Keep your email tool. Get better onsite campaigns.

Privy bundles popups with its own email and SMS. OptiMonk plugs into the ESP you already use, like Klaviyo, and its AI Agent builds and tests your onsite campaigns.

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Shopify App Store

4.8vs 4.5 Privy

G2 support score

9.7vs 8.8 Privy

G2 product direction

9.4vs 9.0 Privy

The short answer

Email and SMS suite vs AI-built onsite campaigns.

OptiMonk wins 5 of 6 categories. Privy wins on built-in email and SMS.

Pricing & free planOptiMonk wins Templates & designOptiMonk wins AI & personalizationOptiMonk wins A/B testing & analyticsOptiMonk wins Shopify integrationOptiMonk wins Email & SMS marketingPrivy wins

Feature by feature

Email-first with popups vs onsite-first with an AI Agent.

OptiMonk vs Privy: feature comparison
Feature	Start free
Pricing
Free plan	Yes: $0, 10K pageviews/mo, all features, live chat	No: None. 15-day trial only
Starting price	Info: $29/mo monthly	Info: $24/mo popups only, $30/mo email
Pricing model	Info: Pageview-based	Info: Pageviews (popups) + contacts (email/SMS)
Core features
Templates	Yes: No fixed templates. The Agent designs each one to match your brand	Partly: Dozens (self-reported)
Campaign types	Partly: Popups, gamification, surveys and multi-step flows built with the AI Agent	Yes: Popups, flyouts, banners, spin-to-win, bars, landing pages
A/B testing	Yes: All plans incl. free: control group, in-campaign format, static vs. animated, multivariate, set up with the AI Agent	Partly: Paid plans only
Built-in analytics	Yes: Revenue attribution, funnel insights, conversion tracking	Partly: Basic conversion tracking
AI features	Yes: OptiMonk AI Agent builds from your site, sets up A/B tests in chat and suggests what to try next. Plus product recommendations and Smart Analytics	No: No AI popup features
Responsive design	Yes: Mobile-optimized by default	Yes: Mobile-responsive templates
Channels
Built-in email marketing	No: Integrates with Klaviyo, Mailchimp and more	Yes: Full email marketing included
Built-in SMS marketing	No: Integrates with SMS tools	Yes: Included on paid plans
Ecommerce & support
Shopify integration	Yes: Native app, 4.8/5 (420 reviews)	Yes: Native app, 4.5/5 (4,134 reviews)
Support	Yes: Live chat on all plans incl. free, reply under 3 min	Yes: Email and chat on all plans

Category by category

Who sends the email, who runs the test.

01Pricing & free plan

Is OptiMonk cheaper than Privy?

Privy’s popup-only plan starts at $24/month for 10,000 monthly pageviews. Its email plan starts at $30/month for 1,500 mailable contacts and grows with your list, so your cost depends on both traffic and subscriber count.

OptiMonk is pageview-based. The free plan covers 10,000 pageviews a month with no contact limit and no time limit. The first paid tier starts at $29/month. Privy offers only a 15-day trial.

OptiMonk wins

OptiMonk wins. Privy’s dual pricing adds up as your list and traffic grow. OptiMonk scales with traffic only, and the first paid tier undercuts Privy’s combined cost for most setups.

	OptiMonk	Privy
Free plan	Yes: $0/mo, 10K pageviews, all features	No: None. 15-day trial only
Entry paid plan	Info: $29/mo monthly	Info: $24/mo popups, $30/mo email
Email pricing	Info: Uses your ESP	Info: $30/mo, scales with contacts
Annual discount	Yes: 25% off	No: Not listed

02Templates & design

Which tool has more templates and design options?

Privy describes its template options as “dozens”, with no specific count published, organized by display type.

OptiMonk doesn’t work from fixed templates. The OptiMonk AI Agent reads your domain (brand colors, fonts, style, industry, products) and generates a fully branded campaign from a prompt in seconds. Want a direction? Point it at a previous popup, an example from the popup library or your own image. Changes are described in plain language rather than edited manually, and the drag-and-drop builder is still there for fine-tuning.

OptiMonk wins

OptiMonk wins. Instead of picking from a few dozen templates, you get a design made for your store, plus AI that edits it on request.

