# FormWork vs Gravity Forms

Canonical: https://useformwork.com/compare/gravity-forms

Updated: 2026-10-11

Choose FormWork for nested data and a quote engine that outlives your website. Choose Gravity Forms for WordPress hooks, self-hosting and lower licence costs.

**Choose FormWork when a quote engine or approval process needs to keep working through a website redesign, a CMS move or a custom frontend build.** Its hosted backend keeps the rules and team workspace together; WordPress can display the form through an embed. Choose Gravity Forms when your application belongs inside WordPress and you want its hooks, plugin ecosystem and control over hosting.

## The decision at a glance

| Your situation | FormWork | Gravity Forms setup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The website changes but the business process should stay | Hosted form backend; embed on WordPress or another site | Form backend runs in your WordPress installation |
| Several companies each have several contacts | Native repeating groups inside repeating groups | Nested Forms links child entries; deeper nesting needs another approach |
| Quotes need approval, reminders and follow-up | Stages, team fields and automations included on every plan | Gravity Flow adds workflows and assignments |
| You need WordPress users, PHP hooks or your own hosting | REST API and HTTP connectors; hosted service | WordPress hooks, extensions and infrastructure you operate |
| A modest form runs on an existing maintained site | Monthly subscription with hosting included | Annual plugin licences can cost less |

## When FormWork is a better fit

### The website should not own your quote engine

An accountancy quote can depend on business type, turnover, selected services and a price table. In FormWork, those rules live in the hosted form engine. WordPress displays the [embed](/docs/embedding/web-component); it does not run the calculation or store the entry workspace.

That separation lets you change the website's theme, move it to another CMS or create a custom interface while retaining the form backend. [Server-side logic](/product/server-side-logic) applies the same calculations, conditions and validation to the embed and an API-driven interface. **For an agency or developer maintaining a long-lived quote service, FormWork lets the website change without rebuilding the pricing rules or staff process.**

Gravity Forms is a sensible choice when the quote belongs in WordPress. It also [reruns calculations during submission](https://docs.gravityforms.com/using-calculations/). Both products process calculations on submission; the distinction is where the rules run and which application owns them.

### Your repeated data has more than one level

FormWork can collect several companies, each with several contacts, as nested repeating groups in one form. Each repeated item has a stable ID, so removing one contact does not renumber the others. Calculations, templates and automations can use that structure directly. See [nested data](/product/nested-data).

[Gravity Wiz Nested Forms](https://gravitywiz.com/documentation/gravity-forms-nested-forms/) provides linked child forms and entries. Its documented limitations say a child form cannot itself contain a Nested Form field; it suggests a List field or the Repeater API for deeper repeated data. **FormWork wins when that second level of repetition belongs in the form:** define the structure once and use it in calculations, PDFs and automation loops. Linked child entries may be exactly the model you want in WordPress.

### Quotes need staff review and ongoing maintenance

FormWork includes stages, approval links, due times and internal fields. A quote can go straight to an approved stage or wait for a person when a rule identifies an unusual request. Automations can loop over selected services, generate a PDF and call an external API. Their [run details](/docs/automations/runs) show inputs, outputs and the branch taken; tests run without external effects.

Questions, team fields, stages and automations can be reviewed together before publishing. Existing entries keep their original respondent questions, while the latest process handles future work. This is useful when the quote model evolves after launch. See [versions and publishing](/product/versioned-forms).

[Gravity Flow](https://www.gravityforms.com/gravity-flow/) supplies multi-step workflows, assignments, review loops and reporting within WordPress. It is a real alternative. FormWork's advantage is getting its form, process and automation tools in the hosted product, with one publishing model.

*An example staff process in FormWork. The stages are maintained separately from the website displaying the form.*

## When Gravity Forms is a better fit

**Choose Gravity Forms when your application relies on WordPress.** Its plugin ecosystem and [developer hooks](https://docs.gravityforms.com/category/developers/hooks/) let you work with the site's users, data and custom PHP. FormWork offers a REST API and HTTP connectors, but no PHP hooks or self-hosted deployment.

**Choose Gravity Forms when you want the data on infrastructure you operate.** You retain responsibility for hosting, updates, backups and email delivery, but also control that environment. FormWork requires a connection to its hosted service.

If you already run a well-maintained WordPress site and need a modest form with standard calculations, Gravity Forms can be economical. There is little reason to move simply because FormWork also supports calculations and conditional fields.

FormWork account members can open every entry and build and publish forms. For an agency, projects organise work but do not separate clients' access; use separate accounts when clients must be isolated. See [security and access](/security).

## A quote process: licences versus subscription

Gravity Forms lists USD prices of **Basic at $59, Pro at $159 and Elite at $259 per year**. Gravity Flow Core adds **$99 per year for one site**. Buying Basic and Flow Core separately totals **$158 per year**, before hosting, tax and any other required extensions. Nested Forms needs its own Gravity Wiz purchase. [Gravity Forms pricing](https://www.gravityforms.com/pricing/), [Gravity Flow pricing](https://www.gravityforms.com/gravity-flow/).

For a quote service receiving 1,000 entries a month and using about ten executed automation steps per entry, FormWork Pro is **£49 per month excluding VAT**, or **£588 over twelve months**. It includes 5,000 monthly entries, 50,000 steps, 50,000 stored entries and rows, 25 GB of files and ten projects. Hosting, native nested groups and unlimited members are included. [FormWork pricing](/pricing).

The WordPress licences can cost considerably less, especially if your existing hosting is sufficient. **FormWork's win is the included, independently hosted process**, particularly when you otherwise need deeper nesting, custom rule code or a website migration. Budget those pieces alongside licences; an existing working Gravity Forms build may already cover them. Compare costs in your own currency and estimate maintenance from the setup you actually need.

## Try the quote you actually need

Start by filling in our [live accountancy quote example](/use-cases/accountancy-quotes); you can see how answers change the quote before building anything. In a [30-day FormWork trial](https://app.useformwork.com/auth/signup), use its walkthrough or ask a [connected assistant](/docs/ai-assistants/connecting) to draft a quote with a price table and an adviser-review stage.

Test the part that would make you switch: embed the form on a second site, change a price in the backend, or add companies with several contacts. If you need WordPress-specific hooks, test their replacement too. FormWork is worth choosing when it simplifies the difficult part of your actual build.

Before moving a Gravity Forms build, inventory its hooks, feeds and extensions. Replacing the form does not automatically recreate the WordPress behaviour around it.

Written by the FormWork team from the linked official documentation, checked on the review date above. The quote is an illustrative example.