I tested 20+ popup and email capture tools for ecommerce and content sites. BDOW (formerly Sumo) became popular as a free popup builder that helped many sites grow email lists.
But it has limits. The Pro plan costs $49/month for features like A/B testing and removing branding, and design control feels restricted.
Many newer tools include similar features at a lower cost or even for free. I tested 9 alternatives to see which ones offer better value.
Boost Conversion Instantly
Add Social Proof & Urgency to your website
Quick Comparison: BDOW (Sumo) vs 9 Alternatives
Why Users Switch from BDOW (Sumo)
BDOW has 30,000+ active WordPress installations and a loyal user base from its Sumo days. But these are the friction points that push users toward alternatives.
BDOW (Sumo) Pricing (2026)
BDOW rebranded from Sumo but kept the same pricing model. Here’s the current breakdown:
The free plan works for basic email capture on a single site. But anything beyond basic forms (A/B testing, exit-intent targeting, brand removal, WooCommerce integration) requires the $49/month Pro plan.
Compare that to OptiMonk’s free plan, which includes all features up to 10K pageviews, or Hello Bar’s free plan, which includes exit-intent popups. For what BDOW charges $49/month, OptinMonster gives you 700+ templates with A/B testing for $19/month (annual).
Build urgency
Add floating offers with countdown timer & coupon code.
9 Best BDOW (Sumo) Alternatives for Email Capture (2026)
1. Wisepops
Wisepops is the premium upgrade from BDOW for ecommerce stores that want advanced popup capabilities with all features unlocked on every plan.
If you’re paying BDOW’s $49/month Pro plan and still hitting limitations, Wisepops offers significantly more at the same price.
What they do right: All features on all plans. No feature gating. A/B testing, AI product recommendations, advanced targeting, revenue analytics, and gamification are included in the first paid plan.
BDOW locks A/B testing and advanced targeting behind the Pro plan.
Deep Shopify integration with cart-based targeting shows different popups based on cart value, specific products, and purchase history.
BDOW’s Shopify support is more limited than its WordPress integration.
On-site notification feed (“Wisp”) lets you communicate promotions through a notification bell without popup interruptions.
Gamification campaigns (spin-to-win, advent calendars) are built with a dedicated campaign builder.
Steal this: Their “all features, all plans” approach. At $49/month (same as BDOW Pro), Wisepops gives you AI product recommendations, cart-based targeting, and revenue tracking that BDOW doesn’t offer at any price.
What to know before choosing: No free plan (14-day trial only). If you need a permanently free popup tool, BDOW’s free plan, OptiMonk, or Hello Bar are better starting points. Wisepops is for established stores, not early-stage sites.
Pricing: From $49/month. 14-day free trial.
2. WiserNotify
WiserNotify isn’t a popup builder like BDOW. It’s a social proof notification platform that displays real-time purchase alerts, visitor counts, and review notifications.
If your goal is to build trust and create urgency without traditional popups, WiserNotify approaches conversion from a different angle than popup tools do.
What they do right: Real-time social proof notifications (“Sarah from Austin just purchased this item,” “47 people viewing this right now”) build trust passively without interrupting the browsing experience.
These trust signals increase conversion rates by 10-15% on average.
250+ integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, payment processors, and CRMs.
Announcement bars, countdown timers, and urgency widgets complement popup strategies. Review notifications display star ratings from Google, Facebook, and Trustpilot.
Steal this: Run WiserNotify alongside your popup tool for a dual approach. Popups capture emails; social proof builds trust.
The combination typically outperforms either approach alone.
What to know before choosing: WiserNotify does NOT build popups. No email capture forms, exit-intent overlays, or spin-to-win wheels.
If you need those, use Wisepops, OptinMonster, or Hello Bar. WiserNotify works best as a complement to popup tools, not a standalone replacement for BDOW.
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid from $16/month.
Build trust & FOMO
Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
3. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is the most direct BDOW alternative for WordPress users who want more templates, deeper targeting, and lower pricing.
If you’re a WordPress blogger, content creator, or membership site running BDOW, OptinMonster gives you 700+ templates and advanced features starting at $19/month.
What they do right: 700+ pre-built templates spanning lightbox popups, floating bars, fullscreen welcome mats, slide-in scroll boxes, inline forms, content lockers, and countdown timers. BDOW’s template library is a fraction of this size.
Exit-Intent technology detects when visitors move their mouse toward the close button and triggers a popup. Content lockers gate premium content behind an email opt-in.
A/B testing is included from the Plus plan ($32/month annual).
Multi-site management from one dashboard makes OptinMonster the go-to for agencies managing popup campaigns across multiple WordPress sites. BDOW limits Pro to 3 domains.
Steal this: Their content locker campaign type. Instead of showing every visitor a generic email capture popup, lock your best content behind an opt-in.
Visitors choose to subscribe to specific content, producing higher-quality subscribers.
What to know before choosing: OptinMonster is WordPress-first. No free plan. The Basic plan ($19/month, annual) limits you to one site and does not include A/B testing.
