How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- The cheapest way to start on Shopify is a free plan: Smile.io (up to 200 orders a month) and Rivo (free forever, 200 orders) both cost nothing to launch.
- Already paying for Yotpo reviews or SMS? Yotpo Loyalty is the cheapest add-on at $199/month. As a standalone loyalty buy, it is the most expensive option here.
- Brick-and-mortar pricing is per location: Square Loyalty starts at $60/month per location and Marsello at $60/month per site, so five stores means roughly $300/month before marketing add-ons.
- LoyaltyLion ($199/month Classic) and TrueLoyal (custom quote) sit at the top end; both make sense when you need tiers, analytics and a loyalty page built for you, not a weekend widget install.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Smile.io | Shopify stores launching their first points program | $15/month (Essential, 500 monthly orders) | Yes (up to 200 orders/month) |
 LoyaltyLion | Growing DTC brands that want tiers, analytics and strategy help | $199/month (Classic, 500 monthly orders) | Yes (up to 400 orders/month) |
 Yotpo Loyalty | Stores already running Yotpo reviews or SMS | $199/month (Pro, first 500 orders) | Yes (up to 100 orders/month) |
 Rivo | Shopify brands that want developer tools and fraud protection | $15/month (Essential); Scale from $49+/month | Yes (free forever, up to 200 orders/month) |
 Growave | Stores that want loyalty, reviews and wishlist under one bill | $49/month (Entry, 500 monthly orders) | Yes (up to 100 orders/month) |
 Marsello | Multi-location retailers running POS and ecommerce together | $60/month per site (Loyalty Launch) | Free trial (14 days) |
 Square Loyalty | Shops, cafes and restaurants already running Square | $60/month per location (up to 500 loyalty visits) | No |
 Kangaroo Rewards | Retail and service chains wanting a white-label loyalty program | $79/month (Core) | Free trial available (no free plan) |
 Stamp Me | Cafes, salons and shops wanting a simple digital stamp card | $49/month (Lite) | Free trial (30 days) |
 TrueLoyal | Mid-market and enterprise omnichannel loyalty programs | See website (custom quote) | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
The best loyalty software
A customer buys twice, then quietly disappears to a competitor. That is the problem loyalty software exists to fix, and every vendor page promises the same thing: points, tiers, referrals, repeat purchases. The real differences sit underneath the marketing. Pricing is tied to order volume or store count, free plans are generous in some products and unusable in others, and a platform built for Shopify widgets will not survive a five-location retail chain. These ten tools cover the actual market, from free Shopify apps to enterprise loyalty engines.
#1
Smile.io
Best for: Shopify stores launching their first points program
Visit smile.io
Starting price$15/month (Essential, 500 monthly orders)
Free planYes (up to 200 orders/month)
Smile.io is the default first loyalty app for a Shopify store, and the reason is speed. A small store can install it, pick earning rules, set redemption values and have a working points program in an afternoon. The free plan covers 200 orders a month, which is enough to learn whether your customers respond to points at all. Paid tiers start at $15 a month for Essential (500 orders), then $79 Standard (1,000 orders) and $199 Growth (2,500 orders), with Plus at $999 a month billed annually for 7,500 orders. Every plan includes unlimited integrations and points for purchases, referrals and account creation.
The honest catch is the ceiling. Smile.io is a polished widget, not a platform you extend. Conditional promotions, market-specific rules and true POS-plus-webstore programs push you toward competitors. Overages are $20 per 100 extra orders on Growth, so a holiday spike can inflate the bill.
