Best popup builder for WordPress: a free plugin, a hosted tool or both

Best popup builder for WordPress: the options at a glance

The best popup builder for WordPress is Popup Maker's free plugin when you need click or auto-open popups, and Popupsmart's free plugin, among others, when you need exit intent or scroll triggers on a free plan. WordPress's own blocks list has no popup block, so a popup comes from a plugin or a script.

Free on WordPress: Popup Maker's core plugin

Popup Maker is a WordPress plugin, and its core is free from the plugin directory. The listing says no monthly fees, no traffic limits, and your data stays on your server. The free triggers are Click Open and Auto Open. Free targeting covers specific posts, pages and custom post types, with cookies to set when a popup opens again. Exit intent and scroll triggers need Pro, and URL and user-role rules are listed as premium targeting.

Hosted tools also run through a WordPress plugin. OptiMonk's plugin connects to an OptiMonk account whose free plan has 10,000 pageviews a month and all features. Poptin's plugin connects to a Poptin account that lists exit intent on its free plan. Hello Bar's plugin takes a snippet from a free Hello Bar account. Free email popup builder lists the limit of each free plan.

Exit intent on WordPress: Popup Maker Pro or Popupsmart's free plan

Exit intent shows a popup when a visitor seems about to leave. Popup Maker needs Pro for it and for scroll triggers. Pro costs $99 a year for one site and carries a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Popupsmart's free plugin takes the Account Id from your Popupsmart account, or you can paste one line into footer.php. The free plan ticks every trigger, exit intent and scroll included, and covers 1 website, 5,000 pageviews and 1 live popup. Free popups carry Popupsmart branding. Basic, $39 a month billed monthly, covers up to 3 websites and removes the branding.

WordPress.org shows a notice on Popupsmart's plugin page that the plugin has not been tested with the latest three major WordPress releases. Block themes have no footer.php, so they need the plugin or Google Tag Manager. Popupsmart vs Popup Maker compares the two plugins.

WooCommerce stores: cart pages and OptinMonster Growth

Popupsmart installs on WooCommerce like any WordPress site, but it does not read the WooCommerce cart. Cart rules are Shopify-only, so a cart popup is aimed at the cart page address. Popup Maker lists cart abandonment popups as a Pro+ item, at $249 a year. OptiMonk's plugin shares WooCommerce cart value and contents with OptiMonk for cart targeting.

OptinMonster lists its WooCommerce integration from Growth. Growth is $147 a month billed monthly, or $67 a month for the first year billed annually ($804), then $1,470 a year. Its WordPress plugin requires an OptinMonster account.

Which to install for your site

• A blog with click or page-load popups: Popup Maker's free plugin, which lists no traffic limits.
• A blog that wants an exit offer: Popup Maker Pro at $99 a year for one site, or Popupsmart's free plan if 5,000 pageviews and one live popup are enough.
• A WooCommerce store that wants cart popups: Popup Maker Pro+, OptiMonk's plugin, which shares cart data with OptiMonk, or OptinMonster Growth with its WooCommerce integration.

Popupsmart's free plan covers one WordPress site with every trigger, exit intent included. How to add a popup on WordPress has the install steps for each route.