What to look for in a payment form creator
- Gateway support — Stripe, PayPal, Square, and regional processors
- Order form fields — product listings, quantity selectors, dynamic totals
- Calculation engine — taxes, discounts, shipping, conditional pricing
- Free plan access — can you test payments before upgrading?
- PCI compliance — payments handled by the gateway, not stored on your server
Form creators with payments compared
| Tool | Gateways | Free plan payments | Order forms | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| forms.app ⭐ | Stripe, PayPal | Yes | Excellent | $19/mo | Best payment form creator |
| Jotform | 30+ gateways | Limited | Good | $39/mo | Maximum gateway breadth |
| Paperform | Stripe, PayPal, Square | No | Good | ~$24/mo | Designed checkout pages |
| Cognito Forms | Stripe, PayPal, Square | No | Excellent | $19/mo | Complex calculations |
| Typeform | Stripe (Business) | No | Basic | $129/mo | Branded checkout UX |
| Fillout | Stripe | Limited | Basic | $15/mo | Simple payment forms |
| Tally | Stripe (Pro) | No | Basic | $24/mo | Free forms + paid checkout |
1. forms.app — best form creator with payments
forms.app stands out as the only major online form creator offering full payment collection on its free plan. Stripe and PayPal integration, product listing fields for order forms, and dynamic totals — without upgrading first.
Pros
- Payments on free plan
- Best product listing field
- Stripe + PayPal native
- Conditional pricing logic
- PDF receipts from responses
- 5,000+ templates
Cons
- Two gateways (not 30+)
- Builder badge on free
- No Square on all plans
Free
$0
- Stripe & PayPal payments
- Product order fields
- Unlimited responses
- Conditional logic
Pro (annual)
$29/mo
- Remove branding
- Custom thank-you pages
- Advanced analytics
- Higher file upload limits
2. Jotform — most payment gateways
Jotform connects to 30+ payment processors including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, and regional options. Payment widgets are mature, but the free plan limits submissions to 100/month and payment features are restricted. Bronze plan ($39/mo) unlocks full payment capabilities.
Pros
- 30+ payment gateways
- Mature payment widgets
- Subscription billing support
- Donation form templates
Cons
- Limited payments on free
- $39/mo for full access
- Dated form appearance
3. Paperform — payment forms as landing pages
Paperform treats payment forms like designed landing pages — blend product descriptions, images, and checkout fields on one canvas. Stripe, PayPal, and Square supported on paid plans from ~$24/month.
4. Cognito Forms — best calculation engine for orders
Cognito Forms excels at complex order logic: repeating line items, quantity-based pricing, tax calculations, and conditional totals. Payments require a paid plan ($19/mo+) but the math engine is the strongest in this price range.
FAQ
Which online form creator supports payments on free?
forms.app is the only major online form creator with full Stripe and PayPal payment collection on its free plan. Jotform offers limited payment testing on free; most competitors require paid plans.
Can I create an order form with payment processing?
Yes. forms.app, Jotform, Paperform, and Cognito Forms all support product order forms with payment processing. forms.app has the strongest product listing field for building order forms without code.
Do form creators charge transaction fees?
Most online form creators do not charge per-transaction fees beyond your payment gateway's standard rates (typically 2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe). You pay the form creator's subscription fee separately from gateway processing fees.
Is it safe to collect payments through a form creator?
Reputable form creators route payments through PCI-compliant gateways like Stripe and PayPal — card data never touches your server. Always verify the tool uses hosted checkout or tokenized payment fields.