Best Form Builders for Nonprofits in 2026

Nonprofits use forms differently than businesses. Donation pages need to inspire generosity while processing payments securely. Volunteer registrations need to match skills to roles. Event signups need to handle ticket tiers and group registrations. And the budget for all of this is usually close to zero — every dollar spent on software is a dollar not spent on the mission.

We ranked form builders for nonprofits by: donation processing (payment gateways, recurring donations, custom amounts), affordability (free plan value, nonprofit discounts, pricing trajectory), form-building power (conditional logic, calculations, e-signatures for waivers), and design quality (donor-facing forms need to inspire trust and action).

Feature Paperform Jotform Cognito Forms Google Forms Typeform HubSpot Forms Wufoo Zoho Forms
Form Building
Document-style editor Yes No No No No No No No
AI form creation Yes Yes starter No Yes Yes No No Yes basic
Field types 26+ 30+ (starter) 20+ 11 20+ No Yes Yes
File uploads Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic Yes Yes starter No
Guided mode (one question at a time) Yes Yes starter No No Yes No No No
Payments
Stripe payments Yes Yes starter Yes No Yes basic Yes starter Yes professional No
PayPal payments Yes Yes starter Yes team No No No Yes professional No
Square payments Yes Yes starter Yes team No No No Yes professional No
Braintree payments Yes Yes starter No No No No Yes professional No
Google Pay Yes Yes starter No No No No No No
Design & Customization
Template gallery 30,000+ 20,000+ (starter) Yes 20+ 1,500+ Yes Yes Yes
Rich media (images, GIFs, videos) Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes No No No
Unsplash and Giphy integration Yes No No No Yes No No No
Image editor Yes No No No No No No No
Adobe Creative Cloud Yes No No No No No No No

#1 Paperform — Best Donation Pages and Event Registration

Paperform
Paperform's document-style forms create donation pages that tell your nonprofit's story alongside the ask.

Paperform's document-style editor is uniquely suited to nonprofit fundraising because donation forms aren't just payment widgets — they're storytelling opportunities. You can weave impact narratives, photos, testimonials, and donation tiers onto the same page as the payment form, creating a donation experience that reads like a campaign page rather than a checkout flow.

The calculation engine powers donation-specific workflows: suggested giving levels based on impact ("$50 feeds a family for a week"), automatic tax receipt emails with calculated deduction amounts, multi-fund designation (split a donation across programs), and event registration with dynamic ticket pricing. Five payment gateways mean donors can pay via Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, or Google Pay — important because donation conversion drops when a preferred method isn't available.

  • Best for: Nonprofits that want donation pages doubling as compelling campaign stories
  • Key strength: Calculation engine for impact-based donation suggestions, recurring payments, and event ticket pricing
  • Watch out for: 30 submissions/month on free; Essentials ($24/mo) for active fundraising campaigns

#2 Jotform — Nonprofit Discount + Largest Template Library

Jotform
Jotform offers 50% off for nonprofits and hundreds of pre-built nonprofit form templates.

Jotform's 50% nonprofit discount brings its Silver plan to roughly $19.50/month — competitive pricing with 25 forms and 1,000 monthly submissions. The template library includes hundreds of nonprofit-specific forms: donation pages, volunteer applications, grant requests, sponsorship forms, event RSVPs, and membership registrations. For organisations that need to deploy many different form types quickly, the template volume saves significant setup time.

Payment processing covers 40+ gateways including PayPal Donations and Stripe, with recurring payment support. The interface complexity is the main drawback — nonprofit staff who aren't tech-savvy may find the builder overwhelming. Template quality varies, so budget time for customisation. See Jotform alternatives.

