Despite being one of the most popular lead generation plugins, OptinMonster doesn’t offer a good enough first impression for some WordPress users. You can’t use it until you create an account on its website, which demands credit card information.
OptinMonster is technically a SaaS, not purely a WordPress plugin.
If you prefer using a lead generation tool that completely runs on your WordPress website, then you can try one of the following OptinMonster alternatives.
All plugins on the list below allow you to create an email opt-in popup and connect it with an email marketing service of your choice. Just like OptinMonster.
Shortcuts ⤵️
- Why users are switching away from OptinMonster
- Features to consider in an OptinMonster alternative
- List of OptinMonster alternatives for WordPress
- Summary
Why Users are Switching Away from OptinMonster
Every product has a specific market. While OptinMonster is a great product, it doesn’t fit those who prefer using a plugin instead of SaaS to add a certain functionality to their WordPress website.
Integrating your website with an external service like OptinMonster means that there are external scripts loaded. This can make your website a bit slower.
Some plugins can also slow down your website. That’s the truth. But you can easily fix it by switching to a better hosting.
Also, you don’t have to share your data with a third-party company when you use a plugin.
OptinMonster Transformation
For your information, OptinMonster used to be a purely WordPress plugin. It became a SaaS because its developer wanted to track more users’ activities.
OptinMonster developer wanted to track metrics like split test usage, template usage, most-used email marketing services with the goal of (according to their claim) providing a better product.
Its developer needed more hosting resources to run the tracking and other features.
Unfortunately, not all hosting services can run all of the OptinMonster features because some hosting services, especially cPanel-based hosting services, have limited resources.
While the OptinMonster transformation reasons are extremely logical, some WordPress users don’t accept it. They still want a self-hosted solution of lead generation tool.
Some Features to Consider in an OptinMonster Alternative
OptinMonster is a lead generation tool. You can primarily use it to generate leads via popups. Thus, the ability to create popups is the main thing you need to notice when you are looking for an OptinMonster replacement.
There are a bunch of popup builder plugins for WordPress, but not all of them can be used to generate leads.
To be able to generate leads, you need a popup builder in which you can add an email opt-in form to your popup.
And most importantly, you need to make sure that you can connect the email opt-in form with the email marketing platform you use.
Here are some key features you need to make sure they are available on the OptinMonster alternative you want to switch to.
- Ability to create popups
- Ability to set the popup behavior
- Ability to add email opt-in form
- The supporting email marketing platforms
- Ability to run A/B testing
List of OptinMonster Alternatives for WordPress
On the list:
1. Bloom
Bloom is arguably the best OptinMonster alternative when it comes to functionality. It is a popup builder plugin designed specifically to generate leads.
Bloom comes with a form builder feature which you can connect with nearly all email marketing platforms you can think of. From MailerLite, ActiveCampaign to HubSpot.
Even lesser-known platforms like iContact and FluentCRM are also supported by Bloom.
To make it easy for you to create a new popup, Bloom offers tens of ready-to-use popup templates. Each template already comes with an email opt-in form.
To maximize the conversion, Bloom allows you to set the behavior of the popup you create. For instance, you can display the popup when someone clicks on a button to download something in which something you offer will be sent to after they enter the button.
Or you can also display the popup after someone leaves a comment on your blog post.
If you have an online store built with WooCommerce, you can also display a popup to say thank you to anyone who have just purchased your product.
Here is the list of trigger types supported by Bloom.
- Time delay
- After inactivity
- After reaching the bottom of the post
- After commenting
- After scrolling
- After purchasing a WooCommerce product
- On click (supports CSS class)
Bloom also allows you to set where you want the popup to show up. Whether on the entire website, specific page(s) only, specific post(s) only, on posts under a specific category, and so on.
An analytics feature is available to allow you to monitor how your popup is performing. You can also run a split test to maximize the popup conversion.
Bloom itself is a paid plugin from Elegant Themes and it is only available as a bundle. You can get it with either a one-time purchase or yearly subscription.
Apart from Bloom, the bundle offered by Elegant Themes also include Divi (theme) and Monarch (plugin).
Bloom pros:
- Email opt-in form builder
- Extensive email marketing platform support
- Advanced popup behavior options
- A/B testing
- Ready-to-use templates
- One-time purchase option is available
Bloom cons:
- Lack design options
2. Elementor Pro
Elementor is known as a popular page builder plugin for WordPress. In case you didn’t know, Elementor also comes with a popup builder and a form builder feature. You can create these two things (popup and form) using a single plugin: Elementor Pro.
