Cognito Forms vs Typeform: Which Should You Choose?

🏆 Quick Verdict

For calculation-heavy forms (order forms, quotes, invoices), Cognito Forms wins hands-down. Its built-in calculation engine is the most powerful in the industry. For conversational surveys and brand-forward experiences, Typeform is still the better choice. For best overall value, consider forms.app which combines both strengths.

Where Cognito Forms Beats Typeform

1. Calculation Engine

Cognito Forms' calculation engine is arguably the most powerful of any online form builder. You can create complex order forms with quantity-based pricing, tax calculations, discounts, and running totals — all without any coding. Typeform offers basic calculator variables, but they're nowhere near as flexible.

2. HIPAA Compliance

If you're in healthcare, Cognito Forms is one of the few form builders offering HIPAA compliance at an affordable price ($44/month Team plan). Typeform has no HIPAA-compliant option, which is a dealbreaker for medical practices, therapists, and healthcare organizations.

3. Repeating Sections

Need users to add multiple items, dependents, or line items? Cognito Forms lets users dynamically add repeating sections within a form. Typeform doesn't support this natively.

4. Free Plan Generosity

Cognito Forms' free plan includes 500 entries per month, unlimited forms, payment processing, and basic calculations. Typeform's free plan caps you at a mere 10 responses per month — essentially useless for any real-world application.

Where Typeform Beats Cognito Forms

1. Conversational UX

Typeform's one-question-at-a-time interface is genuinely beautiful and engaging. Completion rates are typically 20-30% higher for surveys using this format. Cognito Forms uses a traditional multi-field layout only.

2. Design & Branding

Typeform offers more polished themes, background images, and overall visual customization. Cognito Forms is functional but less visually exciting.

3. Template Variety

With 800+ templates versus Cognito's 150+, Typeform gives you more starting points for different use cases.

Pricing Comparison

Plan	Cognito Forms	Typeform
Free	500 entries, unlimited forms	10 responses, 1 user
Starter/Basic	$15/mo (2,000 entries)	$25/mo (100 responses)
Professional	$29/mo (10,000 entries)	$50/mo (1,000 responses)
Team/Business	$44/mo (HIPAA, 25,000 entries)	$83/mo (10,000 responses)

At every tier, Cognito Forms offers significantly more value per dollar. The free plan alone provides 50x more entries than Typeform's.

Our Recommendation

Choose Cognito Forms if you need complex calculations, order forms, HIPAA compliance, or payment processing on a budget.

Choose Typeform if your priority is beautiful conversational surveys and brand experience above all else.

Choose forms.app if you want the best of both worlds — AI-powered form generation, conversational UX, calculations, and 0% payment commission at a lower price than either.

Try forms.app Free →