Formidable Datepicker Options: worth it for serious Formidable forms

Verdict: Formidable Datepicker Options solves a specific problem well: turning an ordinary Formidable Forms date field into a controlled scheduling input. It lets administrators restrict dates dynamically, block weekends and holidays, set exceptions, show the calendar inline, calculate future dates, and connect minimum or maximum dates to other form fields.

The important qualification is that this is not a standalone datepicker plugin. Formidable’s documentation says the add-on requires a Business license or higher, and the current pricing comparison lists Datepicker Options in the Business and Elite tiers, not Basic or Plus. The Business plan is listed at a normal price of $399 per year, so the real purchase decision is usually whether the broader Formidable Forms package already earns its keep—not whether this small add-on is valuable by itself.

Where it is genuinely strong

The best feature is the amount of date logic available without custom JavaScript. You can prevent past dates with a current-date rule, set a maximum date such as “current date minus 18 years,” or make a second date field start two days after the first. The documentation also supports relative expressions such as “+3 days,” “-18 years,” and field-based values. That makes the add-on useful for appointments, delivery requests, rentals, event registrations, birthdate checks, and application workflows.

Blackout handling is also more practical than a basic calendar widget. You can disable individual weekdays, add specific blackout dates, and create exceptions when an otherwise disabled day should be available. Calculated dates can automatically move forward when the result lands on a blackout date. Developer hooks, including frm_date_field_options, provide an escape hatch when the visual settings are not enough.

Date ranges are available, but with a meaningful caveat: they require the Flatpickr datepicker library, which Formidable labels as beta. The feature creates linked start and end fields from one date-field setting. That is convenient for travel or booking forms, but it is not as reassuring as a mature, standalone scheduling system.

Where it is weak or annoying

The biggest weakness is dependency. Buying this add-on makes little sense unless Formidable is already your form platform. Gravity Forms and WPForms are more obvious choices if you are starting from scratch, while Simply Schedule Appointments is a better fit when you need actual availability management, appointment slots, and scheduling rules rather than date-field controls.

The beta Flatpickr route also deserves testing on the exact site before launch. Formidable’s September 2026 changelog records fixes for mobile date inputs silently dropping weekday, blackout, exception, and range restrictions, as well as bugs involving exceptions overriding blackout dates and date ranges losing their linked fields after duplication or import. Those fixes are encouraging, but they also show that advanced date behavior has had real edge cases.

Formidable itself has strong support evidence: its WordPress.org plugin listing shows a 4.8-out-of-5 rating from more than 1,300 reviews, and the support forum shows recent issues being answered. However, users have also complained that some Pro features become unavailable for editing after a license expires. That makes ongoing licensing part of the cost of relying on this workflow.

Bottom line

Use Formidable Datepicker Options when you already have Formidable Business or Elite and need configurable date rules inside complex forms. It is a worthwhile productivity add-on in that situation. Do not choose it as a cheap substitute for a booking platform, and do not adopt the Formidable ecosystem just for a calendar unless its wider form-building features are also part of your plan.