Elementor Pro is an official add-on from Elementor to enrich the features and functionality of Elementor page builder.
With the Elementor popup builder feature, you can create a beautifully-designed popup. You can add any widget to your popup, including the Form widget which you can connect with MailerLite, Mailchimp, HubSpot, etc.
If you prefer to store the generated leads on your website, Elementor also offers a form submission manager you can leverage.
Not only that you can use Elementor popup builder to create a traditional popup, but you can also use it to create a notification bar.
Furthermore, Elementor also allows you to set the behavior of your popup and set where the popup to show up.
Elementor pros:
- Offers advanced design options
- Advanced popup behavior options
- Extensive email marketing platform support
- Ready-to-use templates
- Built-in form submission manager
Elementor cons:
- No A/B testing
- No one-one purchase option
3. Breakdance Pro
Breakdance is pretty similar to Elementor. It is a page builder that comes with a popup and a form builder feature. With these features, you no longer need to install a lead generation plugin like OptinMonster to generate leads.
The popup builder feature of Breakdance is accessible on both the free version and pro version. But you need to upgrade to the pro version to unlock some setting options.
Since the process of popup creation is made via page builder editor (much like Elementor), you can create a beautiful, responsive popup with Breakdance.
Breakdance also offers advanced options to set the popup behavior as well as where the popup to show up on your website. You can also use the feature to create a notification bar, floating banner and other types of popups.
What about the form builder?
The form builder feature of Breakdance allows you to create an email opt-in form and connect it with MailerLite and the likes.
Or you can also collect the leads on your website thanks to its submission manager feature.
Breakdance pros:
- Offers advanced design options
- Advanced popup behavior options
- Extensive email marketing platform support
- Built-in form submission manager
Breakdance cons:
- No A/B testing
- No one-one purchase option
4. MailOptin
MailOptin is a great alternative to OptinMonster if you are looking for a free solution. You can use the free version of MailOptin to create a fully functional lead generation popup.
However, you can only access the basic features with the free version. For instance, you can only create a traditional lightbox popup with the free version. Whereas you can create a notification bar and slide-in popup with the pro version
Integration support is also limited with the free version.
If you use the pro version, you can integrate your lead generation popup with more online platforms. Including Google Sheets and Facebook Custom Audience.
The pro version also comes with a form submission manager in case you want to store your leads on your own website.
MailOptin leverages the native WordPress customizer to design the popup. Design options like the ability to change typography, button style and form style are available.
Advanced features like stats and A/B testing are also available in MailOptin. However, you need to upgrade to the pro version to unlock them.
MailOptin pros:
- Extensive email marketing platform support
- A/B testing
- Built-in stats
- Ready-to-use templates
- One-time purchase option is available
- Submission manager
- Built-in email composer to send newsletters
MailOptin cons:
- Lack design options
- The pro version is a bit pricey
5. HollerBox
HollerBox is an OptinMonster alternative that offers a better popup creation experience. At least when compared to MailOptin. It uses its own popup editor, which is easy enough to use.
HollerBox is also released as a freemium plugin. Meaning that you can use it for free although some limitations apply. You don’t need to create an account to use the free version of HollerBox.
Apart from a lightbox popup, HollerBox also allows you to generate leads using a fake notification and fake chat.
About the popup behavior, HollerBox allows you to show the popup on page load (with or without delay), on click (CSS class), on page scroll, exit intent and inactivity (requires pro version).
You can also select specific areas on your website where you want your popup to show up.
What about the marketing platform integration?
With the pro version of HollerBox, you can integrate your lead generation form with Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot.
The HollerBox developer also owns a CRM plugin called Groundhogg in case you want to give it a try.
HollerBox pros:
- Lightweight, easy-to-use popup editor
- Built-in stats
- Ready-to-use templates
- Advanced popup behavior options
HollerBox cons:
- Lack integration support
- No A/B testing
- The pro version is pricey
6. JetPopup
JetPopup is an extremely affordable popup builder plugin for WordPress. You can get it at only $22 per year (equals to $1.83 per month).
However, it is only usable to generate leads if you are a Mailchimp user. That’s because JetPopup only supports integration with Mailchimp.
