The Cognito Forms alternative for African payments
Cognito Forms is strong at calculations and order forms, but its payment providers are Stripe, PayPal and Square. FurmBase takes the methods your customers in Africa use.
The short answer
Cognito Forms is a capable builder for complex calculations. On its Free and Pro plans it adds its own fee to every payment (2% and 1%), and none of its payment providers is African. FurmBase takes bank transfer, USSD and mobile money through Flutterwave.
Cognito Forms is a good fit for
- Forms with heavy calculations and repeating sections
- US businesses on Cognito's own Stripe-powered payments
- Teams that embed forms on their own website
Why teams switch to FurmBase
- Built for how Africa paysRespondents pay by card, bank transfer, USSD or mobile money in their own currency, right on the form. No Stripe account, no Zapier, no screenshot of a transfer receipt.
- Local methods in one checkoutCard, bank transfer, USSD, mobile money and M-Pesa through Flutterwave, shown to each respondent in their own currency.
- AI that builds the form for youOn the Pro and Business plans, describe what you need and FurmBase's AI builds the whole form, ready to publish.
- See the money in your analyticsTrack responses, payments and drop-off in one dashboard.
FurmBase vs Cognito Forms
| Feature | FurmBase | Cognito Forms |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | ||
| Take payments on the form | Yes | Yes |
| African payment gateway built inFlutterwave, without Zapier | Yes | No |
| Bank transfer, USSD and mobile money at checkout | Yes | No |
| Payment providers | Flutterwave | Stripe, PayPal, SquarePayPal and Square on Team plan and up |
| Plans and price | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Partly100 entries a month |
| Cheapest paid planMonthly billing, USD | See pricing | $24/mo$19/mo billed yearly |
| Building forms | ||
| AI builds a form from a prompt | Yes | Yes |
| Sharing | ||
| Custom link or domain | Yes | PartlyCustom path only |
Checked on each company's own website on 14 October 2026. Plans change, so check before you decide.
Get paid the way your customers already pay
Most form builders take payments through Stripe, PayPal or Square. FurmBase has Flutterwave built in, so each respondent sees the methods that work in their country, in their own currency.
Card
Local and international cards
Bank transfer
Pay straight from a bank account
USSD
Works on any phone, no data needed
Mobile money
Including M-Pesa
FurmBase and Cognito Forms: common questions
How FurmBase compares
The only form builder here with African payments built in
Try FurmBase alongside Cognito Forms
Build your first form free, then upgrade when you're ready to take payments.
- Free plan
- Flutterwave built in
- No card needed to sign up