The Best Gravity Forms Table Plugin for WordPress

Updated July 2026 • 5 min read • By Fahad Murtaza

A Gravity Forms table plugin is a WordPress extension that reads your form submissions directly from the database and renders them as a searchable, filterable, sortable table on the frontend, without any manual data entry. TableCrafter is one such plugin: install it, connect it to a Gravity Forms feed, choose which fields appear as columns, and embed a live table with a shortcode or the Gutenberg block. Non-admin users can search, sort, and filter immediately; users with the right role can edit cells inline without ever opening wp-admin. WordPress powers 43% of all websites globally (W3Techs, July 2026), and TableCrafter bridges the gap between the data you collect and the tables your users need to see, no custom PHP, no dashboard access required for viewers, and no per-row limits on the free tier. The free version on WordPress.org supports CSV, JSON, Google Sheets, and Excel. Pro adds Gravity

If you collect job applications, service requests, load logs, orders, or any other structured data through Gravity Forms, the built-in entry list eventually becomes a dead end. Filtering is clunky, there's no shareable frontend view, and non-admins are locked out entirely. A Gravity Forms table plugin solves all of that in under five minutes.

This guide covers what to look for in a plugin that displays Gravity Forms entries as frontend tables, walks through exactly how TableCrafter works, and helps you decide whether the free version handles your use case or if Pro features are worth it.

By the numbers: TablePress, the most widely installed dedicated table plugin in the WordPress ecosystem, has 600,000+ active installs but focuses on static HTML tables you populate manually (WordPress.org, June 2026). TableCrafter takes a different architectural approach: it reads live data from Gravity Forms, Google Sheets, Airtable, and other sources rather than static content you maintain by hand.

Why Does the Default Gravity Forms Entry View Fall Short?

Gravity Forms is active on over 10 million WordPress sites (Gravity Forms, 2025). Choosing the right table plugin for those submissions determines whether your data stays locked in wp-admin or becomes accessible to the people who need it.

Gravity Forms stores every submission in its own entry database, that part works well. The problem is accessing that data from the frontend. Out of the box, you get:

• An admin-only entry list locked behind wp-admin
• No sortable columns, no real search, no filtering by field value
• No way for a logged-in user (non-admin) to see only their own submissions
• No CSV export, no pagination control, no column picker

For internal tools, load trackers, HR portals, CRM views, this is a dead end. You need a frontend table that your actual users can interact with, not just your site admins.

What to Look for in a Gravity Forms Table Plugin?

Before picking a plugin, nail down which of these you actually need:

• Filtering and search: Can visitors filter by form field values, status, date range, category?
• User-scoped data: Should logged-in users only see their own entries?
• Inline editing: Can the table double as a data management tool where authorized users fix records directly?
• Export: Does the team need a CSV download button?
• Role-based column visibility: Should certain columns (internal notes, pricing) be hidden from some users?
• Performance: How many entries? Pagination and server-side fetching matter at 500+ rows.

How Does TableCrafter Work?

TableCrafter adds a table builder to your WordPress admin under TableCrafter > Tables > Add New. You pick a Gravity Forms form, choose which fields become columns, configure filters, set permissions, and copy a shortcode. That shortcode goes on any page or post. Done.

Step-by-step setup

1. Install TableCrafter from wordpress.org/plugins/tablecrafter-wp-data-tables/ or upload the zip.
2. Activate the plugin. A new TableCrafter menu appears in your WordPress admin.
3. Go to TableCrafter > Tables > Add New.
4. Select the Gravity Forms form you want to display.
5. Drag the form fields you want as columns into the column list. Reorder by dragging.
6. Configure filters: choose which fields get a filter control (text search, dropdown, date range).
7. Set the Permissions tab: who can view the table, and should users only see their own entries?
8. Save the table. Your table gets an ID, say, 1.
9. Copy the shortcode and paste it onto any page.

[tablecrafter id="1"]

That's the complete shortcode. The id is the table configuration ID you created in the admin builder, not the Gravity Forms form ID. One form can power multiple table views with different column sets, filters, or permission rules, just create multiple table configs and use different IDs.

What Features Do You Get for Free?

TableCrafter's free version on WordPress.org is not a stripped-down trial. It covers the complete table-building workflow:

For the majority of use cases, internal data views, customer-facing order histories, project trackers, the free version is sufficient. Free

What Is Pro Features: When You Need More?

Pro adds capabilities that turn a read-only table into an actual data management tool:

• Inline Editing Pro, Click any cell to edit it directly, like a spreadsheet. Changes save back to the Gravity Forms entry without leaving the page. Supports text, dropdowns, dates, and number fields. Field-level validation runs on save.
• Bulk Fill Pro, Select multiple rows and write the same value to a field across all of them in one action. Useful for batch status updates, assigning a driver to a set of loads, or marking a group of records complete.
• Entry Duplicate Pro, Clone an existing entry as the starting point for a new one. Cuts data entry time for repetitive records.
• Column Role Visibility Pro, Show or hide individual columns based on WordPress user role. Admins see the cost column; drivers don't.
• Email Alerts Pro, Trigger email notifications when a specific field changes via inline edit. Example: notify a dispatcher when a load status is marked "Delivered."
• Data Bars Pro, Render numeric columns with an in-cell progress bar so you can see relative values at a glance without leaving the table.

Pro is licensed through tablecrafter.com.

What Are the Real Use Cases for a Gravity Forms Table Plugin?