	OptiMonk	Privy
Templates	Yes: No fixed templates. The Agent designs each one to match your brand	Partly: Dozens (self-reported)
Starting point	Yes: A prompt, your domain, a past popup, a library example or your own image	Partly: Pick a template by display type
AI campaign creation & editing	Yes: OptiMonk AI Agent: learns your brand from your site, takes requests in chat, in any language	No: Not offered
Animated popups	Yes: Subtle background animation, testable against static	No: Not offered
No-code editing	Yes: Yes	Yes: Yes

03AI & personalization

Which tool has better AI and personalization?

Privy positions itself around simplicity and human coaching. Its AI Marketing Assistant drafts email copy, but it doesn’t touch your popups or adapt to visitor behavior.

The OptiMonk AI Agent reads your domain from a prompt and builds ready-to-launch popup campaigns, asking follow-up questions if it needs more detail. Describe changes in any language and it updates the campaign. Ask it for an A/B test and it sets one up, then keeps an eye on results and suggests “Ideas to try” you can apply in one click. Dynamic product recommendations show each visitor something based on what they’re browsing.

OptiMonk wins

OptiMonk wins. Privy’s AI writes email copy. OptiMonk’s AI builds, tests and personalizes onsite campaigns, so it saves time where your conversions actually happen.

	OptiMonk	Privy
AI campaign creation & editing	Yes: OptiMonk AI Agent: learns your brand from your site, takes requests in chat, in any language	No: Not available
1:1 visitor personalization	Yes: Smart Popups personalize per visitor	No: Not available
Product recommendations	Yes: Dynamic recs based on browsing	No: Not available
Suggestions on what to try next	Yes: Ideas to try, ready-made designs in the admin	No: Not available
AI marketing assistant	Partly: N/A, OptiMonk focuses on onsite campaigns	Yes: AI copy tool for email

04A/B testing & analytics

Which tool has better A/B testing?

Privy’s A/B testing sits on paid plans and covers campaign-level variations.

OptiMonk includes A/B testing on every plan, and you set them up by chatting with the AI Agent: control group testing (with vs. without a popup), in-campaign format testing (for example a lucky wheel against an email popup), static vs. animated popups, and multivariate testing. Revenue attribution shows which variant drove sales, not just clicks. illCurrency used OptiMonk’s A/B testing with targeted popups to lift its Klaviyo subscription rate by 76%.

OptiMonk wins

OptiMonk wins. Testing on every plan, more testing modes and revenue attribution that tells you what actually drove sales.

	OptiMonk	Privy
A/B testing availability	Yes: From the free plan	Partly: Paid plans only
Testing modes	Yes: Control group, in-campaign format, static vs. animated, multivariate	Partly: Campaign variations only
Setup	Yes: Just ask the AI Agent	Partly: Manual
Revenue impact tracking	Yes: Attributed revenue per variant	Partly: Limited
Funnel insights	Yes: Yes	Partly: Basic reporting

05Shopify integration

Is OptiMonk better for Shopify stores than Privy?

Both tools install from the Shopify App Store. OptiMonk holds 4.8/5 from 420 reviews, with installs growing 11.3% year over year. Privy sits at 4.5/5 with a much larger review base built since 2015.

OptiMonk goes deeper on ecommerce: cart value triggers, product-level targeting, product recommendations in popups, auto-applied discount codes and revenue attribution tied to Shopify orders. Privy’s popups are solid but focus on email and SMS capture and cart abandonment flows.

OptiMonk wins

OptiMonk wins. Privy has been on Shopify since 2015 and has a far bigger review base (4,134 vs 420), and both auto-generate discount codes. OptiMonk rates higher and adds product recommendations, product-level targeting and revenue attribution on every plan.

	OptiMonk	Privy
Shopify App Store rating	Yes: 4.8/5 (420 reviews)	Yes: 4.5/5 (4,134 reviews)
Auto discount codes	Yes: All plans	Yes: All plans
Product-level targeting	Yes: All plans	Partly: Limited
Product recs in popups	Yes: All plans	No: No
Revenue attribution	Yes: All plans	Partly: Basic
Works outside Shopify	Yes: WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, custom sites	Yes: BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace

06Email & SMS marketing

Does Privy have features that OptiMonk doesn’t?