JetPopup itself leverages Elementor and Gutenberg to create a popup (you can choose one).
Outside its extremely limited email marketing integration support, JetPopup is a great plugin to create popups in WordPress. Especially if you are an Elementor user. You have limitless design options thanks to the advanced Elementor visual editor.
JetPopup offers advanced options to set the popup behavior. You can set how the popup should show up as well as where it should show up.
JetPopup pros:
- Offers advanced design options
- Advanced popup behavior options
- Ready-to-use templates
JetPopup cons:
- Lack email marketing platform integration support
- Not designed specifically to be a lead generation plugin
7. Popup Builder
To be honest, Popup Builder is not the best plugin to replace OptinMonster in WordPress. It has no A/B testing feature or analytics feature.
But if you are looking for a simple plugin to create a popup to capture email addresses, then it is worth trying. You can create a popup — complete with the email opt-in form — for free with Popup Builder.
Popup Builder comes with a handy form submission manager which you can use to manage the collected email addresses. The ability to export your leads into a CSV file is available in case you want to cultivate your data using a more proper tool.
Popup Builder is an add-on based tool. To extend its functionality, you can install paid add-ons it offers.
The plugin itself leverages Gutenberg for popup building.
Same as other plugins above, Popup Builder also allows you to set the popup behavior. You can set whether you want the popup to show up on page load, on click (CSS class), on hover, on page scroll or inactivity status.
Popup Builder pros:
- Advanced popup behavior options
- More affordable
- Useful submission manager
Popup Builder cons:
- No A/B testing
- Lack email marketing integration support
- No analytics
8. Brave
Brave is a great lead generation plugin to replace OptinMonster. It allows you to create a lead generation form and display it in a popup and on a page as an embedded form. The form builder feature of Brave support field types like name, email, phone, and website.
Its popup builder, meanwhile, offers a great editing experience. It has clean, modern editor with a drag and drop functionality. Pretty similar to a page builder but designed to create a popup.
Brave offers flexible form positioning. You can set the position of the popup to the top, bottom, center, or corner. This capability makes it possible for you to create a lightbox popup, notification bar, and slide-in poup.
You can also set a precise lead generation popup as Brave allows you to set custom locations for your popup.
Brave pros:
- Advance popup editor with a super clean interface
- More fields on the form builder
- Allows for advanced targeting
- Supports multi-step popup (pro version required)
Brave cons:
- Doesn’t allow to manage submissions on the free version
- No A/B test
9. Hustle
Hustle is one of the best free alternatives to OptinMonster. The plugin allows you to create a lead generation form in a popup. You can also create a standalone form which you can embed anywhere via a shortcode.
In Hustle, you have two options on how you want to collect leads. First, you can collect leads locally and manage them using its built-in lead manager. Second, you can integrate your form with a CRM or email marketing platform like HubSpot and Mailchimp
In Hustle, you will find an option to automatically download a file after a visitor submit a subscribe button. This feature is quite useful if you want to offer a freebie to your visitors to hook them.
You can use Hustle for free, but are limited to only 3 popups per site.
Hustle pros:
- More features on free version
- More fields on form builder
- Allows for advanced targeting
Hustle cons:
- No A/B test
- Limited popups (3 max on free version)
Summary
OptinMonster is a great tool to generate leads. However, it is not the best solution for WordPress users who prefer using a self-hosted lead generation tool.
Bloom, MailOptin and HollerBox are the plugins that have the same functionality as OptinMonster. The difference, they are fully self-hosted so that you don’t need to worry about your data being shared with a third-party company.
Not even your hosting provider.
If you are an Elementor or Breakdance user, you don’t even need to install an extra plugin to generate leads. They already have a built-in form and popup builder features you can leverage to create an email opt-in popup to generate leads.
Which Plugin is the Best to Replace OptinMonster?
Not only that you can use OptinMonster to create a popup to generate leads, but you can also monitor its performance using its built-in analytics feature.
You can even run a split test to find out which popup performs better.
If you need both analytics and split test features, then Bloom, MailOptin and HollerBox are the alternatives you can go to.
Elementor Pro and Breakdance, meanwhile, are the solutions you can go to if you really care about the design of your popup as they offer a more advanced popup editor.
Looking for a free OptinMonster alternative to collect email addresses and store them to your website? Popup Builder is worth trying.
