If you’re looking to turn your customers into loyal brand advocates to increase your business sales, a referral program is one of the most powerful ways to get leads.
The easiest method to start referral marketing is to get a third-party Shopify referral app that can create invites and unique links or even track conversions. However, with an array of apps claiming to be the best, it can be hard to pick the right one.
To help you out, we researched and tested the 11 best Shopify referral apps. We handpicked them based on their referral program features, other marketing functionalities, customer support, and price.
Choosing the best referral app for your store
Most referral apps are essentially similar in terms of functionality, but some of them may have more to offer than just the basics. So, consider these points when choosing the right Shopify referral app for you:
- Budget. Consider how much you can invest in a referral app. While there are basic free alternatives like AfterShip, paid ones like Loox or UpPromote have much more functionality to offer.
- Additional costs. Some apps charge a straightforward flat fee while others add commissions on top or increase plan pricing based on the number of orders. So, make sure you carefully analyze the pricing model of your selected paid app.
- Feature availability. Consider what features you need for your store and what each plan can offer you. For example, while apps like Referral Candy will only give you referral program features, Loox or UpPromote will empower your marketing strategy with such benefits as automatic review requests or affiliate programs.
- Referral management. If you’re expecting referrals to take off, investing in a specialized app with advanced referral program management can be a good idea. Otherwise, you will do just fine with straightforward Shopify referral apps like Joy or Smile, most of which also have sufficient free plans.
How to set up a referral program on Shopify?
According to research by Nielsen, 92% of people trust family or friend referrals more than other advertising forms. So, using your audience to spread news about your business can be highly beneficial if done correctly.
Here are the main steps on how to create a referral program for your Shopify store:
- Create a high-quality product. While quite self-explanatory, it’s important to note that your journey is highly dictated by the quality and originality of your products. Make sure you conduct market research and create products that offer value and are high quality.
- Understand your target audience. Make sure you learn what your target audience is, what it values, and what it wants to comprehend what would motivate them to refer your brand to others.
- Define rewards. Think about what you’re going to give your customers back – some of the most popular incentives include free products, discounts, or dollar credit. Don’t forget to also choose whether you’re going to reward only the referrer or the new joiner as well.
- Pick a referral app for Shopify. Ensure you choose a referral app that fits your needs, monitors sales, can generate unique links or codes, and more.
- Leverage loyal customers. Your existing customers can be even more willing to refer new people to your store, so make sure you use emails or other strategies to offer them incentives for referrals.
- Make referrals easy. Simplify the referral process by creating templates to ensure they fit your brand and can be shared with a click of a button.
Top 11 Shopify referral apps: overview
We tested over 20 referral apps for Shopify, including their features, customer support team, price, and ease of use. Here’s a quick overview of our top 5 Shopify referral apps:
- Loox – best overall Shopify referral app
- UpPromote – great referral app with many customization options
- Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist + – excellent app for personalized referral programs
- Smile: Loyalty & Rewards – best for multi-tier Shopify referral programs
- AfterShip Referral&Affiliate – completely free referral app for Shopify
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1. Loox – best Shopify referral app with comprehensive features
Loox is the best Shopify referral app because it’s an all-in-one solution to build trust and turn clients into brand advocates. Its automated solutions, 24/7 customer support, customization opportunities, and perks such as multilingual store support make it an outstanding choice.
Referral program features:
- Available for an additional $5 as a Loox Referrals add-on for all plans (already included in the Unlimited $299.99/month plan)
- Referral program and auto-generated referral links
- Post-purchase, post-review, and on-site refer a friend Shopify widget
- Dashboard (shares, store visits, revenue)
- Fraud protection
Other features:
- Automatic review requests
- Post-purchase upsells
- Customizable social proof widgets
Recommended for:
Stores looking for a well-rounded social proof strategy on top of an easy-to-set-up referral program.
2. UpPromote – exceptional referral app with customization options
UpPromote is another great Shopify referral app because it offers everything you need to turn customers into advocates. The developer also has extensive documentation and a Facebook community to facilitate your growth through referrals even more.
Referral program features:
- Option to reward both customer and referred person
- Customizable website widget to promote the program
- Advanced reports (clicks, sales, referrals, and commission for each customer)
- Reward email notifications
Other features:
- Affiliate programs with many commission options
- Option to tier affiliate commission system (motivates affiliates to reach sales milestones)
- Customizable features (links, codes, forms, portal)
- Dedicated marketplace
Recommended for:
Shopify stores that are looking for a two-in-one referral and affiliate program app to expand their network.
3. Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist + – great for personalized referral programs
Growave is an affordable all-in-one referral marketing app for Shopify merchants with professional 24/7 customer support and loads of additional features for fostering loyalty.
Referral program features:
- Rewards both parties (regular variety of reward options)
- Social share links
- Analytics dashboard
- Branding customization
Other features:
- Shopify referral programs, VIP tiers, and rewards
- Loyalty points for a variety of interactions
- Customer wishlists
- Automated collection of photo and video reviews
- User-generated content integration
- Social logins
Recommended for:
Shopify sellers looking for a reasonably priced referral and loyalty solution with a wide list of features.
4. Smile: Loyalty & Rewards – best for multi-tier Shopify referral programs
Smile is an exceptional Shopify referral app if you want to encourage repeat purchases with point-based reward programs and enable customer referrals. You won’t find too many additional features since it’s quite specialized in loyalty programs, but it delivers on that end for sure.
