11 Best Popup Maker Alternatives for WordPress (Free & Paid)

Popup Maker is a genuinely good plugin. It runs on more than 700,000 sites, it holds a 4.9 star rating from over 4,500 reviews, and the free version does real work: unlimited popups, click and auto triggers, page and category targeting, and cookie rules so the same person is not hit twice.

So why do so many people go looking for an alternative?

Usually it comes down to one of three things. Price: exit intent and scroll triggers, the two things most people actually want, sit behind Popup Maker Pro at $99 a year. Complexity: the plugin has a lot of tabs, and a simple newsletter popup can take longer to set up than it should. Fit: if you build your whole site with blocks, learning yet another popup interface feels like a step backwards.

If any of that sounds familiar, this post covers eleven alternatives. Every price here was checked against the vendor’s own pricing page in August 2026, because popup plugin pricing changes constantly and most roundups you will find are quoting numbers from two years ago.

How this list is ranked

Most roundups rank by popularity. We ranked by fit, because a plugin that lives inside WordPress behaves very differently from one that loads from someone else’s server.

The order goes like this:

1. Block editor native plugins first. You build campaigns with the same blocks you use to write posts. Nothing new to learn, nothing extra to install.
2. Then WordPress plugins with their own builder. Self hosted, your data stays on your server, but you learn a separate interface.
3. Then popups that come with a page builder or theme suite. Great if you already pay for that builder, pointless if you do not.
4. SaaS tools last. They are powerful, but your popups live on someone else’s servers and your bill grows with your traffic.

Yes, ConvertForce is our own plugin and we put it at number one. Everything below that is ranked and described as fairly as we can manage, including the bits that make our plugin look worse.

Quick comparison

Plugin	Type	Best for	Free version	Pricing (Pro)
ConvertForce	Block editor native	Sites built with Gutenberg	Yes, all 3 campaign types	From $49/yr
Brave	WordPress plugin, own builder	Design freedom on a small budget	Yes, generous	From $59/yr
Popup Builder	WordPress plugin, own builder	Lots of popup types via add-ons	Yes, 4 popup types	From $49.95/yr
Icegram Engage	WordPress plugin, own builder	More than popups (bars, ribbons, toasts)	Yes, single site	From $129/yr
Popup Box	WordPress plugin, own builder	A simple popup, paid once	Yes	From $29/yr or $69 once
Hustle	WordPress plugin, own builder	Free exit intent on a small site	Yes, capped at 3 of each	Membership from $180/yr
Thrive Leads	WordPress plugin, own builder	Serious list building with A/B testing	No	$99 first yr, $199 after
Elementor Pro	Part of a page builder	Sites already built with Elementor	No popups in free	From about $84/yr
Bloom	Part of a theme suite	Sites already paying for Divi	No	Bundle only, $89/yr
OptinMonster	SaaS	Deep targeting and testing	No	From $7/mo (intro)
Poptin	SaaS	Gamified popups, non WordPress sites	Yes, 1,000 visitors	From $25/mo

Pick by situation

• You want exit intent without paying $99 a year. ConvertForce Pro starts at $49 a year for ten sites. Brave is $59 a year for one. Hustle gives you exit intent free if three popups is enough.
• You already build everything with blocks. ConvertForce. There is no second editor to learn.
• You want the most capable free version. Brave. The free drag and drop editor is unusually good for something that costs nothing.
• You need A/B testing and reporting. Brave, Icegram Engage (Max plan), Thrive Leads, or OptinMonster. Most of the cheaper options skip this.
• You already pay for Elementor or Divi. Check what you own before buying anything. Elementor Pro popups need the Advanced Solo tier or higher, and Bloom is included with any Elegant Themes membership.
• You want to pay once and be done. Popup Box sells a lifetime licence, and ConvertForce offers lifetime plans alongside the yearly ones.

What Popup Maker actually gives you (and where it stops)

Worth knowing before you switch, because you may not need to.

