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Comparison · Mkt Auto

Formidable Forms vs Sulu

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Formidable Forms and Sulu — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Formidable Forms vs Sulu: at a glance

FeatureFormidable FormsSulu
SectorMkt AutoMkt Auto
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themeswordpress, form-builder, mcp, security-hardeningai disclosure, media provenance, two-factor auth, api deprecations
Last editorial update4d ago2mo ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Formidable Forms?

Formidable Forms 7.0.1 makes the builder preview reflect more Pro settings as they change.

Formidable Forms v7.0.1 extends the live builder preview to more Pro settings and warns admins when a hardened [frm-field-value] lookup is blocked. Same-day add-on patches fix REST-submitted signatures and inline calendars on multi-page forms. The week before, v7.0 hardened field-value shortcodes and several add-ons (Views, Coupons, Landing Pages) gained their own MCP tools.

Read the full Formidable Forms trajectory →

What is Sulu?

Sulu adds AI disclosure fields to media, shipped to both supported lines the same minute

Sulu is a Symfony-based CMS for developer-built sites, released as a synchronised pair: every 3.0.x patch ships within a minute or two of the matching 2.6.x patch, carrying largely the same pull requests. The 3.0.9 / 2.6.26 pair is the most substantive in months. Media assets gain Origin and AI Disclosure information, delivered as a doctrine migration with new columns and an updated form metadata snapshot, and the AI platform integration now reports a reason when it turns a request down. Two-factor setup adds an authenticator app (TOTP) flow and a Google Authenticator method, and a deprecation batch retires AbstractRestController, RestControllerTrait, ApiWrapper and the persistence component repositories and traits.

Read the full Sulu trajectory →

Formidable Forms vs Sulu: editorial side-by-side

F5.0

Formidable Forms 7.0.1 makes the builder preview reflect more Pro settings as they change.

◆ Current state

Formidable Forms v7.0.1 extends the live builder preview to more Pro settings and warns admins when a hardened [frm-field-value] lookup is blocked. Same-day add-on patches fix REST-submitted signatures and inline calendars on multi-page forms. The week before, v7.0 hardened field-value shortcodes and several add-ons (Views, Coupons, Landing Pages) gained their own MCP tools.

◆ Where it's heading

Formidable is doing two things in parallel: exposing each add-on to AI clients through MCP, one at a time, and tightening data escaping in the core after 7.0. The 7.0.1 warning shows the hardening has user-facing side effects the team is now smoothing over.

◆ Prediction

Expect more add-ons to gain MCP management and further 7.0.x patches around blocked lookups.

S
Sulu
MKT AUTO
5.0

Sulu adds AI disclosure fields to media, shipped to both supported lines the same minute

◆ Current state

Sulu is a Symfony-based CMS for developer-built sites, released as a synchronised pair: every 3.0.x patch ships within a minute or two of the matching 2.6.x patch, carrying largely the same pull requests. The 3.0.9 / 2.6.26 pair is the most substantive in months. Media assets gain Origin and AI Disclosure information, delivered as a doctrine migration with new columns and an updated form metadata snapshot, and the AI platform integration now reports a reason when it turns a request down. Two-factor setup adds an authenticator app (TOTP) flow and a Google Authenticator method, and a deprecation batch retires AbstractRestController, RestControllerTrait, ApiWrapper and the persistence component repositories and traits.

◆ Where it's heading

Three threads run through the pairs and their balance has shifted. Editor and framework upkeep continue — Symfony 8 request bag replacements, PHPStan baselines kept green — but this release adds two things that aren't maintenance. The media provenance work puts AI disclosure into the content model itself rather than leaving it to editors, which is the shape of a CMS preparing for disclosure obligations. The controller and repository deprecations point the other way, at an API layer being cleared out ahead of whatever 3.x becomes, since 3.0 has otherwise read like a maintenance branch alongside 2.6.

◆ Prediction

Expect the deprecated REST controller and persistence layers to be removed in a future major, since deprecating four API surfaces in one release is how Sulu signals a rewrite is staged. Whether the AI disclosure fields are surfaced on the delivery side or stay editorial metadata isn't visible in these entries.

Alternatives to Formidable Forms and Sulu

Other Mkt Auto products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Formidable Forms or Sulu.

See all Formidable Forms alternatives → · See all Sulu alternatives →

Recent activity from Formidable Forms and Sulu

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 9d agoFormidable FormsDatepicker Options v3.1.2
  2. 9d agoFormidable FormsFormidable Forms v7.0.1
  3. 9d agoFormidable FormsDigital Signature Forms v3.2.1
  4. 15d agoFormidable FormsLanding Pages v1.0.04
  5. 16d agoFormidable FormsFormidable Forms v7.0
  6. 16d agoFormidable FormsVisual Views v5.13
  7. 2mo agoSuluMedia gains AI disclosure and origin fields; TOTP 2FA lands
  8. 2mo agoSulu2.6.26 mirrors 3.0.9 with AI disclosure and TOTP setup
  9. 3mo agoSuluSulu 3.0.8 validates selection filter params at build time
  10. 3mo agoSuluSulu 2.6.25 adds a redirect after SSO login
  11. 5mo agoSuluSulu 3.0.7 fixes smart-content filtering and speeds up indexing
  12. 5mo agoSuluSulu 2.6.24 upgrades CKEditor to version 48

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Formidable Forms and Sulu?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Formidable Forms and Sulu are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Formidable Forms better than Sulu?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Formidable Forms and Sulu are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Mkt Auto products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Formidable Forms?

Top Formidable Forms alternatives in Mkt Auto are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Formidable Forms alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/formidable-forms for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Sulu?

Top Sulu alternatives in Mkt Auto are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Sulu alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/sulu for the full list with editorial commentary on each.