What we like- The largest installed base in Shopify loyalty, so setup guides and migration help are everywhere
- Pricing scales with orders, not seats, so adding staff costs nothing
- Points, referrals and a branded loyalty page on every tier
Watch out for- The free plan caps at 200 orders a month and VIP tiers wait until Growth at $199/month
- Analytics stay basic until the higher tiers
- Built for Shopify first, weak fit for brick-and-mortar
#2
LoyaltyLion
Best for: Growing DTC brands that want tiers, analytics and strategy help
Visit loyaltylion.com
Starting price$199/month (Classic, 500 monthly orders)
Free planYes (up to 400 orders/month)
LoyaltyLion plays a step above Smile.io. Where Smile.io sells a widget you configure, LoyaltyLion sells a program you run with them: dedicated onboarding, a loyalty page they help build, challenges, VIP tiers, AI-recommended rewards and revenue attribution analytics that show what loyalty actually earned. The free plan covers 400 orders a month with points, discount rewards, branding and analytics, which makes it a real product rather than a demo. Classic at $199 a month (500 orders) adds the loyalty page build, pre-built earning rules and Klaviyo flows.
The trade-off is the price curve. There is no $30 or $50 step between free and $199, and the order-volume model means a strong season can push you into a contract conversation.
What we like- A genuinely generous free tier at 400 monthly orders
- Deep Klaviyo integration with loyalty events feeding flows
- Onboarding and quarterly strategy reviews on paid plans
Watch out for- Paid entry is $199 a month, a big jump from free
- Overage policy pushes heavy months into higher tiers
- Support quality below enterprise tiers is flagged as inconsistent in independent reviews
#3
Yotpo Loyalty
Best for: Stores already running Yotpo reviews or SMS
Visit yotpo.com
Starting price$199/month (Pro, first 500 orders)
Free planYes (up to 100 orders/month)
Yotpo Loyalty makes sense in exactly one situation: you already run Yotpo Reviews or Yotpo SMS. Then loyalty slots into the same dashboard, shares the same customer data, and a points event can trigger an SMS without third-party connectors. As a standalone loyalty tool it is points, tiers and referrals, priced like an enterprise platform. The free plan covers 100 orders a month, Pro at $199 a month covers the first 500 orders with per-order fees beyond that, and Premium at $799 a month adds smart segments, advanced analytics and a dedicated strategist.
Stacking Yotpo Reviews Pro and Loyalty Pro lands around $370 a month at entry volume. Without the ecosystem, Smile.io, Rivo or LoyaltyLion give you comparable loyalty for far less.
What we like- One platform for reviews, SMS and loyalty, so a five-star review can award points and a points milestone can trigger an SMS with no connectors
- Strong enterprise tooling with VIP tiers, segments and POS support on higher plans
- Free plan exists for very small stores
Watch out for- Pro starts at $199 a month, roughly eight times the entry price of a focused loyalty app
- Per-order overages ($0.20 per order from 501 to 1,000) grow the bill fast past 500 orders
- Premium at $799 a month makes it one of the priciest options here
#4
Rivo
Best for: Shopify brands that want developer tools and fraud protection
Visit rivo.io
Starting price$15/month (Essential); Scale from $49+/month
Free planYes (free forever, up to 200 orders/month)
Rivo is the strongest Smile.io alternative for stores that expect to customize. It bundles loyalty, referrals, cashback, accounts and memberships into one platform, and its developer toolkit (REST API, Rivo JS, metafields, webhooks) lets a technical team build custom earn actions and integrations that widget-style apps cannot. The free-forever plan covers 200 orders a month with a working points program, and a 7-day free trial applies across paid plans. Scale at $49 a month adds VIP tiers, points expiry and analytics, while Plus at $499 adds checkout extensions and custom integrations. The catch is the pricing ladder: Essential at $15 is basic, and anything serious means $49-plus Scale with its order-based overage math. If you have developers on staff or expect referral fraud, Rivo is the pick. If you just want points live, Smile.io is simpler.
