Joy vs. Growave: What you actually get for the price [2026]

Growave takes an all-in-one approach to customer retention. Alongside loyalty, it includes reviews, referrals, and wishlists. Joy takes a more focused approach, centered on loyalty and repeat purchases.

Both platforms scale their pricing as your order volume grows. But the monthly price alone does not tell you which one gives your store better value.

This guide looks at what you actually get from the loyalty side of each platform at every price point. We will compare the features included, order volume, and what each plan lets you do as your store grows.

Joy vs. Growave in one minute

Joy starts with a free plan, 48 integrations with no limit on how many you can use at once, a five-tab analytics dashboard, and four referral anti-cheat methods. VIP tiers and B2B tiered rewards also start at a lower price than Growave's comparable plans.

Growave has a lower entry price at 500 orders and includes Shopify POS support from its cheapest paid plan. It also bundles loyalty with reviews, referrals, and wishlists, which can be useful if you want more retention tools in one app.

Best for stores that want a focused loyalty platform with more integrations and lower-cost VIP and B2B tiers: Joy.

Best for stores that want lower entry-level pricing and Shopify POS support: Growave.

Joy vs. Growave at a glance

Here's how the two compare across the loyalty features that matter most.

What each platform does well

Pricing is only part of the picture. What matters is what each plan includes and how well it fits your store. Joy and Growave take different approaches, with each offering different strengths.

What we like about Joy

Joy's main strength is how much of its loyalty toolkit is available without moving to a higher tier. The free plan lets smaller stores launch before committing to a paid plan, while higher tiers add features such as VIP programs, B2B rewards, wallet passes, and paid membership.

The integration setup is also flexible. You can connect the apps you need without a limit on how many you can run at the same time. Analytics are available from the start, so stores can track loyalty performance without waiting for a higher plan.

Referral protection is another practical advantage. Joy includes multiple checks to help identify suspicious referral activity, including email matching, browser tracking, IP monitoring, and purchase history.

What we like about Growave

Growave's main advantage is breadth. Instead of focusing solely on loyalty, it combines loyalty with reviews, referrals, and wishlists. That can be useful if you would rather manage several retention tools in one app.

It also has a lower entry point for stores that need Shopify POS. The $15 Entry plan includes POS integration, making Growave a more accessible option for businesses that want to connect loyalty with in-store purchases.

The trade-off is that the two platforms prioritize different things. Joy places greater emphasis on the depth and flexibility of its loyalty offering, while Growave makes sense when you want loyalty alongside other retention features.

Feature-by-feature: how they actually work

The table above gives you a quick comparison. Now let's look at five areas where the two platforms work differently and what those differences mean for your store.

VIP tiers and B2B rewards

Joy gives merchants several ways to decide when a customer moves into a VIP tier. You can base tiers on points earned, money spent, or the number of orders. That gives you more flexibility to reward different types of loyal customers. The feature is available on the Advanced plan at $129 per month and includes an automatic checkout discount.

Growave also offers customizable VIP tiers on its $199 Growth plan. Its B2B Points program is available on the $499 Plus plan. This can make sense if you want loyalty and other retention tools in the same platform, but the higher tiers come with a higher monthly cost.

For B2B stores, the price gap is especially important. Joy offers B2B tiered rewards at $129, while Growave puts its B2B Points program on the $499 plan. That is a $370 monthly difference before considering any other features you may need.

Verdict: Joy offers more flexibility at a lower entry price for both VIP and B2B rewards. Growave may be worth considering if you also need its wider set of retention tools.

Integrations

Joy supports 48 named integrations across six categories, with no limit on how many you can use simultaneously. That applies to every plan, including the free plan, so you can connect the tools your store already relies on without moving to a higher tier just to add another integration.

Growave has 34 named integrations across 11 categories. The wider category mix includes subscriptions, mobile app builders, and page builders. However, the number of integrations you can use at once depends on your plan: one on Entry, three on Growth, and unlimited on Plus at $499 a month.

The difference matters most for stores with a larger tech stack. Joy gives you more integrations overall and removes the concurrent-use limit, while Growave offers fewer integrations but covers some categories that Joy does not.

Verdict: Joy has the stronger setup for stores that use multiple integrations simultaneously. Growave can be the better fit if you need one of its more specialized integration categories.

Referrals and fraud protection

Joy gives you more ways to shape your referral program around how you want to reward new and existing customers. You can reward both the referrer and the new shopper with points, store credit, or discounts. Rewards can also vary by VIP tier, while discount limits help you keep referral costs under control.

Joy also uses four fraud checks: similar email detection, browser tracking, IP address monitoring, and purchase history verification. Together, these checks can help reduce self-referrals and other attempts to claim rewards without bringing in a genuinely new customer.

Growave also combines referrals with fraud protection. When it detects a self-referral, it can block the reward, create a report, and send a notification. This gives you a clear response when suspicious activity is detected.

Verdict: Joy gives you more flexibility in how referrals are rewarded and protected. Growave puts more emphasis on the response process when fraud is detected. If referrals are an important part of your acquisition strategy, the better fit depends on whether you value reward flexibility or a more defined fraud response workflow.

Analytics and reporting

Joy's Analytics helps you see whether your loyalty program is driving real results. You can track revenue, members, rewards, and referrals, then compare members with non-members on metrics such as repeat purchase rate, AOV, and customer lifetime value. You can also see which rewards are redeemed, where points or coupons go unused, and how much revenue your loyalty program generates.