Yes. Privy includes a full email suite with drag-and-drop builder, scheduling and automated welcome, abandoned cart and win-back flows. SMS campaigns and cart saver texts are built into paid plans, and there’s a standalone landing page builder.

For stores already on Klaviyo, Omnisend or another email platform (as 70.9% of top Shopify stores are), Privy’s all-in-one setup matters less. OptiMonk pairs with your existing stack and handles the onsite layer. If you’re starting from scratch and want everything in one place, Privy is worth a look.

Privy wins

Privy wins. If you want email, SMS and popups in one tool without connecting platforms, Privy’s bundle is a real plus.

	OptiMonk	Privy
Built-in email marketing	No: Integrates with your ESP	Yes: Builder, scheduling, automated flows
Built-in SMS	No: Integrates with SMS tools	Yes: Paid plans
Landing page builder	No: No direct equivalent	Yes: Yes
All-in-one setup	Partly: Pairs with your existing stack	Yes: Email, SMS and popups in one tool

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Who sends the email, who runs the A/B test, and what a migration leaves behind.

Is Privy a popup tool, or an email/SMS platform that also does popups?

Privy is an all-in-one platform (email, SMS and popups) built for small Shopify stores that want a single tool. OptiMonk is a specialist: popups, CRO, A/B testing and AI-driven personalization, designed to plug into the email and SMS tools you already use. If you’re on Klaviyo, OptiMonk gives you better popups without paying for a second email platform.

If I leave Privy, what happens to my email flows and onsite campaigns?

Your contacts and email flows stay where they are, in Privy or your ESP. For the onsite layer, create a free OptiMonk account, install the Shopify app and connect your email platform. Show the AI Agent an existing Privy campaign and it rebuilds it to match your brand. Popups and gamified campaigns carry over; bars and embedded content have no direct equivalent. Live chat and the support portal are there if you need extra help. You can run both in parallel before cutting over.

Is OptiMonk cheaper than Privy?

For most stores, yes, especially if you already have an email platform. OptiMonk’s free plan covers 10,000 pageviews a month with every feature. Paid plans start at $29/month and scale with traffic, not list size. Privy’s email plan starts at $30/month and scales with your contacts: a store with 5,000 contacts pays around $90/month for email alone.

Does Privy have a free plan?

No. Privy offers a 15-day free trial, then a paid plan is required. OptiMonk’s free plan has no time limit, no contact limit and includes every feature up to 10,000 monthly pageviews.

Does OptiMonk support email marketing like Privy?

No. OptiMonk isn’t email marketing software. It focuses on onsite conversion and integrates with your ESP to capture emails. If you want a full email solution with automated campaigns and email-based cart recovery, Privy is the better fit.

Which is better for cart abandonment recovery?

Both offer it. OptiMonk uses AI-powered targeting and personalization to recover carts onsite, based on each visitor’s behavior. Privy’s cart recovery is effective but more basic and relies mainly on email follow-ups.

What are the pros and cons of OptiMonk vs Privy?

Here’s the short version.

Tool	Pros	Cons
OptiMonk	The OptiMonk AI Agent builds, edits and A/B tests campaigns from your domain; product recommendations; live chat on the free plan; free plan to start (10K pageviews)	No built-in email or SMS; needs integrations for email/SMS
Privy	Email, SMS and popups in one tool; built-in automation flows; landing page builder; dedicated success manager on higher tiers	No permanent free plan (15-day trial); pricing climbs with your contact list; dozens of templates; no AI popup features

Happy with Klaviyo, just need better onsite campaigns?

Keep your ESP. Let OptiMonk run popups, recommendations and tests.

Start for freeFree to start. No credit card.

Keep your email tool. Get better onsite campaigns.

Email and SMS suite vs AI-built onsite campaigns.

Email-first with popups vs onsite-first with an AI Agent.

Who sends the email, who runs the test.

Is OptiMonk cheaper than Privy?

Which tool has more templates and design options?

Which tool has better AI and personalization?

Which tool has better A/B testing?

Is OptiMonk better for Shopify stores than Privy?

Does Privy have features that OptiMonk doesn’t?

Frequently asked questions.

Happy with Klaviyo, just need better onsite campaigns?

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