Jotform
Form-centered business tool that offers the whole package
TL;DR
If you need a specific feature, Jotform probably has it. It is a complex tool that offers more than forms.
Overview
Forms are almost always a part of a bigger process. That's why some well-known tools have a form builder as a part of their product (Wix, Framer, and Notion, to name a few).
Jotform flips the script. It puts the spotlight on the forms and builds additional sub-products, such as tables, apps, and boards, to help with the process. It is a well-known brand that offers the whole package.
In this review, we put Jotform to the test; we created forms, collected responses, tried out their AI agents, did research about their history, checked out user reviews, and compared it to other tools we have tested.
Ease of Use 4/5
Let's start from the beginning. Jotform's onboarding process is refreshingly simple, with no unnecessary steps. To create a form, you have some options, but first, you have to choose the "form" option, because on JotForm, forms are not the only thing you can create. Once you choose the form, you can tell AI about your form, choose a template, upload a PDF, import from other sources, or start from scratch. Quite a few options. If you are clear about what to do, it's pretty straightforward. But it gives hints of choice-fatigue, which we'll face later.
The AI option works great. You tell AI what kind of form you would like to have and for what purpose you will use it; after a few seconds, you have the whole form. In most tools, the AI assistants are there just to be there, with all kinds of attention-grabbing visuals. But in the case of Jotform, we think it is helpful. While the interface is tidied up as best as it can be, there are just too many options, and it takes time to find what you are looking for. AI makes it so much easier.
The form editor is pretty optimized. When you add a form field, for example, that field's settings open automatically, which is good. While the design of the editor gives 2007, it is pretty functional. It is possible to find settings and details that are not available on other form tools, such as shrink, field id, and hover text. Payment and product listing options, however, should definitely be improved user-experience-wise. It is functional, yes, but it is easy to get lost in options.
We have also tested Jotform's AI agents product. Like forms, it is another way of getting information. Unlike forms, it is much more interactive and available. By available, we mean you can use AI agents in WhatsApp, Mails, standalone, as a chatbot on a website, and more. AI agents are relevant here in this review, because a form is automatically created alongside an AI agent. When people answer questions to an AI agent, the answers are also submitted to the connected form.
Overall, Jotform's interface felt like a bunch of features added and stacked over time. It takes a bit of patience to get used to it, but when you do, its functionality makes up for its design.
Features 5/5
Now that's where Jotform shines: Features. It has an unmatched feature set. SMS notifications, Boards, Apps, offline functionalities, payment gateways, and it is possible to create any type of form. For example, Jotform offers the most payment gateway options for payment forms.
AI features are not offered separately; instead, you have an AI assistant available on the bottom right of your screen. You tell AI to do something in your form, and it does it.
On the integrations side, Jotform looks strong. It offers native integrations, a workflow app, and has Webhook abilities for custom integrations.
We couldn't find some features related to data and data analysis, such as drop-offs, partial answers, data enrichment, and so on. Also, some important features are behind the highest end of plans; for example, HIPAA compliance requires the Gold plan, and team members, local data residency, API access, and a custom domain for form URLs require a custom enterprise plan.
Overall, Jotform offers the most features we've seen available on a form tool. So, it gets a well-deserved 5 in terms of features.
Key Features
Lacking Features
Looks & Design 3.5/5
This one is no surprise. The forms on Jotform are functional but look a bit.. dated. You need to tweak CSS to make them look premium.
Customer Satisfaction 4/5
Jotform has a pretty strong reputation for being reliable and flexible. On most platforms, it has four or more ratings (4.4 on Trustpilot, 4.3 on Glassdoor).
What people like:
- Flexibility: Users like the "rich set of features" and the available form fields.
- Workflow Automation: Users "love" the ability to automate workflows, such as sending auto-emails to registrants or organizing data automatically.
- Specialized Tools: Specific features like mobile e-signatures and AI Agents are highly rated. Users find the mobile signature capture particularly useful for contracts and incident reports.
What people don't like:
- Access to Humans: Among negative comments, the users frustrated with the difficulty of reaching human representatives were abundant. They say they were stuck in loops with AI chatbots or waited extended periods without a response.
