Strikingly Popups - Alternatives of Strikingly

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make popups work on my Strikingly website. Their built-in popups are okay-ish, but very limited. I wanted:

  • Exit-intent targeting

  • Email collection with better designs

  • Targeting for returning visitors

The default settings in Strikingly > Settings > Promotion > Pop-Ups only give you 3 types (announcement, email, age verification), and only if you’re on a Pro plan.

So I started looking for alternatives that would let me add more customizable popups with behavior-based targeting. I found Popupsmart, and it honestly blew me away. Has anyone else here added third-party popups to Strikingly?

+1 to Popupsmart! I run a small pilates equipment store and needed a smarter way to collect emails and reduce cart abandonment.

Strikingly’s built-in email form popup didn’t give me the targeting I needed. With Popupsmart, I could:

  • Add a spin-to-win gamification popup

  • Target only desktop visitors from Instagram

  • Use countdown timers for urgency

Also used Popupsmart’s free cookie consent popup tool – super handy and compliant.

I compared a bunch of tools before choosing. Here’s my breakdown:

Tool Free Plan Targeting Gamification Integrations Starting Price
Popupsmart Yes (5K views) Advanced Yes All CMS incl. Strikingly $32.5/mo
OptiMonk Yes (15K views) Good Yes Shopify, WP, more $39/mo
Wisepops No Very Advanced Yes Custom & eComms $49/mo
Poptin Yes (1K views) Medium Basic All CMS $25/mo
Strikingly Built-in No Basic only No Only Strikingly Pro plan only

Popupsmart gave me the most value for early scaling. No lag, solid analytics.

From a developer’s angle: Popupsmart’s script is lightweight and async. Doesn’t block rendering, doesn’t mess up layouts.
Strikingly injects a lot of its own scripts. A clean embed like Popupsmart avoids jQuery conflicts and still works with their SPA structure.

I tried WiserNotify too—it’s pretty cool for adding video popups and live activity notifications.
But here’s the thing: for Strikingly, WiserNotify requires installing their pixel script and is more focused on social proof than conversion popups.
If you’re looking for something like “someone just bought this,” try it. But for cart-saving or email growth? Popupsmart wins.

I’m all about the UX. Popupsmart lets you design separate popups for mobile vs desktop. That’s HUGE.
Strikingly popups are all fixed and don’t preview well on smaller screens. Popupsmart also complies with Google’s interstitial guidelines, which is important if you care about SEO or Core Web Vitals.

Design nerd here. Popupsmart has great typography support, customizable CSS, and animations that don’t look cheesy.

Also, I love the ready-made templates — they’re modern, not outdated like some alternatives.

As a digital nomad, I’ve tested tools that don’t slow me down while managing campaigns on the go. Popupsmart’s dashboard is minimal but powerful.

That said, if you’re just starting and want a very budget tool, Poptin might work. Just be aware: you’ll hit limits fast.

Quick tip from dev team: if you’re using Strikingly’s subdomain (like username.mystrikingly.com), verification may take a bit longer. But custom domains verify automatically.

Also, for Shopify+Strikingly combos, we have a Shopify App too.

Summing it up for people comparing tools:

Feature Popupsmart OptiMonk Wisepops Strikingly Built-in
CMS Support All All All Only Strikingly
Mobile Optimization :white_check_mark: Yes :white_check_mark: Yes :white_check_mark: Yes :cross_mark: No
Gamification :white_check_mark: Yes :white_check_mark: Yes :white_check_mark: Yes :cross_mark: No
Page Targeting :white_check_mark: Yes :white_check_mark: Yes :white_check_mark: Yes :cross_mark: No
Free Plan :white_check_mark: 5K views :white_check_mark: 15K views :cross_mark: None :cross_mark: No
Setup Embed code Embed/Plugin Embed Built-in

UPDATE: Been 2 weeks since I added Popupsmart to my Strikingly site. My bounce rate dropped 8% and I’ve grown my list by 250+ emails already.
Thanks for all the insights, everyone. This thread really helped me compare tools and make a solid decision!