Free: unlimited popups, unlimited impressions, auto open, click to open, and open on form submission, targeting by post, page, custom post type, category and tag, cookie controls, and a visual editor. Popups are edited in the block editor by default now.

Pro, $99 a year: exit intent, scroll trigger, a popup analytics dashboard, scheduling, advanced targeting (user role, geolocation, browser, referrer, login status), trackable calls to action, and FluentCRM integration.

Pro+, $249 a year: revenue attribution, so you can see which popup earned what, plus deeper WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads and LifterLMS features.

There is a 30 day money back guarantee, and a launch discount of 40% off the first year is running at the time of writing. Note that Popup Maker used to sell features as separate add ons and now bundles them into Pro and Pro+, so older reviews describing a menu of $35 extensions are out of date.

If the free version covers you, stay put. If you are about to pay $99 a year mostly for exit intent, keep reading.

1. ConvertForce

Type: WordPress plugin, block editor native

ConvertForce builds notification bars, lightbox popups and slide ins using the WordPress block editor. That is the whole idea. There is no separate popup builder to learn, because a campaign is just blocks, the same ones you use to write a post. Any block that works in your content works inside a popup, including blocks from other plugins and shortcodes from things like form plugins.

That makes it the shortest path from “I need a popup” to “the popup is live” for anyone already comfortable in WordPress. All three campaign types are in the free version on WordPress.org, not just one as a teaser. Dismissal and frequency data is stored locally on your own site, with no third party scripts and nothing sent anywhere.

Be clear about the gaps, though. ConvertForce has no A/B testing and no analytics dashboard yet. If those are the reasons you were paying for Popup Maker Pro, Brave or OptinMonster are honest recommendations instead.

Key features of ConvertForce:

• Built on blocks. No page builder, no second interface, no shortcode wrangling.
• Three campaign types, all free. Notification bar, lightbox popup and slide in. Lightbox campaigns include a position control for top, centre or bottom.
• Exit intent and scroll depth. Catch people as they leave, or wait until they have read part of the page. Pro only.
• 37 targeting conditions across 8 categories, covering pages, post types, user roles, devices and referral sources. Pro only.
• Ready made patterns for all three campaign types, including seasonal sets for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and summer sales.
• Works with your other plugins. Drop in blocks or shortcodes from form builders, block libraries and more.

Key features of ConvertForce:

Free on WordPress.org. Pro is $49 a year for Personal (10 sites) and $79 a year for Professional (1,000 sites), with lifetime options and a 30 day money back guarantee. A 50% launch discount is running now.

2. Brave

Type: WordPress plugin with its own builder

Brave is the most interesting free popup plugin on this list if you care about how things look. The drag and drop editor feels like a small premium design tool, and the free version gives you nine elements to work with, which is more than most plugins hand over without payment. It covers popups, sticky bars, sidebars, cookie notices and slide ins.

Pro turns it into something much broader: multi step forms, quizzes, surveys, WooCommerce upsells and cross sells, cart abandonment popups, evergreen countdown timers, A/B testing and a conversion tracking dashboard. For $59 a year that is a lot of plugin.

The one thing to check is release pace. Brave ships updates less frequently than Popup Maker or Popup Builder, so if you want same week compatibility patches after every WordPress release, keep that in mind.

Key features of Brave:

• Real drag and drop editor with separate designs for desktop and mobile
• Built in form builder with unlimited fields, so no separate form plugin needed
• A/B testing and analytics included in every paid tier
• WooCommerce tools for upsells, cross sells and cart recovery
• 50+ integrations including Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, HubSpot and Zapier

Pricing of Brave:

Free version available. Pro is $59 a year (1 site), Mega $99 a year (10 sites), Ultimate $199 a year (100 sites). 30 day money back guarantee.

