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Loyalty & referral appsComparison2026
Rivo vs Smile.io: which fits your store?
Last verified 2026-08-29
Rivo and Smile.io are both loyalty & referral app tools compared here on pricing verified 2026-08-29, published plans, App Store standing, and themes from recent merchant reviews. Smile.io starts cheaper (free vs $49/mo); Smile.io has a free tier, Rivo does not. On the Shopify App Store, Rivo holds 4.8 ★ across 1,389 reviews and Smile.io holds 4.9 ★ across 4,176. Rivo: These reviews suggest the app fits Shopify merchants who want a guided, low-friction loyalty and rewards setup with accessible support. Smile.io: These reviews suggest the app fits Shopify merchants that want a supported loyalty and rewards program and value guided setup or troubleshooting. — from tracked pricing and recent App Store review analysis.
How do Rivo and Smile.io compare?
|  Rivo |  Smile.io |
|---|
| App Store rating | 4.8 ★ (1,389 reviews) | 4.9 ★ (4,176 reviews) |
| Price from | $49/mo | free |
| Free tier | ✗ no | ✓ yes |
| Published plans | 6 | 6 |
| Data confidence | high | high |
App Store rating Rivo 4.8 ★
Smile.io 4.9 ★
→ Smile.io rates higher Review volume Rivo 1,389
Smile.io 4,176
→ Smile.io has the larger base Detected on 3,797 tracked DTC storefronts Rivo 124 brands
Smile.io 52 brands
→ Rivo leads among brands we track What would you actually pay?
| Plan | Monthly | Limits / notes |
|---|
| Cashback | $199 | Starting price; scaling details not shown. |
| Accounts | $499 | Starting price; scaling details not shown. |
| Custom Plan | — | Custom configuration and pricing. |
| Scale | $49 | $49–$499 per month; 200–2,500 orders per month; 3 POS locations; 250,000 loyalty and referral participants; unlimited integrations and lifecycle emails. |
| Plus | $499 | Up to 2,500 orders per month; unlimited POS locations, loyalty and referral participants, integrations, and lifecycle emails. |
| Enterprise | — | Unlimited order volume, POS locations, loyalty and referral participants, integrations, lifecycle emails, and country expansion stores. |
Verified 2026-08-29 from vendor pricing page.
| Plan | Monthly | Limits / notes |
|---|
| Free | $0 | 200 monthly orders |
| Essential | $15 | 500 monthly orders, 1 integration |
| Standard | $79 | 1,000 monthly orders, 2 integrations |
| Growth | $199 | 2,500 monthly orders, unlimited integrations. Overage: $20 per 100 additional orders |
| Plus | $999 | 7,500 monthly orders, unlimited integrations, 30+ specialized reports. Overage: $5 per 100 additional orders |
| Enterprise | — | Unlimited monthly orders, unlimited integrations, custom reports |
Verified 2026-08-08 from vendor pricing page.
Which features does each include?
Extracted from each vendor's App Store listing (2026-07-16);
"—" = not stated there. Verify tier availability on vendor pricing pages.
What do merchants say about them?
Rivo
Recent visible reviews are strongly positive, with sentiment driven mainly by customer support rather than detailed feature feedback. Merchants often mention fast help during setup, answers to plan or integration questions, and confidence getting the loyalty program running. The main recurring caveat in this sample is limited to one complaint about support availability not matching expectations.
- ＋ Responsive support — Merchants repeatedly say the support team answers quickly, is helpful, and guides setup or questions effectively.
- ＋ Easy setup — Several reviewers describe onboarding, configuration, and initial use as simple or smooth.
- ＋ Problem solving — Support is credited with resolving admin, backend, integration, or plan-related issues efficiently.
- ＋ Loyalty program value — Merchants like that the app helps them offer rewards and loyalty benefits to customers without much friction.
- － Support availability — One paid user reports that advertised round-the-clock human support was unavailable at times and routed them to an automated delay message.
Watch out: Verify support coverage expectations on the chosen plan, especially if continuous live human support is important.
Synthesized from the 20 most recent App Store
reviews (2026-07-16); themes paraphrased.
Smile.io
Recent sentiment is strongly positive, with most reviewers focusing on responsive, knowledgeable support rather than detailed feature evaluation. Merchants frequently describe the app as helpful for loyalty, rewards, and membership workflows, though a few recent reviews mention technical or pricing-related friction.
- ＋ Responsive support — Merchants most often praised the support team for quick replies, clear communication, and hands-on help resolving questions or issues.
- ＋ Setup guidance — Several reviewers said support helped them configure settings, understand features, or get the loyalty program running smoothly.
- ＋ Useful loyalty features — Merchants liked the reward, membership, integration, and engagement options available for their stores.
- ＋ Ease and flexibility — Some reviews described the app as approachable, adaptable, and suitable for managing rewards without excessive complexity.
- － Technical reliability — A small number of merchants reported loading failures, bugs, disappearing widgets, or other technical issues that blocked or disrupted use.
- － Cost and refunds — A couple of reviews raised concern that pricing felt high for smaller stores or that refund handling was difficult after poor results.
- － Conversion impact — One merchant said the app hurt conversion performance and did not generate enough revenue to justify the cost.
Watch out: The main caveat is occasional technical setup or reliability trouble, with isolated concerns about cost and refund handling.
Synthesized from the 20 most recent App Store
reviews (2026-07-16); themes paraphrased.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Rivo or Smile.io?
Smile.io starts lower at free, vs $49/mo for Rivo (verified 2026-08-29).
Does Rivo or Smile.io have a free plan?
Smile.io has a free tier; Rivo does not publish one.
Which is rated higher on the Shopify App Store?
Smile.io rates higher at 4.9 ★, vs 4.8 ★ — though both counts matter: Rivo has 1,389 reviews and Smile.io has 4,176.
How we compare: pricing and plans are collected automatically
from vendor pages on a schedule and shown with verification dates; ratings come
from the Shopify App Store; merchant sentiment is synthesized from the most
recent App Store reviews (paraphrased, never quoted). We currently have no
affiliate relationship with either vendor. Found an error?
The data snapshot behind this page is dated — check the vendor's page for
same-day changes.
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