What we like- A free-forever plan with a real points program, not a trial
- Developer toolkit with REST API, JS SDK, metafields and webhooks
- 20-plus built-in fraud protection tools, a rarity in this segment
Watch out for- The plan ladder is fiddly (Essential $15, Scale $49+, Plus $499) and key features gate quickly
- VIP tiers and points expiry wait for Scale
- Checkout extensions sit on Plus at $499 a month
#5
Growave
Best for: Stores that want loyalty, reviews and wishlist under one bill
Visit growave.io
Starting price$49/month (Entry, 500 monthly orders)
Free planYes (up to 100 orders/month)
Growave sells consolidation. Instead of paying separately for a loyalty app, a reviews app and a wishlist, one Growave subscription covers all three, plus referral programs and Instagram UGC. For a small team, one dashboard and one bill is a genuine operational win. Pricing is order-based: free up to 100 orders, Entry at $49 a month for 500 orders, Growth at $199 for 1,500 orders, Plus at $499 for 3,000 orders and Unlimited at $999. The free plan caps at 100 monthly orders and 500 lifetime orders, after which widgets stop working, so treat it as a trial.
Every paid plan except Unlimited charges per-order overages, so model your growth before committing. Growave fits stores that will genuinely use reviews and wishlist alongside loyalty. If loyalty is all you need, a focused app costs less.
What we like- One subscription covers loyalty, product reviews, wishlist and Instagram UGC
- Flat feature set per tier with fewer surprise gates than competitors
- 14-day free trial and 24/7 email and chat support
Watch out for- No free-forever tier worth using (100 orders and 500 lifetime cap)
- Order-based overages of $0.10 to $0.15 per extra order can double or triple the bill at volume
- VIP tiers and points expiry wait for Growth at $199
#6
Marsello
Best for: Multi-location retailers running POS and ecommerce together
Visit marsello.com
Starting price$60/month per site (Loyalty Launch)
Free planFree trial (14 days)
Marsello is the only tool on this list designed around retail reality: a customer earns points in the store, redeems them online, gets a wallet pass on their phone and receives an email campaign from the same platform. Loyalty Launch starts at $60 a month per site and covers points, referrals, wallet passes, basic automations and RFM segmentation. Loyalty Accelerate at $120 a month per site adds VIP tiers, API access, custom earn options and advanced reward conditions. A 14-day free trial applies, and Lightspeed users get billing through their Lightspeed subscription.
The per-site math is the thing to model. A single boutique pays $60 a month; a five-location chain on Accelerate pays $600 a month before SMS send costs. If your business is stores first, Marsello is the strongest omnichannel pick here. If it is the other way around, stay with the Shopify-native apps.
What we like- Built for the reality of stores plus a webshop, with Shopify POS, Lightspeed and Clover integrations
- Native email and SMS campaigns reduce the need for a separate lifecycle tool
- Apple and Google Wallet passes included
Watch out for- Pricing is per site, so three locations on Accelerate costs $360 a month
- No free plan, only a 14-day trial
- Online-only Shopify brands get a clumsier fit than a Shopify-native app
#7
Square Loyalty
Best for: Shops, cafes and restaurants already running Square
Visit squareup.com
Starting price$60/month per location (up to 500 loyalty visits)
Free planNo
Square Loyalty exists for one customer: the business whose checkout already runs on Square. Customers enroll with a phone number, earn points on every purchase (even cash), and redeem at the register or on Square Online. There is no app for customers to download and no card to carry, which is why enrollment rates run high. Pricing is per location by monthly loyalty visits: $60 for up to 500 visits, $100 for 501 to 1,500, and $140 above that. A 30-day free trial is offered.
Three locations with moderate traffic land at $180 to $420 a month, and tiers count loyalty visits, not transactions, so an active program climbs fast. Outside Square it has no reason to exist; inside it, it is the simplest loyalty a small shop will ever run.
What we like- Runs inside Square, so customers enroll with a phone number at the register and points accrue with no app or card
- Deep Square Marketing integration for campaigns to loyalty members
- Reward rules by visit, amount spent, item or category
Watch out for- Only works with Square, so switching POS later means rebuilding the program
- Pricing tiers jump from $60 to $100 to $140 per location as loyalty visits grow
- No free plan, just a 30-day trial
Starting price$79/month (Core)
Free planFree trial available (no free plan)
Kangaroo Rewards is a Canadian-built platform aimed at retail and service businesses, from single shops to franchise networks. Its pitch is breadth: points, tier-based rewards, gift cards, referral programs, marketing automation, surveys, spin-to-win campaigns and a white-label app, all in one system. Core at $79 a month covers points, redemptions, pay-with-points and POS/ecommerce integrations. Plus at $199 adds referrals, marketing automation, multi-location support and tier rewards. Elite at $399 adds API access and a custom branded app. Unlimited customers on every plan means a busy chain does not pay per member.
At $79 a month with no free plan, it costs more than the Shopify apps while overlapping them on features. It earns the price for chains needing white-label branding, kiosks and franchise management. For a single boutique, the cheaper tools win.
What we like- White-label branding on every tier, so the program carries your name, not theirs
- Tablet-based in-store kiosk mode works with no extra hardware
- Unlimited customers on all plans, which chains appreciate
Watch out for- No free plan at all
- Entry at $79 a month is steep for a single shop
- The platform is broad and onboarding takes real effort
#9
Stamp Me
Best for: Cafes, salons and shops wanting a simple digital stamp card
Visit stampme.com
Starting price$49/month (Lite)
Free planFree trial (30 days)
Stamp Me is the digital punch card. Your cafe or salon gets a "buy 8, get 1 free" style card inside the Stamp Me app, customers collect stamps by phone tap or QR scan, and rewards trigger automatically. It is the simplest concept on this list and the one customers need the least explanation for. Lite at $49 a month covers one location with up to 500 members; Pro at $79 a month covers two locations and 5,000 members with ecommerce support, customer data and a birthday club. A 30-day free trial applies to all plans.
The trade-off is the app download: Square's phone-number model or a wallet pass will enroll more people with less friction. For a single cafe with regulars, it is manageable and the price is fair.
What we like- The closest digital equivalent to the paper stamp card customers already understand
- Unlimited push notifications on every plan
- NFC and QR stamping with no hardware to buy
Watch out for- Customers must download the Stamp Me app, which limits enrollment versus phone-number or wallet-based options
- No free plan
- Pricing is per business, so multi-location groups pay per site
#10
TrueLoyal
Best for: Mid-market and enterprise omnichannel loyalty programs
Visit trueloyal.com
Starting priceSee website (custom quote)
Free planNo
TrueLoyal is the former Zinrelo, rebranded after its 2025 merger with TINT, and it plays in a different league from the Shopify apps. This is the platform for brands running loyalty across channels and countries: transactional, social, behavioral and advocacy rewards in one program, machine-learning personalization, and analytics that tie loyalty behavior to revenue. Pricing is custom-quoted after a demo, which reflects the implementation scope. There is no free plan and no self-serve tier.
TrueLoyal is the right call when loyalty is a business unit with its own budget. For everyone else it is a sales process you do not need; growing brands get tiers and analytics from LoyaltyLion at a published price.
What we like- A genuine loyalty platform, not an app: machine-learning-driven personalization, omnichannel earn and burn across web, mobile and in-store
- Deep analytics tied to repeat purchase and lifetime value
- Integrations with ecommerce, CRM and marketing automation stacks
Watch out for- Custom pricing with a sales process, so no self-serve start
- Implementation effort and cost are enterprise-grade
- Overkill for anything under serious scale
How we chose
We started with the searches buyers actually run: best loyalty software, loyalty program software, Shopify loyalty app and restaurant loyalty software. For each candidate we opened the vendor's own pricing page, checked the numbers against public reviews on G2 and Capterra and practitioner discussion on Reddit, and compared feature depth, order or location-based limits, integration coverage and fit for different company sizes. Prices that could not be verified on the vendor's page are marked "See website". Nothing here is based on vendor claims about user counts, ratings or awards.