Load Tracker for a Trucking Company

A dispatcher builds a Gravity Form with fields for load number, origin, destination, driver, status, and delivery date. TableCrafter displays all loads in a filterable table on a private WordPress page. Drivers log in and see only their own loads through TableCrafter's user-scoped permission mode, which automatically adds a filter matching the logged-in user's WordPress account ID to every data query. Dispatchers hold a higher role and see the complete load board without any additional setup. They use bulk fill to write the same status value across multiple selected loads simultaneously, which is significantly faster than editing each Gravity Forms entry individually through wp-admin.

Auto-refresh set to 30 or 60 seconds keeps the board current without anyone manually reloading the page, making it practical as a shared live display in a dispatch office or on a dedicated monitor. This load tracker pattern is one of the real-world workflows that shaped TableCrafter's feature set during development: the user-scoped permission filter, the bulk fill action, and per-column role visibility were all built to support operational tools exactly like this one, running on WordPress with Gravity Forms as the data layer and requiring no custom PHP code.

Employee Directory

HR uses a Gravity Form as the data source for staff profiles: name, department, office location, phone extension, manager, and start date. The form can be completed by HR staff directly in wp-admin rather than by employees themselves. TableCrafter renders the entries as a searchable directory on an internal WordPress page accessible to all logged-in employees. Any employee can type a name or department name into the search bar to find a colleague's contact details instantly.

Column role visibility restricts sensitive fields to appropriate roles. The salary band column is configured as visible only to the HR custom role; the employee ID and home phone columns are visible only to Administrator and HR. Employees browsing the directory see name, department, location, and work phone only. Each column card in the builder has a Role Visibility panel where you select which WordPress roles can see that column. The table renders a different column set for each logged-in user based on their role, driven by a single shortcode and a single table configuration. A new employee added through the form appears in the directory on the next page load, with no table reconfiguration required.

Project Tracker

An agency collects project requests through a Gravity Form with fields for client name, project type, requested start date, estimated budget, assigned account manager, priority, status, and due date. TableCrafter renders all submissions as a pipeline management table on a private team page. The default status filter is set to Active so the table opens showing only live projects without requiring any manual filter selection.

The account manager clicks a Priority cell to change it from Medium to High for an urgent request, and clicks the Due Date cell to open a date picker and push a deadline when a client requests a delay. Both edits write back to the Gravity Forms entry immediately without opening wp-admin. At the end of the week, the account manager applies a date filter to the current week, sets the status filter to Completed, and clicks Export to download a CSV of closed projects for the weekly standup document. The whole workflow runs from a single shortcode on a single WordPress page, with no third-party project management subscription and no custom PHP code required.

Order or Inquiry Management

A service business collects quote requests via Gravity Forms, capturing service type, customer name, contact email, requested date, budget range, and current status. TableCrafter gives the sales team a filterable view of all inquiries on a private backend page without requiring any team member to access wp-admin. The default view filters to open inquiries so the team focuses on active work rather than a combined history of all submissions.

Status badges render each status value as a color-coded label: New in blue, In Review in yellow, Quoted in teal, Won in green, and Lost in red. The colors are configured in the column's Badge Colors panel in the table builder, with one color assigned per dropdown choice. Team members scan the table and identify what needs attention by color without reading every individual cell. Inline editing lets a team member click a Status cell to advance a record from In Review to Quoted in one click. The same session can include clicking the Notes cell to log the quoted amount and follow-up date. A CSV export at the end of the week gives the sales manager a record of quoted and won inquiries for revenue tracking and conversion analysis.

How TableCrafter Compares to Alternatives?

A few other plugins let you display Gravity Forms entries on the frontend. Here's how they stack up on the features that matter most for pure GF use cases:

Generic table plugins (WP DataTables, Ninja Tables, TablePress) are versatile but treat Gravity Forms as an afterthought, you often need to export to CSV first or configure a custom data source. TableCrafter reads directly from the GF entry database, which means the table is always live, always reflects the actual current entries, and supports GF-specific concepts like user-submitted entries and entry status natively.

Free vs. Pro: Which One Do You Need?

Start with free if any of these describe you:

• You need a read-only frontend view of GF entries with search and filters
• You want user-scoped tables where each logged-in user only sees their own submissions
• Your team needs a CSV export button
• You want auto-refresh for a live dashboard feel

Upgrade to Pro if you need any of these:

• Editing entries directly in the table without going to wp-admin
• Batch-updating a field across many rows at once
• Hiding columns from specific user roles
• Email notifications when a field value changes via inline edit

The free plugin installs in under two minutes from WordPress.org and requires no account or license key. You can evaluate the full free feature set on your real data before deciding whether Pro is worth it for your workflow.

This step completes the connection between your data source and the TableCrafter table engine. Once saved, the plugin caches the connection credentials in the WordPress options table and uses them on every subsequent page load. If you update the source configuration later — for example, rotating an API key or changing a sheet URL — return to this step, enter the new value, and save again. The table updates immediately on next load without any shortcode changes.

How Do I Get Started in Under 5 Minutes?

Here's the fastest path from zero to a working frontend table:

1. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Add New and search for "gravity-tables".
2. Install and activate TableCrafter.
3. Navigate to TableCrafter > Tables > Add New.
4. Select your Gravity Forms form from the dropdown.
5. Select the columns you want to display and drag them into order.
6. Under Filters, enable filters for the fields users should be able to search by.
7. Under Permissions, choose who can view the table. Enable "Show only current user's entries" if you want user-scoped access.
8. Click Save. Note the table ID shown after saving (e.g., 1).
9. Create or edit a WordPress page and add the shortcode:

[tablecrafter id="1"]

Publish the page. Your Gravity Forms entries now appear as a live, filterable, sortable table, no custom code required.