Hello Bar vs Popup Maker (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Popup Maker: it is third in our ranking of popup and widget tools, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Popup Maker grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hello Bar
Top bars, popups and slide-ins for collecting leads on any site
Popup Maker
WordPress popup plugin with a free edition and yearly Pro licenses
Which one is for you
Pick Hello Bar if
- Fits if you want a sign-up bar along the top of every page of your blog
- Works for A/B testing popups on Growth, at $29 a month billed yearly
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you run a shop and want spin-to-win wheels, coupons or offers based on the cart
- Tight if you hope to stay free, as Starter's 5,000 views don't reset each month and it has no A/B tests
- Not for you if you need webhooks, CRM sync or more than 3 seats for less than $49 a month
- Watch out: when a site hits its monthly view limit, its campaigns pause until the next billing cycle
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $39 for Growth against $29 billed yearly
Pick Popup Maker if
- Fits if you run WordPress and want a free popup plugin
- Works for site owners who pay yearly for exit-intent
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site is not on WordPress, as it is not a hosted service
- Tight if you want exit-intent on the free edition, since that needs Pro
- Watch out: Pro is licensed per site, with 5 sites at $149 for the first year
- Watch out: after a license expires the plugin works but stops getting updates and support
- Pricey if you need Pro+ for ecommerce, at $249 a year for 1 site
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAHello BarFair | 2.6GPAPopup MakerGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CA site with 20,000 visitors should fit in Growth's 50,000 popup views a month: $29 billed yearly, or $39 monthly. That's the middle of what popup tools here charge. Webhooks and CRM sync cost more, on Premium at $49. | BPro is $99 a year, about $8.25 a month, inside the cheapest quarter ($9); the first year is $59.40. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe Starter plan is free with no card, but its 5,000 views are in total, not per month, so a site with real traffic runs out fast. Treat it as a trial. There's no A/B testing on it either. | BThe free plugin on WordPress.org has unlimited popups with page, post and taxonomy targeting, with a limited feature set. |
| Features | CBars, modals, slide-ins and takeovers, exit-intent, scroll and delay triggers, targeting by country, device and ad campaign, and A/B tests on every paid plan. The core is all there, but there's no spin-to-win, coupons or cart rules on record, which most tools here list. | CPopup types, triggers, targeting, analytics and split testing. Exit-intent and scroll triggers need Pro. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. 100+ templates and a Design Assistant that copies your site's colors and fonts help, but you still put it on your site and set up the triggers and targeting yourself. | CNo rating on record; a plugin you install and configure on your site. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWorks on an existing website and sends sign-ups to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, GetResponse, ConvertKit, Salesforce and Zapier. There's no desktop or phone app, so B is as high as it goes. | BWeb only, with five integrations listed. |
| Best for | sign-up bars on blogs and small sites | popups on a WordPress site, free or with a yearly license |
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: Hello Bar and Popup Maker. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hello Bar starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Popup Maker starts at $8.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Popup Maker starts $20.75 a month lower. Of the other popup and widget tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Hello Bar for less, and none scores higher than Popup Maker 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
- Hello Bar also covers templates.
- Popup Maker also covers reports.
At a glance
| Hello Bar | Popup Maker | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month for up to 50,000 popup views, billed annually | $99 per year for 1 site ($59.40 for the first year) |
| Free plan | None | Free plugin on WordPress.org: unlimited popups with page, post and taxonomy targeting, but a limited feature set. |
| Free trial | Free Starter plan: unlimited popups but 5,000 views in total, not per month, with 1 seat and no card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hello Bar LLC | Code Atlantic LLC |
| Price read from | hellobar.com | wppopupmaker.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hello Bar
- The free Starter plan stops after 5,000 views in total, not per month, and has no A/B testing.
- View limits apply to each website; when a site reaches its monthly limit, its campaigns pause until the next billing cycle.
- Growth allows 3 seats; unlimited seats, priority support, webhooks and CRM sync need Premium or Elite.
