Thomas Nguyen is the CTO of Joy, a loyalty solution for Shopify and eCommerce brands. With years of experience building high-performance Shopify apps, Thomas aims to help merchants grow through customizable and retention-focused tools.
Okendo doesn't gate VIP tiers behind any plan, they're included from Essential at $19 a month. Yotpo holds VIP tiers back for Premium, a plan with no published price. Here's what else separates these two Shopify loyalty apps, verified straight from their own listings.
Thomas Nguyen
Yotpo's $199 Pro plan and LoyaltyLion's $199 Classic plan cost the same, and neither includes VIP tiers. Neither publishes what the plan above that actually costs. Here's what else separates these two Shopify loyalty apps, verified straight from their own pricing pages.
Thomas Nguyen
Rivo unlocks VIP tiers at $49 a month. BON doesn't get you there until $129. Here's what else separates these two Shopify loyalty apps, verified straight from their own pricing pages.
Thomas Nguyen
Smile.io also runs on BigCommerce, an ecommerce platform Rivo doesn't touch. Rivo is Shopify only, but it's the only one of the two with a native paid membership tier. Here's what else separates these Shopify loyalty apps, verified straight from their pricing pages and help centers.
Thomas Nguyen
Smile.io prices its VIP tiers at a flat $199 a month. LoyaltyLion's VIP-tier plan has no published price at all. Here's what else separates these two Shopify loyalty apps, verified straight from their own pricing pages.
Thomas Nguyen
Casa doesn't charge for its loyalty program at any tier. Smile.io's VIP tiers start at $199 a month. Here's what else separates these two Shopify loyalty apps, verified straight from their own listings.
Thomas Nguyen
LoyaltyLion's free plan is wider than you'd think. The real friction is VIP tiers. Here are 7 alternatives with pricing verified straight from each app's own Shopify listing.
Thomas Nguyen
Every Smile.io alternatives list online ranks itself first. Here's an honest one, with pricing verified straight from each app's own Shopify listing, so you can see exactly what you're comparing.
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Rivo bundles referrals and analytics into one $49-a-month tier. Here are 7 alternatives with pricing verified straight from each app's own Shopify listing.
Thomas Nguyen
Growave bundles loyalty with reviews and wishlists into one app. Here are 7 alternatives, most of them dedicated loyalty platforms, with pricing verified straight from each app's own Shopify listing.
Thomas Nguyen
Yotpo requires a sales call before you can even install it, even for the free plan. Here are 7 alternatives you can install directly, with pricing verified straight from each app's own Shopify listing.
Thomas Nguyen
Gorgias charges by ticket volume with unlimited agents. Zendesk charges per agent with no ticket cap. Here's what that actually costs, plus how support ties into a loyalty program once you've picked one.
Thomas Nguyen
Three Shopify subscription apps, three very different pricing models, from a flat 0% transaction fee to a single $599 plan. Here's what Recharge, Appstle, and Skio actually cost, plus how renewals feed into a loyalty program once you've picked one.
Thomas Nguyen
Three Shopify reviews apps, three different pricing models. Here's what Judge.me, Okendo, and Yotpo actually cost and include, plus how reviews feed into a loyalty program once you've picked one.
Thomas Nguyen
Klaviyo and Omnisend both promise to grow revenue through email and SMS. Here's what each actually costs, where each wins, and how loyalty data fits into whichever one you pick.
Thomas Nguyen
Joy and BON launched weeks apart in 2021 and hold nearly identical ratings today. Here's where the two platforms actually pull apart, plan by plan.
Thomas Nguyen
Growave has been live since 2014, seven years longer than Joy. Here's what each loyalty platform actually gets you at every price, feature by feature.
Thomas Nguyen![Joy vs. Okendo: Which one scales with a growing store? [2026]](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-web.joy.so%2Fcdn%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2Fjoy-okendo-c32687.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Okendo doesn't gate VIP tiers or POS behind a higher plan, but Loyalty only comes bundled with Reviews, and referrals cost extra on top. Here's what that actually costs a growing store.
Thomas Nguyen
A feature-by-feature look at Joy and Casa, two Shopify loyalty apps, covering points, VIP tiers, referrals, analytics, and support.
Thomas Nguyen
Essent launched in late 2024 with a generous free plan and no visible overage pricing. Joy costs more at almost every stage but backs it with years of documented depth. Here's the real trade-off.
Thomas Nguyen
Toki puts VIP tiers and POS on its free plan, the most generous in this comparison series. Joy gets cheaper as your order volume grows. Here's where each one actually wins.
Thomas Nguyen![Joy vs. Love Loyalty: A feature-by-feature look [2026]](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-web.joy.so%2Fcdn%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2Fjoy-love-04c8f1.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Both platforms unlock more as you move up their plans. Here's exactly what Joy and Love Loyalty include at each stage, feature by feature.
Thomas Nguyen![Joy vs. LoyaltyLion: Full comparison [2026]](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-web.joy.so%2Fcdn%2Fimage%2F2026%2F08%2Fjoy-lion-afe39c.webp&w=3840&q=75)
A full look at what Joy and LoyaltyLion actually cost and include, from published pricing to the features that need a custom quote.
Thomas Nguyen
A full look at what Joy and Yotpo actually include, from self-serve pricing to the features locked behind a custom quote.
Thomas Nguyen