Growave takes a broader approach. Its Analytics covers loyalty performance alongside other retention activities, with metrics for loyalty revenue, back-in-stock email revenue, reviews, impressions, and more. Its loyalty reports can also show points earning and redemption trends, reward performance, and the difference between redeemers and non-redeemers.

The difference is mainly about focus. Joy gives you a closer look at how your loyalty program affects customers, rewards, and revenue. Growave gives you a wider view when you use several of its retention tools together.

Verdict: Joy is the stronger fit if loyalty performance is your main focus. Growave has an advantage if you want to measure loyalty alongside reviews, wishlists, and other retention activities on a single platform.

POS, wallet passes, and paid membership

If you sell both online and in person, Growave has a clear advantage over Shopify POS. Its POS integration starts at $15 a month, while Joy's POS loyalty extension starts at $129. That makes Growave the more accessible option if connecting loyalty to in-store purchases is a priority.

For wallet passes, the picture changes. Joy includes Apple and Google Wallet passes from $129 a month, while Growave's equivalent "Add to Wallet" loyalty QR code starts at $199. Wallet passes can make it easier for customers to access their loyalty information without opening your store or loyalty app each time.

Joy also lists paid membership as a feature for $129 a month. Growave's Compare Plans page does not list a direct paid membership equivalent. If you want to charge customers for access to exclusive loyalty benefits, this gives Joy an option that Growave does not currently show in its published plans.

Verdict: Growave is the better value if Shopify POS is your priority. Joy offers a stronger value for wallet passes and provides a published paid membership option.

What it costs at each stage of growth

The features above show what each platform can do. Now let's look at how costs change as your store grows and where the biggest price differences occur.

Just starting out: free plans

Joy's Starter plan is $0 and covers up to 250 orders a month. Growave also offers a free plan that includes 200 orders. The main difference is how easy it is to compare them: Joy clearly lists its free plan and features on its pricing page, while Growave's free plan appears in its Shopify App Store listing with fewer details.

Verdict: Joy gives you more included order volume and makes the free option easier to evaluate.

Entry paid tier: same order volume, different price

At 500 orders a month, Growave has a lower starting price at $15, compared with $29 for Joy. Growave also includes referrals, fraud protection, and POS at this level.

For a store that mainly wants to keep its monthly cost as low as possible, Growave has a clear price advantage at this stage.

Verdict: Growave offers better value for a low-cost entry point to a paid plan.

Reaching VIP and B2B tiers

The gap changes once you need more advanced loyalty programs. Joy puts both VIP tiers and B2B tiered rewards at $129 a month. Growave requires $199 for VIP tiers and $499 for its B2B Points program.

That makes the difference especially meaningful for B2B stores. You pay $370 less per month with Joy for the comparable B2B offering.

Verdict: Joy offers the lower-cost path to both VIP and B2B rewards, with the biggest savings on B2B.

Full scale and beyond

At $499, Joy's Ultimate plan covers up to 7,000 orders a month and includes full API access. Growave's Plus plan costs the same but covers 3,000 orders. Growave then offers an Unlimited plan at $999 with no order cap.

This makes the choice more dependent on the top-end order volume. If 7,000 monthly orders are enough, Joy gives you more included volume at the same $499 price. If you expect to go beyond that, Growave's Unlimited plan removes the order cap, although it comes at a much higher monthly cost.

Verdict: Joy offers more included order volume at $499. Growave becomes the option to consider when you need an uncapped order volume and are willing to pay for it.

The full price ladder

Joy pricing:

• Starter: Free (250 orders/mo)
• Essential: $29/month (500 orders/mo)
• Advanced: $129/month (2,000 orders/mo)
• Ultimate: $499/month (7,000 orders/mo)

Growave pricing:

• Free: $0/month (200 orders/mo, App Store listing only)
• Entry: $15/month (500 orders/mo)
• Growth: $199/month (1,500 orders/mo)
• Plus: $499/month (3,000 orders/mo)
• Unlimited: $999/month (no order cap)

Which one fits where you're headed

The better choice depends on what you need now and what you expect to add as your store grows.

Choose Joy if you:

• Need VIP tiers and B2B tiered rewards without moving to a higher-priced plan
• Want wallet passes or a paid membership as part of your loyalty setup
• Use several integrations and want to run them without a concurrent-use limit
• Want deeper reporting focused on loyalty performance

Choose Growave if you:

• Need Shopify POS at the lowest starting price
• Want a lower-cost paid plan at 500 monthly orders
• Want loyalty alongside reviews, referrals, and wishlists in one platform
• Expect to need an uncapped order volume above the $499 tier

Switching from Growave to Joy

If you're already using Growave, Joy can support the move even though there is no dedicated Growave migration guide yet. Joy's migration team can help you review your existing loyalty setup and guide you through rebuilding it in Joy.

The process can include moving key program details such as points, VIP tiers, and referral settings, depending on your current setup.

You can learn more about the general process on Joy's migration page or contact Joy's support team to discuss your Growave setup.

Choosing between Joy and Growave comes down to what you need

Growave is a strong fit if you want a lower-cost entry point, Shopify POS, or several retention tools in one app.

Joy makes more sense if loyalty is your main focus and you want lower-cost VIP and B2B rewards, wallet passes, paid membership, flexible integrations, and detailed loyalty reporting.

The right choice depends on which features matter most to your store. You can try Joy for free on Shopify and compare it with your current setup.

Frequently asked questions