Referral program features:
- Points, Referral, and VIP programs
- Nudge pop-ups to boost engagement
- Powerful integrations (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Gorgias) to get as much exposure for your loyalty programs as possible
- Four referral rewards (percentage or fixed amount off, free shipping, free product)
- Social sharing options
- 6 preset languages for international loyalty programs
- Referral program guides and resources
Recommended for:
All stores that offer convenience goods, cosmetics, food supplements, and other products customers order on a recurring basis.
5. AfterShip Referral&Affiliate – best free Shopify referral app
Why pay for something that you can get for free? Sure, perhaps Automizely doesn’t boast the same range of additional features as the paid apps above, but if a solid referral program for customers and influencers is the only thing you’re after, look no further than this Shopify referral app.
Referral program features:
- Four different referral incentives (percentage or fixed amount off, free shipping, free product)
- Prompt reward email notifications
- Easy customization (reward amounts, widget design, reward expiration date)
Other features:
- Influencer and referral programs
- Real-time segmented conversion analytics
- Influencer outreach emails
Recommended for:
Shopify stores that are looking for a free app with a straightforward referral solution that covers existing customers and influencers.
6. Yotpo Loyalty & Rewards – great for creating unique referral programs
If you’re looking for a powerful and out-of-the-box referral app, Yotpo Loyalty & Rewards is just what you need. On top of all regular referral program features, you get numerous creative campaign options (e.g. rewarding for social media shares and product reviews), which really makes this app stand out.
Referral program features:
- 20+ pre-made, creative campaign options
- Tier-based reward model with VIP program
- Shopify referral programs segmentation based on customer actions
- Shopify referral campaign scheduling
- Advanced analytics (overall referral program performance, individual customer actions)
Recommended for:
Stores looking to micro-manage customer journeys with reward systems or launch creative referral programs.
7. Rivo – user-oriented referral app for Shopify merchants
Rivo is a modern and fully customer-focused app that strives to continuously improve loyalty and referral programs by updating the app. They also boast an excellent customer support team that works 24/7 and is highly praised by their customers.
Referral program features:
- Fully customizable design with widget and embed options
- Strategically placed reminders
- Analytics dashboard
- VIP Tiers
Other features:
- Checkout extensions
- Shopify multipass integration
Recommended for:
Shopify merchants who value a straightforward approach and ease of use as well as priority support.
8. Joy: Rewards, Loyalty Program – affordable referral app for Shopify
Joy Shopify referral app offers an alternative approach to referral campaign creation. You can use numerous earning and spending rules and execute your precise referral program vision.
Referral program features:
- Many advanced earning rules (signup, place order, write review, social share, referral, and more)
- Four spending rules
- Combinable discounts
- Loyalty page generator
- VIP tiers
- Customizable design
- Supports many languages
- Email automation
Recommended for:
Stores that want to utilize spending rules and put together a fully customized referral program at an affordable price point.
9. Rise.ai: Gift Cards & Loyalty – easy-to-use referral app
While the referral program from Rise.ai doesn’t have many stand-out features, it’s straightforward and offers all the basic solutions for optimizing your business revenue with referrals.
Referral program features:
- Personalized rewards with credits
- Fraud protection
- Return and refund management (offer gift cards or store credits instead of refunds)
- Gift cards (bulk option available)
- Rewards program with loyalty cards and store credit encouraging repeat purchases
Recommended for:
Stores that want an app to optimize sales by segmenting and customizing their referral programs based on customer actions.
10. BON: Loyalty Rewards Referrals – referral app with a free plan for small stores
BON is a solid referral app for smaller Shopify stores. Their free plan will be sufficient for any niche or new store that operates in one main language and doesn’t plan to exceed 250 monthly referral orders.
Referral program features:
- Advanced reward points system (orders, birthdays, accounts, etc)
- Customize to your brand
- VIP tiers (Professional $349/month plan only)
- Point and reward expiration (with paid plans only)
- 250+ languages (with paid plans only)
Recommended for:
Stores that want to cater to highly international audiences by geotargeting any language.
11. Referral Candy & Affiliate – strictly referral-oriented Shopify app
Referral Candy is a fully referral-focused app with an excellent customer support team. However, one major drawback we couldn’t overlook is the price – the entry plan starts at $59/month, while the Enterprise tier costs $24,000/year. And that’s not to mention the additional fees that may apply.
Referral program features:
- Unlimited customers and referrals (+1.5% to 3.5% commission on successful referral sales)
- Referral analytics
- Post-purchase refer a friend Shopify popups and email referral prompts
- Customizable design to fit your brand
- Fraud detection
Recommended for:
Large Shopify stores that can invest in a referral app that’s a reliable and straightforward solution for customer referrals.
Final thoughts
Referral apps are important for creating a great program that would boost customer trust and loyalty, convert more leads, and get more sales. While a lot depends on offered rewards, target audience, and the quality of your referral program, a Shopify referral app should ensure everything you need to succeed.
Our top recommendation is Loox because of the variety of features it offers, including a referral widget, dashboard, fraud protection, and other marketing type features like automatic review requests or post-purchase upsells.
Looking for more? Check out these Shopify app lists:
Frequently asked questions
The easiest way to create a referral program on Shopify is by choosing the perfect Shopify referrals app. To do that, you need to determine your referral awards, what functionalities you want your program to have, and how much you’re willing to pay for the app.
Our verdict is that Loox is the best referral app Shopify has to offer. However, it’s followed by great alternatives with their own advantages, such as UpPromote, AfterShip, Smile, and Yotpo.
Referral programs are used to get high-quality leads to a company by getting customers or influencers to share their opinion about a product or service with their audience.