- Pricing-related concerns: Some users are not happy with Jotform's pricing. For example, the "form view" quota is seen as a hidden trap that leads people to upgrade earlier. Also, one user gives a helpful insight into the enterprise plan; the user needs a local residency feature and asks for an enterprise plan. The quotation he received is 10 times his current subscription. This means if you require more than 10,000 responses, team members, API access, or a similar enterprise feature, the price can get steeper.
- Complexity & bugs Another issue that's brought up by users is being "clunky and complicated". Users say the platform is complex and feels clunky. Also, the forms can become "glitchy" as they are made more complex.
When we read the good and bad comments and classify them in a list like this, usually the bad comments get more attention; however, remember that Joftom has over 4+ reviews on many platforms, and the percentage of good comments is higher. Based on Jotform's reputation, our experience, and online reviews, Jotform deserves a 4 out of 5 in terms of satisfaction.
Jotform Pricing 3.5/5
Jotform has an interesting approach to pricing its products. Unlike other tools we reviewed, most features are not reserved for higher plans, such as logo upload, payments, or auto-delete submissions. Its free plan allows 100 responses per month and access to other Jotform subproducts. These are the things we like.
There are also some intentional decisions in the pricing, which you should be careful about. When placed under one another, points in the pricing table tend to be seen positively, but the "Form view" is the opposite. It literally means your form can be viewed X times. So if you embed it on a website, the chances are your form will stop working even though you still have quota left for form submissions.
Another issue is that some features that are usually available in the paid plans of other form builders, are exclusive to Jotform's enterprise plan. We believe having local data residency, SSO, and SLA under a custom plan is, kind of, justified, as we are familiar. But API access, team members, and custom domains are commonly needed features that should be available within a reasonable paid plan. This is, of course, just our opinion based on our reviews of other form builder tools alongside Jotform.
One other thing we noticed is the price difference between monthly and yearly plans. This seems to be another strategic decision, and that's win-win if you are looking for a tool for long-term use.
Starter
- 5 forms
- 100 monthly submissions
- 1,000 form views
- 100 MB file space
Bronze
- 25 forms
- 1,000 monthly submissions
- 10,000 form views
- 1 GB file space
Silver
- 50 forms
- 2,500 monthly submissions
- 100,000 form views
- 10 GB file space
Gold
- 100 forms
- 1,000 monthly submissions
- 1,000,000 form views
- 100 GB file space
Pros & Cons of Jotform
Pros
- • Jotform has a huge template library.
- • Jotform has some features that doesn't exist on other form tools.
- • Users have access to additional form elements called; widgets.
- • The AI chatbot is helpful in finding help.
- • There are many sub-products, like Tables and Boards.
- • Two layout options are available; one for "all questions on a page" and the other is for "Single question per page".
- • Jotform has integrations with 20+ payment gateways.
Cons
- • The interface is cluttered and overwhelming, to say the least.
- • Design is not as modern as other form tools.
- • The dashboard is slow.
- • No team members can be invited without a custom enterprise plan.
- • In addition to responses, Jotform limits how many times a form can be just visited.
The Verdict
Jotform is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to functionality. It may not have the sleekest interface, but it makes up for it with sheer versatility. Whether you need payment forms, approval workflows, or PDF generation, Jotform can be just the thing you are looking for. It's the ideal choice for businesses that need a workhorse tool to handle complex data collection and workflow needs.
How Jotform compares to other form builders
Frequently Asked Questions about Jotform
Where is Jotform based?
Jotform is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, where its main office is located, but it's a global company with other offices in places like Turkey, Canada, and the UK.
Who founded Jotform?
Jotform was founded in 2006 by Aytekin Tank, who also serves as its CEO.
Is Jotform free or paid?
Jotform is a freemium product that offers several plans, including Starter (free), Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans.
Is there a free alternative to Jotform?
Yes, some notable free alternatives to Jotform. Completely free jotform alternatives are Google Forms and Microsoft Forms. Some Jotform alternatives with a more flexible free plan are Fillout, Cognito Forms, and forms.app.
Does Jotform require coding?
No, you can use Jotform to create forms or build processes without coding.
Can Jotform be converted to excel?
The responses collected through Jotform can be converted to Excel through data export or Jotform's official MS Excel integration.
This review has been researched and written following our strictly standardized FormBuilderTools methodology. We believe in transparency and consistency.
- We create real accounts and build actual forms.
- We test specific features like logic, payments, and integrations.
- We evaluate the respondent experience on mobile and desktop.
- We verify pricing claims and support responsiveness.