Open Loyalty is not a Shopify app. That distinction is the most important thing to understand before comparing it with Rivo and BON Loyalty, because it means brands evaluating all three are really asking two different questions at once. The first is which Shopify-native loyalty tool fits better. The second is whether the program actually needs a Shopify-native tool at all, or whether it needs an API-first engine that product and engineering teams can embed across a wider technical stack.
Rivo is the retention platform built for Shopify and the most complete answer for brands that want loyalty, referrals, paid memberships, and customer accounts in one place. Rivo says it has driven $1.5B+ in revenue through the platform and is used by over 9,000 Shopify brands, making it the strongest fit for ecommerce teams that want to own retention without depending on engineering for every change. BON Loyalty is the clearest fit for merchants that want a lower-cost multilingual rewards launch inside Shopify. Open Loyalty belongs in the conversation when loyalty needs to behave like infrastructure across custom web, mobile, POS, and partner systems rather than a Shopify-native app.
Key Takeaways
- Rivo is the strongest fit for Shopify brands that want loyalty, referrals, paid memberships, customer accounts, and checkout extensions connected in one Shopify-native retention platform.
- Rivo delivers Shopify-native depth with 8+ checkout extensions, 50+ integrations, 20+ fraud prevention tools, sub-100ms load times, and 100+ product updates per year from a 100% bootstrapped, zero-venture-capital company.
- BON Loyalty is the clearest fit for budget-conscious merchants and international stores that want multilingual points, VIP tiers, and POS rewards with predictable flat-fee pricing.
- Open Loyalty is the specialist choice for mid-market and enterprise teams that need loyalty embedded across a broader custom architecture spanning multiple systems, channels, and platforms.
- Rivo's Loyalty and Referrals plans run from free to $499/month, BON Loyalty's paid plans start at $29/month, and Open Loyalty uses custom pricing based on active members, each reflecting a different deployment model.
- The most important question in this comparison is not which tool has more features, but whether the program needs ecommerce-team ownership inside Shopify or engineering-team ownership across a wider technical stack.
Rivo vs BON Loyalty vs Open Loyalty: Quick Verdict
Rivo vs BON Loyalty vs Open Loyalty comes down to which deployment model fits the way your team will actually run the program after launch. Each platform is built for a different kind of ownership.
- Choose Rivo if you want loyalty, referrals, memberships, accounts, POS, and checkout in one Shopify-native retention platform that ecommerce teams can manage directly.
- Choose BON Loyalty if you want a lower-cost multilingual loyalty launch with POS support and a predictable pricing ladder inside Shopify.
- Choose Open Loyalty if your program needs to live across a custom architecture with product and engineering teams managing loyalty logic across multiple systems.
- Choose based on ownership model because a Shopify-native retention platform, a focused rewards app, and an API-first loyalty engine are fundamentally different operating decisions.
Quick Overview
Rivo is the retention platform built for Shopify: loyalty, referrals, memberships, and accounts in one Shopify-native platform. It is also the first open platform for Shopify loyalty, with a Developer Toolkit, 20+ fraud prevention tools, 8+ checkout extensions, 50+ integrations, and paid memberships that help brands convert one-time buyers into repeat customers.
BON Loyalty is a loyalty-first platform for Shopify merchants that want points, VIP tiers, referrals, POS rewards, and multilingual storefront support in a budget-accessible structure. It is the natural fit for merchants whose main goal is a clean, fast loyalty launch without adopting a broader retention architecture from day one.
Open Loyalty is an API-first loyalty engine designed for businesses that need loyalty logic to live across custom ecommerce, mobile, POS, wallet, or partner systems. It is the right fit when program complexity requires engineering ownership and integration across a wider technical stack rather than a Shopify-native admin workflow.
Why Compare BON Loyalty and Open Loyalty?
These two platforms appear on the same shortlist as Rivo for very different reasons, and that gap is what makes this comparison worth thinking through carefully. BON Loyalty shows up because merchants want to know whether a simpler, lower-cost rewards tool is enough before committing to a broader retention platform. Open Loyalty shows up because enterprise and mid-market teams want to know whether loyalty should live in Shopify at all, or whether it belongs inside a wider custom system.
- Does the team need a loyalty program that ecommerce managers can run day to day, or one that engineers configure and maintain across multiple systems?
- Is a flat monthly subscription the right model, or does the program require custom pricing based on program scope and active member volume?
- Should loyalty connect deeply to Shopify checkout, accounts, and storefront, or should it behave like infrastructure that serves multiple channels simultaneously?
These are not equivalent questions, which is why choosing the wrong category is a more expensive mistake than choosing the wrong app within a category. A merchant that builds on an API-first engine when they mostly need a Shopify-native loyalty experience will add unnecessary engineering overhead. A brand that builds on a Shopify-native app when loyalty needs to span custom mobile, POS, and partner systems will hit architectural limits quickly. The right answer depends on how the program will actually be owned and operated after launch.
For this shortlist, the jobs break down clearly:
- Rivo is for brands that want loyalty, referrals, memberships, accounts, POS, and checkout connected in one Shopify-native retention stack with ecommerce-team ownership.
- BON Loyalty is for merchants that want a fast, multilingual loyalty launch at a lower cost with a clear Shopify-native upgrade path.
- Open Loyalty is for enterprise or mid-market teams that need loyalty embedded across a custom technical architecture with engineering and product ownership from day one.
Rivo vs BON Loyalty vs Open Loyalty: Feature Comparison
Here is how Rivo, BON Loyalty, and Open Loyalty compare across the dimensions that matter most for Shopify merchants in 2026.
Best-fit positioning
- Rivo: Shopify-native retention platform
- BON Loyalty: Accessible multilingual loyalty and rewards platform
- Open Loyalty: API-first enterprise loyalty engine
Core model
- Rivo: Loyalty, referrals, memberships, accounts
- BON Loyalty: Points, referrals, VIP tiers, multilingual rewards
- Open Loyalty: API-first loyalty logic across custom ecommerce, mobile, POS, and partner systems
Starting price
- Rivo: Free plan for up to 200 monthly orders; Scale from $49/month (usage-based, 200 to 2,500 orders/month); Plus at $499/month
- BON Loyalty: Free plan for up to 150 monthly orders; Basic at $29/month (up to 500 orders); Growth at $129/month (up to 2,000 orders); Plus at $499/month (unlimited orders)
- Open Loyalty: Custom pricing based on active members; confirm scope directly with Open Loyalty
POS support
- Rivo: Shopify-native stack with Shopify POS integration
- BON Loyalty: Shopify POS rewards listed on platform pages
- Open Loyalty: POS integration available through API-first architecture
Checkout support
- Rivo: 8+ checkout extensions built natively for Shopify's checkout flow
- BON Loyalty: Checkout-connected points on Shopify Plus listed on platform pages
- Open Loyalty: Custom integration path through API layer
Customer accounts
- Rivo: Strong emphasis on Shopify customer accounts
- BON Loyalty: Shopify customer accounts supported within the loyalty experience
- Open Loyalty: Managed through custom integration with the broader technical stack
Paid memberships
- Rivo: Native paid memberships as a core product area
- BON Loyalty: Membership perks available as part of rewards configuration
- Open Loyalty: Can be configured through custom program design
Developer depth
- Rivo: Developer Toolkit, APIs, webhooks, Shopify-native flexibility
- BON Loyalty: API access and software development toolkit on Plus plan
- Open Loyalty: API-first engine with extensive REST and GraphQL endpoint coverage
Integrations
- Rivo: 50+ integrations
- BON Loyalty: Shopify ecosystem integrations listed on platform pages; Full API access on Plus plan
- Open Loyalty: Integration flexibility across ecommerce, CRM, POS, mobile, and partner systems
Contract terms
- Rivo: Month-to-month on all plans, no annual contract required
- BON Loyalty: Confirm billing terms directly with BON Loyalty
- Open Loyalty: Custom scope; confirm terms directly with Open Loyalty
1. Rivo: Best for Shopify Retention
The clearest advantage Rivo holds in this comparison is that everything it does is built specifically for the way Shopify brands grow. Loyalty, referrals, paid memberships, and customer accounts are not separate modules bolted together. They share the same customer data, the same program rules, and the same Shopify-native surface so that repeat-purchase mechanics and advocacy reinforce each other rather than operating in separate systems.
The platform is backed by specific proof: over 9,000 Shopify brands, $1.5B+ in revenue driven through the platform (as stated by Rivo), 150+ features, and 8+ checkout extensions. Published outcomes connect the platform to measurable results: HexClad's 92x referral ROI, OSEA's 77% repeat purchase rate among redeemers, and Fresh Chile Co's 156% member AOV lift. Rivo is also SOC 2 Type II certified and offers a data processing agreement on every plan, which matters for compliance-minded buyers at growing brands.
For technical teams, the Developer Toolkit adds APIs, webhooks, metafields access, and Shopify Flow support without forcing a generic front end. Rivo pairs that depth with 100+ product updates per year and a 100% bootstrapped, zero-venture-capital operating model that keeps the roadmap shaped by what Shopify merchants actually need.
Key Features
- Loyalty, referrals, and VIP tiers in one Shopify-native stack so repeat-purchase mechanics and advocacy share the same customer layer.
- Paid memberships as a core product area for brands that want recurring value exchange rather than points accumulation alone.
- Customer accounts and 8+ checkout extensions that bring loyalty into the moments where retention decisions actually happen.
- Developer Toolkit, webhooks, and custom integration depth for Shopify Plus or custom storefront teams.
- 20+ fraud prevention tools and white-glove migration support for brands replacing existing loyalty tools.
- SOC 2 Type II compliance and a data processing agreement on every plan for procurement and legal review.
Strengths
- Loyalty, referrals, memberships, and accounts operate inside one retention architecture rather than as parallel systems with separate customer data.
- Paid memberships give brands a recurring revenue layer that rewards-only tools do not natively support.
- A 100% bootstrapped, zero-venture-capital structure keeps the roadmap focused on Shopify merchant outcomes.
- Published merchant outcomes connect the platform to measurable revenue results rather than feature claims alone.
Pricing
Rivo's Loyalty and Referrals plans include a Free plan for up to 200 monthly orders, Scale from $49/month (usage-based, 200 to 2,500 orders/month), and Plus at $499/month, with custom Enterprise pricing and a 7-day free trial on paid plans. All plans are month-to-month with no annual contract required. Confirm current details at Rivo pricing.
The consolidation value matters more than the entry price. Running loyalty, referrals, memberships, and accounts in one platform removes the operational overhead of managing separate tools for each retention layer.
Best For
Rivo is best for growth-stage and Shopify Plus brands that want a single Shopify-native retention platform rather than a points widget they will need to supplement or replace as the program matures. It is the clearest fit for DTC teams building around customer account experience, brands that care about checkout-native loyalty, and any team that expects retention to eventually touch memberships, referrals, POS, and engineering.
2. BON Loyalty
BON Loyalty occupies a well-defined position in this comparison: the most accessible flat-fee option for merchants that want a loyalty-first Shopify launch without the scope of a full retention platform or the architecture overhead of an API-first engine. The product covers points, referrals, VIP tiers, POS rewards, and multilingual storefront support, which covers what most Shopify stores picture when they decide it is time to launch a loyalty program.
Multilingual support is a genuine differentiator here, particularly against Open Loyalty where localization depends on custom implementation. BON's pricing is flat-fee and documented clearly on its own website: Free for up to 150 monthly orders, Basic at $29/month for up to 500 orders, Growth at $129/month for up to 2,000 orders, and Plus at $499/month for unlimited orders. For international stores and budget-conscious merchants, that predictability is a meaningful advantage over both performance-based and custom pricing models.
Key Features
- Points, referrals, and VIP tiers for merchants that want a recognizable loyalty structure customers already understand.
- Multilingual storefront support for international Shopify stores that need loyalty content to work across languages.
- Shopify POS rewards that unify earning and redemption across online and physical channels.
- Full API access and a software development toolkit on the Plus plan for teams that need more advanced integration flexibility.
- B2B tier programs and anti-cheat referral tooling for merchants with more complex program configurations.
Strengths
- Flat-fee pricing across all tiers makes monthly costs predictable and easy to forecast as order volume grows.