  • Best for: Nonprofits wanting ready-made templates and a significant discount on paid plans
  • Key strength: 50% nonprofit discount + hundreds of nonprofit-specific templates
  • Watch out for: Interface complexity; 5-form free cap; Jotform branding on free/lower tiers

#3 Cognito Forms — Best Free Tier for Small Nonprofits

For a small nonprofit that needs payment-enabled forms without spending a cent, Cognito Forms is the answer. Unlimited forms, 100 submissions/month, Stripe payment processing (up to 500/month), conditional logic, calculations, and e-signatures — all on the free plan. No other form builder matches this combination at zero cost.

The design trade-off matters for donor-facing forms — Cognito's utilitarian aesthetic may not inspire the same emotional response as a polished Paperform donation page. For volunteer registrations, grant applications, and internal forms where function matters more than feeling, Cognito delivers exceptional value. See Cognito Forms alternatives.

  • Best for: Small nonprofits that need payment processing and e-signatures for free
  • Key strength: Most generous free plan — unlimited forms with payments and e-signatures at $0
  • Watch out for: Basic design; no recurring payments; limited templates

#4 Google Forms — Free Unlimited Surveys for Feedback and Planning

Google Forms remains the go-to for nonprofit internal operations: board surveys, volunteer feedback, event planning polls, and programme evaluation questionnaires. Unlimited forms, unlimited responses, and automatic Sheets integration — all free. For data collection that doesn't involve money or branding, Google Forms is unbeatable.

It's not suitable for donor-facing use. No payment processing, no branding, no conditional logic, and the generic Google aesthetic doesn't build donor confidence. Use it for internal operations and research; use Paperform, Jotform, or Cognito for external-facing forms. See Google Forms alternatives.

  • Best for: Internal surveys, volunteer feedback, and programme evaluation at zero cost
  • Key strength: Unlimited everything, permanently free, zero learning curve
  • Watch out for: No payments, no branding, unprofessional for donor-facing use

Also Worth Exploring

HubSpot Forms — Free unlimited forms with CRM integration. Useful for nonprofits using HubSpot's nonprofit CRM program (40% discount) to track donors and supporters as contacts.

Typeform — Beautiful conversational forms for donor engagement surveys and supporter stories. The 10 response/month free cap and $83/month payment tier make it expensive for most nonprofits, but the nonprofit discount program can help.

