Cognito Forms vs 123FormBuilder
Cognito Forms and 123FormBuilder both offer a free tier and paid ladders, but their pages are less settled than most. Cognito's pricing page shows two different plan lineups without saying which is current, and 123FormBuilder's older pricing FAQ contradicts its current plan table on the free plan. Cognito is built for calculations, workflow approvals and a client portal, with users capped at 20 on its top tier. 123FormBuilder is in Timisoara, offers a US or EU data location, and has belonged to Kiteworks since September 2024, so check the plan details with each vendor.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Cognito Forms ifyou build order forms, quotes or approval flows with calculations, and a team of up to 20 users is enough. You can tolerate a pricing page that shows two lineups until the vendor confirms yours.
Choose 123FormBuilder ifyou want to choose between US and EU data storage, accept a form tool now owned by Kiteworks, and need a published ladder of submissions rather than entries. You will confirm the free plan limits before relying on them.
Cognito Forms and 123FormBuilder side by side
| Cognito Forms | 123FormBuilder | |
|---|---|---|
| Our form builder rank | #1 of 20 | #11 of 20 |
| Established in | United States | Romania |
| List price, 8 November 2026 | Individual free; Pro $24 a month, then Team and Enterprise (two lineups shown, Team $49 or $62) | Yearly billing at 50% off: Gold $37, Platinum $49, Diamond $99, Enterprise from $225 a month; free Basic |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Operations teams building order forms, quotes and approval processes with calculations | Regulated teams that are already evaluating Kiteworks for secure content exchange |
| Not for | Large departments where dozens of people must edit forms | Anyone building long application forms on a low tier |
Both are reviewed in full in our form builder ranking: Cognito Forms and 123FormBuilder.
Where they differ
Cognito Forms 2 · 123FormBuilder 1 · open 3- 01
Two lineups on one Cognito page
Cognito's pricing page shows two lineups without saying which is current. One has Pro $24, Team $49 and Enterprise $174 a month, the other Team $62, Business $129 and Enterprise $199, all labelled per month, not per user. 123FormBuilder's plan table lists Gold $37, Platinum $49, Diamond $99 and Enterprise from $225 billed yearly, but its pricing pages show no prices at all. Neither vendor makes the cost easy to read, so confirm the figure in writing before you buy.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
What the no-cost tier covers
Cognito's Individual plan needs no credit card and gives 100 entries a month, 1 user, 100 MB storage and online payments, with Cognito branding shown. The 123FormBuilder Basic plan is described as 5 forms, 100 monthly submissions, 10 fields per form, no storage and 1 user, yet an older FAQ describes 1 form and unlimited submissions. Cognito's free tier is the one stated without a contradiction, and it includes payments on any plan level.
Edge: Cognito Forms
- 03
Field caps against entry caps
123FormBuilder limits fields per form as well as volume: 10 on the free plan, 250 on Gold, which also gives 25 forms, 5,000 monthly submissions and 1 GB. Cognito limits entries instead, with 2,000 a month on Pro and 10,000 on Team in both lineups. Long application forms hit 123FormBuilder's field cap on a lower tier, while heavy submission traffic hits Cognito's entry count first, so size both before choosing, and count fields as well as entries.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Calculations, approvals and portals
Cognito's home page names automatic calculations, conditional logic, workflow automation, electronic signatures, document generation and a client portal. Team adds workflow approvals, data lookups and the portal. 123FormBuilder's pages we read name payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe and Square, Salesforce data exchange and 4,000 tools through Zapier, but show no approval workflow. For process-heavy forms Cognito shows more, and its Team tier carries them, though only up to five users.
Edge: Cognito Forms
- 05
Where the data may live and what is certified
123FormBuilder says users can store forms and data in the US or the EU, and claims WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA compliance. Cognito's pages give no hosting location for your data. Its features page claims help with HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA without describing the coverage, and its pricing lists HIPAA compliance and single sign-on on the top tier only. A stated EU option is the clearer offer for a European buyer.
Edge: 123FormBuilder
- 06
Owner, address and the Kiteworks deal
Cognito, LLC is a South Carolina company at 1310 Gadsden St, Columbia, owned and operated by itself, and its footer calls the product part of the Cognito Apps family. 123FormBuilder has a Timisoara address in Romania, EU, and a press release dated 5 September 2024 says Kiteworks acquired it and is integrating the technology into its platform. Where Kiteworks is based is not given on the pages we read, nor what the deal means for standalone customers.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you need dozens of editors, self-hosting or a forms tool with no per-entry limits at all, neither fits well. Tally is a lighter alternative to check first, and OpnForm is the open-source option.
Cognito Forms or 123FormBuilder: questions
3 answersWhich of Cognito's two price lineups should I trust?
The pricing page shows both and does not say which is current. Pro is $24 a month in each, while Team is $49 in one and $62 in the other. Ask Cognito before budgeting, or look at the page again at signup.
Is the 123FormBuilder free plan one form or five?
The current plan table says 5 forms, 100 monthly submissions and 10 fields per form. An older pricing FAQ says 1 form, 10 fields and unlimited submissions. Confirm with the vendor which applies to your account.
Do both let me try paid plans without a card?
Cognito's Pro, Team and Enterprise plans carry a Start Free Trial button with no credit card required, though the page does not state the length.
123FormBuilder has a Try it Free link with no trial length or terms, and its plan table promises refunds within 30 days.
Sources
Checked 8 November 2026- Cognito Forms pricing page: two plan lineups, free Individual limits, entry caps, trial without card.
- Cognito Forms features page: HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA claim, hosting model not stated.
- Cognito Forms terms: Cognito, LLC Columbia address, owned and operated wording.
- Cognito Forms home page: named features including calculations, workflow, signatures, client portal.
- 123FormBuilder sign-up plan table: Basic limits, Gold to Enterprise prices, yearly discount, money-back guarantee.
- 123FormBuilder pricing FAQ: older free plan description that differs from the plan table.
- 123FormBuilder home page: Timisoara address, US or EU data storage, WCAG claim, integrations.
- 123FormBuilder Kiteworks press release: 5 September 2024 acquisition by Kiteworks.