OptiMonk vs Wheelio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick OptiMonk: it is second 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
OptiMonk grades higher on the free plan and features. Wheelio grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
OptiMonk
Popups for online stores, built by an AI agent you describe them to
Wheelio
Spin-to-win and scratch-card pop-ups for email and SMS capture
Which one is for you
Pick OptiMonk if
- Fits if you'd rather describe a popup than design one yourself
- Works for small stores that stay under 10,000 pageviews on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your visitors click through lots of pages, as every page load counts, popup or not
- Tight if you use subdomains, as each one counts as a domain and Essential allows 2
- Pricey if you're in the EU without a VAT number, as 27% Hungarian VAT goes on top
- Watch out: at the pageview limit, campaigns pause until you upgrade or the month resets
- Tight if you lean on the AI agent, as credits are monthly and more means moving up a plan
Pick Wheelio if
- Fits if you run a Shopify store and want a spin-to-win offer
- Works for stores that collect emails and SMS numbers with coupons
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there is none after the 7-day trial
- Pricey if your store is busy, as price steps up with impressions from 30,000 to 750,000
- Skip it if you need ordinary forms or banners, since it is game-style pop-ups only
- Tight if you are not on Shopify, as other platforms sign up through the vendor dashboard
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAOptiMonkGood | 2.2GPAWheelioFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DEvery page load counts, so a site with 20,000 visitors viewing a few pages each goes past Essential's 50,000-pageview top. That means Growth: $69 a month billed yearly ($828), or $99 monthly, at the dear end of popup tools here. Every feature is on every plan. | C$14.92 a month for 30,000 impressions sits inside the $9 to $29 range; plans climb to $249.92 for 750,000. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree forever: 10,000 pageviews a month on 1 domain, every feature, the AI agent with 1,000 credits a month, and no OptiMonk branding. A small blog could live on it, though a busier site will pass it. | C7-day free trial; the listing does not say a card is needed. No free plan. |
| Features | AAn AI agent that designs, writes, publishes and A/B tests popups, and an MCP server so you can build them from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor, which no other tool here has. Spin-to-win, quizzes, upsells and 1,000+ examples too, with nothing held back by plan. | CThree game formats, email, SMS and push capture, coupons and triggers. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job than a general popup builder. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You describe a popup in a sentence, but you still add it to your store, keep an eye on AI credits and pageviews, and check what the agent makes. | CNo rating on record; you set up the game, prizes and coupons. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with 60+ integrations such as Shopify and Klaviyo, plus Zapier, webhooks and an API, and it can be run from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. | BWeb only, built around Shopify, with eight integrations listed. |
| Best for | popups built by an AI agent for online stores | spin-to-win pop-ups for email and SMS capture |
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: OptiMonk and Wheelio. How we grade
Price against what you get
OptiMonk starts at $19 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wheelio starts at $14.92 a month and scores 2.3.
OptiMonk scores higher, and starts $4.08 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other popup and widget tools on the chart, none scores higher than OptiMonk for less, and 1 scores higher than Wheelio 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
- OptiMonk also covers templates, AI agents and a/B testing.
- Wheelio also covers sMS marketing.
At a glance
| OptiMonk | Wheelio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per month for up to 20,000 pageviews, billed yearly | $14.92 per month for up to 30k impressions |
| Free plan | 10,000 pageviews a month on 1 domain with 1,000 AI credits a month, every feature and no OptiMonk branding; it does not expire. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| Made by | OptiMonk | Wheelio |
| Price read from | optimonk.com | wheelio-app.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
OptiMonk
- Every page load counts as a pageview whether or not a popup shows; at the limit, campaigns pause until you upgrade or the month resets.
- Each subdomain counts as a separate domain, and Essential allows only 2.
- The agent draws on a monthly allowance of AI credits; more credits mean moving up a plan.
- Prices exclude VAT; EU customers without a valid VAT number pay 27% Hungarian VAT.
