Top 7 LoyaltyLion Alternatives (2026)

LoyaltyLion is a well-established loyalty platform for Shopify. It's free plan works well for smaller stores, but costs can rise quickly when you need more advanced features, such as VIP tiers.

This guide compares 7 LoyaltyLion alternatives for 2026. We look at pricing, features, and where each app fits best, so you can see what you gain and what you give up when you switch.

Why look for a LoyaltyLion alternative

LoyaltyLion is a strong option if you want a generous free plan with solid loyalty and reporting features. But its pricing can become harder to justify as your store grows.

The jump from free to $199 a month is the main issue. If you need more than the free plan but are not ready to spend $199 a month, there is no lower-cost paid tier to bridge that gap. VIP tiers also require a higher plan or extra cost.

That is where other apps can offer more value. Some give you VIP tiers at a much lower price. Others offer more customization, stronger marketing tools, or better support for growing stores without requiring you to move to a high-priced plan.

So the best LoyaltyLion alternative depends on what you need most: a lower starting cost, more features for the price, or more room to scale. The 7 apps below each take a different approach.

How we picked these 7 alternatives

We compared each app on five things that matter when choosing a loyalty platform:

• Pricing: Is the cost clear, and is there a plan that fits different store sizes?
• Flexibility: Can you customize earning rules, rewards, and VIP tiers to fit your program?
• Integrations: Does it work with the email, SMS, review, and support tools your store already uses?
• Reporting: Can you track retention, repeat purchases, revenue, and other results from your loyalty program?
• Support: Can you get help when you need it, and what level of support comes with each plan?

Pricing is one of the biggest differences between LoyaltyLion and the alternatives. LoyaltyLion has four plans, but two do not show a public price, even after you select your order volume.

For each app below, we use the latest pricing and feature details available as of August 2026. This makes it easier to compare what you get at each price point and see which option offers the best fit for your store.

The 7 best LoyaltyLion alternatives

App	Pros	Cons	Best for
Joy	Deep Instagram and TikTok-specific earning actions; VIP tiers included at $129 a month	VIP tiers require Advanced, not available on Essential	Flexible earning rules and onsite customization
Smile.io	VIP tiers included at the same $199 price point LoyaltyLion charges for Classic alone	Free plan caps at 200 orders, narrower than LoyaltyLion's 400	VIP tiers without paying extra on top
Yotpo	One account if already running Yotpo Reviews	VIP tiers also gated to an unpublished-price tier, same issue as LoyaltyLion	Stores already using Yotpo Reviews
Rivo	Native paid membership, a feature LoyaltyLion doesn't have; VIP tiers from $49 a month	Shopify only, no reach beyond it	A paid membership tier plus cheap VIP tiers
Growave	Wishlists, reviews, and loyalty bundled under one vendor	VIP tiers still require Growth, $199 a month	Wishlist and loyalty combo
BON	Native POS from $29 a month, far below LoyaltyLion's $199 entry point for POS	Support hours run GMT+7	Native POS without a big price jump
Okendo	VIP tiers on every paid plan starting at $19 a month, no plan gate at all	No Built for Shopify badge	VIP tiers with no plan gate at all

1. Joy: best overall

Joy stands out for its flexibility. You can shape how customers earn and redeem rewards, how VIP tiers work, and how the program looks across your store. It also goes beyond basic loyalty actions with deeper social engagement rules, making it a strong fit for brands that want their loyalty program to feel like part of the brand rather than a standard add-on.

Key features:

• Flexible earning rules for purchases, sign-ups, referrals, and social actions such as Instagram follows, mentions, tags, TikTok follows, story shares, and UGC submissions
• VIP tiers based on points, spending, or order count, with automatic checkout discounts for members from Advanced
• 30+ integrations, plus Shopify Flow and Metafields on every plan
• 30+ customizable onsite touchpoints, a dedicated loyalty page, and detailed styling controls, including custom CSS from Essential
• Check out redemption blocks and reporting for retention, repeat purchases, customer lifetime value, ROI, and orders assisted by the program

Pricing: Free for up to 250 orders a month. Essential costs $29 a month, Advanced costs $129 a month and adds VIP tiers, and Ultimate costs $499 a month for up to 7,000 orders with full API access and Hydrogen support.