- Multilingual support gives international Shopify stores a clear reason to shortlist BON alongside platforms with broader retention depth.
- Documented order limits by plan tier make it straightforward to model when an upgrade is needed.
Pricing
BON Loyalty lists pricing on its website: Free plan for up to 150 monthly orders, Basic at $29/month (up to 500 orders), Growth at $129/month (up to 2,000 orders), and Plus at $499/month (unlimited orders). Full API access and a software development toolkit are included on the Plus plan. Confirm current details directly with BON Loyalty.
Best For
BON Loyalty is best for budget-conscious merchants, international stores that need multilingual loyalty, and teams that want a fast Shopify rewards launch with a clear upgrade path. It is also a practical starting point for merchants that want to validate loyalty economics before expanding into memberships, accounts, or deeper checkout workflows.
3. Open Loyalty: Best for Custom Architecture
Open Loyalty belongs in a different category of purchase decision from the two Shopify apps. It is an API-first loyalty engine designed for businesses that need loyalty mechanics to live across custom ecommerce platforms, mobile applications, POS systems, partner networks, and internal tools rather than inside a Shopify-native admin. The defining characteristic is not which features it includes, but who owns the program after launch and how deeply loyalty needs to be embedded into a wider technical stack.
That architecture-first orientation is what makes Open Loyalty relevant for enterprise and mid-market teams evaluating it. For those teams, the question is not whether they want loyalty points or VIP tiers. It is whether loyalty should behave like an app or like infrastructure. Open Loyalty's API-first design, extensive endpoint coverage, and custom active-member pricing all reflect the latter assumption. Brands that need loyalty to serve multiple channels simultaneously, connect to CRM and CDP systems, and give engineering teams direct control over program logic are the buyers this platform is built for.
Key Features
- API-first loyalty engine with extensive REST and GraphQL endpoint coverage for embedding loyalty across multiple systems and channels.
- Support for points, tiers, rewards, and gamified mechanics configurable through custom program design.
- Integration flexibility across ecommerce platforms, mobile, POS, wallet, and partner systems for brands that need loyalty to span more than one channel.
- Enterprise-grade deployment model for teams that expect engineering, solution design, or partner involvement in implementation and ongoing management.
Strengths
- The strongest architectural flexibility in this comparison for organizations that need loyalty to function across multiple systems rather than inside a single Shopify admin.
- API-first design gives product and engineering teams direct control over loyalty logic, program rules, and data flow across the wider stack.
- Custom active-member pricing reflects enterprise program scope and supports procurement processes that expect scoping conversations before commitment.
Pricing
Open Loyalty charges based on the number of active members, with pricing custom and quote-based per their pricing page. This model reflects the enterprise buying process the platform is designed for, where scope, integration complexity, and implementation requirements determine cost. Confirm current details directly with Open Loyalty.
Best For
Open Loyalty is best for mid-market and enterprise teams that already know loyalty needs to span a broader custom architecture rather than live primarily inside Shopify. It is the right fit when engineering or product ownership of the loyalty layer is intentional, when the program needs to connect across multiple systems simultaneously, and when implementation involves solution design or partner support from the beginning. Teams whose roadmap is Shopify-first can compare that broader scope against an enterprise loyalty platform built around Shopify use cases.
Pricing Comparison
The three pricing models in this comparison reflect three different program ownership assumptions, and entry price alone is not a useful basis for comparison.
- Early-stage Shopify brands: Rivo's free plan covers up to 200 monthly orders and BON Loyalty's free plan covers up to 150 monthly orders, giving merchants in the Shopify-native category a no-cost starting point. Open Loyalty's custom active-member pricing is most relevant once enterprise program scope and integration requirements are defined.
- Growth-stage Shopify brands: Rivo's Scale plan from $49/month and BON Loyalty's Basic at $29/month both serve growing stores but solve different problems. Rivo is the better fit for brands that want loyalty, referrals, and memberships in one connected retention stack. BON Loyalty is the better fit for merchants focused on multilingual rewards and a traditional loyalty structure at a lower cost.
- International and multilingual stores: BON Loyalty's documented multilingual support and flat-fee structure make it the most accessible option for stores that need loyalty to work across languages without adding architecture complexity.