- First-time customers get a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a cancelled account drops to the free Starter plan.
Popup Maker
- Runs only inside WordPress; it is not a hosted service.
- Exit-intent and scroll triggers need the paid Pro license; the free edition lacks them.
- Pro is licensed per site count; the 5-site first-year price is $149 and larger packs are listed too.
- After a license expires, the plugin keeps working but stops getting updates and support.
Key features
Hello Bar
- Bars, modals, sliders and takeovers
- Sticky header and footer bars, modal popups, small alerts, slide-ins, inline forms, video popups and full-screen takeovers.
- Triggers and targeting
- Show a campaign on exit intent, after a scroll or a delay, on chosen URLs, by device, by country or city, or by ad campaign and traffic source.
- A/B testing
- Every paid plan can run unlimited A/B tests to compare popup versions; the free Starter plan cannot.
- Themes and Design Assistant
- Start from more than 100 templates, and the Design Assistant picks up your site's colors and fonts to style a popup to match.
- Lead capture and integrations
- Send sign-ups to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot and others or export them as CSV; Premium and Elite add webhooks and CRM sync.
- Reports
- Track how each campaign performs and build custom reports from the results.
Popup Maker
- Popup types
- Email opt-ins, exit-intent popups, contact form popups, announcement banners, cookie notices and content upgrades.
- Triggers
- Open automatically with a delay, on a click or on form submission in the free edition. Exit-intent and scroll triggers need Pro.
- Targeting conditions
- Free targeting by post, page, custom post type, category, tag and taxonomy; Pro adds user roles, scheduling and complex logic.
- Analytics and split testing
- Pro adds performance tracking with WordPress dashboard widgets and split testing; Pro+ adds popup-to-purchase revenue attribution.
- Ecommerce popups
- Pro+ covers cart-abandonment, upsell and cross-sell popups for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, plus LifterLMS enrollment popups.
- No traffic limits
- All plans include unlimited popups, impressions and theming, so price does not rise with pageviews.
Plans
Hello Bar
Starter$0
Unlimited popups and pre-built themes for 1 seat, capped at 5,000 views in total, not per month. No A/B testing and basic targeting only.
Growth$29
per month for up to 50,000 views, billed annually ($39 monthly)
Unlimited popups, subscribers and A/B tests, customizable targeting and 3 seats. Price rises with views: $49 a month at 150,000.
Premium$49
per month for up to 150,000 views, billed annually ($69 monthly)
Unlimited seats, priority support and the premium integrations, including webhooks and CRM sync.
Elite$99
per month for up to 500,000 views, billed annually ($129 monthly)
Everything in Premium with a 500,000 views a month allowance for high-traffic sites.
Agency or EnterpriseCustom
Higher view volumes across several sites, with views that can be shared across the account and dedicated support.
Popup Maker
Free$0
Free WordPress.org plugin with automatic and click triggers and basic targeting.
Pro$99
per year for 1 site
Exit-intent and scroll triggers, advanced targeting, analytics, split testing and FluentCRM tagging. First year $59.40.
Pro+$249
per year for 1 site
Pro plus revenue attribution and WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads and LifterLMS tools. First year $149.40.
Ways to pay less
Hello Bar
- Annual discount
Annual billing costs less than paying monthly
Growth is $29 a month billed annually against $39 billed monthly, Premium $49 against $69 and Elite $99 against $129.
Popup Maker
- Other savings
40% off the first year
A launch special on the pricing page takes 40% off the first year for new customers only; renewal returns to the regular price.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hello Bar or Popup Maker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Popup Maker is cheaper to start with: $8.25 a month when paid by the year, against $29 a month for Hello Bar. Hello Bar starts at $29 per month for up to 50,000 popup views, billed annually, and Popup Maker starts at $99 per year for 1 site ($59.40 for the first year).
Which has a free plan, Hello Bar or Popup Maker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Popup Maker has a free plan. Hello Bar does not, though it has a free trial.
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.