Building a customer loyalty program can help you offset rising customer acquisition costs (CAC), effortlessly raising customer lifetime value (LTV) while building stronger brand advocacy.
There are plenty of platforms you can use to launch and monitor your Shopify loyalty program, but two of the most popular are Smile.io vs Yotpo. Which is right for you? You’ve come to the right place, as our Yotpo vs Smile.io comparison will highlight all the important nuances, like:
- Features
- Integrations
- Cost
- Support
- Data
- And much, much more
The truth is, though, there’s actually a better option for Shopify brands than Yotpo or Smile.io. Rivo is more affordable, built exclusively for Shopify, and gives you 150+ features with 50+ integrations out of the box. You also get easier data management and stronger support.
Learn why we’re the #1 Smile.io alternative or Yotpo alternative today.
What is Smile.io?
Smile.io is a loyalty and referral platform built primarily for Shopify merchants but usable on other platforms as well. It’s trusted by over 100,000 businesses and is a great way to get a rewards program up and running quickly through a suite of embedded tools.
Core Features
- Loyalty Hub: A branded dashboard for customers to view their points, rewards status, and perks.
- Embedded Blocks: Drop loyalty widgets directly into product pages and site layouts with minimal dev effort.
- Checkout Extension: Seamlessly apply loyalty benefits at checkout to increase usage and visibility.
- Promotions Engine: Create time-limited bonus points or multiplier offers to drive urgency.
- POS Integration: Supports omnichannel loyalty by syncing online and physical purchases.
- Easy Analytics: Pre-built dashboards help track sound metrics like CLV lift or frequency.
- Developer APIs: Enables customizations beyond core features for enterprise needs.
Limitations
Smile.io is powerful out of the box, but it can fall short for brands looking to tap into more advanced loyalty segmentation, dynamic reward logic, or deeper integrations with non-Shopify tools.
Another issue brands face is having to pay more and more for additional capabilities. Scaling can get expensive on Smile.io. Its simplicity is a strength, until your brand outgrows it.
What is Yotpo?
Yotpo is a broader eCommerce marketing suite that brings together loyalty, referrals, reviews, and user-generated content (UGC). It’s a one-stop platform that enhances conversions, builds trust through reviews, and powers loyalty all in a single solution.
Core Features
- Reviews & UGC: AI-powered review curation, translation, and gallery display to enhance trust and conversions.
- Loyalty & Referrals: Custom-built programs that reward purchases and encourage word-of-mouth growth.
- Integrations: Offers over 180 integrations including Shopify, Klaviyo, Attentive, SMS platforms, and more.
- AI Tools: Features like commerceGPT and review summarization to streamline content and messaging.
- Connect Across Channels: Sync loyalty, referrals, and reviews throughout email, SMS, and onsite workflows.
Limitations
It sounds great in theory - you get a ton of functionality in one simple package. You know what they say, though - a jack of all trades is a master of none. That said, Yotpo tends to focus more on UGC, and this does come at the expense of loyalty depth.
Smaller or mid-sized Shopify stores may find themselves paying for features they don’t need, with a steeper learning curve and less nimble setup.
Smile.io vs Yotpo: Which is the Better Solution?
Choosing between Smile.io vs Yotpo means you’re compromising in one way or another. Both platforms have their benefits, but neither is the best solution for building your Shopify referral program or loyalty program.
We’ll take a closer look at a few of the things we have found matter most for Shopify brands.
Ease of Use and Setup
You want to start improving brand loyalty and advocacy fast - not jump through hoops trying to figure out how to get started. This is one of the biggest differences between Smile.io vs Yotpo.
Shopify merchants can install the Smile.io app, configure basic earning and redemption rules, and launch a loyalty or referral program in a matter of hours. The straightforward interface and branded loyalty widget don’t require advanced coding to style. Perfect for teams without a dev.
On the other hand, Yotpo can feel a bit more demanding. You have access to APIs and custom integrations, but configuring loyalty often requires input from developers or onboarding specialists.
The dashboard is built to handle reviews, SMS, and subscriptions alongside loyalty, so the experience can feel overwhelming if you’re only interested in rewards programs. Larger teams can handle this, but smaller Shopify stores often find the learning curve steep.
Features and Flexibility
That same simplicity that’s a benefit for Smile.io can be a bit of a drawback when it comes to its feature set. The app covers the basics well - points for purchases and actions, redemption for discounts or perks, referrals, and VIP tiers. It integrates rewards into Shopify checkout and offers customer-facing dashboards that track progress.
However, customization is limited: reward logic can’t always be tied to specific product categories, customer segments, or advanced triggers without upgrading to high-tier plans. Multi-language support and advanced analytics are also thin compared to enterprise platforms.
This is where the other half of the Smile.io vs Yotpo comparison has an edge. Beyond loyalty, Yotpo includes reviews, UGC, subscriptions, and SMS marketing, all of which integrate tightly.
