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Review

Sumo Review

The verdict

A 2026 review of Sumo has to start with the status: the brand does not sell. BDOW is the same product under a new name. For a new campaign, pick a living builder. For a leftover install, this page says when to keep BDOW and when to leave.

Visit Sumo

Published January 12, 2023 · Last reviewed August 23, 2026

Starts at
Not published

No figure on the vendor's page

Free tier
None
Metered on
Not stated
Compared with
10 tools

Read this before you budget

Sumo no longer sells under that name. Showit acquired it in December 2023, rebranded it to BDOW! in April 2024, and sumo.com now loads an unrelated product (Refract). BDOW still sells popups at bdow.com. We do not publish a Sumo starting price.

CheckedAugust 2026Sumo’s own pricing pageour full breakdown

Where Sumo fits

Existing Sumo users who need a living replacement. Not a new buyer looking for a popup tool.

Strengths

  • One install once covered opt-in forms, share buttons and heat maps
  • A real free plan with unlimited subscribers on the 2023 price list
  • Connected to the usual email tools (Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo)

Limitations

  • The Sumo brand no longer sells. sumo.com now points at Refract
  • The WordPress plugin is untested on the last three WP majors
  • Share, heat maps and the old launcher are leftover Sumo UI
  • New buyers should pick a living tool, not this listing
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Verdict: do not buy Sumo. It is not sold. Showit acquired the product in December 2023 and relaunched it as BDOW! in April 2024. sumo.com now loads Refract. The code still runs at bdow.com, with a free plan and paid tiers from $19/month billed yearly. That is a successor, not a reason to type "Sumo" into a checkout form. New work goes to a living tool. Start at Sumo alternatives.

This used to be a pros-and-cons review of a current product. Keeping that shape without the status line would be a lie. The rest of the page is the 2023 product, what reviewers actually complained about, and a 2026 call on BDOW.

Is Sumo worth it in 2026?

No, because you cannot buy it.

The only purchase that still exists is BDOW. Worth it if you already have a Site ID on a Showit site and the forms convert. Not worth it as a new WordPress install: the official plugin (wordpress.org/plugins/sumome, version 1.44, last updated 5 June 2025) is flagged as untested with the last three major WordPress releases, on 10,000+ active installs. A November 2024 review titled "Totally broken" describes a dead login button.

AppSumo is not this product. Paying for an AppSumo deal will not give you List Builder.

What was good about Sumo when it was Sumo?

The 2023 notes still stand as a description of the old kit.

One script did three jobs most stacks now split: opt-in popups, share buttons, heat maps. For a one-person site that was the point. The free plan allowed unlimited subscribers, which most popup tools still do not. Mailchimp, HubSpot and Klaviyo connections were ordinary, not heroic, and they worked. A/B tests and badge removal sat on Pro at $39/month.

That is the whole compliment. It was a competent 2016-era growth widget that a lot of blogs installed and then forgot.

😌
What held up: one install, a usable free plan, and the usual ESP list. If a leftover Sumo form is still adding subscribers, that is why. The editor was fine. The analytics were enough to see which variant won. None of that is unique in 2026.

What was bad, and what got worse?

The 2023 cons list was long because it was scraped from every review in sight. The ones that mattered:

The launcher-and-apps UI was a second product to learn. Share counters drifted. Smaller ESPs were fiddly. The free badge was ugly, which is why people paid. International targeting was thin. Google Analytics "On Page Analytics" was a widget you then had to hide. Team access was one-computer clumsy.

After the sale, the new problems are the ones that kill a buy:

  • The brand and the domain diverged. Search "Sumo popup" and you land on a dead storefront.
  • The WordPress plugin lagged. WordPress.org's untested banner is the vendor's own packaging, not a rumour.
  • Share was demoted to Legacy Features in BDOW's help centre.
  • Directories (GetApp still has a Sumo page) keep serving 2016 marketing copy as if it were a live listing.
😔
What to treat as current: you cannot check out as Sumo. The WordPress plugin is behind. Share and heat maps are not a reason to stay. BDOW support is help@bdow.com, not a Sumo inbox. If your only contact is an old sumo.com address, it will bounce or hit Refract.

Sumo vs BDOW vs a new tool

Sumo (the brand) BDOW! (the code) A living popup builder
Can you buy it today? No Yes, at bdow.com Yes
Domain sumo.com → Refract bdow.com optimonk.com, popupsmart.com, hellobar.com, mailmunch.com
Free plan None $0, 100 conversions, badge on OptiMonk: $0, 10k pageviews. Hello Bar: 5k lifetime views. Mailmunch: $0. Popupsmart: 5k pageviews/month.
Paid from n/a $19/mo billed yearly OptiMonk $19, Mailmunch $13.99, Popupsmart $32.50, Hello Bar $39 (hero). All billed yearly except where noted. Checked 23 August 2026.
WordPress Plugin slug sumome, untested on last three majors Same plugin Native plugins that the vendors still test
Who it is for Nobody new Showit users and leftover Site IDs Everyone else

Prices: bdow.com/pricing, optimonk.com/pricing, mailmunch.com/pricing, popupsmart.com/pricing, hellobar.com/pricing, all 23 August 2026. Hello Bar's hero says Growth $39/mo billed yearly; the feature table on the same page says $29. We quoted the hero.

Who should keep BDOW?

Keep it if the popup is live, the ESP connection is stable, and you are on Showit. The native Site ID install is the one integration that did not exist in 2023 and is actually better.

Leave it if:

  • You came here to start a new popup. Use OptiMonk or Popupsmart.
  • You are on a current WordPress release and the plugin will not log in.
  • You used Sumo for Share or heat maps. Replace those with tools that still treat them as a product.
  • You are paying leftover Pro (~$39–$49/month) and you are not using ecommerce or multi-site. OptiMonk Essential is $19/mo billed yearly with every feature.

Pair reviews: Sumo vs Hello Bar, Sumo vs Mailmunch, Sumo vs Adoric. Product status sits on Sumo. Numbers sit on Sumo pricing.

Sumo review FAQs

Is this an affiliate review of BDOW?

No. This site is independent. BDOW is listed because it is what Sumo became, not because it wins a bake-off. OptiMonk's free plan is the stronger new-user offer we checked on 23 August 2026.

Did Sumo shut down, or just change names?

The brand shut down. The product was sold and renamed. Those are different events, and search results mix them up. You cannot buy Sumo. You can buy BDOW. You should probably buy neither if you are starting from zero.

What about AppSumo lifetime deals?

AppSumo is Noah Kagan's deal marketplace. It did not keep the popup product. An old AppSumo licence does not restore Sumo Pro. If a deal page still says Sumo, ignore it and look at BDOW's own checkout.

More on Sumo

Sumo against every other tool

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Written and reviewed by

Emel Dalabasmaz
Emel Dalabasmaz

SEO Executive at Flatart

Emel Dalabasmaz graduated in Advertising and Public Relations from Anadolu University. She began in social media and carried that grounding — content, brand communication and performance — into SEO. For more than ten years she has worked on growth for brands across a range of industries, pairing a communications perspective with data and technical analysis to build a digital presence that holds up over time.

Education
Advertising and Public Relations, Anadolu University
Writes about
Popup builders, Conversion rate optimization, On-site messaging, SaaS pricing research, SEO, Technical SEO, Content strategy, Digital marketing