Cognito Forms, Formstack, and Paperform all compete as no-code form builders, but they target different budgets and buyers. Cognito Forms stands out for a…
Freemium · From Free (Pro from $19.20/month billed annually)
Best for: Budget-conscious teams and small organizations that want unlimited forms, payment collection, and HIPAA-compliant configuration without paying for a plan.
Subscription (tiered plans plus custom Enterprise and Salesforce pricing) · From $83/month (Forms plan, billed annually)
Best for: Enterprises already standardized on Salesforce that need document generation, electronic signatures, and HIPAA/PCI-compliant workflows and can justify premium pricing.
Best for: Creators and marketers who want forms that double as branded landing pages or quizzes and need a built-in calculation engine for pricing or quoting logic.
At a Glance
Cognito Forms
Formstack
Paperform
Primary category
Forms
Forms
Forms
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Subscription (tiered plans plus custom Enterprise and Salesforce pricing)
Freemium
Starting price
Free (Pro from $19.20/month billed annually)
$83/month (Forms plan, billed annually)
Free (paid plans from $24/month)
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Yes
Yes
Platforms
Web
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standout Differences
Cognito Forms is the only one with a fully free unlimited plan
Cognito Forms offers an Individual plan with unlimited forms and payment acceptance at no cost, while Formstack has no permanent free tier (only a 14-day trial) and Paperform's free plan caps out at 30 submissions per month.
Cognito Forms, Formstack, Paperform
Formstack is built for enterprise and Salesforce-native workflows
Formstack's document generation integration, electronic signatures, and native Salesforce integration make it the deepest option for compliance-heavy enterprise processes, reflected in its higher starting price of $83/month billed annually.
Formstack
Paperform's calculation engine and document-style editor suit quoting and order forms
Paperform's built-in calculation engine and flexible, word-processor-style editor let forms double as landing pages or product pages, a capability not documented for Formstack or Cognito Forms.
Paperform
Cognito Forms offers HIPAA-compliant configuration on a free-to-start product
Both Cognito Forms and Formstack support HIPAA-compliant configuration, but Cognito Forms makes it available starting from its free plan rather than requiring an enterprise contract.
Cognito Forms, Formstack
Feature-by-Feature
Pricing and Plans
Feature
Cognito Forms
Formstack
Paperform
Free plan availability
Available
Unavailable
Available
Form Building and Logic
Feature
Cognito Forms
Formstack
Paperform
Conditional logic
Available
Not documented
Available
Calculation engine
Available
Not documented
Available
Payments and Compliance
Feature
Cognito Forms
Formstack
Paperform
Built-in payment collection
Available
Available
Available
HIPAA-compliant configuration
Available
Available
Not documented
Enterprise and Integrations
Feature
Cognito Forms
Formstack
Paperform
Electronic signatures
Available
Available
Not documented
Native Salesforce integration
Not documented
Available
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Cognito Forms
Individual — Free N/A
Pro — $24/month ($19.20/month billed annually) Monthly or annual
Team — $49/month ($39.20/month billed annually) Monthly or annual
Enterprise — $174/month ($129.60/month billed annually) Monthly or annual
Formstack
Forms — $83/month (annual) or $99/month (monthly) Monthly or annual
Suite — $250/month (annual) or $299/month (monthly) Monthly or annual
Essentials — $24/month ($288/year billed annually) monthly or annual
Pro — $49/month ($588/year billed annually) monthly or annual
Business — $99/month ($1,188/year billed annually) monthly or annual
Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) annual
Pros & Cons
Cognito Forms
Pros
Genuinely usable free plan with unlimited forms and payment acceptance, not just a trial
Conditional logic and calculations rival more expensive form tools without requiring code
Built-in payment processing simplifies registration and order forms
HIPAA-compliant configuration available for healthcare and sensitive-data use cases
Cons
Entry volume and storage limits scale with price, which can force upgrades for growing organizations
Higher-end collaboration features (client portal, approvals, SSO) are locked to Team and Enterprise tiers
Guest user allowances are capped even on paid plans
Smaller integration ecosystem compared to larger form/survey platforms
Formstack
