Apply Online vs Contact Form 7
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Apply Online v2.7.1.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.1/5 Visit Details | Contact Form 7 v6.2.3 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.0/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 2,000+ | 10M+ |
| Last updated | September 28, 2026 | October 21, 2026 |
| Editions | ApplyOnline · ApplyOnline add-ons ($) | Contact Form 7 |
| Pros | Drag-and-drop application form builder with file attachment fields; Several ad types, each with its own shortcode; Dedicated manager role for reviewing applications | Completely free, with no upsells in the code; Several spam options: Akismet, reCAPTCHA, Turnstile, quiz, disallowed list; Stripe payment field and Brevo contact sync built in |
| Cons | Applicant tracking, conditional fields and captcha need paid add-ons; Email notifications rely on the host mail server | No visual drag-and-drop builder; forms are markup; No conditional logic or multi-step forms without add-ons; Does not store submissions without Flamingo |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| Features (Form plugins checklist) | ||
| Drag-and-drop builder | Yes | No |
| Conditional logic | No | No |
| Multi-step forms | No | No |
| Payments | No | Yes |
| File upload | Yes | Yes |
| Calculations | No | No |
| Entries in admin | Yes | No |
| Spam protection | No | Yes |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Multiple ad types with their own filters, Shortcodes for ad archive, single ad and form, Email notification to recipients on new application, Application manager capability set, Security nonce on application forms, Attachment links on applications, Paid add-on updates through a licence key ($) | Form-tag markup editor for fields and mail templates, Block editor contact form selector, REST API for forms and submission feedback, Quiz and Really Simple CAPTCHA tags, Spam check against the WordPress disallowed comment keys, Saves submissions to Flamingo when that plugin is active |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | — | Stripe |
| — | Brevo (Sendinblue) | |
| Plugins | Polylang | Akismet, Flamingo |
| Other | ApplyOnline add-on update server ($) | Google reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare Turnstile |
| Requires WordPress | 5.0 | 7.1 |
| Requires PHP | 7.0 | 8.3 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | — | api.stripe.com, www.google.com, www.recaptcha.net, challenges.cloudflare.com, api.sendinblue.com |
| Blocks | — | 1 |
| Shortcodes | 7 | 2 |