Cognito Forms vs pdfFiller

Jotform

Google Workspace

Microsoft Forms

Jotform is a cloud-based form builder platform that helps businesses streamline form creation via ready-made templates, integrations with third-party applications, and design features that cater to organizations globally.

Google Workspace is a suite of applications from Google which offers a number of tools to communicate and collaborate with colleagues, store files, and manage data from all devices.

The Microsoft Forms platform helps companies improve their operations through data collection and reporting on surveys. The software can be used to build customized forms, with open-ended questions, multiple-choice questions, and ratings to collect customer feedback.

Cognito Forms enables users to create responsive online forms that collect payments, gather information, and automate tasks. The features of this platform include data lookups, document merging, file downloading, repeating sections, save and resume, advanced calculations, conditional logic and more.

Access Controls/Permissions

Address Validation

Alerts/Notifications

Approval Process Control

Audit Trail

Autofill

Business Process Automation

Collaboration Tools

Compliance Management

Compliance Tracking

Conditional Logic

Configurable Workflow

Convert to PDF

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Forms

Customizable Reports

Customizable Templates

Dashboard Creation

Data Capture and Transfer

Data Connectors

Data Import/Export

Data Integration

Data Retrieval

Data Security

Data Storage Management

Document Management

Document Storage

Drag & Drop

Electronic Forms

Electronic Signature

Forms Creation & Design

Forms Management

Full Text Search

HIPAA Compliant

Information Governance

Mobile Access

Multi-Channel Data Collection

Multi-Device Support

Multiple Data Sources

No-Code

Process/Workflow Automation

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Notifications

Reminders

Response Validation

Role-Based Permissions

Rules-Based Workflow

Secure Data Storage

Single Sign On

SSL Security

Surveys & Feedback

Task Management

Task Scheduling

Template Management

Third-Party Integrations

User Management

Web Forms

Workflow Configuration

Workflow Management

Most users consider Cognito Forms to provide excellent value for money, highlighting the generous free tier and reasonable paid plans. Some reviewers feel certain features are restricted to higher-cost plans, but most appreciate the overall affordability.

Value for money

Reviews for Cognito Forms come from a wide variety of industries, including non-profit organization management (9% of reviewers), education management (8%), and marketing and advertising (6%). The most frequent use case for Cognito Forms cited by reviewers is form builder (77% of reviewers).

Cognito Forms

Web-based

Google Forms

Zoho Forms

Typeform

Formstack Forms

Gravity Forms

Wufoo

Individual

Team

Enterprise

technical Director of Manufacturing

One of the standout features for us is the reporting functionality—it allows us to easily track, analyze, and organize data in a way that supports better decision-making and operational efficiency.

VP of Life Enrichment

I use it to survey a team of 51, to export data that I can organize easily in a spreadsheet and to collect e-signatures so clients can sign up for an account to a website.

Chief of Staff

The ability to handle purchase requisitions and supply requests within the app has also been a game-changer for our finance tracking.

Assistant Director

It’s a reliable and powerful tool that supports a wide range of needs, from simple forms to more complex systems. Once you get familiar with its capabilities, it becomes an incredibly efficient way to manage information and streamline processes.

Director of People Operations

The ability to collect information and it's integration with Power Automate has given me the ability to increase the effectiveness of every organization.

Web Developer and Designer

You can create a PDF template to send to your users if you're building things like purchase orders from the form input.

You can also redirect to a different page upon submission which is nice. If you want to do some advanced calculations and have conditional elements, that's also possible and quite powerful.

Executive Director

It does everything we need it to do for our sports league registrations.   Before we had to use one form for information, and another form for payment.  

Director

I use it primarily to collect data including simple tasks like collecting RSVPs for meetings or events.

The form builder is flexible, and I appreciate the ability to customize fields, calculations, and conditional logic.

Compliance

The customization options are powerful, but they can feel a bit confusing at first, which makes simple things like receiving instant notifications harder than they should be.

I love how simple it is to create and customize forms to fit my needs, and it really helps streamline my workflow.

Engineer Supervisor

Actually, connected flows in Microsoft Power Automate make things easier for users, but frequent flow failures in Microsoft Power Automate result in wasted time on resubmissions

Project Manager

I especially like the clean form builder, conditional logic, and how simple it is to collect information in a structured way without needing technical skills.

Owner

Reporting and Tracking, I'd like to see more of where and when my form users are bailing.

Travel Advisor, Owner

This helps eliminate mistyped and misspelling of names and other personal information we need to service our clients.

I receive email notifications but can also have some of the results of different forms sent to my colleagues as well.

owner

Its great to know I have a form srvice that will anser my support tickets and provide a variety of important form fields.

Managing Director

You can not only build forms, but whole systems to process data and payments.