But for loyalty specifically, brands can create advanced rules like double points on product categories, milestone rewards, complex referral structures, and more. VIP tiers can include exclusive products, shipping perks, or early access events. There are AI features for segmentation and analytics, too. Yotpo provides unmatched flexibility for enterprise use cases.
Integrations and Ecosystem
A loyalty or referral program that lives in a silo won’t cut it for modern Shopify brands. Integrations are one of the most noteworthy distinctions between Smile.io vs Yotpo.
Smile.io integrates with ~25 platforms, including Shopify POS, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Gorgias, and Okendo. For many Shopify brands, that’s enough to sync loyalty with marketing and customer support workflows. But it still feels really lean.
Yotpo has the undeniable edge here with 180 integrations, including Shopify, Recharge, Attentive, HubSpot, Zendesk, and more. If your brand runs a complex stack across multiple channels, Yotpo’s ecosystem makes it easier to centralize data.
The tradeoff, of course, is complexity. Integration setup can require technical resources, unlike Smile.io’s plug-and-play style. As you may be starting to see, the choice between Yotpo vs Smile.io comes down to capability vs simplicity.
Pricing and Scalability
You get what you pay for, so you shouldn’t compare Smile.io vs Yotpo in terms of pure price. Instead, think of value for the money. If a solution costs more but helps you earn a higher loyalty program ROI, it’s well worth it!
There’s a free Smile.io plan available for very small stores, then paid tiers start at $49/month. Higher tiers unlock VIP, integrations, and branding control, but costs rise quickly as you scale. Merchants find that essential features (like advanced analytics or multi-language support) are often locked behind premium tiers.
Yotpo, on the other hand, has no free plan. Loyalty pricing starts at $89/month for stores with 500 orders or less. Other plans range from $169 to $699+ depending on the exact features and integrations you need, and how many orders your store does every month.
Additional modules like SMS or reviews add to the cost, and the a la carte structure can push total spend far higher. Yotpo makes sense financially if you’re generating millions in revenue. Even then, though, is it the right choice for you? There’s a better solution at Rivo.
Why Rivo is the #1 Alternative to Yotpo and Smile.io
While these are some of the best Shopify loyalty apps, Smile.io and Yotpo fall short of Rivo in ways that matter for Shopify brands trying to build the most robust, personalized, and easy-to-manage loyalty program. Here’s where Rivo has an edge.
Shopify-Native by Design
Rivo was built exclusively for Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants, not retrofitted from a general loyalty platform. That means every feature, from dynamic checkout reward previews to Shopify POS redemptions, work seamlessly.
You don’t have to rely on clunky workarounds or third-party connectors to sync rewards with carts, customer accounts, or order histories. You can just connect your storefront, pull in customer account data, and get to work.
Feature Depth Without Complexity
Smile.io sacrifices flexibility and capability for ease of use. Yotpo overwhelms with bloat and API-heaviness. Rivo strikes a balance between the two.
You gain access to over 150+ loyalty features, including VIP tiers, milestone rewards, referral incentives, and more, without needing developers to launch or manage them.
The drag-and-drop editor lets you design branded loyalty landing pages, emails, and widgets in minutes. You control the experience, but the platform stays approachable for any team.
Deep Integrations
Rivo connects with 100+ tools Shopify merchants already rely on. Klaviyo for automated email flows, Attentive for SMS, Recharge for subscriptions, Gorgias for customer support, Okendo for reviews, and Skio for membership programs to name a few.
All integrations are built to pass rich loyalty data - points balance, tier status, reward eligibility - so you can personalize campaigns without manual exports. That’s where Smile.io often hits limits and Yotpo forces you to pay for premium add-ons.
Transparent Pricing
One of the most frustrating parts of choosing Yotpo vs Smile.io is cost creep. Rivo flips the script with flat-rate, transparent pricing and no hidden commissions. Every merchant, whether you’re scaling from $1M to $50M, gets the same enterprise-grade functionality without surprise bills.
Proven Results
Rivo is the platform Shopify brands choose when they don’t want to pick between Smile.io vs Yotpo. More than 9,000 brands are already using it and turning loyalty and referrals into a growth driver.
Ridge used Rivo to build a loyalty program tied directly into Shopify checkout, while HexClad drove $450k in loyalty revenue in just 90 days. Rareform increased its 30-day repurchase rate by 26.9%, and Ultra Football added $800k in loyalty sales in six months.
These are just a few of the many case studies we’ve created over the years. Take a look and see what’s possible with Rivo today. Or, get in touch for a personalized demo now!
Bringing Our Yotpo vs Smile.io Comparison to a Close
Both Smile.io and Yotpo offer strong loyalty solutions, but they often leave brands caught between limited flexibility and enterprise-level complexity. You don’t have to choose between Yotpo vs Smile.io. You can have it all with Rivo.
Rivo isn’t just the #1 alternative to Smile.io vs Yotpo. It’s also one of the best Friendbuy alternatives, Talkable alternatives, and Loyalty Lion alternatives. See why today by requesting a demo, or connect your store and hit the ground running!
