If you work on a B2B go-to-market (GTM) team, you know the pain: you need forms and workflows that actually fit your business, not just cookie-cutter lead gen. Maybe you want to qualify leads, kick off onboarding, automate approvals, or build custom sales quotes. And you want tools that don’t fight you every step of the way.
This guide compares Paperform to other big names—Typeform, Jotform, and Formstack. We’re cutting through the fluff: what works, what’s overhyped, and which tool makes life easier (or harder) for B2B teams who need real customization and automation.
Who This Is For
- B2B marketers, sales ops, or revenue teams
- Small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs), startups, or growing teams
- Folks who need more than a contact form, but don’t have time for endless Zapier hacks
- Anyone tired of paying for features they never use
If you just want a basic “contact us” form, honestly, any of these will do. But if you need forms and workflows that actually do something useful—read on.
What Matters: Key Criteria for B2B GTM Teams
Let’s get clear on what you should actually care about:
- Customizability: Can you make the forms do what you want, not just what the template says?
- Workflow Automation: Can you automate steps—assign leads, trigger emails, update CRM—without duct tape?
- Integrations: Does it play nice with the tools you already use?
- Ease of Use: Can a marketer or ops person build it, or do you need an IT degree?
- Pricing: Are you paying for features you’ll never use? Is scaling up going to break the bank?
- Support and Reliability: When stuff breaks (and it will), is there help?
Let’s see how each solution measures up.
Paperform: The Flexible All-Rounder
Paperform isn’t as loud as some of the bigger brands, but it punches above its weight for B2B teams.
What Works
- Highly Customizable Forms: You can build forms that look like mini-websites—conditional logic, calculations, product catalogs, embedded media, you name it.
- Powerful Workflow Automation: Built-in logic lets you create branching paths, auto-generate docs, send emails, and push data to other tools—no extra add-ons needed.
- Integrations: Decent out-of-the-box integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Google Sheets, etc.), plus webhooks for custom stuff.
- Ease of Use: Clean, intuitive interface. You don’t need to be a developer or read a manual.
- No “Form” Look: Forms can look like landing pages or quotes, not just fields on a white background. This is huge for brand-conscious teams.
Where It Struggles
- Analytics: Reporting is basic. You can see responses and export data, but don’t expect deep funnel analytics.
- Workflow Complexity: For very advanced business logic (multi-step approvals, cross-team SLAs), you might hit limits without custom code or extra tools.
- Mobile Experience: It works, but the form builder interface is best on desktop.
Pro Tips
- Use templates as a starting point, but don’t be afraid to rip them apart.
- If you need more automation, combine Paperform with native integrations or use webhooks—just don’t expect full-fledged workflow orchestration.
Typeform: Great for Surveys, Less for Workflows
Typeform is famous for its slick, conversational forms. It’s the darling of the UX world—but that comes with trade-offs.
What Works
- User Experience: Forms look great and feel personal. If you care about completion rates, that matters.
- Conditional Logic: Can handle branching logic and some calculation, though not as deep as Paperform.
- Integrations: Solid, especially with marketing tools (Mailchimp, HubSpot, Google Sheets).
Where It Struggles
- Workflow Automation: Typeform is mostly a data collector. If you want to automate things (trigger approvals, create docs, assign leads), you’ll rely heavily on Zapier or Make.
- Customizability: You’re mostly stuck with the one-question-at-a-time format. If you want to build a quote generator, or a branded landing page, it’s awkward.
- Pricing: Gets expensive fast once you need more responses, logic, or integrations.
- Reporting: Limited analytics, mostly at the response level.
Honest Take
Typeform is great if you want beautiful, simple surveys. For real business workflows? You’ll spend a lot of time duct-taping other tools together.
Jotform: Feature-Packed, but Can Get Messy
Jotform is the Swiss Army knife of form builders—tons of features, almost too many.
What Works
- Huge Feature Set: Tons of question types, widgets, payment options, and integrations. You can build almost anything.
- Templates for Everything: If you want a form for something, there’s probably a template for it.
- Approvals Workflow: Has a built-in approval flow feature, which is rare.
- Integrations: Plays well with CRMs, storage, and email tools.
Where It Struggles
- Overwhelming UI: The builder is cluttered, and it’s easy to get lost. Not exactly friendly for new users.
- Branding: Forms look like Jotform forms, even with customization. Not ideal for teams obsessed with brand.
- Workflow Limits: Approvals are single-step and fairly basic. Anything complex, you’ll still need Zapier or similar.
- Pricing: Free plan is generous, but advanced features (HIPAA, branding removal, enterprise controls) cost a lot.
Pro Tips
- Good if you need lots of integrations or have a specific, weird use case.
- Clean up new forms—templates come with a lot of bloat.
Formstack: Built for Enterprises, But at a Price
Formstack aims at bigger businesses with more compliance needs. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s loaded with workflow options.
What Works
- Workflow Automation: Real multi-step workflows, approvals, and logic. Good for more complex business processes.
- Compliance: HIPAA, GDPR, SSO, and audit trails. If your legal team is picky, this matters.
- Integrations: Deep integrations with CRMs (Salesforce especially), email, storage, and more.
Where It Struggles
- Price: Easily the most expensive on this list. Many features are locked behind higher-tier plans.
- Learning Curve: The builder is powerful, but not simple. Expect to spend time learning.
- UI: Feels dated compared to Paperform or Typeform. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s noticeable.
- Customizability: Fine for workflows, but less flexible for design or “pretty” forms.
Honest Take
If you’re in a regulated industry or need complex internal workflows, Formstack is worth a look—if you have the budget and patience.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Paperform | Typeform | Jotform | Formstack | |----------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------| | Customizability | High | Medium | High | Medium | | Workflow Automation | Moderate | Low | Moderate | High | | Integrations | Good | Good | Great | Great | | Ease of Use | High | High | Low-Med | Low-Med | | Reporting | Basic | Basic | Good | Good | | Pricing | Fair | Pricey | Fair | Expensive | | Branding/Design | High | High | Low-Med | Low |
What to Ignore
- “AI” features: Most of these are just auto-fill or basic suggestions. None of these tools will magically build your workflow for you.
- Endless Templates: Templates are fine, but you’ll likely need to customize heavily for real B2B workflows.
- “Enterprise” features (unless you need SSO or HIPAA): You’ll pay a lot for stuff most SMBs never use.
How to Choose (and Not Go Crazy)
- Map Your Real Needs: Write down what you actually need—approval steps, integrations, branding, etc.
- Test the Builders: Get hands-on. Can you build what you want in 30 minutes? If not, move on.
- Watch Out for Hidden Costs: Check what’s included at each pricing tier. Integrations and automations often cost extra.
- Don’t Over-Engineer: Start with the simplest form/workflow that solves your problem. You can always add complexity later.
- Check Support: Open a ticket or use chat. How fast and helpful are they?
- Plan for Change: Pick something you can tweak as your process evolves. Rigid tools become a headache fast.
Bottom Line
Don’t get distracted by shiny features or “AI-powered” hype. For most B2B GTM teams, you want forms and workflows that are easy to build, flexible enough to change, and don’t make you jump through hoops. Paperform is a strong all-rounder if you want flexibility without headaches. Typeform is beautiful but basic for workflow. Jotform is the kitchen sink—just be ready to clean up the mess. Formstack is powerful but overkill (and overpriced) for most SMBs.
Start simple. Get feedback. Iterate. The best workflow is the one your team actually uses.