Full Feature Comparison

Feature Paperform Jotform Cognito Forms Google Forms Typeform HubSpot Forms Wufoo Zoho Forms
Form Building
Document-style editor Yes No No No No No No No
AI form creation Yes Yes starter No Yes Yes No No Yes basic
Field types 26+ 30+ (starter) 20+ 11 20+ No Yes Yes
File uploads Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic Yes Yes starter No
Multi-page forms Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic Yes starter Yes starter Yes
Guided mode (one question at a time) Yes Yes starter No No Yes No No No
Conditional logic Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic Yes professional Yes starter Yes
Calculations field Yes essentials Yes starter Yes No Yes plus No No Yes basic
AI calculations assistant Yes essentials No No No No No No No
Scoring Yes essentials Yes starter Yes Yes Yes plus No No No
Answer piping Yes Yes starter Yes No Yes basic No No Yes basic
Pre-filling and hidden fields Yes essentials Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic Yes Yes starter Yes
Save and resume Yes Yes starter Yes pro No No No No Yes basic
Auto-close by number Yes essentials Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic No Yes starter Yes
Auto-close by date Yes pro Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic No Yes starter Yes
Appointment/booking field Yes Yes starter No No Yes basic No No No
Signature field Yes Yes starter Yes team No No No No Yes
Color picker field Yes No No No No No No No
API-powered dropdowns Yes business No Yes No No No No No
Google address search Yes business No Yes No No No No No
Drag-and-drop builder No Yes starter No No No No No No
Form widgets No Yes starter No No No No No No
Template gallery No 20,000+ (starter) No No No No No No
AI follow-up questions No No No No Yes business No No No
Video questions No No No No Yes basic No No No
Question types No No No No No Yes No No
400+ templates No No No No No No Yes No
Payments
Stripe payments Yes Yes starter Yes No Yes basic Yes starter Yes professional No
PayPal payments Yes Yes starter Yes team No No No Yes professional No
Square payments Yes Yes starter Yes team No No No Yes professional No
Braintree payments Yes Yes starter No No No No Yes professional No
Google Pay Yes Yes starter No No No No No No
Product sales (eCommerce) Yes essentials Yes starter Yes No No No No No
Subscriptions Yes essentials Yes starter No No Yes basic No No No
Coupons and discounts Yes essentials Yes starter Yes No No No No No
Custom pricing rules Yes essentials Yes starter Yes No No No No No
Tax calculations Yes Yes starter Yes No No No No No
Quotes/invoices Yes No Yes team No No No No Yes standard
Refunds Yes No No No No No No No
3D Secure Yes No No No Yes basic No No No
40+ payment gateways No Yes starter No No No No No No
No transaction fees No Yes starter No No No No No No
Authorize.net payments No No No No No No Yes professional No
Stripe No No No No No No No Yes
PayPal No No No No No No No Yes
Square No No No No No No No No
Braintree No No No No No No No No
Product sales No No No No No No No Yes basic
Coupons No No No No No No No No
Custom pricing No No No No No No No Yes basic
Design & Customization
Template gallery 30,000+ 20,000+ (starter) Yes 20+ 1,500+ Yes Yes Yes
Rich media (images, GIFs, videos) Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes No No No
Unsplash and Giphy integration Yes No No No Yes No No No
Image editor Yes No No No No No No No
Adobe Creative Cloud Yes No No No No No No No
Language translation Yes Yes starter Yes pro No Yes basic No No Yes standard
Advanced theming Yes pro Yes starter Yes pro No Yes plus Yes starter Yes starter Yes basic
Custom form URL Yes pro No No No Yes plus No Yes starter No
Custom domains Yes pro Yes enterprise No No No No No No
Custom HTML & CSS Yes pro Yes starter Yes pro No Yes business Yes starter Yes starter No
Remove branding Yes pro Yes bronze Yes pro No Yes plus Yes starter Yes starter Yes basic
Custom email domains Yes business No No Yes Business Starter No No No No
Form themes No Yes starter No No No No No No
Theme designer No No No No No No Yes No
Rich media No No No No No No No Yes
Unsplash/Giphy No No No No No No No No
Adobe CC No No No No No No No No
Custom HTML/CSS No No No No No No No Yes standard
Analytics
Submission results and reports Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
AI report insights Yes pro No No No Yes business No No No
Paperform analytics Yes pro No No No No No No No
Drop-off analysis Yes pro No No No Yes business No No No
Google Analytics & Facebook Pixel Yes essentials No Yes pro No Yes basic Yes No No
Custom analytics scripts Yes pro No No No Yes basic No No No
Partial submissions Yes pro No No No Yes plus No No No
Form analytics No Yes starter No No No No No Yes standard
Google Analytics integration No Yes starter No No No No Yes professional No
Conversion analytics No No No No No Yes professional No No
Submission results No No No No No No No Yes
AI insights No No No No No No No No
GA/FB Pixel No No No No No No No No
Custom scripts No No No No No No No No
Collaboration
Multi-user accounts Yes pro Yes bronze Yes pro Yes Yes plus Yes Yes professional No
User permissions and management Yes pro Yes enterprise Yes team Yes Yes plus Yes starter Yes professional No
Advanced permissions & admin Yes enterprise Yes enterprise Yes enterprise Yes Business Starter Yes enterprise Yes enterprise No No
Form sharing (templates) Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Spaces and tag management Yes No No No No No No No
Form sharing No Yes starter No No No No Yes Yes
Assign forms No Yes enterprise No No No No No No
Workspace organization No No No No Yes No No No
Multi-user No No No No No No No Yes standard
Permissions No No No No No No No Yes standard
Advanced permissions No No No No No No No Yes professional
Spaces/tags No No No No No No No No
Security
SOC 2 Type II Yes Yes enterprise No Yes Yes Yes Yes No
GDPR compliant Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
SSL encryption Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Two-factor authentication Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Enforce 2FA for all users Yes business No No Yes Business Starter No No No No
SSO (SAML) Yes business Yes enterprise Yes enterprise Yes Business Plus Yes enterprise Yes enterprise No No
reCAPTCHA Yes Yes starter Yes No Yes business No Yes Yes
Local data residency Yes enterprise No No Yes Business Plus No No No No
Custom S3 storage (BYO) Yes business No No No No No No No
HIPAA compliant No Yes gold No No Yes enterprise No No No
256-bit SSL No Yes starter No No No No No No
Data residency No Yes enterprise No No No Yes enterprise No Yes
Form encryption No Yes starter No No No No No No
PCI DSS No Yes starter No No Yes No Yes No
ISO 27001 No No No No Yes No No No
Custom S3 storage No No No No No No No No
Field encryption No No No No No No Yes professional No
Password protection No No No No No No Yes professional No
SOC 2 No No No No No No No Yes
GDPR No No No No No No No Yes
SSL No No No No No No No Yes
2FA No No No No No No No Yes
Enforce 2FA No No No No No No No No
SSO SAML No No No No No No No Yes professional
Custom S3 No No No No No No No No
Integrations & API
Native integrations 2,000+ 150+ (starter) No No 120+ (basic) Yes Yes starter No
Zapier Yes Yes starter Yes Yes Yes basic Yes starter Yes starter Yes basic
Make (Integromat) Yes No Yes Yes Yes basic Yes starter No No
Webhooks Yes pro Yes starter Yes No Yes basic Yes starter Yes starter Yes standard
Standard API Yes pro No No Yes No No No Yes basic
Business API Yes business No No No No No No No
WordPress plugin Yes Yes starter Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
oEmbed support Yes No Yes No No No No No
API No Yes starter No No Yes basic Yes Yes No
Salesforce AppExchange No Yes starter No No No No No No
Embed options No Yes starter No No Yes Yes Yes No
Mobile apps No Yes starter No No No No No No
2000+ No No No No No No No No
WordPress No No No No No No No Yes
oEmbed No No No No No No No Yes
Additional Products
Jotform Tables No Yes starter No No No No No No
Jotform Sign No Yes starter No No No No No No
Jotform Apps No Yes starter No No No No No No
Jotform Workflows No Yes starter No No No No No No
Jotform Report Builder No Yes starter No No No No No No
Jotform AI Agents No Yes starter No No No No No No
Jotform Store Builder No Yes starter No No No No No No

Pricing Comparison

Every dollar matters for nonprofits. Compare free tiers, nonprofit discounts, and paid plan costs.

Paperform

Free plan14 days trial
FreeFree
forms: Unlimited
submissions: 30/month
storage: 100 submissions
users: 1
file uploads: 100 MB
Essentials$29/mo
$24/mo billed annually
forms: Unlimited
submissions: 100/month
storage: 1,000 submissions
users: 1
file uploads: 1 GB
Pro$59/mo
$49/mo billed annually
forms: Unlimited
submissions: 1,000/month
storage: 10,000 submissions
users: 3
file uploads: 10 GB
Business$129/mo
$99/mo billed annually
forms: Unlimited
submissions: 10,000/month
storage: 100,000 submissions
users: 5
file uploads: 100 GB
Verified 2026-03-21

Jotform

Free plan
StarterFree
forms: 5
submissions: 100/month
storage: 100 MB
users: 1
Bronze$39/mo
$34/mo billed annually
forms: 25
submissions: 1,000/month
storage: 1 GB
users: 1
Silver$49/mo
$39/mo billed annually
forms: 50
submissions: 2,500/month
storage: 10 GB
users: 1
Gold$129/mo
$99/mo billed annually
forms: 100
submissions: 10,000/month
storage: 100 GB
users: 1
Verified 2026-03-21

