing breakdown
4. The 5-Year Cost Comparison
To get the full feature set from Gravity Forms (surveys, signatures, conversational forms, user registration, webhooks, partial entries), you need the Elite tier at $259 per year. To get the equivalent from SureForms, you pay $59 in year one and $69 per year from year two.
| Gravity Forms Elite (All Features, Unlimited Sites) | SureForms Solo (All Features, 1 Site) | SureForms Lifetime (All Features, 1,000 Sites) | |
| Year 1 | $259 | $59 | $649 |
| Year 2 | $259 | $69 | $0 |
| Year 3 | $259 | $69 | $0 |
| Year 4 | $259 | $69 | $0 |
| Year 5 | $259 | $69 | $0 |
| 5-year total | $1,295 | $335 | $649 |
| You save | $960 vs Gravity Elite | $646 vs Gravity Elite |
The Lifetime plan is worth noting specifically for agencies. $649 paid once, covering 1,000 sites with all current and future features included, compared to $259 per year for Gravity Forms Elite. The Lifetime plan pays for itself against Gravity Elite in under three years.
For agencies comparing the mid-tier options: SureForms Team at $179 per year renewal covers 10 sites with every feature. Gravity Forms Pro at $159 per year covers 3 sites but lacks surveys, signatures, conversational forms, and webhooks.
5. Where SureForms Wins
Everything Included at the Entry Price
The most significant structural advantage SureForms holds over Gravity Forms is that its $59 per year Solo plan includes features that Gravity Forms locks behind its $259 per year Elite tier.
A SureForms user on the entry plan has conversational forms, quizzes, surveys, digital signatures, PDF generation, user registration forms, webhooks, and partial entry capture. A Gravity Forms user on the Basic or Pro plan has none of those.
This is not a marginal difference. For most sites that do not specifically need Gravity’s developer ecosystem, it means paying 77% less per year for a feature set that is actually broader.
AI Form Builder with No Third-Party Addon
SureForms’ AI form builder generates complete form structures from a plain-language description. Describe the form you need, and SureForms builds the fields, labels, logical groupings, and calculation logic in seconds. Unlimited on every paid plan with no monthly caps, no API key required, and no separate addon.
Gravity Forms does not have a native AI form builder. AI-assisted form creation with Gravity requires a third-party addon or integration.
For anyone who regularly builds new forms, the time savings compound quickly. Describe a complex project intake form in one sentence instead of building it field by field.
Native Gutenberg Integration
SureForms builds inside WordPress, not on top of it. If your workflow is centered on the block editor, SureForms integrates without friction. No separate builder, no context switching, forms that match your site’s existing styling system automatically.
As WordPress continues investing in Gutenberg as its primary editing paradigm, native block integration becomes an increasingly meaningful advantage.
PDF Generation Built In
SureForms PDF Generator creates formatted PDF documents automatically on every form submission, with a template you design using dynamic field placeholders. The PDF can be emailed to the submitter, the admin, or both, and automatically uploaded to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3.
Gravity Forms does not include native PDF generation. This requires a separate paid addon from a third-party developer.
Cloud File Storage Routing
SureForms routes uploaded files directly to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 at the moment of submission. Files land in organized cloud folders automatically. Gravity Forms stores uploaded files on your WordPress server by default. Cloud routing requires the Dropbox addon (Elite tier) and there is no native Google Drive or Amazon S3 routing.
Form Analytics Built In
SureForms Pro includes built-in form analytics showing submission rates, field-level drop-off data, device breakdowns, and completion trends over time. Gravity Forms does not include native form analytics. Tracking form performance with Gravity requires Google Analytics event configuration or a third-party addon.
Free Version and Demo
SureForms has a free version on WordPress.org that includes limited AI generation, core form building, anti-spam protection (reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare Turnstile, hCaptcha, honeypot), entry storage, and Instant Forms. You can build and test a real form on a real site before spending anything.
A live demo with all Pro features is available at try.new/form with no installation required.
Gravity Forms has no free version and no demo. The minimum cost to evaluate it on a real site is $59 per year, with a 14-day money-back guarantee as the safety net.
Release Velocity
SureForms shipped six feature releases between May and August 2026. The changelog shows new capabilities in every release: payment lifecycle hooks, partial entry notifications with admin alerts, the payment history widget for Elementor and Bricks, the front-end entries shortcode, retry failed integrations, and repeater field data as structured webhook payloads. Gravity Forms is a mature product with a slower, more conservative release cadence. If roadmap velocity and an AI-first development direction matter to you, the difference between the two changelogs is visible.
6. New SureForms Capabilities That Gravity Forms Does Not Have
The most recent SureForms releases introduced several capabilities with no Gravity Forms equivalent. Understanding these helps you evaluate SureForms on current product state, not on its 2024 launch version.