Best for: Growing brands that want full control over their loyalty rules, customer experience, and storefront design, while also using social engagement to drive participation.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: Joy gives you more room to shape the program around your brand. You can build more detailed earning rules, use social actions as rewards, and customize how loyalty appears across the storefront. Its design controls also make it easier to align your loyalty experience with your existing brand guide rather than relying on a generic widget.

Joy also offers VIP tiers at $129 per month through its Advanced plan. LoyaltyLion requires a higher plan or additional cost for VIP tiers, making Joy the more accessible option for stores that want to add tiers as they scale.

2. Smile.io: best for VIP tiers at the same price point

Smile.io is a strong choice if VIP tiers are important to your loyalty program. Its Growth plan costs $199 a month, the same as LoyaltyLion's Classic plan, but VIP tiers are already included. With LoyaltyLion, VIP tiers cost extra on top of the $199 Classic plan.

Key features:

• Points, referrals, and VIP tiers, with VIP tiers included from Growth
• Product review rewards from Essential when connected to a supported review app
• Shopify Flow for automated bonus points from Essential
• Facebook Like and Share, Instagram Follow, X Follow and Share, and TikTok Follow as earning actions
• Shopify POS supports earning points in-store, with redemption limited to discounts

Pricing: Free for up to 200 orders a month. Essential costs $15 a month; Standard costs $79 a month; Growth costs $199 a month with VIP tiers; and Plus costs $999 a month for up to 7,500 orders.

Best for: Stores that want VIP tiers without paying extra.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: At $199 a month, Smile gives you VIP tiers as part of the Growth plan. LoyaltyLion charges $199 a month for Classic, then adds VIP tiers as an extra cost. That makes Smile the better value if VIP tiers are a priority and you want a clear price before upgrading.

3. Yotpo: best if you're already using Yotpo Reviews

Yotpo Loyalty makes the most sense if your store already uses Yotpo Reviews. Loyalty, reviews, and SMS sit in the same platform, so you can keep more of your customer engagement tools under one account instead of adding another loyalty provider.

Key features:

• Points, referrals, and VIP tiers, with VIP tiers available from Premium
• Eight reward types, with most available on Premium or Enterprise
• Four referral fraud controls managed from one place
• 24/7 chat and email support from Pro, while the free plan uses an AI chatbot

Pricing: Free for stores with fewer than 100 orders a month. Pro costs $199 a month for up to 500 orders but does not include VIP tiers. VIP tiers require Premium, which uses custom pricing.

Best for: Stores already using Yotpo Reviews that want loyalty, reviews, and other customer engagement tools in one platform.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: Yotpo's advantage is consolidation, not price. Its $199 Pro plan also leaves out VIP tiers, and Premium uses custom pricing. But if you're already paying for Yotpo Reviews, adding Loyalty keeps your customer engagement stack in one platform instead of adding another vendor and a separate loyalty system.

4. Rivo: best for a paid membership tier LoyaltyLion doesn't have

Rivo stands out because it lets you add a paid membership program alongside points and VIP tiers. Customers can pay for ongoing perks, giving stores another way to generate revenue and reward loyal customers. LoyaltyLion does not offer this type of paid loyalty membership.

Key features:

• Paid membership is built into the loyalty program from Plus
• VIP tiers included from Scale at $49 a month
• 11 referral fraud controls in one place
• 24/7 support from Essential at $15 a month
• Shopify POS from Scale, with 3 locations included

Pricing: Free for up to 200 orders a month. Essential costs $15 a month for up to 500 orders. Scale costs $49 a month and adds VIP tiers. Plus costs $499/month and includes paid membership and developer tools.

Best for: Stores that want to make paid memberships part of their loyalty strategy, alongside points and VIP tiers.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: Paid membership is the clearest difference. Rivo lets customers pay directly for an ongoing loyalty membership with its own perks. LoyaltyLion's subscriber tier works differently: it relies on a Recharge product subscription rather than a paid membership built into the loyalty program.

5. Growave: best for wishlist and loyalty in one app

Growave combines loyalty, wishlists, and reviews on a single platform. That makes it a practical choice for stores that want customers to save products, leave reviews, and earn rewards without having to manage separate apps for each task.

