Review · Updated
Contact Form 7 review: is the free WordPress form plugin enough?
- What it is
- A free, open-source WordPress contact form plugin, maintained since 2007.
- Price
- Free, with no paid tier; storage, SMTP and anti-spam come from companion plugins.
- Storage
- No submissions are stored by default; the free Flamingo add-on saves them in the WordPress database.
- When to pick splitforms
- When you want built-in storage, email delivery and spam filtering without maintaining a WordPress plugin stack; Free includes 500 submissions total.
Contact Form 7 is free and open source under the GPL, on WordPress.org since 2007, with no paid tier. By default it emails each submission and stores nothing; saving entries needs the free Flamingo plugin. It sends mail through wp_mail() and PHP mail(), so reliable delivery usually needs an SMTP plugin, and spam protection needs Akismet or reCAPTCHA. It only runs on WordPress.
splitforms makes a competing form backend. This review is based on Contact Form 7's public pricing, docs and policies, checked .
Contact Form 7 at a glance
| Price | Free, GPL, no paid tier |
|---|---|
| Released | 2007 |
| Platform | WordPress only |
| Submission storage | None by default; Flamingo plugin |
| Email delivery | wp_mail / PHP mail; SMTP plugin recommended |
| Spam | Akismet or reCAPTCHA add-ons |
Who Contact Form 7 is for
Best for
- WordPress site owners who want a free, lightweight contact form with no paid tier
- People comfortable bolting on their own SMTP, storage and anti-spam plugins
- Hobby developers with a single low-traffic WordPress site where one plugin install and a shortcode is enough
Not for
- Sites that need a real submission dashboard and history without adding another plugin
- Teams that want reliable email delivery and spam filtering built in rather than installed separately
- Anyone running forms outside WordPress, on a static site or on a different CMS
Contact Form 7 pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Free forever; no submission storage |
| Storage via Flamingo | Free plugin | Stores submissions in the WordPress database |
| SMTP via WP Mail SMTP | Free / $49+/yr | Deliverability add-on |
Source: wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7, checked . Prices can change; check the vendor's page before you buy.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Genuinely free forever: no paid tier, no upgrade pressure and no upsells
- Lightweight plugin with a long track record, released in 2007 and maintained continuously
- Runs entirely inside WordPress, with no third-party vendor, external dashboard or signup
- Open source under the GPL, with a large ecosystem of companion plugins such as Flamingo
Cons
- Stores no submissions by default; keeping entries needs the Flamingo add-on
- Sends mail through wp_mail() and PHP mail(), so a separate SMTP plugin is usually needed for reliable delivery
- Spam protection needs Akismet or reCAPTCHA add-ons
- Only runs on WordPress, so moving to a static site or another CMS breaks the forms
How Contact Form 7 works: shortcodes and mail-tags
The plugin page says you build a form in the WordPress editor with a shortcode and field tags. The shortcode embeds a saved form by its reference, and the field tags define the inputs, such as text, email and textarea fields.
Notification emails are composed with mail-tags, which pull submitted field values into the subject and body. Everything runs inside WordPress, so there is no separate account or external dashboard to manage.
Sources: Contact Form 7 plugin page
Does Contact Form 7 save submissions?
No. By default Contact Form 7 sends an email and forgets, so there is no submissions table, audit trail, search or export in the plugin itself.
The standard workaround is the free Flamingo companion plugin, also by the same author, which stores submissions in the WordPress database. That keeps your data inside your WordPress install, but it adds another plugin to install, update and maintain.
Sources: Flamingo plugin
Why are Contact Form 7 emails not arriving?
Contact Form 7 sends mail via wp_mail(), which by default uses PHP mail(), one of the least reliable delivery paths on the modern web with high spam-folder rates. The plugin page says an SMTP plugin is the usual fix, such as WP Mail SMTP, which routes mail through a real SMTP provider.
That works, but it is another plugin in the stack. If messages are already going missing, see why Contact Form 7 emails are not sending for the usual causes.
Sources: Contact Form 7 plugin page
How does Contact Form 7 handle spam?
Contact Form 7 does not ship a full anti-spam service of its own. The plugin page points to add-ons such as Akismet or reCAPTCHA for spam filtering, so blocking bots means installing and configuring another plugin.
That is workable on a low-traffic WordPress site, but it is one more piece of the stack to keep updated and one more place to debug when legitimate messages get caught.
Sources: Contact Form 7 plugin page
When is SplitForms a better fit than Contact Form 7?
SplitForms is an HTML form backend that works on any host. Free includes 500 submissions total with no card and no time limit, and Pro is $5 per month for 5,000 submissions a month with signed webhooks.
Choose SplitForms when you want submission storage, owner email notifications and spam filtering built in, without a WordPress plugin stack or a WordPress-only requirement. Keep Contact Form 7 when your site is on WordPress and a free plugin plus companion add-ons already does the job.
Sources: SplitForms plans
Is Contact Form 7 safe to use?
Contact Form 7 is a long-maintained open-source plugin, released in 2007 and kept updated on WordPress.org. Its default behaviour sends an email rather than storing data, and with Flamingo submissions stay inside your own WordPress install. The main security surface is therefore your WordPress stack: keep WordPress, Contact Form 7 and its companion plugins updated, limit admin access and review what data you collect. This review uses the plugin's public pages and does not claim an independent security audit or hands-on testing.
Contact Form 7 FAQ
Is Contact Form 7 free?
Yes. Contact Form 7 is a free, open-source WordPress plugin under the GPL, with no paid tier. Storage, SMTP delivery and anti-spam come from separate companion plugins.
Does Contact Form 7 store submissions?
No, not by default. It emails each submission and does not keep a record. The free Flamingo plugin is the standard way to store submissions in the WordPress database.
Why does Contact Form 7 not send email?
It uses wp_mail(), which by default relies on PHP mail() and is often unreliable. Installing an SMTP plugin such as WP Mail SMTP lets it send through a real mail provider.
Does Contact Form 7 work outside WordPress?
No. Contact Form 7 is a WordPress plugin and only runs inside a WordPress site. A non-WordPress or static site needs a host-agnostic form backend instead.
Does Contact Form 7 have webhooks?
No. Contact Form 7 does not ship webhook support; routing submissions to another service needs an add-on plugin.
Contact Form 7 alternatives
- WPForms reviewCompare another WordPress form plugin with a drag-and-drop builder.
- Contact Form 7 alternativeSee how a host-agnostic form backend compares with Contact Form 7.
- WordPress contact form guideHow contact forms work on WordPress and what to check.
- Formspree reviewReview a hosted form backend for non-WordPress sites.
Need a form backend that works on any host?
splitforms takes any HTML form, filters spam and stores every submission in a dashboard. Free for 500 submissions total with no card; Pro is $5 per month.
Sources
- Contact Form 7 on WordPress.org wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7
- contactform7.com contactform7.com
- Flamingo plugin wordpress.org/plugins/flamingo
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