Most people reading this should stay on the free plugin.
That’s not modesty — the free version of Custom Contact Forms is a complete form builder, and if you’re collecting names, emails, messages, and file uploads, Pro adds nothing you need. This page exists so you can tell quickly which side of that line you’re on.
The one-sentence version
Free builds forms. Pro turns those forms into transactions — payments, signed agreements, and multi-step flows.
If money or a signature is involved, you need Pro. If not, you don’t.
What’s in the free plugin
Everything here is on WordPress.org at no cost, with no feature nagging and no submission limits.
Building
- Drag-and-drop builder with live preview
- Prebuilt templates: contact, quote request, newsletter, event registration, feedback
- Text, paragraph, email with optional confirmation, name, phone, website, address (US and international), date/time, dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons, file uploads, hidden fields, HTML blocks
- Conditional fields and sections — show or hide based on other answers
- Form themes, per-field width controls for multi-column layouts, custom CSS
Publishing
- Gutenberg block, shortcode, widget, and PHP template tag
- AJAX submission with no page reload
- Conditional asset loading — scripts only load on pages that have a form
Handling submissions
- Submissions stored in WordPress, with CSV export and CSV import with automatic column mapping
- Form import and export via WordPress XML
- Multiple email notifications per form, with custom recipients, subject, from name, reply-to, and field mapping
- Email diagnostics — send test emails, view delivery failure logs
- Post creation on submission, mapping fields to post fields, meta, and taxonomies
Spam and access
- Cloudflare Turnstile, reCAPTCHA, and simple captcha
- Honeypot, time-based trap, IP rate limiting, disposable email blocking, keyword blacklist
- Restrict forms to logged-in users, or pause a form with a custom message
For developers
- Hooks, filters, and custom field types
- A REST endpoint that runs the full pipeline — validation, anti-spam, storage, notifications — against your own frontend
What Pro adds
Pro installs on top of the free plugin. Same builder, same forms, extra fields in the palette. Nothing you’ve already built changes.
Taking payments
- Stripe payments directly on the form — cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link, all completing on-page
- Product fields with three pricing modes: one fixed price, a dropdown where each option carries its own price, or customer-chooses-amount
- Quantities, minimum and maximum quantities, enforced minimum amounts, product images and descriptions
- A live Total field and coupon codes, percentage or fixed
- Server-verified totals — the amount charged is recalculated on your server, never taken from the browser
Agreements
- Signature field — sign with mouse, finger, or stylus; saved as a PNG with the submission and rendered as real ink in PDFs
- Consent field with versioned terms — the exact text someone agreed to is snapshotted permanently, so editing your terms next month doesn’t rewrite what past customers accepted
Longer forms
- Multi-step forms with page breaks, a progress indicator, and per-step validation
- Conditional logic extended to every field type, including priced ones — and a hidden priced field is never charged
- Survey fields (Likert grids) and star ratings
Output
- PDF receipts attached to notification emails for paid orders
- One-click PDF download of any submission
- Paid submissions flagged in the submissions table with the Stripe payment reference stored for lookup
Templates
- 13 additional ready-made templates: Donation Form, Product Order Form, Paid Event Registration, Service Booking Deposit, Invoice Payment, Tip Jar, Course Signup, Fundraiser with Fee Cover, Liability Waiver, Photo / Media Release, Service Agreement + Deposit, Rental Agreement, and Customer Satisfaction Survey Pro
Side by side
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Standard fields, file uploads | ✓ | ✓ |
| Form templates | 5 | 18 |
| Conditional fields and sections | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conditional logic on priced fields | — | ✓ |
| Spam protection, Turnstile, captcha | ✓ | ✓ |
| CSV import and export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email notifications and diagnostics | ✓ | ✓ |
| REST endpoint for custom frontends | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stripe payments on the form | — | ✓ |
| Product, Total, and Coupon fields | — | ✓ |
| Digital signature field | — | ✓ |
| Versioned consent records | — | ✓ |
| Multi-step forms | — | ✓ |
| Survey and rating fields | — | ✓ |
| PDF receipts and exports | — | ✓ |
| Added transaction fees | None | None |
| Price | Free | $80/year |
Stay on free if…
- Your form collects information and sends it to you
- You need spam protection, file uploads, or multiple notification recipients
- You want conditional fields that show and hide based on answers
- You’re building against the REST endpoint with your own frontend
- You’re on a client site that doesn’t handle money
The free plugin isn’t a trial. It doesn’t expire, it isn’t limited by submission count, and it keeps getting updates.
You need Pro if…
- Someone has to pay on the form. A deposit, a registration fee, a donation, an invoice, a single service.
- Someone has to sign. A waiver, a release, a service agreement.
- You need to prove what they agreed to. A checkbox records that someone agreed. Versioned consent records what they agreed to, and keeps that text unchanged after you update your terms.
- The form is too long for one screen. Multi-step with a progress bar finishes at a meaningfully higher rate than a wall of thirty fields.
- You’re running a survey, not a contact form.
What it costs
$80 per year. One plan, every feature, unlimited sites you own. No tiers, no per-feature add-ons.
Pro adds no transaction fees. You pay Stripe’s standard processing rate and nothing on top. That matters more than it sounds: some form plugins take a percentage of every payment on the cheaper tiers, which means your plugin bill scales with your revenue forever.
Common questions
Do I need the free plugin installed to use Pro? Yes. Pro is an add-on, not a replacement. Install the free plugin from WordPress.org first, then upload Pro.
Will my existing forms break? No. Pro adds fields to the builder. Forms you’ve already built keep working exactly as they are.
How many sites can I use it on? Unlimited sites that you own.
Can I try it before buying? Build your form on the free plugin first — it’s the same builder. When you add Pro, your form is already there waiting. There’s also a 14-day refund policy; see the refund page for conditions.
Do payments work with Elementor, Divi, or Bricks? Yes. Embed with the shortcode or block as usual; the payment flow is self-contained.
What payment methods are supported? Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link. Redirect-based and delayed methods like bank debits and buy-now-pay-later aren’t offered, because they can’t complete safely inside an on-page form.
Download the free plugin — full builder, no limits, no trial period.
Get Pro — $80/year — installs on top of the free plugin.
Full setup details are in the documentation.