I started digging into Drupal popup builders and found a few strong alternatives like:
This thread is for anyone curious about how to add a popup to a Drupal site (no coding needed!) and which tool is best. I’ll kick things off with what I learned. 
Growth nerd here 
Also obsessed with performance.
Popupsmart’s been 
for my Drupal clients.
No plugins
One-line embed code
Full control via their visual editor
Separate mobile & desktop popup design
Gamification features like spin-to-win
Also, you can track everything from inside the dashboard (CTR, views, conversions). You just verify your site once and you’re set.
Here’s the official guide I used:
Setup Steps (Popupsmart):
1. After signing into your Popupsmart account, click the Embed code on the left.
2. Take the code by clicking the Copy to the clipboard.
3. Go to your Drupal admin panel or reach your Drupal admin panel through the localhost. When you view your Drupal website, click Structure in the upper section.
4. Choose Blocks among the options.
5. When you view the page, click +Add Blocks to proceed.
6. Write a block title and a block description to determine. For the Test Format, choose Full Format and paste the embed code on the Block body blank.
7. Scroll down to the page and click Save block.
8. After saving the block, scroll down to the next page and find your new block. Change its region from None to Header.
9. It will automatically be on the Header, and check this out.
10. Click Save blocks to save the new changes.
11. Now, go back to your Popupsmart dashboard and click on Websites by hovering over the profile icon.
12. Click + New website on the Websites page.
13. Enter your website URL on the blank and click Save.
Important: If you see your website unverified, click the “Unverified” button, and from the opening modal, click “Verify website,” then return to your dashboard and click “Refresh.”
For further details about the verification of your website, see How to Verify Your Website.
14. You"re ready to create a campaign by clicking + New Campaign on the right top of the Campaigns page.
15. Choose one of the ready-made templates or any blank popup, prepare your campaign on the easy-to-use popup builder, click Save, and then Publish.
Your campaign will be displayed on your Drupal website seamlessly. You’re ready to collect your leads.
Also, here’s a direct page to their free plan (5,000 pageviews).
I’m Irem, physiotherapist & wellness shop owner 
Just wanted to say — Popupsmart saved me during BFCM. I needed a popup to collect emails with a coupon code for my health store. Tried both Popupsmart and Elfsight.
Elfsight Pros:
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Pretty easy to use
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14 popup layout types
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Visual editor is OK
Drupal Popup Module by Elfsight
BUT… Popupsmart wins for:
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Way smoother setup
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Better analytics
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And the targeting options are next level (like showing only to EU visitors after 10s)
UX fan here 
Gamer by night, designer by heart.
Quick UX rant — Elfsight popups look nice, but they load slower. On mobile especially, I saw occasional layout shifts (bad for Google Core Web Vitals).
Popupsmart gets points from me for:
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Mobile-first designs
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Google-compliant popups
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Separate previews for tablet/desktop/mobile
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Fast load (<150ms)
For pricing comparison:
| Tool | Free Plan | Mid-Tier Pricing | CMS Support | Exit-Intent | Gamification | Analytics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popupsmart | (5k PV) |
$32.5/mo (50k PV) | All CMS |
|
|
|
| Elfsight | (limited) |
$24/mo+ | |
 |
|
Basic |
| Simple Popup Blocks | (manual config) |
Free | Only Drupal | |
|
|
| Picreel | |
$9.99/mo (10k visits) | |
|
|
|
Developer alert 
I’m all about clean code and fast load times.
I tested Simple Popup Blocks (Drupal module). It’s OK if you’re dev-savvy but not for marketers.
Issues with Simple Popup Blocks:
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Needs manual setup
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No visual editor
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No built-in analytics
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No pre-made templates
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You must style everything with CSS
Best case for devs tinkering around, not growth teams.
Hola! I’m Lorenzo — digital nomad 
I travel and run a few niche blogs on Drupal + Ghost + Webflow. I need tools that are plug-and-play.
Picreel was okay… but too basic.
I ended up using Popupsmart because it worked across all CMS tools I use — just one dashboard, one embed line, and I’m good.
Also:
Works on slow hotel WiFi
Dashboard loads fast
Live preview is
Their support is super responsive
Food & ecom guy 
My “conversion sandwich” with Popupsmart:
Top Layer: Exit-intent + cart abandonment reminder
Middle Layer: Teaser for free shipping (gamified popup)
Bottom: “Limited time offer” countdown popup
All done via Popupsmart. Way better than Picreel or Elfsight because:
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No intrusive design
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Easy to A/B test
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Detailed analytics by campaign
You can check their gamification features here.
If you’re considering switching from Elfsight or Simple Popup Blocks…
Popupsmart Advantages in a nutshell:
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5-minute install
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No plugin = faster Drupal performance
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Google-friendly popups
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Works with any CMS
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Forever-free tier for smaller sites
You can explore all targeting and triggers before committing.
Thanks to everyone here — I ended up going with Popupsmart for this project. Setup was done in 15 minutes, email capture rate up 18% already. This thread truly saved me hours.