10 Best Shopify Referral Apps to Boost Your Customer Growth

Shopify has no built-in referral program, so every refer-a-friend program on a Shopify store runs on an app. As of 11 November 2026, the ten apps below fall into three groups, and the group sets the bill. Pure referral apps charge a plan fee plus a cut: ReferralCandy's pricing page lists $39 a month plus a 10.5% success fee on referred sales on its Basic plan. Affiliate apps such as UpPromote and GoAffPro are built to pay creators and partners, with refer-a-friend as one feature. Loyalty apps with referrals (Joy, Smile, BON, Rivo, LoyaltyLion and Yotpo) run referrals inside a points program and price their plans by monthly store orders.

Joy belongs to the third group. Every Joy plan includes a referral program, capped at 30 referrals a month on Starter and 100 a month on Essential, with unlimited referrals from Advanced at $129 a month, the plan that also unlocks VIP tiers and the POS extension.

Every figure in this table was read from each app's Shopify App Store listing or pricing page on 11 November 2026, and each app name links to its listing.

App	Group	Free plan	First paid plan	What caps the plan	App fee on referred sales	Read
Joy	Loyalty + referral	Starter: 250 monthly orders, up to 30 referrals a month	Essential, $29/mo: 500 orders, up to 100 referrals a month	Monthly orders and monthly referrals; referrals unlimited from Advanced ($129/mo)	None; usage is billed only on orders above the plan allowance	11 Nov 2026
BON	Loyalty + referral	150 monthly orders, referrals included	Starter, $15/mo: 300 orders	Monthly orders	Not stated	11 Nov 2026
Rivo	Loyalty + referral	Listing: 200 monthly orders, referrals not listed. Pricing page: no free plan	Essential, $15/mo; referrals from Scale, $49/mo	Monthly orders	Not stated	11 Nov 2026
Smile	Loyalty + referral	200 monthly orders, referrals included	Essential, $15/mo: 500 orders	Monthly orders, counting paid, unpaid and refunded	Not stated	11 Nov 2026
LoyaltyLion	Loyalty + referral	400 monthly orders, referrals not listed	Classic, $199/mo: 500 orders, referrals listed	Monthly orders	Not stated	11 Nov 2026
Yotpo	Loyalty + referral	Only for stores under 100 monthly orders	Pro, $199/mo: 500 orders, then $0.08 to $0.20 per order	Monthly orders	Not stated	11 Nov 2026
ReferralCandy	Pure referral	None; 7-day free trial	Basic, $39/mo	No cap stated	10.5% on Basic, then 3.5%, 1.5% and 0.25% on higher plans	11 Nov 2026
AfterShip	Pure referral	Free app; cap not stated	No paid plan shown	Not stated	Not stated	11 Nov 2026
Shopjar	Pure referral	Unlimited members, orders and rewards	Essential, $7/mo	No cap stated	Not stated ("No hidden fees")	11 Nov 2026
UpPromote	Affiliate	Up to $3,000 in referral sales a month; refer-a-friend not included	Growth, $29.99/mo: 300 referrals a month	Referral sales on Free, referral orders on paid plans	2% on Growth, 1.5% on Professional, 1% on Enterprise	11 Nov 2026

Why use a referral app on Shopify

Shopify does not include a built-in referral program. To reward a customer for bringing in a friend, you need a third-party app from the Shopify App Store.

A referral app takes two jobs off your team:

• Setup without code. Referral links, codes and reward rules are configured in the app, so there is no custom workflow to build.
• Automation. The app tracks which friend came from which advocate, issues both rewards and sends the reminder and thank-you emails without manual work.

With the mechanics automated, your team spends its time on the offer and on getting the program in front of customers.

Loyalty apps with referrals: Joy, BON, Rivo, Smile, LoyaltyLion and Yotpo

Six of the ten apps run referrals inside a loyalty program. They price by monthly store orders, and none of them lists a percentage fee on referred sales:

Joy Loyalty Program Rewards

Joy Loyalty Program Rewards runs referrals, points, VIP tiers and paid memberships as one program. More than 10,000 Shopify stores use it, and it holds a 4.9★ rating from 1,700+ reviews. The referral program setup lives in the same admin as the rest of the program, so a referral reward can be points, a discount or store credit that feeds the customer's next purchase.

The case for Joy is program design. A referred friend lands in a program built to bring them back, and Joy counts the orders placed through referral links or loyalty discount codes as Assisted Orders. The Tinsel Rack reached a 94% loyalty enrollment rate and 5,000+ assisted orders on Joy.

Key features:

• Dual-sided rewards by default, set separately for the advocate and the friend
• Trackable referral links and discount codes
• Sharing by email, WhatsApp, social or QR code, according to Joy's referral program page
• Fraud prevention for referrals, included on the free Starter plan

What each plan adds to referrals:

• Starter (free): the referral program with fraud prevention, email reward notifications and 24/7 live chat, up to 250 monthly orders and 30 referrals a month.
• All plans: referral sharing by email, with Joy sending the invitation.
• Essential ($29/month): up to 100 referrals a month, referral links per Shopify Market, Klaviyo, Recharge and 30+ integrations, Shopify Flow automation with 22+ triggers, analytics and performance reports, and a custom email sender.
• Advanced ($129/month): unlimited referrals, VIP tiers, the POS loyalty extension for Shopify POS and POS Pro, Apple and Google Wallet passes, and a Dedicated Account Manager.

The referral cap is the limit to weigh. Smile, BON, Rivo, LoyaltyLion and Yotpo state no referral cap on their listings or pricing pages; they cap monthly orders. Joy's Starter covers up to 30 referrals a month. For a brand that plans to grow mainly through referrals on a zero budget, Shopjar's free plan, covered below, has no referral cap at all.

Customer support: 24/7 live chat.

Integrations:

• Klaviyo, Recharge and 30+ integrations, plus Shopify Flow, from Essential
• Shopify POS and POS Pro, from Advanced

Pricing: Starter is free. Essential is $29/month, Advanced $129/month and Ultimate $499/month, each priced by monthly order volume (full pricing). Essential and Advanced come with a 14-day free trial, Ultimate with 30 days, and every paid plan carries a full refund within the first 30 days.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards holds a 5.0 rating from 1,987 reviews and puts its Anti-Cheat referral program on the free plan, which covers 150 monthly orders. That makes it a strong fit for a brand that wants referral fraud controls before it pays for anything.

Key features:

• Fully customizable referral campaigns and widgets.
• Unique branded referral links for customers.
• Dual rewards for referrer and referred customers.
• Automated tracking and reward distribution.
• Multi-language display, from the Basic plan ($29/month).
• Real-time analytics and performance insights.

Customer support: 24/7 customer support through live chat and email.

Integrations:

• Email marketing, customer reviews, landing page apps
• Social media
• Shopify POS

Pricing (BON's listing, 11 Nov 2026): Free up to 150 monthly orders. Starter $15/month (300 orders), Basic $29/month (500 orders), Growth $129/month (unlimited orders).

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards holds a 4.7 rating from 1,441 reviews. Its referral program sits higher on the price ladder than its free plan suggests: the listing shows "Referrals Program" from the Scale plan at $49 a month, and not on Free or Essential.

Listings also move on the vendor's schedule, not yours. Rivo's App Store listing still shows a free plan with 200 monthly orders and Essential at $15, while Rivo's pricing page starts at Scale, $49 a month. Read both before you budget.

Key features:

• Fully customizable "Refer a Friend" pages
• Regular product updates
• Personalized customer experience
• Rivo Developer Toolkit, on the Plus plan ($499/month)
• Instantly integrates with your stack

Customer support: 24/7 live chat and dedicated email support.

Integration:

• Klaviyo, Gorgias, Postscript and more (the listing gives no count); Essential includes 2 integrations
• Shopify Flow, Shopify POS

Pricing (Rivo's listing, 11 Nov 2026): Free plan on the listing (200 monthly orders, referrals not listed). Essential $15/month. Referrals start on Scale at $49/month, which includes 400 orders, then $20 per 100 more, capped at $499/month. Plus is $499/month.

Smile: Loyalty Program Rewards

Smile: Loyalty Program Rewards has the largest review base in this list, 4,672 reviews at 4.9, and includes referrals on its free plan of 200 monthly orders. It is designed to reward customers for shopping and for referring friends.

One mechanic to plan around: Smile's pricing page counts every order in the month toward the cap, "whether they are paid, unpaid, or refunded". A month with heavy refunds uses up the allowance faster than your net sales suggest.

Key features:

• Automated referral rewards for successful referrals
• Customizable "Refer a Friend" pages
• Social media referral support (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook)
• SEO-friendly referral program pages
• Time-limited bonus points for referrals
• Performance tracking with advanced analytics

Customer support: Via email

Integration:

• Klaviyo, Judge.me, Gorgias and 30+ other tools, per the listing. Essential includes 1 integration, Standard 2 and Growth unlimited
• Social media accounts: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook
• Shopify Flow, Shopify POS

Pricing (Smile's listing, 11 Nov 2026): Free up to 200 monthly orders. Essential $15/month (500 orders), Standard $79/month (1,000 orders), Growth $199/month (2,500 orders).

LoyaltyLion Loyalty & Rewards

LoyaltyLion Loyalty & Rewards holds a 4.7 rating from 550 reviews and has the largest free allowance among the loyalty apps here, 400 monthly orders. Its free plan does not list referrals, though: LoyaltyLion's pricing page lists referrals in Classic at $199 a month.

Key features:

• Customizable referral rewards: points or vouchers.
• Automated referral emails.
• Referral insights and actionable analytics.
• Integrated loyalty page.
• Social sharing incentives to grow visibility.
• 7 pre-written languages on the free plan.

Customer support: Live chat and email support on Classic.

Integration:

• Marketing tools: ReCharge, Klaviyo, Okendo, Attentive, Yotpo, Mailchimp
• Shopify Flow, Shopify POS, Checkout, Customer accounts

Pricing (LoyaltyLion's pricing page, 11 Nov 2026): Free up to 400 monthly orders, without referrals listed. Classic is $199/month for 500 orders, with a 14-day free trial. Advanced and Plus are priced by monthly orders, with no figure published.

Yotpo: Loyalty Rewards Program

Yotpo: Loyalty Rewards Program holds a 4.7 rating from 966 reviews. Its listing limits the free plan to stores under 100 monthly orders, so a store past that volume starts on Pro at $199 a month. Its no-code builder covers referral campaigns and program analytics.

Key features:

• Out-of-the-box referral campaigns
• Referral widgets
• Actionable analytics on program performance
• VIP tiers and smart segments, on the Premium plan (custom quote)
• Customize, launch, and manage your loyalty and rewards program with no code

Customer support: AI chat and email support.

Integration:

• Marketing tools: Yotpo, Klaviyo, ReCharge, Gorgias, SMSbump
• Shopify Flow, Shopify POS, Checkout

Pricing (Yotpo's listing, 11 Nov 2026): Free for stores under 100 monthly orders. Pro starts at $199/month with 500 orders included. The listing charges $0.08 to $0.20 per extra order, while Yotpo's pricing page shows $0.20, $0.10 and $0.05 per order by volume. Premium and Enterprise are custom quotes.

Pure referral apps: ReferralCandy, AfterShip and Shopjar

Three apps run referrals without a points program around them. The referral program is the whole product, so the pricing model matters more:

Referral Candy & Affiliate

Referral Candy & Affiliate combines referral and affiliate program management in a single platform. It holds a 4.9 rating from 1,482 reviews and is the first result for "referral" in App Store search (11 November 2026).

Key features:

• Automated referral tracking in real time
• Flexible, customizable rewards
• Branded touchpoints through widgets, embedded links, etc.
• Multi-campaign support
• In-depth analytics

Customer support: Responsive customer support through live chat and email.

Integration:

• Email marketing tools: Klaviyo and Mailchimp
• Subscription services: Compatible with ReCharge and other subscription apps
• Analytics platforms: Allows embedding of tracking pixels from Facebook, Google, and AdRoll

Pricing (ReferralCandy's pricing page, 11 Nov 2026): From $39/month (+10.5% success fee on the Basic plan; higher tiers lower the fee). Grow is $79/month + 3.5%, Scale $249/month + 1.5% and Enterprise $799/month + 0.25%. The fee applies only to net-new customers, on each one's first three orders.

The success fee outweighs the plan price. Run those published rates at $10,000 a month in fee-eligible referred sales: Basic costs $39 + $1,050, or $1,089. Grow costs $79 + $350, or $429. The cheaper plan is the expensive one.

AfterShip Referral & Affiliate

AfterShip Referral & Affiliate is free on the App Store, holds a 4.9 rating from 1,002 reviews, and calls itself "referral program software". The listing does not state an order cap, an app fee or any fraud controls, so confirm all three in the app before you launch.

Key features

• One-click setup for referral campaigns with unique referral links.
• Customizable reward programs for advocates and referred customers.
• Automated reward emails with coupon codes that redeem in one step.
• Free gifts or commission payouts
• Widget customization
• Real-time tracking

Customer support: Via email

Integrations

• Shopify and Automizely apps.
• Supports automated workflows and email campaigns for referrals.

Pricing: Free to use

Referral Program ‑ Shopjar

Referral Program ‑ Shopjar is a pure referral app with a 4.9 rating from 162 reviews, and it is the second result for "referral" in App Store search (11 November 2026). Its free plan runs a referral program with no cap on members, orders or rewards.

The trade-off is track record. 162 reviews is a thin base next to ReferralCandy's 1,482, and fraud protection beyond unique coupons starts on a paid plan.

Key features:

• Referral program on the free plan, with unlimited members, orders and rewards
• Unique referral coupons through Safe Links, on Free
• Self-referral fraud protection, from Essential ($7/month)
• Affiliate program, from Starter ($12/month)
• Cash payouts and Advanced Fraud Protection, on Growth ($29/month)

Integrations: Klaviyo and PayPal, on Growth.

Pricing (Shopjar's listing, 11 Nov 2026): Free, then Essential $7/month, Starter $12/month and Growth $29/month. Shopjar's pricing section offers a 14-day free trial on paid plans and says "No hidden fees"; it publishes no fee on referred sales.

Affiliate apps with refer-a-friend: UpPromote

Affiliate apps pay creators, influencers and partners commission on the sales they drive. Several also run a customer refer-a-friend program, usually on a paid plan. UpPromote is the one in this list. GoAffPro, whose free plan covers unlimited affiliates and revenue, is compared with UpPromote and BixGrow in UpPromote vs GoAffPro vs BixGrow, and the fee each affiliate app charges is broken down separately.

UpPromote Affiliate Marketing

UpPromote Affiliate Marketing is built for Shopify merchants who want to grow through affiliate and referral marketing. It holds a 4.9 rating from 3,947 reviews and turns customers, influencers and partners into brand ambassadors.

Key features

• Refer-a-friend program as a widget, landing page or post-purchase signup, from the Growth plan ($29.99/month + 2%).
• Referral order tracking through affiliate links, coupons and connected emails.
• Unique referral links and coupon codes

Customer support: 24/7 live chat.

Integrations:

• Connects with email marketing tools like Klaviyo and Mailchimp to automate referral communications.
• Offers social media sharing options, so affiliates and customers can promote their links.
• Integrates with Google Analytics to track program performance and optimize campaigns.

Pricing (UpPromote's listing, 11 Nov 2026): Free up to $3,000 in referral sales a month, with fraud protection and no fee. Growth is $29.99/month + 2% of successful referral sales (300 referrals a month), Professional $89.99/month + 1.5% (600 referrals) and Enterprise $199.99/month + 1% (unlimited referral orders). The refer-a-friend program starts on Growth, and Growth's 300-referral monthly cap is the subject of our UpPromote alternatives comparison.