How loyalty software is priced (and where the bill grows)
Loyalty pricing follows one of three models, and the model matters more than the headline price. Shopify apps (Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Yotpo, Rivo, Growave) bill by monthly order volume: your bill grows with your sales, and overage fees of $0.10 to $0.20 per extra order mean a holiday spike shows up on the invoice. Model your peak months, not your average. Brick-and-mortar platforms (Square Loyalty, Marsello) bill per location: count your stores, multiply, and add that to the quote before comparing. Enterprise platforms (TrueLoyal, and Kangaroo's upper tiers) are quote-based.
Then check what the tier excludes. VIP tiers, points expiry, API access and advanced analytics routinely sit one or two tiers above entry. On Shopify apps, the free plans have real but different caps: Smile.io allows 200 orders a month, LoyaltyLion 400, Rivo 200 forever, Yotpo 100, Growave 100. Match the cap to your volume before you build on a free tier you will outgrow in a month.
Points, tiers, or cashback: pick the structure first
Most buyers pick a vendor before picking a program structure, which is backwards. Points for purchases are the default and work for anything with repeat buying. Tiers (silver, gold, platinum) suit brands with a wide spend range, because they make high spenders feel recognized without discounting everyone. Cashback and store credit, which Rivo and several others offer natively, convert better with deal-sensitive shoppers but eat margin directly, so model the cost.
Referrals are the cheapest acquisition channel here, and every tool includes them. Whatever structure you choose, keep the rules simple enough to explain at the register: a program customers cannot understand is one they will not use.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest loyalty software for a small business?
Smile.io and Rivo both offer free plans for Shopify stores up to 200 orders a month, which is enough to run a real points program at no cost. For a physical shop, Stamp Me at $49 a month is the cheapest dedicated option, and Square Loyalty at $60 a month per location is cheapest if you already run Square.
How much does loyalty software cost per month?
Shopify apps run from $15 to $199 a month at typical small-business volumes (Smile.io Essential at $15, LoyaltyLion Classic at $199). Per-location pricing for retail runs $49 to $120 a month per site. Enterprise platforms like TrueLoyal are custom-quoted and start well above these ranges.
Do I need a loyalty app, or is a wallet pass enough?
A wallet pass (Apple or Google Wallet) has the lowest enrollment friction because customers scan and save, no app download needed. A full app or POS-based program gives you richer data, campaigns and segmentation. Shops with high foot traffic usually do better with wallet or POS-based enrollment; online stores need the app or platform integration.
Can loyalty points integrate with my email marketing?
Yes, and this is where the tools differ most. LoyaltyLion, Rivo and Marsello all push loyalty events (points earned, tier upgrades, reward available) into Klaviyo, Mailchimp and similar tools, which lets you trigger emails on loyalty behavior. Check that your plan includes the integration: on several tools it is gated to mid tiers.
What is the difference between points, tiers and cashback?
Points reward every purchase and suit frequent buyers. Tiers add status levels that reward your best customers with better perks. Cashback returns a percentage of spend as store credit, which converts well but costs margin on every sale. Many programs combine points with tiers.
How long does it take to set up a loyalty program?
A Shopify app like Smile.io or Rivo can go live in an afternoon. A retail rollout with POS integration, wallet passes and staff training (Marsello, Kangaroo, Square) typically takes one to three weeks. Enterprise programs on TrueLoyal are implementation projects measured in months.
Sources we checked (12)
- https://smile.io/pricing
- https://loyaltylion.com/pricing
- https://yotpo.com/
- https://www.rivo.io/pricing
- https://growave.io/pricing
- https://marsello.com/pricing
- https://squareup.com/
- https://kangaroorewards.com/pricing
- https://stampme.com/pricing
- https://trueloyal.com/pricing
- https://www.g2.com/categories/customer-loyalty
- https://www.capterra.com/customer-loyalty-software/
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.