Building a mailing list is one of the smartest investments you can make for your business. With an engaged subscriber base, you have an asset you can leverage for years to come.
And the right WordPress plugin makes list-building incredibly easy.
In this definitive guide, we’ll cover the top mailing list plugins for WordPress, explaining the key features and capabilities of each.
Discover which plugin is best suited for your business based on budget, technical needs, and more. Let‘s dive in.
Why You Need a Mailing List Plugin
Collecting subscriber emails directly on your website is much more effective than manually importing lists or relying solely on social media.
With a quality mailing list plugin, you can:
- Quickly create opt-in forms, popups and landing pages to convert visitors
- Integrate seamlessly with all major email service providers
- Target forms to show to the most interested visitors
- Test and optimize for higher conversion rates
- Deliver lead magnets automatically
- Build more personal relationships and generate repeat business
In short, these plugins have everything you need to turn website traffic into email subscribers, at scale.
Now let’s explore some of the top options.
1. Thrive Leads
Thrive Leads is arguably the most powerful mailing list plugin out there. It equips you with a huge range of professional opt-in forms and next-level conversion and personalization features.
With Thrive Leads you can create high-converting popup forms, slide-ins, widgets, content lockers and more. Display them based on time on page, exit intent and other behavioral triggers proven to convert.
There’s also an excellent visual editor for customizing forms quickly along with many professionally designed templates.
Top features include:
- Smart display logic with advanced targeting options
- Complete analytics suite to optimize conversions
- A/B testing of forms and delivery methods
- API connections with all major email platforms
Thrive Leads integrates perfectly with Thrive Architect landing page builder and other Thrive suite plugins for a complete sales funnel and email marketing solution.
Pricing starts at $67 per year when purchasing Thrive Suite. Or $99 per year for Thrive Leads standalone.
2. Convert Pro
Another extremely powerful WordPress mailing list plugin is Convert Pro.
It enables you to create and manage a wide range of email opt-in forms and landing pages – all optimized for maximum conversion.
Convert Pro is perfect for rapidly deploying popups, slide-ins, widgets and embedded forms across your site. You also get advanced behavior automation and personalization features for showing the right forms to the right visitors.
Some key features include:
- Drag and drop form builder
- Ready-made form and landing page templates
- Smart display rules and advanced targeting
- Complete analytics dashboard
- Popular email and payment provider integrations
Convert Pro integrates beautifully with the Astra theme and its suite of plugins, making it easy to create a high converting site.
Pricing starts at $39 per year for one site or $99 per year for unlimited sites.
3. Bloom
Bloom is an extremely intuitive, easy-to-use mailing list plugin perfect for beginners. Yet it’s packed with some very advanced features under the hood.
Visually build your opt-in forms choosing from an array of ready-made templates. Pick exactly where you want forms to display across your site with granular targeting options.
Connect seamlessly with all major email platforms like MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, Campaign Monitor and more.
Some of the great features in Bloom include:
- Beautiful ready-made form templates
- Easy drag and drop form customization
- Advanced visitor targeting and personalization settings
- Conversion and engagement reporting
- Lead magnet delivery system
Bloom is brought to you by Elegant Themes who are renowned WordPress experts. It integrates perfectly with the Divi theme and toolkit for a complete website and email marketing solution.
You can access Bloom for only $89 per year, unlocking all Elegant Themes products across unlimited sites.
4. MailMunch
If you’re looking for an easy, affordable and multi-purpose mailing list plugin – MailMunch is a great choice.
It allows you to quickly embed conversion-optimized forms anywhere on your WordPress site. When a visitor submits their email address, they’re automatically tagged and added to the associated list in your email service platform.
Some of the key highlights of MailMunch include:
- Dead simple opt-in form creation
- Pre-designed form templates
- Integration with all major email providers
- Lead tagging and segmentation capabilities
- Conversion and engagement reporting
This plugin comes from the team behind the highly popular WPForms plugin. It’s fast, lightweight, affordable and easy to use for all skill levels.
Pricing starts from only $39 per year for unlimited sites.
5. OptinMonster
While technically a lead generation software first, OptinMonster does integrate beautifully with WordPress. It’s trusted by over 1 million users making it a leader in the email opt-in space.
With OptinMonster you can easily create high converting opt-in forms, email popups, floating bars, slide-ins, screen fillers and more – fully optimized for desktop and mobile.
Display them based on time on site, exit intent or on click for super targeted lead capture.
Some stand out features include:
- Simple drag and drop builder
- A/B testing and analytics
- Advanced targeting and personalization
- Integrations with 30+ platforms
- Great templates and customization
OptinMonster integrates with all WordPress page builders for flexible implementation. It also works perfectly alongside most other popular WordPress plugins.
Pricing starts from $29 per month when billed annually.
6. ConvertPlug
ConvertPlug gives you everything you need for maximizing email subscribers and social following.
Easily create popups, slide-ins, widgets and embedded forms optimized for high conversions. Display them based on timed delays, exit intent and a range of advanced conditions.
Seamlessly connect your site and forms to all the major email marketing platforms with ConvertPlug.
Some of the top features include:
- Choose from 50+ pre-made templates
- Craft custom opt-in forms
- Schedule display rules
- Target forms based on device, traffic source etc
- Integrate forms with email autoresponders
ConvertPlug is brought to you by Brainstorm Force – the team behind Astra Pro Theme, Schema Pro and more. It’s price starts at only $39 per year including updates and support.