3. Popup Builder

Type: WordPress plugin with its own builder

Popup Builder by Sygnoos is the second largest free popup plugin on WordPress.org, with over 200,000 active installs and a 4.7 rating from more than 2,200 reviews. It takes a different approach to everything else here: instead of one builder with settings, you pick a popup type, and each type is its own tool.

The free version gives you four types (image, HTML, Facebook and subscription), unlimited popups, a floating trigger button, custom JS and CSS, and multisite support. Paid unlocks 28 extensions covering exit intent, geo targeting, countdown popups, video, age restriction, gamification, WooCommerce targeting, adblock detection and web push.

The trade off is the editing experience. There is no visual drag and drop canvas. You work through settings panels and the standard WordPress editor, which is fast once you know it but looks dated next to Brave or Elementor.

Key features of Popup Builder:

• 28 premium extensions, all included in every paid bundle
• Advanced targeting by location, device, browser, operating system and cart value
• Age restriction popups, useful for alcohol, gambling or adult content
• Floating button trigger that stays visible as people scroll
• Multisite ready, so agencies can manage popups from one install

Pricing of Popup Builder:

Free version available. Starter $49.95 a year (2 sites), Business $89.95 a year (10 sites), Agency $145.95 a year (unlimited sites).

4. Icegram

Type: WordPress plugin with its own builder

Icegram Engage is not really a popup plugin. It is an on site messaging plugin where popups are one option among many. You also get action bars, toast notifications, ribbons, badges, inline messages and sticky elements, all from one place. If your site needs a free shipping bar at the top, a newsletter form inside blog posts and a seasonal popup, this handles all three without three plugins.

The free version covers popups, action bars, toasts and messengers on a single site with basic targeting rules, which is more generous than it sounds. Pro adds the triggers most people want, and Max adds testing and geographic targeting.

Where it gets expensive is the tiering. Exit intent means Pro at $129 a year. A/B testing means Max at $229 a year. For one small site that is more than most self hosted options here.

Key features of Icegram:

• Many message formats beyond popups, from ribbons to toasts to interstitials
• Exit intent and behaviour targeting on the Pro plan
• A/B split testing and geo targeting on the Max plan
• 100+ themes on Pro, premium themes on Max
• Remote display, letting a Max licence show campaigns on non WordPress sites

Pricing of Icegram:

Free Starter plan. Pro $129 a year (1 site), Max $229 a year (3 sites).

5. Popup Box

Type: WordPress plugin with its own builder

Popup Box by Ays Pro is the plugin to look at when you want one decent popup and would rather not think about it again. It uses a live preview builder, so you see changes as you make them, and the free version handles unlimited popups with the standard triggers and animation options.

The paid version adds scheduling, reports, export and import, restrictions by country, browser, operating system and user role, plus direct integrations with Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, ConvertKit, Brevo, MailerLite and Campaign Monitor.

The best thing about it is the pricing model. Ays Pro sells one time licences alongside yearly ones, with no automatic renewal, which is unusual in this category and genuinely useful if you hate subscriptions.

Key features of Popup Box:

• Live preview builder, so you design and see the result together
• One time payment option, not just annual subscriptions
• Detailed display rules by page, country, browser, OS and user role
• Email service integrations built in, no separate connector needed
• Import and export for moving popups between sites

Pricing of Popup Box:

Free version available. Business $29 a year for 5 sites (list price $49) or $69 one time (list $99). Developer is $59 a year (list $99) or $149 one time (list $250). 30 day money back guarantee.

6. Hustle

Type: WordPress plugin with its own builder

Hustle, by WPMU DEV, has one property that makes it worth knowing about: the free version is not feature limited, it is quantity limited. You get every setting the paid version has, including exit intent, scheduling, targeting rules, adblock bypass and conversion tracking. You are simply capped at three popups, three slide ins, three embeds and three social share bars.

For a small site that is often enough. Three popups covers a newsletter opt in, a promo, and a notice. And exit intent for free is rare.