For Shopify stores, OptiMonk or Wisepops is a better fit.
Pricing: From $19/month (annual). No free plan.
4. Hello Bar
Hello Bar is the simplest BDOW alternative for bloggers and small business owners who want notification bars, popups, and sliders without complexity.
If BDOW’s dashboard feels overwhelming, Hello Bar strips popup creation to the absolute basics.
What they do right: The fastest setup I’ve tested. A working notification bar or popup can be live in under 5 minutes.
The AI Design Assistant automatically matches popup styling to your website.
Free plan includes exit-intent popups, which BDOW locks behind the $49/month Pro plan.
Full-width notification bars (Hello Bar’s signature feature) drive traffic to landing pages, promotions, or specific posts.
A/B testing, page-level targeting, and conversion analytics are included on paid plans starting at $29/month.
Steal this: Their notification bar format. Instead of interrupting visitors with a popup, a slim bar at the top of the page announces your offer without blocking content.
Visitors notice it without being annoyed.
What to know before choosing: Hello Bar’s popup builder is simpler than BDOW’s or OptinMonster’s. Limited template variety.
No gamification features. Best for sites that need clean, simple email capture without advanced ecommerce features.
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid from $29/month.
Build trust & FOMO
Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
5. OptiMonk
OptiMonk is the AI-powered personalization platform that goes well beyond BDOW’s popup capabilities.
If you’re running a Shopify store and want popups with AI product recommendations, smart targeting, and revenue analytics, OptiMonk is the upgrade from basic popup tools.
What they do right: Free plan includes ALL features for up to 10,000 monthly pageviews. BDOW’s free plan significantly restricts features.
At 10K pageviews, OptiMonk gives you A/B testing, exit-intent, advanced targeting, and all campaign types for free.
AI Smart Personalizer shows different popup content based on each visitor’s browsing behavior.
Drag-and-drop editor with a large use case library of pre-built campaigns. Shopify-native integration reads cart data and purchase history.
Steal this: Their free plan at 10K pageviews. If your site gets under 10K monthly pageviews, OptiMonk gives you everything BDOW charges $49/month for, completely free.
What to know before choosing: Pricing scales by pageviews. Once you cross 20K pageviews, costs jump to $29/month (Essential) and then $99/month (Growth at 100K).
The personalization features can feel overwhelming if you just need a simple email capture.
Pricing: Free (10K pageviews). Paid from $29/month.
6. Poptin
Poptin is the budget-friendly popup builder for small businesses that need clean popups without paying BDOW’s $49/month Pro price.
If your primary need is email capture with A/B testing at the lowest possible cost, Poptin delivers core functionality at $25/month.
What they do right: The free plan includes 1,000 visitors/month and basic popup capabilities.
Drag-and-drop editor is one of the simplest available. Templates are clean and modern. Exit-intent, time delay, scroll percentage, and page-based triggers are all included.
Autoresponder sends an automatic follow-up email after popup submission, which most popup tools don’t offer natively.
Built-in forms and embedded widgets provide inline signup options alongside popups. A/B testing is included on paid plans.
Steal this: Their built-in autoresponder. Instead of just capturing the email and passing it to your ESP, Poptin sends an instant follow-up while the subscriber is still engaged on your site.
What to know before choosing: The free plan caps at 1,000 visitors/month (very low).
The template library is smaller than OptinMonster or OptiMonk. Targeting options are more basic than Wisepops or Justuno.
Pricing: Free (1K visitors/mo). Paid from $25/month.
Build trust & FOMO
Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
7. Justuno
Justuno is the targeting rules powerhouse for Shopify stores that need granular control over popup display logic.
If BDOW’s targeting feels too basic, Justuno offers 80+ rules to build highly specific audience segments.
What they do right: 80+ targeting rules, including cart value, product in cart, traffic source, UTM parameters, and previous purchase history.
Free plan for Shopify stores up to 5,000 monthly sessions. AI-powered product recommendations in popups.
Gamification templates (spin-to-win, scratch cards) and countdown timers. CRM data enrichment passes the popup data to Klaviyo, HubSpot, and other CRMs with custom fields.
Steal this: Their cart value-based targeting. Show a “free shipping” popup only to visitors with cart values just below your free shipping threshold. This nudges them to add one more item instead of showing generic popups to everyone.
What to know before choosing: The editor has a steep learning curve. The interface feels cluttered compared to the simplicity of BDOW or Hello Bar.
The power is in the targeting rules, but setup takes longer.
Pricing: Free (Shopify, 5K sessions). Paid from $29/month.
8. Popupsmart
Popupsmart is the no-code popup builder for teams that want popups live in minutes without learning complex software.
If BDOW feels too dated but OptinMonster or Wisepops feel too complex, Popupsmart sits in the sweet spot.
What they do right: Fastest setup among popup tools. Working popup on your site in under 5 minutes.
Focuses on essential features: exit-intent, email capture, countdown timers, and cookie-based targeting. Smart targeting handles the “who and when” automatically.
Steal this: Their simplicity-first approach. If your team spends more time configuring rules than creating offers, Popupsmart handles targeting automatically so you focus on the offer itself.
