Popups can be helpful when they are used with a clear purpose and shown at the right time.
You can use them to collect email subscribers, share a special discount, promote a product, guide visitors to a contact form, announce an update, or highlight an important call-to-action. When used properly, a popup can help visitors notice something important without forcing them to search for it.
However, not every popup plugin is built for the same need. Some popup plugins are focused on email marketing and conversion campaigns, with features like targeting rules, exit intent, and A/B testing. Some are better for simple announcements, banners, or quick promotional messages. Others are more useful if you build your site inside Gutenberg and want to create popups using a familiar WordPress editing workflow.
That is why choosing the right plugin matters. A small blog, an online store, a business website, and a marketing landing page may all need different popup features.
In this article, we will compare some of the best popup plugins for WordPress, explain what each plugin is best for, and help you choose the right option based on your website goals.
What Is a Popup Plugin?
A popup plugin is a tool that lets you create popup messages on your website without coding them from scratch. It helps you design the popup, choose where it appears, decide when it shows up, and connect it with other tools such as email marketing platforms, contact forms, or WooCommerce.
In simple terms, it gives you an easier way to show important messages to visitors while they are browsing your site.
You can use a popup plugin to create different message styles, such as lightbox popups, slide-ins, floating bars, fullscreen popups, notification bars, embedded forms, or small callout boxes.
Usually, popup plugins are often used for:
The best WordPress popup plugin is not always the one with the most features. What matters more is whether it fits your workflow and gives you enough control over the design, display rules, triggers, targeting, and integrations.
What to Look for in a Popup Plugin
Before you choose a popup plugin, think about what you want the popup to do.
If you only need to show a simple announcement, you probably do not need a large marketing tool. A lighter plugin with basic popup settings may be enough. But if you want to run campaigns on several landing pages, you may need more advanced features, such as targeting rules, analytics, email integrations, and A/B testing.
For a website built with Gutenberg, you may also want a popup plugin that fits your normal WordPress editing workflow. This helps you create and manage popups without switching to a completely different builder.
Here are a few things you should check before choosing a popup plugin:
A good popup plugin should support your goal without making your website harder to manage. Once you know what features you need, it becomes easier to compare each option.
Now, let’s look at the best popup plugins for WordPress.
1. Gutenverse PRO
Gutenverse is a Gutenberg blocks plugin and Full Site Editing website builder for WordPress. It helps you create pages, templates, forms, animations, and popups directly inside the WordPress editor.
For popup needs, Gutenverse PRO includes an Advanced Popup Builder. Gutenverse also connects well with the Template Library, so you can start from ready-made popup designs instead of designing every layout from zero.
This makes Gutenverse PRO a good choice if you want your popup to fit into your full website design workflow. For example, you can build a landing page, add a form, show a promotional popup, and keep the design consistent across your site.
Gutenverse PRO is especially useful for:
The popup workflow is simple. Open the Template Library, choose a popup template, import it, customize the content, then adjust the position, trigger, and animation. You can read the related tutorial: This Is the Easiest Way to Make Popups for Your WordPress Site.
2. Popup Maker Pro
Popup Maker is one of the most popular popup plugins on WordPress.org. Many WordPress users start with the free version, then upgrade to a paid plan when they need more control over popup behavior, targeting, and advanced features.
You can use Popup Maker Pro for:
Popup Maker lets you create unlimited popups and control how they appear on your site. You can set triggers, targeting rules, cookies, popup themes, overlays, and design settings. Its trigger options include common actions like opening a popup on click or showing it automatically after a visitor lands on a page.
This plugin works well if you want a dedicated popup tool without using a full website builder. It may need a bit more setup, but it gives you plenty of flexibility for different popup campaigns.
3. Convert Pro
Convert Pro is a premium WordPress popup and lead generation plugin from Brainstorm Force. It helps marketers, bloggers, e-commerce websites, developers, and businesses create popups that collect leads and improve conversions.
This plugin includes drag-and-drop editing, ready-to-use templates, Google Analytics integration, 30+ mailer integrations, exit intent popups, on-click popups, info bars, slide-ins, inline CTAs, fullscreen CTAs, page-level targeting, and split A/B testing.
This plugin works well for:
Convert Pro is suitable for email list growth and conversion-focused campaigns. Unlike Gutenverse PRO, it doesn’t cover the full website-building workflow. Its main strength is helping you create popup and opt-in campaigns for marketing goals.
4. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is a popup builder and lead generation platform with an official WordPress plugin. It suits users who want to create popup campaigns from a hosted platform and then connect them to a WordPress website.
You can use OptinMonster to create popups, fullscreen campaigns, floating bars, slide-ins, inline forms, and gamified campaigns. Its WordPress.org listing also highlights drag-and-drop campaign building, targeting rules, personalization, and conversion analytics.
OptinMonster is a good choice for:
OptinMonster and Gutenverse PRO can both help you create serious popup campaigns for WordPress. The main difference is the workflow. OptinMonster uses a separate hosted campaign platform, while Gutenverse PRO keeps popup creation closer to Gutenberg, templates, forms, and site design.
5. Thrive Leads
Thrive Leads is a paid WordPress plugin from Thrive Themes for building opt-in forms, popups, and lead generation campaigns. It helps you create forms that encourage visitors to join your email list, download a lead magnet, or take another conversion-focused action.
Thrive Leads is especially useful for:
Thrive Leads works well if your main goal is to grow your email list. You can use it to create different opt-in forms, test which version performs better, and show offers to the right visitors.
Compared with Gutenverse PRO, Thrive Leads focuses more on lead capture and testing. It does not focus on full page design, Gutenberg workflows, or Full Site Editing.
Which Popup Plugin Should You Choose?
The right popup plugin depends on how you build your WordPress website and what you want your popup to do.
For Gutenberg and Full Site Editing websites, Gutenverse PRO is the easiest option to keep inside the block-based workflow. It lets you create popups together with your blocks, templates, forms, animations, responsive controls, and other design tools.
Popup Maker Pro works well for websites that need a dedicated popup system. It focuses fully on popup behavior, so it is a solid choice when you want flexible triggers, targeting rules, cookies, overlays, and display settings without changing your site-building workflow.
For conversion-focused campaigns, Convert Pro gives you stronger control over lead generation, email integrations, targeting, analytics, and A/B testing. It is a good fit for marketers, agencies, and businesses that want a premium WordPress popup and opt-in plugin.
OptinMonster suits teams that want a hosted lead generation platform connected to WordPress. It gives you campaign types, targeting rules, personalization options, and analytics, but you create and manage the campaigns in a separate platform.
Thrive Leads is better for WordPress users who mainly want to grow an email list with signup forms, popups, slide-ins, and A/B testing. It focuses on creating and testing forms that help turn visitors into leads.
FAQ
The best popup plugin depends on how you build your website and what you need from the popup. Gutenverse PRO is a strong choice for Gutenberg and Full Site Editing users. Popup Maker Pro is a good option if you want a dedicated popup plugin. Convert Pro, OptinMonster, and Thrive Leads are better for lead generation, email list growth, and conversion-focused campaigns.
Yes. You can create popups in WordPress without coding by using a popup plugin. If you build your site with Gutenberg or Full Site Editing, Gutenverse PRO lets you create popups using a more familiar WordPress editing workflow. You can start from a popup template, customize the content, then adjust the trigger, position, and animation without writing code.
Yes, popup plugins can help with email marketing when you use them properly. A good popup should offer something useful, such as a discount, free guide, newsletter, or special update. For email-focused campaigns, you can compare tools like Convert Pro, OptinMonster, Thrive Leads, and Popup Maker Pro.
Popups can slow down your website if the plugin loads too many files or if the popup uses heavy images, scripts, or third-party forms. To avoid this, only use the features you need, optimize your images, and test your page speed after adding a popup.
Popups are not always bad for SEO. The problem usually comes from popups that interrupt visitors too much, especially on mobile. Keep your popup easy to close, avoid showing it too early, and make sure visitors can still read and use your page comfortably.
Final Thoughts
A popup plugin can be useful when you want to show an important message without asking visitors to search for it.
On Gutenberg or Full Site Editing websites, Gutenverse PRO is a good starting point. Its popup builder stays close to the same workflow you already use to build pages, templates, forms, animations, and other site sections. You can start with a ready-made popup template, customize the content, then adjust the trigger, position, and animation without moving into a completely separate builder.
To learn how it works, you can read our related guide: This Is the Easiest Way to Make Popups for Your WordPress Site. It shows how you can create popups in WordPress using Gutenverse.
For a popup-only plugin, Popup Maker Pro is worth considering. Convert Pro, OptinMonster, and Thrive Leads are better options to compare when your popup is mainly for collecting emails or running marketing campaigns.
In the end, choose the popup plugin that fits your editor, your campaign goal, and the way you want to manage your website later.
