An email list is the one audience channel you own. Social reach and search rankings change with every algorithm update; your subscribers stay. On WordPress, email marketing plugins fall into two groups: plugins that collect addresses with forms and popups and pass them to an email service such as GetResponse, Kit, or Mailchimp, and plugins that send newsletters and automations from inside WordPress itself. This list covers the 9 best of both kinds in 2026, free and premium.
Updated October 2026: Sumo, Ninja Popups, Pabbly, and WP Subscribe were removed (discontinued or no longer updated) and replaced with MailPoet, FluentCRM, Popup Maker, and Kit.
Email Marketing Plugins Compared
| Plugin | Type | Free Version | Paid From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrive Leads | Opt-in forms | No | $99/year or Thrive Suite |
| OptinMonster | Opt-in forms (SaaS) | Limited | $9/month |
| Bloom | Opt-in forms | No | $89/year (Elegant Themes) |
| MailPoet | Send from WordPress | Up to 500 subscribers | $10/month |
| FluentCRM | Send and automate from WordPress | Yes | $129/year |
| Newsletter | Send from WordPress | Yes, unlimited | $69/year |
| MC4WP | Mailchimp forms | Yes | $59/year |
| Popup Maker | Popups | Yes | $87/year |
| Kit | Forms and landing pages for Kit | Yes (Kit free plan) | Kit from $25/month |
1. Thrive Leads
Thrive Leads is the most complete opt-in form plugin for WordPress. It builds every form type (popup lightbox, sticky ribbon, inline, two-step, slide-in, widget, screen filler, content locker, scroll mat, multiple choice) in a drag and drop editor with hundreds of templates, shows them by category, tag, post, or page, triggers them on exit intent, scroll, or time, and A/B tests forms, triggers, and offers against each other. The reporting dashboard shows conversion rates per form and per page. It connects to every major email service.
Key features:
- Every opt-in form type
- Precise display targeting
- Built-in A/B testing
- Exit intent and scroll triggers
- Detailed conversion reports
Pricing: $99 per year, or included in Thrive Suite ($299 per year).
2. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is a hosted service with a WordPress plugin, which means campaigns are built and served from its servers and work on any site. It offers popups, floating bars, slide-ins, welcome mats, inline forms, and gamified spin wheels, with the best targeting in the category: exit intent, page level, referrer, geolocation, device, cookie, on-site retargeting, and AdBlock detection. It integrates with 30+ email services and has A/B testing and analytics. Pricing is by site and page views.
Key features:
- Hosted, works on any site
- Exit intent and advanced targeting
- Spin-to-win and gamified campaigns
- A/B testing and analytics
- 30+ email integrations
Pricing: From $9 per month billed yearly.
3. Bloom by Elegant Themes
Bloom builds popups, fly-ins, inline, below-content, widget, and content-locker forms from 100+ templates with detailed styling options, and triggers them on time, scroll, after commenting, after purchase, or inactivity. Targeting by post type, category, or page is built in, as are A/B tests and stats. It comes with the Elegant Themes membership alongside Divi, Extra, and Monarch, so it is effectively free if you use Divi. It has not changed much in years, so pick Thrive Leads or OptinMonster if you need the newest features.
Key features:
- 100+ templates
- Six form types
- Time, scroll, comment, and purchase triggers
- A/B testing
- Included with Elegant Themes membership
Pricing: $89 per year or $249 lifetime (Elegant Themes membership).
4. MailPoet
MailPoet, owned by Automattic, lets you design and send newsletters, welcome emails, post notifications, and WooCommerce emails from the WordPress dashboard, with a block-based editor, signup forms, and automations. Sending goes through MailPoet\’s own servers for deliverability. Free up to 500 subscribers; paid plans scale by list size. It is the simplest way to run email entirely inside WordPress.
Key features:
- Send newsletters from WordPress
- Automatic new-post emails
- WooCommerce emails and automations
- Free up to 500 subscribers
- Good deliverability via MailPoet sending
Pricing: Free for 500 subscribers. Paid from $10 per month.