The catch is what happens when you outgrow it. There is no standalone Hustle Pro any more. Unlimited campaigns means a WPMU DEV membership, which starts at $180 a year for one site and includes their whole plugin suite. Great value if you want the suite, poor value if you only want popups. Any review quoting “$3 a month for Hustle Pro” is quoting a plan that no longer exists.

Key features of Hustle:

• Exit intent in the free version, which almost nobody else offers
• Social sharing tools built in, with floating bars and widgets
• Ready made templates for sales, giveaways and announcements
• Targeting by page, device, country, referral source and cookie
• Conversion tracking with charts and a dashboard widget

Pricing of Hustle:

Free version with the 3 module cap. Unlimited requires a WPMU DEV membership, starting at $180 a year for one site (promotional pricing is often available). 30 day money back guarantee.

7. Thrive Leads

Type: WordPress plugin with its own builder

Thrive Leads has been the default answer for serious WordPress list building for over a decade, and it earned that reputation. Ten opt in form types, real A/B testing, proper reporting, and features like SmartLinks that show a different offer to people already on your list.

If list building is the point of your site rather than a side task, it is still the most complete plugin here. It is also the most expensive, and the renewal price is where people get caught out: the standalone licence is $99 for the first year and $199 every year after that, for a single site.

The other thing to weigh is lock in. Forms built in Thrive live inside Thrive’s own editor, and there is no export path to another plugin. Leaving later means rebuilding.

Key features of Thrive Leads:

• Ten opt in types, including lightboxes, ribbons, slide ins, screen fillers and content locks
• A/B testing with automatic winner selection
• Detailed reporting on which forms and pages convert
• SmartLinks and SmartExit for showing different offers to existing subscribers
• Integrations with all the major email platforms

Pricing of Thrive Leads:

No free version. Standalone licence is $99 for the first year, renewing at $199 a year for one site. Thrive Suite is $299 for the first year, renewing at $599, covering up to five sites, or $149 per quarter. 30 day money back guarantee.

8. Elementor Pro

Type: Popups as part of a page builder

If your site is already built with Elementor Pro, its Popup Builder is the obvious choice. You design popups with the exact editor you use for everything else, with the same widgets, the same styling controls and the same responsive settings. Triggers cover exit intent, scroll, time on page, click and inactivity, and display conditions can target specific pages, post types or user roles.

One important correction to almost every roundup on this subject: the Popup Builder is not in Elementor’s cheapest plan. The Essential tier at around $59 a year explicitly excludes it. You need Advanced Solo (around $84 a year, one site) or higher.

And if you are not already an Elementor user, installing a full page builder to get popups is a heavy way to solve a small problem.

Key features of Elementor Popup builder:

• The Elementor editor, so popups match the rest of your site exactly
• Full trigger set, including exit intent, scroll and inactivity
• Display conditions down to individual pages, post types and roles
• Entry and exit animations built in
• Template library with ready made popup layouts

Pricing of Elementor Pro:

No popups in the free plugin. Popup Builder starts with Advanced Solo at roughly $84 a year (1 site), then Advanced at about $99 a year (3 sites) and Expert at about $199 a year (25 sites). 30 day money back guarantee on annual plans. Elementor changes prices and runs promotions often, so check the current page.

9. Bloom

Type: Popups as part of a theme suite

Bloom is Elegant Themes’ opt in plugin, and it is included with any Elegant Themes membership alongside Divi, Extra and Monarch. If you already pay for that membership, Bloom costs you nothing extra and is worth ten minutes of your time.

It gives you six opt in types (pop ups, fly ins, inline forms, below post forms, widget forms, and locked content), around a hundred templates, built in A/B testing, and conversion analytics. Design is template driven with settings underneath, not a drag and drop canvas.

Be realistic about its age, though. Bloom has not had a meaningful feature update in years, and it still has no exit intent trigger, which is the single most requested popup feature. Buying an Elegant Themes membership purely to get Bloom is not a good deal in 2026.

