Quick answer
Fillout - Fillout wins for most builders who want a generous free form tool with clear upgrade pricing, while Jotform wins only if you need a broader feature ecosystem or may need HIPAA and enterprise controls later.
How the free tiers compare
These two free tiers solve similar problems, but they differ in how much they reveal about the path upward. Fillout is the clearer value for builders who want to ship forms quickly and know what growth will cost: unlimited forms, unlimited seats, and a hard 1,000 responses per month cap on free, then clean flat-priced jumps to Starter, Pro, and Business. The free tier also includes a lot of practical features like payments, workflows, scheduling, PDFs, and API access. Jotform’s free plan is broader in surface area than its name suggests, with templates, widgets, payment integrations, and standard features available, but the exact quotas and paid prices are not provided here. That makes it harder to plan around once you outgrow the free tier, even though Jotform is the stronger fit for teams that care about compliance, especially HIPAA, or expect to move into a larger platform later.
Fillout vs Jotform free tier, side by side
| FilloutFTV 42 | JotformFTV 50 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free responses / submissionsFillout states the cap clearly; Jotform says you must upgrade to increase submission limits but does not provide a number here. | 1,000 responses per month | Not stated |
| Free formsJotform’s free tier is described as capped, but the exact form limit is not provided. | Unlimited | Not stated |
| Free seats / usersJotform input does not list seat limits. | Unlimited seats | Not stated |
| Paid highest free-tier-like quota visibleFillout’s Business plan is the first one shown with unlimited responses. | Business: Unlimited responses per month | Not stated |
After you outgrow the free tier
Fillout uses flat monthly pricing with clear step-ups: Starter at $15/mo, Pro at $40/mo, and Business at $75/mo. Jotform is tiered, but the provided data does not include any dollar prices for Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Enterprise, so the cost after free cannot be quantified from this input. For small-team planning, Fillout is the easier budget to forecast. For Jotform, the direction is clear that higher tiers unlock more limits and HIPAA or enterprise features, but the actual spend is opaque here.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | Fillout | Jotform |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 responses/moJotform free limits are not listed in the input. | Free | Free (within Starter plan; exact quota not stated) |
| 2,000 responses/moFillout Starter explicitly includes 2,000 responses per month. | $15/mo | Contact sales / varies by tier |
| 5,000 responses/moFillout Pro explicitly includes 5,000 responses per month. | $40/mo | Contact sales / varies by tier |
| Unlimited responses, team use, and custom domain needsFillout Business is the first unlimited-response plan shown; Jotform Enterprise includes custom domains and SSO but no price is provided. | $75/mo | Contact sales / varies by tier |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick Fillout when…
- You want a free form builder with unlimited forms and unlimited seats from day one.
- You need predictable upgrade pricing and clear response caps as you grow.
- You are building intake, scheduling, payment, or workflow forms and want those on free.
- You want a simple path from free to a paid plan without negotiating with sales.
- You care more about shipping forms than about enterprise compliance features.
Pick Jotform when…
- You want a broader template and widget ecosystem on the free plan.
- You expect to need HIPAA-compliant forms or healthcare-related workflows later.
- You are evaluating a form platform for a larger organization with possible SSO or custom domain needs.
- You care less about knowing exact paid pricing now and more about platform breadth.
- You want to stay in a tiered product family that can scale into enterprise features.
Bottom line
For the most common builder case, Fillout is the better free-tier choice because it gives you a lot of product surface area, unlimited seats, and a plainly priced upgrade path. You can see exactly when the free plan stops being enough and what the next step costs. Jotform is attractive if you want a larger ecosystem or think HIPAA and enterprise controls may matter, but the supplied pricing data is too incomplete to make it the easier planning choice.
Read the full listings: Fillout and Jotform. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.