Key features:

• Points, referrals, VIP tiers, and store credit
• Wishlists and product reviews on the same platform
• Shopify POS from Entry at $15 a month
• VIP tiers included from Growth at $199 a month

Pricing: Free for up to 200 orders a month. Entry costs $15 a month for up to 500 orders. Growth costs $199 a month for up to 1,500 orders and adds VIP tiers. Plus costs $499 a month with headless API access.

Best for: Stores that want loyalty, wishlists, and reviews managed from one platform.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: Growave gives you more than loyalty in one app. Customers can save products to wishlists, leave reviews, and earn rewards within the same platform. LoyaltyLion focuses solely on loyalty, so stores that need all three features would need additional apps.

Growave also includes VIP tiers in its $199 Growth plan. LoyaltyLion charges the same $199 price for Classic, without VIP tiers.

6. BON: best for native POS without a big price jump

BON is a good fit for stores that sell both online and in person. It adds Shopify POS for $29 a month, giving smaller stores a way to run loyalty across both online and in-store sales without moving to a high-priced plan.

Key features:

• Shopify POS from Basic at $29 a month
• Points, VIP tiers, and B2B tiers, with VIP and B2B tiers from Growth at $129 a month
• Anti-cheat referral protection is included on the free plan
• Support Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings, in GMT+7

Pricing: Free for up to 150 orders a month. Starter costs $15 a month for 300 orders. Basic costs $29/month for 500 orders and includes POS. Growth costs $129 a month and adds VIP and B2B tiers.

Best for: Stores that sell online and in person and want affordable POS support.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: BON makes POS available much earlier. Its $29 Basic plan includes Shopify POS, while LoyaltyLion's Classic plan starts at $199 a month. LoyaltyLion also limits Classic to one location, with multi-location support requiring a higher-priced plan, which has no public price.

7. Okendo: best for VIP tiers with no plan gate at all

Okendo bundles Reviews and Loyalty into one app at one price, a different structure from most apps on this list, which sell loyalty as a separate product.

Key features:

• Points, VIP tiers, and referrals from Essential, with store credit as a reward option
• VIP tiers are included on every paid plan; no higher tier is required
• Reviews and Loyalty share one dashboard and one bill
• Shopify POS integration included

ricing: Free for up to 50 orders a month. Essential costs $19 a month for 200 orders and includes VIP tiers. Growth costs $119 a month. Power costs $299 a month.

Best for: Stores that want VIP tiers without waiting for a higher plan.

Why it beats LoyaltyLion: Okendo removes the plan gate completely. You get VIP tiers from the $19 Essential plan, with no separate upgrade required. LoyaltyLion's $199 Classic plan does not include VIP tiers, while the plan that includes them uses custom pricing.

That makes Okendo one of the clearest choices for a store that wants VIP tiers early without committing to a high monthly cost.

Which alternative fits your store

None of the 7 above is the right pick for every store. This table lines them up by the two numbers LoyaltyLion makes hardest to compare directly: what's free, and what VIP tiers actually cost once they're included.

App	Free tier	VIP tiers unlock	Best for
Joy	250 orders/mo	$129/mo, included	Deep social earning rules and onsite customization
Smile.io	200 orders/mo	$199/mo, included	VIP tiers at the same price LoyaltyLion charges without them
Yotpo	Under 100 orders/mo	Unpublished (Premium)	Already using Yotpo Reviews
Rivo	200 orders/mo	$49/mo, included	Paid membership plus cheap VIP tiers
Growave	200 orders/mo	$199/mo, included	Wishlist, reviews, and loyalty combo
BON	150 orders/mo	$129/mo, included	Native POS without a big price jump
Okendo	50 orders/mo	$19/mo, every paid tier	VIP tiers with no plan gate

Picking the right app, not just the cheapest one

LoyaltyLion isn't a weak platform; its free plan and reporting tools are both genuinely strong. The real friction shows up when a store wants VIP tiers included by default: either as an add-on at Classic or as a price that never shows up at all.

If VIP tiers with a published price and earning rules built around real social engagement are what you're after, Joy is worth trying free before you commit to anything.

Frequently asked questions