A WPForms alternative built for shipping.

WPForms is genuinely the right tool if your site is and will remain a WordPress site, and you want a drag-and-drop form builder that lives entirely inside the wp-admin dashboard you're already logged into. The Lite version is free in the WordPress.org plugin repo with no time limit, and the paid tiers add Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, signature, surveys, and other add-ons for non-technical operators.

splitforms is the right tool for everyone else — and for WordPress sites that want a real backend underneath their forms. The critical structural difference is that WPForms submissions live in your WordPress database, while splitforms submissions live in a dedicated backend with a real dashboard, search, export, and webhook delivery. If you ever want to move off WordPress, integrate forms into an external CRM via webhook, or have your form data live outside your WordPress database, splitforms is the cleaner architecture.

The most common trigger is host migration. A team decides to move from WordPress to a static site, a Next.js app, or a headless CMS — and discovers WPForms doesn't follow them, because the submissions and the plugin both live in the WordPress database. Every form has to be rebuilt on a new backend during the migration. splitforms is host-agnostic: the form action URL works the same regardless of where the page is served, so moving hosts (or moving off WordPress entirely) doesn't touch the form layer at all.

The second trigger is wanting the form data outside WordPress. WPForms stores submissions in your WordPress MySQL database, which means backups, exports, and integrations all flow through WordPress. For a small site that's fine; for any team that wants submissions flowing into a CRM, a Slack channel, an AI agent, or a dedicated analytics tool, the WPForms path requires add-ons (sometimes paid) and WordPress-side plugins. splitforms ships HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks (single delivery attempt, 8-second timeout) on paid plans, plus an open REST API and MCP server on every plan.

The third trigger is deliverability. WPForms relies on whatever SMTP plugin you've configured in WordPress (WP Mail SMTP, also from Awesome Motive). If you haven't configured transactional SMTP, your form-submission emails are sent via PHP `mail()` — one of the worst-rated email delivery paths on the modern web, with high spam-folder rates. splitforms uses dedicated SMTP with proper SPF/DKIM, so submissions land in the inbox rather than promotions or spam.

Host requirement

splitforms works on any host. WPForms only works on WordPress-hosted sites — there is no non-WordPress deployment path.

Builder UI

WPForms wins clearly here. The drag-and-drop builder inside wp-admin, the template gallery, and the add-on ecosystem are mature and polished. splitforms is a backend — you write the HTML.

Submission storage

splitforms stores every submission permanently in a dedicated backend with search, filter, and CSV export. WPForms stores submissions in your WordPress database, surfaced through a wp-admin submissions panel that requires add-ons for CSV export on the free tier.

Webhooks

splitforms unlocks HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks (single delivery attempt, 8-second timeout) on paid plans. WPForms needs paid add-ons (Zapier or webhook add-ons) to send submissions anywhere outside WordPress.

Spam protection

splitforms uses an AI classifier on top of honeypot. WPForms leans on honeypot plus whatever anti-spam plugin (Akismet, reCAPTCHA) you've installed in WordPress.

Deliverability

splitforms uses dedicated SMTP with SPF/DKIM. WPForms uses whatever SMTP plugin you've configured in WordPress — often PHP `mail()` by default, which has poor deliverability.

API

splitforms ships an open REST API and MCP server on every plan. WPForms has no documented public REST API for submissions; you're querying the WordPress database directly or using add-ons.

Pricing model

splitforms tiers on submission volume. WPForms tiers on yearly license + site count + feature gates simultaneously.

• “We're moving off WordPress and our forms are trapped in the WP database.”

  splitforms is host-agnostic. Migrate to Next.js, Astro, or a static site whenever you want; the forms keep working without changes.

• “I want submissions in my CRM via webhook, not in my WordPress admin.”

  splitforms includes HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks (single delivery attempt, 8-second timeout) on paid plans. Wire submissions directly into HubSpot, Salesforce, or your own service.

• “My WPForms emails are landing in spam because PHP mail is unreliable.”

  splitforms uses dedicated SMTP with SPF/DKIM, not PHP `mail()`.

• “I'm getting AI-generated spam that the WordPress anti-spam plugins can't catch.”

  splitforms runs every submission through an AI classifier specifically trained on modern LLM-written form spam.

• “I want to drive form submissions from a Claude or Cursor agent.”

  splitforms ships an MCP server natively. WPForms has no equivalent.

• “I want my form data outside my WordPress database for security isolation.”

  splitforms stores submissions in a dedicated backend. Your form data isn't coupled to your WordPress install's security perimeter.

Step 1: sign up at splitforms.com for a free access key — no credit card required. Step 2: rebuild your form as standard HTML. For each WPForms field, write a corresponding `<input>`, `<textarea>`, or `<select>` inside `<form action="https://splitforms.com/api/submit" method="POST">`. WPForms field types map cleanly: text to text input, textarea to textarea, dropdown to select, checkboxes to checkbox group, radio to radio group. Step 3: submit a test entry and confirm it lands in the splitforms dashboard.

Past submissions stay in your WordPress database for as long as you keep WPForms installed; splitforms starts collecting from the moment you switch. If you want to backfill historical submissions into splitforms, the open REST API accepts server-to-server POSTs so you can replay your WPForms export through a small migration script.

If you were using WPForms' Stripe or PayPal add-ons for payment collection, splitforms handles payments client-side via Stripe Elements or PayPal buttons, with the resulting token POSTed to splitforms alongside the form fields. More setup than the WPForms add-on, dramatically more control.

If your site is and will remain WordPress, you don't want to write HTML, and you don't need submissions outside the wp-admin dashboard, WPForms Lite is genuinely the simpler tool. The drag-and-drop builder, the template gallery, and the add-on ecosystem are real product surface, and for a non-technical operator the polish is worth the WordPress-only constraint.

Same answer if you specifically need WPForms add-ons that have no clean equivalent outside the WordPress plugin world — signature capture inside wp-admin, the WPBeginner integrations, the WordPress-native caching and security compatibility, the multi-site license model. Rebuilding those in HTML + client-side JS is a real engineering project.

And if you're a WordPress agency with a stack built around WP Rocket, WP Mail SMTP, Akismet, and the rest of the Awesome Motive ecosystem, your deliverability and spam pipelines are already configured around those plugins. Splitforms is a clean alternative, but switching means re-evaluating the whole stack — which is rarely worth doing for a single form.

Is splitforms a true WPForms alternative? For the backend layer — POST endpoint, submission storage, dashboard, webhooks, spam filtering, file uploads, notifications — yes, with a real dedicated backend and an open API. For WPForms' drag-and-drop builder and add-on ecosystem, splitforms doesn't try to replicate those.

Does splitforms work inside WordPress? Yes — splitforms is just an HTML form action. You can use it inside a WordPress page (via the HTML block or a custom shortcode) or outside WordPress entirely. The form action URL is host-agnostic.

What about WPForms' Stripe and PayPal add-ons? splitforms handles payments client-side via Stripe Elements or PayPal buttons, with the resulting token POSTed to splitforms. Slightly more setup than the add-on, dramatically more control.

Will my WPForms submissions carry over? Past submissions stay in your WordPress database. splitforms starts collecting from the moment you switch. You can backfill historical data through the open REST API if needed.

Does splitforms have a long-term plan? Yes — $59 for the 3-Year plan at 15,000 submissions/month for 36 months. Compared to a yearly WPForms Pro license ($159.50/yr), the 3-Year plan is meaningfully cheaper.