What to know before choosing: The template library and design options are more limited than those of OptinMonster or Wisepops.
No gamification. No built-in email marketing. Best for teams that want clean, fast popups without the complexity of a full CRO platform.
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid from $39/month.
Build trust & FOMO
Highlight real-time activities like reviews, sales & sign-ups.
9. Picreel
Picreel specializes in exit-intent popups for converting abandoning visitors.
If exit-intent recovery is your primary use case, Picreel’s behavioral detection is more advanced than BDOW’s basic exit-intent trigger.
What they do right: Advanced exit-intent detection tracks mouse movement, scroll velocity, and tab switching to predict abandonment.
100+ templates designed specifically for exit-intent scenarios. Custom JavaScript support for developers who need fully custom popup experiences.
Steal this: Their scroll velocity-based triggering. Instead of only detecting mouse movement toward the browser bar, Picreel tracks how fast visitors scroll back up (a strong abandonment signal) and triggers the popup at that moment.
What to know before choosing: Narrowly focused on exit-intent popups.
Doesn’t offer the breadth of campaign types (welcome mats, gamification, and inline forms) that BDOW or OptiMonk provide. If exit-intent is your main need, Picreel excels. For a full popup platform, look elsewhere.
Pricing: From $19.99/month. Free trial available.
Common Mistakes When Switching from BDOW (Sumo)
I’ve helped sites migrate from BDOW/Sumo to other popup tools. Here are the errors I see most often.
#1: Not exporting your email list before switching. BDOW’s built-in email tool stores subscribers internally. Export your full subscriber list as CSV before canceling. If you’re using a separate ESP (ConvertKit, Mailerlite), your list is already safe there, but double-check that all subscribers synced properly.
#2: Running BDOW and your new tool simultaneously. Two popup scripts on the same page fight for display priority, slow down page load, and create a terrible visitor experience. Remove BDOW’s script completely before activating your replacement.
#3: Forgetting BDOW’s free plan may be enough. Before paying for a new tool, consider whether BDOW’s free plan covers your actual needs. If you only need basic email capture forms on one site without A/B testing, the free plan works fine. Only switch if you need features BDOW doesn’t offer for free.
#4: Choosing a tool based on features you won’t use. If you only need email capture popups and exit-intent, you don’t need Wisepops’ AI product recommendations or Justuno’s 80+ targeting rules. Hello Bar or Poptin cover basic needs at a lower cost with less complexity.
#5: Not testing popup performance during the switch. Document your current popup conversion rates in BDOW before switching. After 30 days on the new tool, compare conversion rates. If they dropped, the issue is usually targeting rules or popup timing, not the tool itself.
How to Pick the Right BDOW Alternative
Here’s my recommendation framework based on testing all of these tools.
Want a premium upgrade with all features unlocked? Wisepops. AI recommendations, cart targeting, gamification. From $49/month.
Want social proof to build trust alongside popups? WiserNotify. Real-time purchase alerts and visitor counts. From $16/month.
WordPress site needing more templates and targeting? OptinMonster. 700+ templates, content lockers, multi-site. From $19/month.
Just need simple notification bars and popups? Hello Bar. Clean setup in 5 minutes, free exit-intent. From $29/month.
Want all features free up to 10K pageviews? OptiMonk. Full CRO platform at no cost for small sites. Free plan.
Smallest budget for basic popups with A/B testing? Poptin. Clean editor, autoresponder included. From $25/month.
Need 80+ granular targeting rules for Shopify? Justuno. Cart value targeting, weather triggers. From $29/month.
Want the fastest, simplest popup setup? Popupsmart. Live in under 5 minutes, AI targeting. From $39/month.
Focused purely on recovering abandoning visitors? Picreel. Advanced exit-intent detection. From $19.99/month.
Boost Conversion Instantly
Add Social Proof & Urgency to your website
Conclusion
BDOW (formerly Sumo) is still a solid free popup tool for basic email capture on WordPress sites.
The free plan works for simple forms, and the brand recognition from the Sumo era means there are plenty of tutorials and community support.
But the $49/month Pro plan is hard to justify in 2026, when OptiMonk gives you all features for free at 10K pageviews, OptinMonster offers 700+ templates for $19/month, and Wisepops unlocks everything at the same $49/month price point with far more advanced features.
If I had to pick one replacement, it would depend on your platform.
For WordPress sites, OptinMonster at $19/month is the most direct upgrade with deeper targeting and a massive template library.
For Shopify stores, Wisepops or OptiMonk offer ecommerce-specific features (cart targeting, product recommendations) that BDOW doesn’t have.
For stores that want to boost conversions through trust signals rather than more popups, WiserNotify’s social proof notifications work alongside any popup tool to increase conversion rates without adding another popup.
Start with a free plan on OptiMonk, Hello Bar, or Poptin. Recreate your top BDOW campaigns. Compare conversion rates after 30 days.
The data will show whether your paid BDOW subscription is worth keeping or whether a focused alternative delivers the same results at a lower cost.