Payment Lifecycle Hooks (v2.12.0, June 2026)
SureForms triggers automated actions on Stripe and PayPal payment events: payment success, subscription cancellation, and refund. Connected tools respond automatically when any payment status changes.
Real consequences:
- SureMembers grants or revokes content access based on actual payment events, not just initial signup
- LMS platforms like LearnDash enroll or unenroll students when a subscription cancels or a payment fails
- CRMs update contact records when a refund is processed
- OttoKit workflows fire automatically after any payment event
Gravity Forms does not expose payment lifecycle events as triggers for connected tools.
Partial Entry Admin Notifications (v2.12.3, August 2026)
When a visitor saves an in-progress form, SureForms now automatically notifies the admin by email. The notification fires at the moment the partial entry is saved, with the admin email pre-populated, requiring no extra configuration.
This means you know immediately when someone starts and stops your form, and you can follow up while their interest is still warm rather than discovering incomplete entries days later during a manual review.
Payment History Widget for Elementor and Bricks (v2.12.2, July 2026)
SureForms adds a Payment History widget for Elementor and Bricks Builder that displays a logged-in user’s payment records on any page you choose. Drop it onto a member dashboard or client portal, and users see their own payment history without custom development or a separate plugin.
This makes SureForms a complete membership payment management interface in one plugin. Gravity Forms requires GravityView as a separate purchase to display form data on the front end.
Front-End Entries Shortcode (v2.12.0, June 2026)
A shortcode that displays form entries in a sortable, paginated table on any WordPress page. Filter by user, choose columns, and switch between read, unread, and trash views.
This enables client-facing submission dashboards and member portals where logged-in users see their own entries, without purchasing GravityView or writing custom display code. Gravity Forms’ equivalent requires GravityView starting at $99 per year additional.
Retry Failed Integrations (v2.12.1, July 2026)
When a webhook or native integration fails to deliver, SureForms shows a Retry button in the activity log for each failed entry. Bulk retry is also available. No user resubmission needed.
Gravity Forms does not offer integration retry from the admin dashboard. A failed webhook in Gravity means the data is lost unless the user resubmits the form.
7. Migrating from Gravity Forms to SureForms
The most important thing to understand about migration is that SureForms does not force a cutover. You can run both plugins simultaneously on the same site.
One-Click Form Migrator
SureForms v2.11.0 introduced a Form Migrator that imports Gravity Forms forms in a single click. Field structure and form configuration transfer automatically. You do not rebuild forms from scratch.
Read the Gravity Forms to SureForms migration guide
Entry History
Gravity Forms entries do not automatically transfer to SureForms. Export your existing Gravity entries to CSV using Gravity’s built-in export tool. That file becomes your historical archive. New submissions after migration land in SureForms. For most sites, the last 6 to 12 months of entries are all that require active access, and CSV covers that completely.
For sites that need live, searchable historical entries, plan extra time for a custom data migration before switching.
Custom Gravity Code
If your site has custom PHP hooked into Gravity Forms’ action and filter system, that code will need to be reviewed and adapted for SureForms. SureForms provides filters, actions, and a REST API for common extension needs, but the specific hook names and parameter structures are different. For sites with extensive custom development, this is real migration work and should be scoped honestly before committing to the switch.
Gravity Flow, GravityView, and Gravity Wiz
If your workflow depends on any of these three products, audit the dependency carefully before migrating. SureForms’ front-end entries shortcode covers some GravityView use cases. Payment lifecycle hooks cover some Gravity Flow use cases. But neither is a complete replacement for those products in their full complexity.
8. Which Plugin Is Right for You?
Use this as your decision framework based on actual workflow needs.
Choose SureForms if you are a:
Solo site owner or blogger. $59 per year for one site with every feature including AI form generation, conversational forms, quizzes, surveys, PDF generation, Stripe and PayPal payments, cloud storage, and CRM integrations. Gravity Forms Basic at the same price gives you none of those.
Small business running service forms. Quote forms, booking requests, client intake, project briefs, consultation requests. SureForms covers all of these with conditional logic, multi-step forms, PDF generation, and CRM routing on the Solo plan.
Agency without heavy Gravity customization. SureForms Team at $149 per year covers 10 sites with every feature. SureForms Agency at $229 covers 1,000 sites. The Lifetime plan at $649 covers 1,000 sites with no renewal. Gravity Forms Elite costs $259 per year for unlimited sites and requires additional addon purchases for PDF generation, front-end display, and workflow automation.
Gutenberg-first developer. If your workflow is built inside the block editor, SureForms is the native choice. No context switching, no separate builder, forms that integrate with your site’s block-based design system.
New to form builders. SureForms has a free version to test before committing. Gravity Forms requires payment to evaluate on a real site.