I’ve also found tools like ChatGPT helpful for learning new features and improving how I use Cognito Forms more efficiently.

Should be simple to copy/paste from other forms  you've created so you don't have to recreate from scratch for all the different forms that need the same info.

The learning curve is really short and the email notifications are great reminder to check our account for submitted forms.

Some of the more advanced features, like calculations or conditional logic, can take time to learn and aren’t always immediately intuitive.

It keeps our team informed in real time, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks and that we can respond quickly when needed.

Event Coordinator

Cognito Forms is a well rounded platform that allows you the flexibility, customization and conditional logic necessary to create forms that will do just about anything you could ever need or imagine.   

Lead Administrator

Advanced Data Management and Security: The HIPAA-compliant options for handling sensitive information, along with encryption and data validation features to keep my responses secure.

President

It's also pretty powerful, you can have conditional logic (i.e. only display section X if input Y is Z) and tables where the user can add an arbtirary number of rows.

As a web developer, CognitoForms is extremely flexible and customizable both in the options it gives you to create the forms, and the options for integrating it into your site.

You can add email notifications that go to the user as well as anyone else who needs to be notified.

I wish that there were more tester options, so that I can test a form to troubleshoot any problems.

Customer Service Rep and Project Manager

I also wish you could build a dashboard of sorts on forms to see data information easily.  

I wish there was a way to add files that others can download from the form as opposed to a content section.

Senior Program Officer

The visual editing options are more limited than with other form builders out there.  

Financial Data Specialist

Super easy to use and they have a ton of new layout options, and innovative ways of tailoring my forms to meet the needs of our members.

I also like how when we edit a form, it updates automatically on our site.

It’s been a reliable and easy-to-use platform that helps me stay organized and manage my forms efficiently.

Instead of messing around with manual processes or trying to stitch different tools together, everything sits in one place and just works.

flexibility - I've been able to use the forms for a lot of different tasks that needed to be automated

Head of School

Parents love being able to easily and seamlessly complete field trip forms, surveys, parent/teacher conference sign-ups, and various school related forms.

Designer and founder

I appreciated how customizable the forms are and how smoothly it collects and stores responses.

Very difficult for clients to return to the same upload document from an external source.

Director of Operations

I love that I can use Cognito Forms for reviews, for client feedback, for research, for applications, and interest forms.

Even though we maintain a separate primary database, we rely heavily on Cognito for its flexibility and ease of use.

Coach

Little fiddly to set up rules, especially if they are more complicated (ie, multi-layered).

I like the features that the forms provide because it can be used for completely different functions.

Head of Asia Pacific

Cognito is one of the few form platforms out there that is intuitive to use, allows for the upload of forms and integrates into SharePoint.

Office Manager

It helps us stay compliant with signatures and is very customizable.

This helps with my business for "boiler Plate" emails.

I love the fact that my clients can enter their own information and submit it to us.  

That I can't copy sections from one form to another.

Form Creation

Email Notifications

Form Customization

Data Management

User Interface

Payment Processing

Customer Support

Features

Integrations

Small Business

Large Enterprises

Freelancers

Mid-size Business

Most users consider Cognito Forms to offer excellent value for money, highlighting its generous free tier with robust features and unlimited forms, which suits non-profits and small organizations well. Reviewers appreciate the fair and flexible pricing model, noting that advanced functionalities are available at reasonable costs. Some users report that the free version is powerful enough for most needs, and upgrading adds even more useful features. Reviewers indicate that the free trial helps them evaluate the software before committing. Some reviewers feel certain features are restricted to higher-priced plans, which they find less ideal.

Cognito Apps

Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is PDF editing software that can be used to create, convert and share PDF documents. It can convert documents in Microsoft Office formats to PDFs, and vice versa. PDFs can be viewed, annotated, and signed using Adobe Sign and the free Acrobat Reader mobile app.

iLovePDF

iLovePDF is an online service that provides comprehensive tools for PDF document management. The platform offers features for organizing, optimizing, converting, editing, and securing PDF files, including merging, splitting, compressing, and converting PDFs to and from various formats. Available as both web and mobile applications, iLovePDF enables users to work with documents across different devices.

Smallpdf

Smallpdf is a desktop, mobile & cloud-based PDF document management and conversion tool, providing a suite of 21 tools to create, convert and edit documents.

Manager 

I had found the program for me! If you have any conerns or questions the customer service is top notch and very helpful.

pdfFiller is an online form and document management system for editing, printing, downloading, sending, and converting documents. The cloud-based system offers eSignature capabilities, a PDF editor, form builder, authentication features, and native Android and iOS mobile applications.

Cognito Forms vs pdfFiller Comparison (2026)

Cognito Forms

pdfFiller

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives