Referral programs are a simple way to grow your Shopify store. When customers refer friends, everyone wins - you get new customers, and your fans get rewards.
Shopify makes referrals easy with apps like Refersion and Influence. These let you customize rewards and track the program from your admin.
Give your referral app a try. Encourage happy customers to spread the word, then sit back and watch new sales roll in through free word-of-mouth marketing. It doesn't get much better than that!
✅ How We Selected the Shopify Referral Apps
- Reviews and ratings: We read what real businesses had to say about the top-rated Shopify referral apps on the App Store.
- Features offered: We wanted Shopify referral apps that covered the basics like rewards, promo links, and analytics plus bonus tools like loyalty programs.
- Pricing options: We made sure there were affordable choices whether you're just starting out or have a large referral network.
- Customer support available: Good chat/email help is important in case any issues come up with integrating or using the app.
- SEO optimized: We favored Shopify referral apps with a bit more meaty content and external backlinks versus some Shopify affiliate marketing apps out there.
👍 Why You Should Trust Our Recommendations
- We've been in the app recommendation game for a while. Since launching last May, we've published 7 different theme recommendation lists - so we've gained lots of experience.
- Our themes have been installed over 2,700 times by businesses. That kind of adoption shows we're pointing shop owners to truly helpful tools.
- Some of our featured Shopify referral apps and themes now rank at the very top of the marketplace based purely on their quality.
- As one of the fastest-growing Shopify theme developers, we're constantly testing new Shopify bundle apps ourselves and evolving our recommendation process.
- All the apps we suggest have proven customer stats showing increased sales, leads, or retention. We don't recommend anything unless it delivers real ROI.
10 Best Shopify Referral Apps
1. UpPromote Affiliate & Referral
UpPromote, one of the best Shopify referral apps, is a powerful yet easy-to-use referral solution for Shopify stores. Their all-in-one referral app and program management tools give merchants everything needed to incentivize customer advocacy. Shoppers earn discounts for referrals while merchants gain new customers through trustworthy recommendations. UpPromote helps businesses strengthen relationships, boost loyalty, and drive sales upward with a customized rewards program managed through their flexible and full-featured platform.
App Features:
- Tailor your affiliate links, portals, and forms to perfectly match your brand.
- Easily offer discounts, credits, and gifts to drive referrals and repeat purchases.
- Seamlessly attribute all referrals from links to emails to the right people.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- You cannot set a default payment method. You need to log in as each affiliate and change that option every time.
- When adding a redirect URL, it always asks "Did you create URL redirect for this custom link?" every single time. There should be a check option to "never show this again"
- Making custom discount codes is tedious because you need to manually go to each one again after adding the affiliate add each one and then re-type (or paste) a description of each coupon code.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing:
- Grow Affiliate: $29.99/month
- Professional: $89.99/month
- Enterprise: $199.99/month
2. Rivo: Loyalty & Referrals
Rivo is known as the best Shopify referral app. It is revolutionizing the game with a singular focus on boosting retention and long-term customer value. Their Shopify app bundle delivers simple-to-use programs for loyalty, referrals, and memberships, alongside weekly updates and unparalleled customer support from their ex-Shopify experts. Merchants who implement Rivo's retention-centric approach experience massive spikes in lifetime customer value and repeat purchases.
App Features:
- Rivo allows brands to design unique loyalty programs and Shopify app referral workflows tailored to their needs.
- As a scalable solution, Rivo seamlessly integrates with popular tools like Klaviyo and Shopify to handle high volume.
- Rivo is known for its world-class customer support to help clients succeed with their referral and loyalty goals.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- Rivo does not notify customers when they have points to spend.
- The app is quite complicated to navigate to install.
- Limited integrations with other apps.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing:
- Starter: $49/month
- Growth: $189/month
- Premium: $349/month
3. 🏅 Top Pick - BON Loyalty Rewards Referrals
BON Loyalty could be the solution with their flexible loyalty rewards platform for Shopify merchants. Their Shopify referral program app allows for unlimited customized programs like membership tiers, powerful referrals, and engaging loyalty experiences. Merchants gain the tools to convert one-time buyers into lifelong customers, boosting repeat rates and lifetime customer value. With 24/7 support through any system changes, BON Loyalty is designed to help grow your business through increased retention.
App Features:
- BON makes it a breeze to offer points for both online and POS purchases. Studies show these programs increase reorder rates by 15-30%.
- Design the perfect loyalty shopping experience for your customers with rewards that expire, can be combined with discounts, and more.
- No matter your customer base, BON's loyalty widgets and emails will translate seamlessly. It's a must-have for expanding internationally.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- When setting up and editing the activities/rewards, there are a few glitches.
- It's not mobile-friendly.
- There are so many functions that are completely unusable.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing:
- Basic: $25/month
- Growth: $99/month
- Professional: $349/month
Why is BON Loyalty Rewards Referrals Our Top Pick?
- You can earn $5 for every person you refer who signs up for a BON rewards account and spends $25 or more.
- No limit on the number of referrals you can earn.
- Referrals never expire so you can earn bonuses from people who sign up years late.
- Fast and easy tracking of referrals directly on your BON account - see who signed up from your link in real-time.
- Monthly bonus opportunities to earn even more for high referral volume.
- BON has millions of active users so your link will get shared widely giving you lots of referral opportunities.
- BON rewards can be redeemed for gift cards to major retailers, streaming services, and other popular brands.
4. Automizely Referral & Affiliate
Automizely could help leverage your strongest promotion channel by enabling successful referral and influencer campaigns for Shopify stores. Their app bundle simplifies rewarding existing customers and collaborators for driving new traffic and sales through relationships. Merchants gain an easy tool to strengthen advocacy and boost their reach.
App Features:
- No more spending hours tweaking links and codes. Automizely has you referring like a pro in minutes.
- Keep customers and influencers hyped with bonus coupons delivered straight to their inboxes. It tracks payouts for you too.
- Easily message your whole contact list about your program or offer free promo gifts to social butterflies.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- Automizely doesn't let you fully customize colors, logos or the layout of your referral page to match your brand exactly.
- All you get is straightforward referral numbers, not deeper analytics on things like which campaigns worked best or who your top referrers are.
- Automizely's basic features are okay priced, but adding any other tools or integrations means ongoing extra fees each month or year on top of the original cost.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing: Free
5. Joy: Loyalty Program & Rewards
Joy Rewards may be the solution. Their easy-to-use Shopify bundle allows merchants to design tailored loyalty programs, tiers, and action-based perks quickly without slowing sites down like other Shopify referral apps. