OptinMonster vs BDOW!
We give OptinMonster a 1.8 GPA and BDOW! a 2.2, out of 4.0. OptinMonster grades higher on features. BDOW! grades higher on value for money and the free plan. 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.
OptinMonster
Pop-ups, floating bars and opt-in forms added to an existing site
BDOW!
Popups, sticky bars and sign-up forms with email, formerly Sumo
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAOptinMonsterWeak | 2.2GPABDOW!Fair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DGraded on a site with 20,000 visitors, more than Plus's 10,000 impressions a month, so it's Pro: $870 a year at renewal, $72.50 a month, after a $444 first year. That's dearer than most popup tools here. Pro does bring exit intent, which the cheaper plans lack. | BA site with 20,000 visitors pays $19 a month billed yearly ($25 monthly) for 1 site, as long as sign-ups go on to your own email tool once 1,000 contacts are stored. That's in the cheapest quarter here. Keep the list in BDOW! and it's $48 at 10,000 contacts. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free and no trial. There's a 14-day refund, but a money-back promise isn't a trial: you pay before you see it on your site. | DNo free plan any more, though the site's menu still says free forever. The 14-day trial needs a card up front, and you're charged unless you cancel before day 14. |
| Features | BThe full popup kit: lightboxes, floating bars, slide-ins, full-screen overlays and coupon wheels, 700+ templates, targeting by page, time, scroll and device, A/B tests and revenue tracking. Exit intent and geolocation sit on the dearer plans. | CPopups, bars, welcome mats, scroll boxes and inline forms, exit intent, A/B tests, social proof, countdowns, cart recovery, discount codes and emails to your list. A lot for one plan, but its Shopify app is unavailable for now, so the shop tools stop at WooCommerce. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Templates and a drag-and-drop builder help, but you have to add its code to your site, or use the WordPress or Shopify route, and set up targeting rules before anything shows. | CNo rating on record. A drag-and-drop editor and templates help, and on Showit it's added from inside your account. You still build the forms, set the targeting and write the emails. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWorks on any site you can add JavaScript to, with plugins and guides for WordPress and Shopify, and sends sign-ups to Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit. Zapier needs Pro. No desktop or phone app. | BWeb, with Showit, WordPress and WooCommerce, and sign-ups sent to Mailchimp, Kit, Flodesk, Klaviyo and AWeber. No Shopify app for now, and no desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | pop-ups that grow an email list | popups and list emails on Showit or WordPress |
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: OptinMonster and BDOW!. How we grade
Price against what you get
OptinMonster starts at $17.50 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. BDOW! starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3.
OptinMonster scores higher and starts $1.50 a month lower. Of the other popup and widget tools on the chart, none scores higher than OptinMonster for less, and 1 scores higher than BDOW! 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
- OptinMonster starts at $210 per year at renewal, after a first year for $108 (Basic). BDOW! starts at $19 per month for 1 site and 1,000 stored contacts, billed annually.
- OptinMonster also covers templates and no-code.
- BDOW! also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| OptinMonster | BDOW! | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $210 per year at renewal, after a first year for $108 (Basic) | $19 per month for 1 site and 1,000 stored contacts, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial, credit card required; you are not charged if you cancel before day 14 |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Retyp, LLC | Formilytics LLC (Showit) |
| Price read from | optinmonster.com | bdow.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
OptinMonster
- Growing an email list from a blog or store you already run
- Online stores trying to win back visitors who are about to leave
- Agencies running sign-up campaigns across client sites
BDOW!
- Showit websites, where it is added from inside the Showit account
- Small businesses that want popups and simple list emails in one tool
- Former Sumo users looking for the product's current home
Worth knowing
OptinMonster
- It does not build or host pages: it runs on an existing site where you can add JavaScript, with plugins and guides for WordPress, Shopify and others.
- First-year prices are introductory; Basic renews at $210 a year, and monthly billing costs $21 a month.
- Exit Intent, countdown timers and Zapier need Pro; geolocation, retargeting and store integrations need Growth.