User Ratings

Paperform
4.82 / 5 (498 reviews)
G2 4.8 (78)
Capterra 4.8 (104)
GetApp 4.9 (104)
Trustpilot 4.8 (212)
Jotform
4.7 / 5 (10,352 reviews)
G2 4.7 (4,849)
Capterra 4.7 (2,755)
GetApp 4.7 (2,748)
Google Forms
4.63 / 5 (64,830 reviews)
Capterra 4.7 (11,182)
GetApp 4.7 (10,700)
G2 4.6 (42,000)
TrustRadius 4.3 (948)
Typeform
4.63 / 5 (2,835 reviews)
G2 4.5 (969)
Capterra 4.7 (930)
GetApp 4.7 (936)
HubSpot Forms
4.43 / 5 (16,400 reviews)
G2 4.4 (12,000)
Capterra 4.5 (4,400)
Wufoo
4.31 / 5 (700 reviews)
G2 4.2 (300)
Capterra 4.4 (200)
GetApp 4.4 (200)
Zoho Forms
4.22 / 5 (225 reviews)
G2 4 (125)
Capterra 4.5 (100)
Cognito Forms
4.19 / 5 (693 reviews)
G2 4.6 (84)
Capterra 4.6 (135)
Trustpilot 4 (474)

Frequently Asked Questions

Which form builder is best for collecting online donations?

Paperform is the strongest option for nonprofit donations. Its calculation engine handles custom donation amounts, recurring payment setup, designation to specific funds, and automatic tax receipt generation — all from a single form. Five payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, Google Pay) ensure donors can pay however they prefer. Jotform supports 40+ payment gateways with donation-specific templates. Cognito Forms handles Stripe donations with calculated amounts. Google Forms and HubSpot Forms don't support payments at all.

Do form builders offer nonprofit discounts?

Jotform offers a 50% discount for verified nonprofits on paid plans. Typeform provides nonprofit pricing on request. HubSpot offers a 40% discount on its full suite for eligible nonprofits. Paperform, Cognito Forms, and Google Forms don't advertise formal nonprofit discounts, but their entry-level pricing is already among the most affordable. Google Forms is completely free. Cognito Forms starts at $15/month. Paperform starts at $24/month — often cheaper than discounted alternatives after applying nonprofit rates.

Can I build volunteer registration forms for free?

Yes. Google Forms handles unlimited volunteer signups at zero cost — perfect for basic name, email, availability collection. Cognito Forms offers 100 free submissions/month with conditional logic (route volunteers to different roles based on skills/availability) and e-signatures (liability waivers). Paperform's free tier (30 submissions/month) adds branded forms and payment collection if volunteers need to pay for background checks or uniforms. Jotform's free tier (5 forms, 100 submissions) includes volunteer registration templates.

How do I set up recurring donation forms?

Paperform supports recurring payments through Stripe and PayPal — donors choose their amount and frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually), and the payment gateway handles automatic billing. The form's calculation engine can suggest donation levels based on impact messaging ("$25/month provides school supplies for 5 children"). Jotform supports Stripe recurring payments. Cognito Forms handles one-time Stripe payments but not recurring. For recurring donations specifically, Paperform and Jotform are the most capable options.

What form builder works best for event registration with ticket sales?

Paperform excels here — its calculation engine dynamically computes ticket totals (adult × $50 + child × $25 + VIP upgrade × $100), applies early-bird discounts, handles group registrations with repeating attendee sections, and processes payment in one flow. Jotform offers event registration templates with payment processing. Cognito Forms handles the calculations and payment side well but with less design polish. For free event registration without payment, Google Forms with a Sheets backend works but requires manual tracking.

Sources & References

  1. Best Online Form Builder to Use in 2026 — Top 20 Tools — EmailToolTester, 2026
  2. The 13 Best Online Form Builder Apps — Zapier, 2025

Last updated March 21, 2026

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