Conclusion
Gravity Forms developer ecosystem, its track record, and its advanced customization depth keep it the right answer for a specific type of project.
But that specific type of project is narrower than most people assume when they first consider Gravity Forms.
For the large majority of WordPress sites, the features that matter most (surveys, quizzes, conversational forms, digital signatures, PDF generation, AI form building, cloud file storage, payment lifecycle automation, partial entry capture, and front-end submission display) are either locked behind Gravity’s $259 Elite plan or require separate paid addons. SureForms includes all of them from $59 per year.
The five-year math is $1,295 versus $335. The feature availability is Gravity Elite required versus SureForms Solo sufficient. The release velocity is one monthly feature update versus a slower, more conservative schedule.
Start with the SureForms free version on WordPress.org. Build a real form on your site. Test the AI builder. If your workflow does not specifically depend on Gravity Flow, GravityView, or deep Gravity custom code, you will find everything you need at a fraction of the cost.
Start free. Every feature on every paid plan from $59 per year. See pricing here.
FAQs
Is SureForms better than Gravity Forms?
For most WordPress sites in 2026, SureForms provides a broader feature set at a significantly lower price. SureForms includes AI form generation, conversational forms, quizzes, surveys, digital signatures, PDF generation, cloud storage routing, and payment lifecycle hooks on every paid plan from $59 per year. These features require Gravity Forms Elite at $259 per year or separate paid addons. Gravity Forms wins for sites with deep developer customization requirements, complex workflow automation via Gravity Flow, or front-end data display via GravityView.
How much does Gravity Forms cost compared to SureForms?
Gravity Forms pricing: Basic $59 per year (1 site), Pro $159 per year (3 sites), Elite $259 per year (unlimited sites). All licenses renew at the same annual price. SureForms pricing: Solo $59 first year, $69 renewal (1 site); Team $149 first year, $179 renewal (10 sites); Agency $229 first year, $279 renewal (1,000 sites); Lifetime $649 one-time (1,000 sites). To access the full Gravity Forms feature set equivalent to SureForms, you need Elite at $259 per year, totaling $1,295 over five years versus $335 for SureForms Solo.
Does Gravity Forms have a free version?
No. Gravity Forms has no free version and no public free trial. The minimum cost to use it on a real site is $59 per year for the Basic license, which includes a 14-day money-back guarantee. SureForms has a free version available on WordPress.org that includes limited AI generation, core form building, anti-spam protection, entry storage, and Instant Forms. A full-featured live demo is also available at try.new/form with no installation required.
Does SureForms have a one-click migration from Gravity Forms?
Yes. SureForms v2.11.0 introduced a Form Migrator that imports Gravity Forms forms in a single click, preserving field structure and configuration. Existing Gravity Forms entries do not transfer automatically. Export those to CSV using Gravity’s built-in export tool for archival access. You can run both plugins simultaneously and migrate forms one at a time before deactivating Gravity Forms.
Can SureForms replace Gravity Forms for developer use cases?
For most developer use cases, yes. SureForms provides filters, actions, a REST API, webhooks, and native integrations that cover standard developer extension needs. Where SureForms does not replace Gravity Forms is in projects that specifically depend on Gravity Flow’s approval workflow engine, GravityView’s front-end data display system, or the Gravity Wiz addon suite. These products have no direct equivalent in SureForms. For projects without those specific dependencies, SureForms handles the same form-building workflows with a simpler pricing structure.
Does SureForms support digital signatures like Gravity Forms Elite?
Yes. SureForms includes a Digital Signature field on every paid plan from $59 per year. The captured signature image can be included in the automatically generated PDF and uploaded to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 alongside other form attachments. Gravity Forms includes the Signature addon only on the Elite plan at $259 per year.
What integrations do SureForms have compared to Gravity Forms?
SureForms includes 7 CRM integrations, 14 email marketing integrations, Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Stripe, PayPal, Telegram, OttoKit, Zapier, Webhooks, and a Custom App Builder, all on every paid plan from $59 per year. Gravity Forms includes Mailchimp, HubSpot, and ActiveCampaign on the Basic plan. Stripe, PayPal, and Zapier require Pro ($159/year). Authorize.Net, Signature, Surveys, and User Registration require Elite ($259/year). There is no native Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion, Google Drive, or Amazon S3 integration in Gravity Forms.
Is there a Lifetime plan for SureForms?
Yes. SureForms offers a Lifetime plan at $649 one-time covering 1,000 sites with all current and future features and no annual renewal. This compares to Gravity Forms Elite at $259 per year for unlimited sites with no lifetime option. Over a five-year period, the SureForms Lifetime plan costs $649 total versus $1,295 for Gravity Forms Elite, a saving of $646 over five years on full-feature access.