Key features of Bloom:

• Six opt in types, covering popups, fly ins, inline and locked content
• A/B testing included at no extra cost
• Conversion analytics for each form
• Around 100 templates with customisable colours, fonts and animations
• Email integrations with the major providers

Pricing of Bloom:

No free version and no standalone purchase. Requires an Elegant Themes membership at $89 a year or $249 one time, both with a 30 day money back guarantee.

10. OptinMonster

Type: SaaS with a WordPress connector

OptinMonster is the most powerful tool on this list and the most expensive. It is a hosted service, not a WordPress plugin. The thing you install from WordPress.org is a connector; the campaigns themselves are built and stored on OptinMonster’s servers.

What you get for that is depth: 700 plus templates, Exit Intent technology, page level targeting, A/B testing, OnSite Retargeting, geolocation, countdown timers, coupon wheels and revenue attribution. For an ecommerce store treating popups as a real revenue channel, it earns its keep.

Two things to understand before signing up. First, there is no free plan, despite the free listing on WordPress.org. Second, exit intent, the feature most people come for, requires the Pro plan, not the entry tier. And every plan has a monthly impression cap.

Key features of OptinMonster:

• Responsive Popup Builder: As already said, in addition to a drag-and-drop popup builder, the plugin offers 700+ mobile responsive popup templates.
• Advanced Targeting & Personalization: Offers lots of triggers, like exit intent, scroll depth, time delay, page visits, and geo-location for precise audience targeting.
• Multiple Campaign Types: Allows you to create lightbox popups, floating bars, slide-ins, inline forms, spin-to-win wheels, and fullscreen overlays for engagement.
• A/B Testing: You can test different popup variations, track conversions, and analyze performance with detailed reports for optimization.
• Integrations: The plugin flawlessly integrates with Mailchimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, Shopify, and other platforms for automated lead capture and marketing.
• Enhancement Tools: You can enhance your popups with countdown timers, animations, lead verification, and success messages to boost engagement and sales.

Pricing of OptinMonster:

OptinMonster has a free version available. Its premium version starts from $7/monthly with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

11. Poptin

Type: SaaS with a WordPress connector

Poptin is a versatile plugin for creating high-converting popups and contact forms. It includes a vast collection of templates by which you can create lightboxes, notification bars, floating bars, and slide-in popups. With them, you can efficiently capture leads, recover abandoned carts, and boost sales.

The plugin has many smart trackers, like exit-in technology, targeting rules, and A/B testing to analyze users’ behavior and display popups with the right messages at the right time to improve conversion rates across the site. Customizing the popups is very simple, as the plugin includes a drag-and-drop editor.

Key features of Poption:

• Drag-and-Drop Editor: Like the other popup plugins discussed above, Poptin also includes a drag-and-drop editor to create popups without coding.
• A/B Testing: You can run tests on different popups to understand which design works the best for conversion rates.
• Real-Time Analytics: The built-in analytics of the plugin helps you measure the popup views, how to grow conversions, and how to enhance engagement.
• Integration with Marketing Tools: It has integration with many marketing tools like MailChimp, Zapier, GetResponse, ConvertKit, Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign, Hubspot, and more.
• Gamification: It allows you to create spin-to-win popups, scratch cards, and pick-gift popups to boost engagement and increase sales.

Pricing of Poptin:

Poptin has a free version available. Its premium version starts from $20/month with a 30-day refund policy.

Conclusion – Final Thoughts!

We are now at the end of this blog post. It’s now your turn to choose the plugin that goes with your website’s goals, budget, and required features. Satisfyingly, all the plugins that we have covered above have most of the essential features in common that you need in a standard popup builder.

Among them, some are even multi-purpose plugins by which you can execute various other marketing and website design-related tasks. Now, check them individually, find the easy-to-use tool, and decide on the one that perfectly matches your budget.

If you still have any confusion, don’t hesitate to let us know through the comment box below. We’ll answer your question as soon as possible.