Curator.io vs Elfsight (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Curator.io and Elfsight share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan, and Elfsight starts cheaper, at $5 a month against $23 a month.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Curator.io
Social media aggregator with a free plan, for website feeds
Elfsight
Library of 90+ website widgets, from popups to reviews and feeds
Which one is for you
Pick Curator.io if
- Fits if you want posts from several networks on one site feed
- Works for small sites that stay within 2,000 views a month
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 sources, 2,000 views and a Powered by Curator link
- Pricey if you need unlimited views: that is Business at $54 a month
- Watch out: premium sources and API access are limited to Business and above
- Watch out: the annual price is inferred from the page, which doesn't label which figure is which
Pick Elfsight if
- Fits if you're on Squarespace, Wix or Webflow and want widgets without code
- Works for a site that needs a popup plus a Google reviews feed or a chat button
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to A/B test popups or send leads to an email tool, as neither is on record
- Tight if you're on the free plan, which stops at 200 views a month with Elfsight branding
- Not for you if traffic spikes worry you, as a widget switches off for the month at its view limit
- Pricey if you want several widget types, as each app is its own subscription unless you buy the $15-a-month pack
- Watch out: every widget load counts as a view, so a site-wide popup on 20,000 visitors passes Pro's 50,000
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACurator.ioFair | 2.2GPAElfsightFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $23 a month billed annually ($25 monthly), just under the category's dearer-quarter start of $24. Business is $54. | CGraded on the popup app alone. Every widget load counts as a view, so a site-wide popup on a site with 20,000 visitors passes Pro's 50,000 views. Premium is $20 a month billed yearly ($24 monthly), a touch above the lowest-priced popup tools here. Other widgets cost extra. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with 3 sources, 24-hour updates, 2,000 views and 1,000 posts, plus a Powered by Curator link. | CFree forever, but just 1 widget and 200 views a month, with Elfsight branding, and the widget switches off for the month once it hits that. A popup on a site with real traffic is done on day one. |
| Features | CMany networks, moderation, edit and pin, an embed snippet and an API. The listing's gaps: API and premium sources only on Business and above. | CSet beside its listed alternatives, which is fairer for a library of 90+ widgets: the popup handles sales, sign-ups, feedback and cart reminders on chosen pages, with time and action triggers. No A/B tests or email-tool links on record, so it's the basics. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect each source, moderate posts and paste in a snippet. | CNo rating on record. Each widget is set up from templates in a live editor and pasted in with a short code, and support will install it for you on paid plans. You're still building it, though. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb embed with more than 15 networks including Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok, and an API on Business. | BWeb only, but widgets install on 100+ platforms, including Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify and Framer, or any HTML site. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | a moderated social feed on your site | popups alongside reviews, feeds and chat |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Curator.io and Elfsight. How we grade
Price against what you get
Curator.io starts at $23 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Elfsight starts at $5 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Elfsight starts $18 a month lower. Of the other popup and widget tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Curator.io for less, and 2 score higher than Elfsight for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Elfsight also covers templates, no-code, forms and chatbots.
At a glance
| Curator.io | Elfsight | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $23 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) | $5 per app / month for up to 5,000 views, billed yearly |
| Free plan | 3 sources, updates every 24 hours, 2,000 views a month and 1,000 posts, with a Powered by Curator link. | 1 widget of one app on unlimited websites, 200 views a month, with Elfsight branding; the widget switches off for the month past that. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Curator.io | Elfsight, SL |
| Price read from | curator.io | elfsight.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Curator.io
- The free and Pro plans cap views per month (2,000 and 15,000); only Business is unlimited.
- The Powered by Curator link is removed only on paid plans.
- The annual price is inferred as the lower figure shown beside the 8% saving note; the page text does not label which figure is which.
- Premium sources are marked with an asterisk and limited to Business and above.
Elfsight
- Single-app plans cover one widget type; a popup and a review feed are two subscriptions unless you buy the all-apps pack.
- The free plan allows only 200 views a month, and any plan's widget is switched off for the month once its view limit is reached.
- Every widget load counts as a view, including loads through a share link.
- Plans can be refunded in full for any reason within 14 days.
Key features
Curator.io
- Many source networks
- Pulls from Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Google Reviews, RSS and more.
- Manual and automatic moderation
- Filters out posts that do not fit your brand before they appear in the feed.
- Snippet embed
- Paste a code snippet on a page; the page says no iframes are used.
- Edit and pin posts
- Edit and pin individual posts in the feed, from the Pro plan upward.
- API access
- Included on Business, with premium sources.
- Update speed by plan
- Every 24 hours on Free, 60 minutes on Pro and 15 minutes on Business.
Elfsight
- Popup builder
- Popups for sales, sign-ups, feedback, welcome messages and abandoned carts, shown on chosen pages with time and action triggers and a set frequency.
- 90+ other widgets
- Review feeds from Google, Amazon, Tripadvisor and others, social feeds, an AI chatbot, chat buttons, forms, booking, galleries, maps and cookie consent.
- Live editor and templates
- Configure each widget in a no-code live editor from templates, and try any of them in a demo before signing up.
- Works on 100+ platforms
- Widgets install with a short code on Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, WordPress, Shopify, Framer and other builders, or any HTML site.
- Projects and collaborators
- Paid plans from Pro group widgets into projects and let collaborators work on them, useful for agencies.
- Installation help
- On paid plans, Elfsight's support team will help install a widget on your site at no extra cost.
Plans
Curator.io
Free$0
per month
3 sources, 24-hour updates, 2,000 views a month and 1,000 posts.
Pro$23
per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
5 sources, hourly updates, 15,000 views, 10,000 posts, no Curator link, edit and pin posts.
Business$54
per month, billed annually ($59 billed monthly)
15 sources, updates every 15 minutes, unlimited views, 30,000 posts, API access, premium sources.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds project management, premium support and developer access; contact sales.
Elfsight
Free$0
1 widget, 200 views a month on unlimited websites, Elfsight branding and bug-fix support only.
Basic$5
per app / month for up to 5,000 views, billed yearly ($6 monthly)
Up to 3 widgets of one app, such as Popup, with no branding or ads and basic support.
Pro$10
per app / month for up to 50,000 views, billed yearly ($12 monthly)
Up to 9 widgets of one app, 3 projects, 1 collaborator and priority support.
Premium$20
per app / month for up to 150,000 views, billed yearly ($24 monthly)
Up to 21 widgets of one app, 9 projects, 3 collaborators and live chat support.
Enterprise$30
per app / month for up to 300,000 views, billed yearly ($42 monthly)
50 widgets and an account manager. Higher tiers: 600,000 views for $40, 1.2 million for $60 and unlimited for $80 a month yearly.
96 Apps Pack$15
per month for 5,000 views per app, billed yearly ($18 monthly)
Every Elfsight app with 3 widgets each. Larger packs: $30 a month for 50,000 views per app, up to $240 for 400 widgets per app.
Ways to pay less
Curator.io
- Annual discount
Save 8% with annual billing
The pricing page has a Monthly and Annual toggle and says annual billing saves 8%.
Elfsight
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves 17% to 29%
Basic is $5 a month billed yearly against $6 monthly, Pro $10 against $12, and Enterprise T1 $30 against $42.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Curator.io or Elfsight?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Elfsight is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against $23 a month for Curator.io. Curator.io starts at $23 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly), and Elfsight starts at $5 per app / month for up to 5,000 views, billed yearly.
Which has a free plan, Curator.io or Elfsight?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Curator.io and Elfsight have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.