Wheelio
- There is no free plan; the first step is $14.92 a month after a 7-day trial.
- Price follows impressions, so a busy store moves up steps from 30k to 750k a month.
- Built around Shopify; stores on other platforms sign up through the vendor dashboard instead.
- Game-style pop-ups only: it is not a general-purpose form or banner builder.
Key features
OptiMonk
- AI agent that builds popups
- Describe a popup in a sentence and the agent designs it, writes the copy and publishes it, then suggests new campaigns from your store's data.
- MCP server for AI assistants
- Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client to build, edit and publish popups from a chat, free on every plan.
- Popup types and library
- Welcome and exit-intent discounts, spin-to-win, quizzes, upsells, seasonal offers and video popups, with more than 1,000 examples to start from.
- A/B testing
- The agent runs A/B tests on real visitors and offers to roll out the winning version.
- Visual editor
- Open any campaign in a click-to-edit editor with shared desktop and mobile designs to change details by hand.
- 60+ integrations
- Email, SMS, CRM and store tools such as Klaviyo and Shopify, with signups sent straight to a list, plus Zapier, webhooks and an API.
Wheelio
- Three game formats
- Choose a wheel of fortune, a slot machine or a scratch card as the pop-up, with a set of predefined templates to start from.
- Email, SMS and push capture
- Collect email addresses, phone numbers, Messenger and push-notification opt-ins, passed on through the connected partner service.
- Coupon injection and dynamic codes
- Says it can inject the won discount straight into the Shopify checkout and create a unique code for each visitor to track sales.
- Triggers and scheduling
- Set when and where a campaign shows, using timing and exit-intent style triggers plus scheduling in the campaign setup.
- Email validation
- Uses an outside service to check each address and prevents duplicates, to keep the list clean.
- Consent options
- The vendor says pop-ups can be set up to follow GDPR, and to meet TCPA rules when collecting SMS leads.
Plans
OptiMonk
Free$0
10,000 pageviews and 1,000 AI credits a month on 1 domain, with every feature and live chat support.
Essential$19
per month for up to 20,000 pageviews, billed yearly ($29 monthly)
3,000 AI credits a month and 2 domains; $228 a year. The plan scales to 50,000 pageviews and 6,000 credits at a higher price.
Growth$69
per month for up to 100,000 pageviews, billed yearly ($99 monthly)
10,000 AI credits a month and 4 domains; $828 a year. Scales to 250,000 pageviews at a higher price.
Premium$179
per month for up to 500,000 pageviews, billed yearly ($249 monthly)
20,000 AI credits a month, 10 domains and a key account manager; $2,148 a year. Scales to 1,000,000 pageviews.
MasterCustom
For stores above 1 million pageviews or teams running many brands: custom pageviews and credits, unlimited domains.
Wheelio
Beginner$14.92
per month for up to 30k impressions
Entry step. The listed step prices move with monthly impressions.
Level 1$29.92
per month for up to 60k impressions
Same product as every step; only the impression allowance changes.
Level 2$54.92
per month for up to 100k impressions
Same product as every step; only the impression allowance changes.
Level 3$109.92
per month for up to 250k impressions
Same product as every step; only the impression allowance changes.
Level 4$192.92
per month for up to 500k impressions
Same product as every step; only the impression allowance changes.
The Big Guns$249.92
per month for up to 750k impressions
Top step listed on the site, for the highest-traffic stores.
Ways to pay less
OptiMonk
- Annual discount
Yearly billing saves 25%
Essential is $19 a month billed yearly against $29 monthly, Growth $69 against $99 and Premium $179 against $249.
Wheelio
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, OptiMonk or Wheelio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Wheelio is cheaper to start with: $14.92 a month, against $19 a month for OptiMonk. OptiMonk starts at $19 per month for up to 20,000 pageviews, billed yearly, and Wheelio starts at $14.92 per month for up to 30k impressions.
Which has a free plan, OptiMonk or Wheelio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only OptiMonk has a free plan. Wheelio 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.