- Shopify Plus or enterprise brands: Rivo stands out when the priority is loyalty depth, memberships, and a Shopify Plus membership program in one Shopify-native platform. Open Loyalty is most relevant when the program must span Shopify POS loyalty workflows alongside custom mobile, CRM, and partner integrations at enterprise scale.
Who Should Choose Rivo
Choose Rivo if your team wants a Shopify-native retention platform that covers loyalty, referrals, paid memberships, customer accounts, POS, and checkout without managing separate tools for each layer. It is the strongest fit when customer lifetime value, checkout-native loyalty, fraud prevention, SOC 2 compliance, and Shopify-native extensibility all matter in the same roadmap. It is also the right choice if 100+ annual product updates, a 100% bootstrapped company profile, and month-to-month pricing factor into the buying decision.
Who Should Choose BON Loyalty
Choose BON Loyalty if your team wants a fast multilingual loyalty launch with flat-fee pricing, documented order limits by plan, and POS support inside Shopify. It is a strong fit for international stores, budget-conscious merchants, and teams that want points, referrals, and VIP tiers in a clean Shopify rollout without committing to a broader retention architecture from day one.
Who Should Choose Open Loyalty
Choose Open Loyalty if your organization needs loyalty to behave like infrastructure across a custom technical architecture rather than a Shopify-native app. It is the right fit for enterprise and mid-market teams where engineering or product ownership of loyalty logic is intentional, the program spans multiple systems and channels, and implementation involves dedicated solution design or partner support from the start.
Final Verdict
There is no single best platform for every brand in this comparison. The right decision depends on who will own the program after launch and where loyalty needs to live.
- For Shopify brands that want loyalty, referrals, paid memberships, accounts, POS, and checkout in one native platform, Rivo is the strongest option because no other tool in this comparison is built as deeply around Shopify's retention workflows with ecommerce-team ownership.
- For merchants that want an accessible multilingual loyalty launch with predictable flat-fee pricing and a clear Shopify upgrade path, BON Loyalty is the better fit because its product scope and pricing structure are designed for exactly that use case.
- For enterprise or mid-market teams that need loyalty embedded across a broader custom architecture with engineering ownership, Open Loyalty makes more sense because its API-first design is built for that level of program and integration complexity.
If your team wants merchant-led ownership without the engineering overhead, see what Rivo can do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for Shopify loyalty: Rivo or BON Loyalty?
Rivo is the stronger fit when loyalty needs to connect to referrals, paid memberships, and Shopify customer accounts in one retention platform. BON Loyalty is the better fit when the goal is a fast, multilingual loyalty launch at a lower flat-fee cost without expanding into a broader retention architecture. The right answer depends on whether the business needs one connected retention stack or a focused rewards program.
Is Open Loyalty a Shopify app?
Open Loyalty is not a Shopify app. It is an API-first loyalty engine designed for businesses that need loyalty mechanics embedded across custom ecommerce platforms, mobile applications, POS systems, and partner networks. For brands that run primarily through Shopify and want ecommerce-team ownership of loyalty, a Shopify-native platform is usually the more practical fit.
How does Open Loyalty pricing work?
Open Loyalty charges based on the number of active members, with pricing custom and quote-based per their pricing page. This model reflects enterprise program scope, integration requirements, and implementation complexity rather than a simple monthly subscription. Brands should confirm current pricing directly with Open Loyalty during scoping conversations.
Which platform is best for international Shopify stores?
BON Loyalty is the strongest fit for international stores that need multilingual loyalty support, with display language options listed on the platform's own pages. Rivo can still be the better long-term choice when the store's priority is deeper Shopify-native retention with memberships, accounts, and checkout depth alongside international reach.
When does an API-first loyalty platform make more sense than a Shopify-native one?
An API-first loyalty platform makes more sense when loyalty needs to span multiple channels, platforms, and systems simultaneously and when engineering or product teams will own the program logic rather than ecommerce managers. For brands whose growth runs primarily through Shopify and who want merchant-led ownership of loyalty, a Shopify-native retention platform is typically faster to launch, easier to manage day to day, and more directly connected to the checkout, account, and referral workflows that drive repeat purchase.