7. Sumo
Sumo is an extremely popular lead-gen plugin with over 1 million active installs. It makes capture email addresses and other visitor information effortlessly.
The core Sumo plugin equips you with a range of opt-in widgets perfect for embedding in sidebars or content. Expand its capabilities even further with premium add-ons.
With Sumo you can:
- Install and customize opt-in widgets in seconds
- Connect widgets directly to email platforms like MailChimp
- Capture valuable visitor insights with scroll boxes and analytics
- Reduce bounce rates with exit intent forms
- Display targeted forms using global or granular rules
Sumo seamlessly works alongside popular page builders, themes, and other plugins. It’s easy to use all-in-one toolkit, priced from only $99 per year.
8. Easy Forms for MailChimp
If you use MailChimp for email marketing, this plugin is a no brainer.
Easy Forms for MailChimp creates a seamless connection between your WordPress site and MailChimp account. Allowing you to rapidly capture emails through popups, widgets and embedded forms.
Simply install the plugin, pick a form style you like the look of and configure settings like fonts and colors to match your brand. You can have as many forms as you like pointing to selected MailChimp lists.
With over 200,000 installs, this is a lightweight yet powerful plugin perfect for beginners and MailChimp users.
Best of all – it’s 100% free!
Comparing the Top Plugins
To help make your decision between plugins easier, here is a features comparison of some of the leading options:
| Thrive Leads | Convert Pro | Bloom | OptinMonster | |
| Price | $67+ | $39+ | $89 | $348+ |
| Form Types | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| Templates | 60+ | 50+ | 30+ | 100+ |
| Targeting Options | Advanced | Advanced | Good | Advanced |
| Analytics | Full | Full | Decent | Full |
This table gives you an at-a-glance view of how core features stack up between the highest rated plugins.
Choosing the Best Plugin for You
When deciding which is the best WordPress mailing list plugin for your needs, consider these factors:
- Budget – Email list-building capabilities range from free to paid plugins starting around $30 per year.
- Lead magnet integration – Some plugins can automatically deliver ebooks, cheat sheets etc to new subscribers.
- Email provider integrations – Most connect to all major platforms but double check yours is supported.
- Design/templates – If you want great looking opt-in forms out the box, verify sufficient templates are included.
- Features – Entry-level plugins offer basic opt-in forms. More advanced tools provide superior targeting, analytics and customization for maximizing conversions.
Take some time to review the options above taking into consideration your business needs, technical abilities, resources and goals.
Most WordPress mailing list plugins also offer free trials allowing you to test drive before making a purchase decision.
Grow Your Email List Faster in 2024
Building a quality mailing list is one of the highest leverage activities you can do to grow your business online.
And the right plugin will get your email list building efforts off to a flyer.
Now you know the top mailing list plugins for WordPress when it comes to capturing more subscriber emails effortlessly. Each has its own strengths making it ideal for different needs and situations.
Review your options above and choose the one aligned to your business goals, budget and technical capabilities.
Then start creating those high-converting lead capture forms and landing pages!
Combining an optimized website and lead magnets with a tool like Thrive Leads or Convert Pro will have your email list growing faster than ever this year.
Here’s to list building success!
Mailing List Plugin Industry Trends and Predictions
The email subscription plugin market has seen impressive growth over the past few years. And the category as a whole is projected for 15%+ compound annual growth between 2022-2026 according to Market Research Future.
Driving this growth is rising demand for digital marketing solutions, advanced analytics, and personalization capabilities when capturing email leads. Small to medium businesses increasingly seek automated tools for list building. While enterprises demand robust targeting and customization options in their plugins.
Given these dynamics, here are a few mailing list plugin innovations I expect to gain traction in 2024 and beyond:
- More intelligent behavioral matching allowing 1:1 personalization
- Tighter platform integrations for complete sales and marketing funnels
- Accelerated mobile responsiveness and on-site personalization
- Expanded connectivity across necessary business systems
Vendors will compete on advanced segmentation, predictive lead scoring, dynamic UX and smart integration capabilities over coming years.
Expect niche plugins tailored to specific verticals also gaining popularity. Along with major platform players acquiring innovators to expand their feature sets.
Expert List Building Strategies
While this guide has focused specifically on the best mailing list plugin options, that’s only one piece of list building success.
Here are some high level strategies I recommend once you’ve implemented your chosen WordPress plugin:
Create Irresistible Lead Magnets
Offer an ethical bribe in exchange for a visitor’s email address. Reports, cheat sheets, templates, checklists and guides are all excellent early lead magnet ideas.
Make sure your incentives clearly communicate the exclusive value readers will receive.
Structure Effective Multi-Step Funnels
Don’t just ask for an email address and add the person to your main list.
Create a tailored series of funnels with specialized lead magnets and messaging for different audience segments.
This allows personalization and drives higher engagement from subscribers.
Take a Content Upgrades Approach
Incentivize email signups through content upgrades rather than distractions or subscriptions.
Identify what free resources would add value for visitors currently on key pages of your site. Offer these only in exchange for an email address to lift conversions.
Focus on Segmented Automation
The most valuable subscriber isn’t someone that casually signs up. It’s users who actively engage with your emails and content over the long term.
Laser focus on driving this longer-term value through smart segments, personalized education programs and incentives that delight.
Combine this with the technical capabilities of your chosen WordPress plugin and you have a complete list building framework guaranteed to accelerate your subscriber growth through 2023 and beyond!
