Cognito Forms suits organizations that want conditional logic, calculations, and payment collection on a genuinely unlimited free plan. Paperform stands out…
Best for: Creators and businesses that want forms to double as landing pages, proposals, or order pages using a document-style editor.
At a Glance
Cognito Forms
HeyForm
Paperform
Primary category
Forms
Forms
Forms
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Freemium
Freemium
Starting price
Free (Pro from $19.20/month billed annually)
Free; hosted plans from $15/month
Free (paid plans from $24/month)
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Yes
Yes
Platforms
Web
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Yes
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Not documented
Yes
Standout Differences
A document, not just a form
Paperform's editor behaves like a word processor, letting users mix rich content, images, and payment blocks inline so a single form can serve as a landing page or product page instead of a plain data-collection grid.
Paperform
Self-hosting for full control
HeyForm is the only one of the three that is open source and can be self-hosted via Docker, an option neither Cognito Forms nor Paperform offers.
HeyForm
All three have a real free tier
Cognito Forms, HeyForm, and Paperform each offer a permanent free plan, though the usage caps differ sharply: Paperform's free plan is capped at 30 submissions per month, HeyForm's at 250 responses per month, and Cognito Forms' at 100 entries per month.
Cognito Forms, HeyForm, Paperform
Built for calculations and quoting
Cognito Forms and Paperform both include logic for automated cost calculations, useful for quote forms and order forms with variable pricing; this is not documented as a HeyForm capability.
Cognito Forms, Paperform
Feature-by-Feature
Building and Logic
Feature
Cognito Forms
HeyForm
Paperform
Conditional logic
Available
Available
Available
Built-in calculation or pricing engine
Available
Not documented
Available
Document-style rich content editor
Unavailable
Unavailable
Available
Payments and Monetization
Feature
Cognito Forms
HeyForm
Paperform
Payment collection
Available
Available
Available
Multiple payment gateways on paid plans
Available
Limited
Available
Plans and Access
Feature
Cognito Forms
HeyForm
Paperform
Permanent free plan
Available
Available
Available
Self-hosting option
Unavailable
Available
Unavailable
Custom domain support
Not documented
Available
Available
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
HeyForm
Free — $0 monthly
Basic — $15/month monthly
Premium — $24/month monthly
Business — $40/month monthly
Paperform
Free — $0 monthly
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
HeyForm
Pros
Genuinely open source and self-hostable, unlike most form-builder competitors
Free plan and hosted pricing are significantly cheaper than Typeform
Payment commission decreases as customers scale, rewarding growth
Active GitHub community contributing features and fixes
Simple, focused feature set that is easy to learn quickly
Cons
Small team behind the hosted product means slower feature releases than larger competitors
Free plan response cap (250/month) is low for growing businesses
Self-hosting requires technical setup and ongoing server maintenance
Fewer native integrations than more established form tools
Limited public information on company structure, funding, or headquarters
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: Organizations needing conditional logic, calculations, and payment collection with unlimited free forms.
Choose HeyForm: Teams wanting a self-hostable, open-source conversational form builder at low cost.
Choose Paperform: Creators and businesses that want forms to double as landing pages, proposals, or order pages using a document-style editor.
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.
HeyForm
Small business lead capture — Small businesses use HeyForm's hosted plans to build affordable, branded lead and contact forms without paying enterprise form-builder prices.
Self-hosted internal forms — Development teams self-host HeyForm to run internal surveys and data collection tools with full control over hosting and data residency.
Customer feedback and quizzes — Marketing teams build conversational quizzes and feedback surveys to increase completion rates over static forms.
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 these three has the lowest free-plan submission cap?
Paperform's free plan caps out at 30 submissions per month, the lowest of the three. HeyForm allows 250 responses per month free, and Cognito Forms allows 100 entries per month free.
Which tool lets a form double as a landing page?
Paperform, thanks to its word-processor-style editor that mixes form fields with rich content, images, and payment blocks.
Can I self-host any of these form builders?
Only HeyForm is open source and self-hostable via Docker. Cognito Forms and Paperform are closed, hosted SaaS products.
Which is best for building complex pricing or quote forms?
Paperform's built-in calculation engine and Cognito Forms' automated cost calculations both handle variable pricing logic; HeyForm does not document a comparable calculation feature.
Which is the cheapest to start with a paid plan?
HeyForm's Basic plan starts at $15/month, followed by Cognito Forms Pro at $19.20/month billed annually, then Paperform Essentials at $24/month.
Do all three support conditional logic?
Yes, Cognito Forms, HeyForm, and Paperform all support conditional logic that shows, hides, or requires fields based on prior answers.