- Going over the impression limit moves the account up to the next plan automatically; there is no free plan or trial, only a 14-day refund.
BDOW!
- There is no longer a free plan: the trial needs a card, though the site's menu still says free forever.
- Each plan covers one site; a second site needs a second Pro subscription.
- Its Shopify app is unavailable for now; the vendor says a new one is coming.
- Past the stored-contact limit, new sign-ups are only forwarded to your connected email tool; 50,000+ contacts is priced on request.
Key features
OptinMonster
- Campaign types
- Lightbox pop-ups, floating bars, inline and sidebar forms, slide-in scroll boxes, full-screen overlays, yes/no forms and, on Growth, coupon wheels.
- Drag-and-drop builder and templates
- Design campaigns from more than 700 templates without code, with custom fonts, CSS and success messages, and an AI Popups option.
- Targeting and triggers
- Show a campaign by page, time on site, scroll depth, device or referrer; Exit Intent detection starts at Pro and geolocation at Growth.
- A/B testing and analytics
- From Plus, split-test campaigns and see full reports; Pro adds revenue attribution to tie campaigns to sales.
- Onsite retargeting and follow-ups
- Growth can show different campaigns to new and returning visitors and follow up after someone has already signed up.
- Email and store integrations
- Sends sign-ups to email services such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact; Growth adds Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento integrations.
BDOW!
- Popups, bars and forms
- Pop-ups, smart bars, welcome mats, scroll boxes, click-triggered and inline forms, built in a drag-and-drop editor from templates.
- Targeting rules
- Show or hide a form by device, page or URL, exit intent, new or returning visitor and referrer.
- Email to the list
- Send welcome emails, campaigns and broadcasts to the contacts it collects, with no cap on the number of sends.
- Social proof and countdowns
- Notifications of recent sign-ups and purchases, shown up to 50,000 page views, and evergreen countdown timers that start for each visitor.
- Ecommerce offers
- Discount codes, cart abandonment recovery and in-cart offers to raise order value, with revenue reports; it connects to WooCommerce.
- A/B tests and analytics
- Split-test form variations, pick a winner in one click, and keep email and form statistics for 2 years.
Plans
OptinMonster
Basic (yearly)$210
per year at renewal, after a first year for $108
1 site and 2,500 campaign impressions a month, every campaign type, 700+ templates and page targeting. Advertised as $9 a month for the first year.
Basic (monthly)$21
per month, billed monthly
The Basic plan paid month to month: 1 site and 2,500 impressions a month, with basic marketing integrations.
Plus (yearly)$570
per year at renewal, after a first year for $324
2 sites, 10,000 impressions a month, A/B testing, device targeting and content locking. Advertised as $27 a month for the first year; $57 billed monthly.
Pro (yearly)$870
per year at renewal, after a first year for $444
3 sites, 25,000 impressions, exit intent, countdown timers, revenue attribution, Zapier and 2 sub-accounts. $37 a month the first year; $87 monthly.
Growth (yearly)$1,470
per year at renewal, after a first year for $804
5 sites, 100,000 impressions, geolocation, onsite retargeting, coupon wheels and unlimited sub-accounts. $67 a month the first year; $147 monthly.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom impression volumes with dedicated support, and optional Okta SSO login or custom integrations at extra cost.
BDOW!
Pro$19
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($25 monthly)
1 site, every feature and unlimited email sends; $228 a year. Price rises with stored contacts: $48 a month at 10,000 ($60 billed monthly).
Ways to pay less
OptinMonster
- Other savings
Introductory first year at about half price
New annual plans cost $108 (Basic), $324 (Plus), $444 (Pro) or $804 (Growth) for the first year, then renew at $210, $570, $870 or $1,470.
- Annual discount
Annual plans cost less than paying monthly
Basic renews at $210 a year against $21 a month ($252 a year) on monthly billing, and Growth at $1,470 against $147 a month.
BDOW!
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves $72 a year
Pro is $19 a month billed yearly ($228) against $25 billed monthly; the saving grows with the contact tier.
