{"id":103,"date":"2026-07-22T01:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jnkplugins.com\/blog\/export-fluent-forms-entries\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T19:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T13:42:36","slug":"export-fluent-forms-entries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jnkplugins.com\/blog\/export-fluent-forms-entries\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Export Fluent Forms Entries (Free Methods, 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fluent Forms is one of the better-behaved form plugins when it comes to your data: it stores every submission in the WordPress database, and \u2014 unlike a lot of competitors \u2014 it lets you export those entries for free<\/strong>, in four different formats, without buying Pro. If you just need this month’s submissions in a spreadsheet, you’re a couple of clicks away.<\/p>\n

This guide walks through the built-in export step by step, covers the formats and filters you get, and is honest about where the built-in tool stops \u2014 including what to do when entries from Fluent Forms are really leads<\/em> and you want them on one board next to entries from every other form on your site. (Full disclosure up front: the plugin we recommend for that last part, EntryVault<\/a>, is our own \u2014 the relevant features here are all in the free tier, so judge it on its merits.)<\/p>\n

How to export Fluent Forms entries (built-in, free)<\/h2>\n

Fluent Forms’ export lives on the entries screen and works the same in the free and Pro versions. Here’s the whole process:<\/p>\n

Step 1 \u2014 Open the entries for the form you want<\/h3>\n

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Fluent Forms \u2192 Entries<\/strong>. You can also get there from Fluent Forms \u2192 All Forms<\/strong>, hovering a form and clicking Entries<\/strong>, or via the Entries tab in the form editor’s top bar. Either way you land on a table of submissions for a specific form.<\/p>\n

Step 2 \u2014 Filter down to the entries you actually need<\/h3>\n

Before exporting, narrow the list if you don’t want everything. Fluent Forms lets you switch between all entries, favourites only, or unread<\/strong> submissions, pick a date range<\/strong>, and search by name, email, or submission ID. Whatever the table is showing is what the export will contain, so this is where you scope it.<\/p>\n

Step 3 \u2014 Hit Export and pick a format<\/h3>\n

Click the Export<\/strong> button on the entries screen and choose your file format. Fluent Forms offers four:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Format<\/th>\nBest for<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CSV<\/strong><\/td>\nThe universal option \u2014 imports cleanly into Google Sheets, CRMs, and email tools.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Excel (.xlsx)<\/strong><\/td>\nHanding a ready-to-open workbook to a colleague; keeps column typing tidier than CSV.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ODS<\/strong><\/td>\nLibreOffice \/ OpenOffice users who’d rather skip Microsoft formats.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JSON<\/strong><\/td>\nDevelopers piping entries into scripts, migrations, or another system’s API.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The file downloads immediately with one row per submission and one column per form field. That’s it \u2014 no add-on, no upgrade prompt. Credit where it’s due: plenty of form plugins lock export behind a paid tier, and Fluent Forms doesn’t.<\/p>\n

Step 4 (optional) \u2014 Importing entries back in<\/h3>\n

The entries dashboard also has an Import Entries<\/strong> button in the top-right, which is handy if you’re migrating submissions between sites or restoring from a backup export. Match your file’s columns to the form’s fields and Fluent Forms pulls the rows in.<\/p>\n

Where the built-in export falls short<\/h2>\n

For a one-off download, the built-in tool is genuinely good. The friction shows up when exporting becomes something you do because your workflow lives in spreadsheets<\/em> \u2014 usually a sign the workflow is missing, not the export. Three specific limits:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Export is scoped to one form at a time.<\/strong> The entries table \u2014 and therefore the export \u2014 is tied to a single form. Sensible enough (a contact form and a quote form have different columns), but if you run six forms, “get me everything from last week” means six exports and some spreadsheet stitching.<\/li>\n
  2. It can’t see beyond Fluent Forms.<\/strong> Most real sites aren’t single-plugin. If checkout enquiries come through one builder, a survey through another, and the main contact form through Fluent Forms, no amount of exporting gives you one combined view \u2014 each plugin only knows about its own entries.<\/li>\n
  3. A spreadsheet is a snapshot, not a pipeline.<\/strong> The moment the file downloads it starts going stale. There’s no status on each row, no owner, no record of who replied \u2014 so teams end up maintaining a “leads” sheet by hand, re-exporting weekly, and de-duplicating forever.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If none of that describes you \u2014 you export quarterly for reporting and that’s the end of it \u2014 stop here, the built-in tool is all you need. If it does sound familiar, read on.<\/p>\n

    One board for every form on the site (including Fluent Forms)<\/h2>\n

    This is where our own plugin comes in, so take the disclosure as given: EntryVault<\/a> is built by us at JnK Plugins, and it’s free on the WordPress.org plugin directory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    EntryVault<\/a> doesn’t replace Fluent Forms \u2014 your forms, notifications, and integrations stay exactly as they are. It listens through each form plugin’s own hooks and captures every submission into one unified board<\/strong>. It auto-detects Fluent Forms and loads the adapter with zero configuration, and it does the same for ten other builders: Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Forminator, SureForms, Ninja Forms, Formidable, WS Form, Everest Forms, and Trinity Forms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    On the export question specifically, the free tier gives you:<\/p>\n