Pros
Broad feature set spanning forms, document generation, and e-signatures in one platform
Strong compliance credentials, including HIPAA- and PCI-compliant form configurations
Deep native Salesforce integration for enterprise CRM-driven workflows
Nearly two decades of operating history and a large integration ecosystem
Cons
No permanent free plan, only a 14-day free trial of the core Forms product
Entry-level pricing is higher than lightweight competitors like Google Forms or Wufoo
Suite and Enterprise pricing can become expensive for organizations needing high usage limits
Recent corporate rebrand to Intellistack may create short-term confusion about the product's ownership
Paperform
Pros
Flexible document-style editor supports rich content, not just simple fields
Multiple payment gateways included on all paid plans, not limited to the top tier
Built-in calculation engine handles complex pricing and quoting logic
Forms can double as landing pages or product pages, reducing the need for a separate site
Generous free plan for testing before upgrading
Cons
Free plan submission limit (30/month) is low for active use
Custom domain requires the Pro tier or above
Smaller integration ecosystem than larger competitors like Jotform
Learning curve to fully use calculation and conditional-logic features
Annual submission caps on paid tiers can require plan upgrades as usage grows
Use Cases
Choose Cognito Forms: Budget-conscious teams and small organizations that want unlimited forms, payment collection, and HIPAA-compliant configuration without paying for a plan.
Choose Formstack: Enterprises already standardized on Salesforce that need document generation, electronic signatures, and HIPAA/PCI-compliant workflows and can justify premium pricing.
Choose Paperform: Creators and marketers who want forms that double as branded landing pages or quizzes and need a built-in calculation engine for pricing or quoting logic.
Cognito Forms
Event registration with payment — An organization builds a registration form with conditional pricing logic and collects payment directly through the form.
Healthcare intake forms — A clinic uses HIPAA-compliant form configuration to collect patient intake information securely.
Formstack
HR onboarding and internal workflows — HR teams collect new-hire paperwork and route it through approval workflows without manual data entry.
HIPAA-compliant patient intake — Healthcare organizations collect patient intake data through compliant, secure online forms.
Nonprofit donation and event registration — Nonprofits collect donations and manage event registrations with payment processing built into the form.
Paperform
Selling products through an order form — Build a payment-enabled order form that also functions as a product landing page.
Lead-capture landing pages — Create standalone landing pages with embedded forms without needing a separate website.
Scored quizzes and surveys — Use conditional logic and calculations to build interactive quizzes or assessments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which of Cognito Forms, Formstack, and Paperform has a genuinely free plan?
Cognito Forms and Paperform both offer free plans. Cognito Forms' free Individual plan supports unlimited forms and payment acceptance, while Paperform's free plan caps submissions at 30 per month. Formstack has no permanent free plan, only a 14-day trial of its core Forms product.
Which is the most affordable paid plan?
Cognito Forms Pro starts at $19.20 per month billed annually, Paperform Essentials starts at $24 per month billed annually, and Formstack's entry-level Forms plan starts at $83 per month billed annually, making Cognito Forms the cheapest paid tier of the three.
Which tool integrates natively with Salesforce?
Formstack offers a dedicated Salesforce Solutions plan with native Salesforce integration. Neither Cognito Forms nor Paperform document a native Salesforce integration.
Which of these supports electronic signatures?
Cognito Forms and Formstack both list electronic signatures as a feature. Paperform does not document electronic signature support.
Which is best for forms with complex pricing or quoting logic?
Paperform includes a built-in calculation engine designed for pricing and quoting logic, and Cognito Forms also supports calculations alongside its conditional logic. Formstack does not document a comparable calculation feature.
Which tools are HIPAA-compliant?
Both Cognito Forms and Formstack offer HIPAA-compliant configuration options, making either suitable for healthcare or other sensitive-data use cases. Paperform does not document HIPAA compliance.