5. FluentCRM
FluentCRM is a full email marketing and CRM system inside WordPress: contacts, tags, segments, campaigns, visual automation funnels, and reporting, integrated with WooCommerce, LearnDash, membership plugins, and Fluent Forms. You bring your own sending service (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, and others) through the FluentSMTP plugin, which keeps costs very low for large lists. The free version covers campaigns and basic automation; Pro adds advanced automation, smart links, and integrations.
Key features:
- CRM, campaigns, and automation in WordPress
- Tags, segments, and visual funnels
- WooCommerce and LMS integrations
- Bring your own sending service
- Very low cost per subscriber
Pricing: Free. Pro from $129 per year.
6. Newsletter
Newsletter is a long-running free plugin for sending unlimited newsletters to unlimited subscribers from WordPress, with a drag and drop composer, responsive templates, subscription forms and widgets, single or double opt-in, lists, and tracking. Add-ons connect it to automation, locked content, and delivery services. Sending goes through your host\’s mail or an SMTP service, so pair it with FluentSMTP or similar for reliable delivery.
Key features:
- Unlimited subscribers and newsletters, free
- Drag and drop composer
- Single and double opt-in
- Lists and tracking
- Premium add-ons for automation
Pricing: Free. Premium add-ons from $69 per year.
7. MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress
If you use Mailchimp, MC4WP is the plugin: a million sites use it to add Mailchimp signup forms anywhere (shortcode, widget, block), add a subscribe checkbox to comment, registration, WooCommerce, and contact forms, and sync WooCommerce customers. The free version does almost everything; Premium adds multiple forms, styled templates, and reporting. Mailchimp\’s free plan covers 500 contacts.
Key features:
- Mailchimp forms anywhere
- Subscribe checkboxes on existing forms
- WooCommerce sync
- 1 million active installs
- Free with optional Premium
Pricing: Free. Premium from $59 per year.
8. Popup Maker
Popup Maker is the most popular free popup plugin, with 600,000+ installs. It makes popups, slide-ins, banners, and content overlays from any content, including forms from Fluent Forms, WPForms, Gravity Forms, MC4WP, or your email service\’s embed code, with click, time, and scroll triggers and page targeting. Extensions add exit intent, scheduling, and analytics. It is the flexible, free way to turn any signup form into a popup.
Key features:
- Free popups with any form inside
- Click, time, and scroll triggers
- Page and post targeting
- Exit intent and scheduling extensions
- 600,000+ installs
Pricing: Free. Extensions from $87 per year.
9. Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit is the email service built for creators, and its official plugin adds Kit forms, landing pages, and product buttons to WordPress, inserts forms below posts automatically, tags subscribers by the post they signed up on, and can restrict content to subscribers. Kit\’s free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with broadcasts and a landing page, which makes the plugin a free way to start a newsletter.
Key features:
- Kit forms and landing pages in WordPress
- Auto-insert forms below posts
- Tag subscribers by signup location
- Member-only content
- Kit free plan up to 10,000 subscribers
Pricing: Plugin free. Kit free plan; Creator from $25 per month.
Which Should You Choose?
- Collecting emails for an external service: Thrive Leads for the most control, OptinMonster if you run several sites, Popup Maker for free.
- Sending from WordPress: MailPoet for simplicity, FluentCRM for automation and large lists.
- Mailchimp user: MC4WP.
- Starting a free newsletter: Kit’s plugin with Kit’s free plan.
Whichever plugin collects the addresses, the service behind it matters more. Our GetResponse review and GetResponse vs iContact comparison cover the two we have used most, and this guide to exit-intent popup plugins goes deeper on popups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can WordPress send newsletters without an email service?
Yes, with MailPoet, FluentCRM, or Newsletter. For reliable delivery, send through a transactional email service (Amazon SES, SendGrid, Postmark) via an SMTP plugin rather than your web host’s mail server.
What is the best free email marketing plugin?
MailPoet for sending (free to 500 subscribers), FluentCRM for automation with your own sending service, and Popup Maker or MC4WP for collecting addresses.
Do popups hurt SEO?
Intrusive popups on mobile that cover content on page load can. Use exit intent, scroll, or time delays, keep mobile popups small, and never show one immediately on arrival from Google.
Do I need double opt-in?
It is required or expected in the EU and improves list quality everywhere. All the plugins above support it.
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