How the apps stop referral fraud

The two abuses these tools target are self-referral, where a customer refers a second email address they own, and duplicate accounts opened to collect the friend reward. The apps differ in what they block and on which plan:

App	What the app states it blocks	Plan
Joy	Self-referral blocks, throttling and qualifying conditions; email pattern matching, device fingerprinting and IP monitoring run before a reward is issued (Joy's referral program page)	Fraud prevention for referrals is on Starter (free); the page does not say which check sits on which plan
ReferralCandy	Automatic blocking of self-referrals, existing customers and already-referred friends; suspicious-activity flags; a Fraud Center; a 14-day hold on flagged referrals; ban and trust controls; a weekly fraud report; self-visit protection	All plans
BON	Anti-Cheat referral program	Free plan and up
Shopjar	Unique coupons through Safe Links; self-referral protection; Advanced Fraud Protection	Free; Essential ($7/mo); Growth ($29/mo)
UpPromote	Fraud detection for spam signups and suspected referrals; anti-leak discount links	Free; anti-leak links from Professional
Yotpo	Blocks referrals by user agent, IP address and billing address	Free, Pro and Premium, per the pricing page
Rivo	"20+ built-in fraud protection tools" and bot protection	Every plan, per the pricing page; referrals start on Scale
Smile	Not stated on the listing or pricing page	n/a
LoyaltyLion	Not stated on the listing or pricing page	n/a
AfterShip	Not stated on the listing	n/a

Source: each app's Shopify App Store listing or pricing page, read 11 November 2026; Joy's row from Joy's referral program page and Joy's pricing page.

Outside this list, BixGrow's free affiliate plan also flags self-referrals before payout, per its listing.

A blank cell is a documentation gap. Smile, LoyaltyLion and AfterShip publish no fraud controls on the pages above. Ask their support team what the app blocks, and run the self-referral test in the closing section before launch. For the wider playbook, see the loyalty fraud prevention guide.

How to choose the best Shopify referral app for your store

But with so many options out there, how do you decide? Focus on these key factors to find the app that truly fits your store's goals:

• Understand your store's goals: Before choosing a referral app, think about what you want to achieve. Understanding your objectives narrows down your options.
• Price the full bill: A success fee or performance fee grows with every referred sale, while a loyalty plan grows with total store orders. Model both at your expected volume.
• Check the setup path: Look for apps with clear instructions, an intuitive admin and support documentation you can follow.
• Focus on customer experience: Select an app that gives both your referrers and their friends a positive, engaging experience. Look for customizable rewards, branded emails and one-tap social sharing.
• Look for automation: Choose an app that automates reward delivery, email reminders and referral tracking. This saves your team time and keeps the experience smooth for customers.
• Don't forget fraud prevention: Protect your referral program from abuse with an app that offers the controls in the fraud table above.
• Customer support: Look for apps offering 24/7 customer service, tutorials or dedicated account managers.

Tips for maximizing the success of your referral program with Shopify apps

Here are some actionable tips to get the most out of your Shopify referral program:

• Promote your referral program: If customers don't know about your program, they can't participate. Promote your referral program across multiple touchpoints:
  • Add banners or pop-ups on your website to highlight the program.
  • Include referral links in post-purchase emails.
  • Share announcements and reminders on social media.
• Keep it simple for customers: Avoid complicated rules or confusing processes. Give clear instructions and put the referral link or code one tap away.
• Offer compelling rewards: Make the incentives attractive enough to drive participation. Tailor rewards for both referrers and referees to maximize appeal.
• Prevent fraud: Many apps, including Joy, come with built-in fraud detection features. Enable these settings to flag suspicious activities automatically.
• Integrate referrals with your loyalty program: Combine your referral program with a loyalty rewards system so a referred friend has a reason to come back. The trade-offs between the two are covered in when a referral program beats a points program.
• Review analytics regularly: Use the app's analytics tools to track program performance and optimize it by tweaking rewards, adjusting campaign visibility, or testing new promotional tactics.

Your next step: pick the group, then test one referral

The group decides more than the app does. If referrals are the whole program, a pure referral app fits, and the 10.5% from the first paragraph is the number to model against your referred sales. If creators and partners drive your traffic, start with an affiliate app. If you want a referred friend to come back for a second and third order, a loyalty app puts referrals, points and VIP tiers in one program, and Joy reports the orders that program drives as Assisted Orders.

Whichever you pick, install its free plan or trial first. Before a customer sees the program, refer a second email address you own and watch whether the app pays out.

Want to see how Joy runs referrals inside a full loyalty program? Request a demo or get started free.

Frequently Asked Questions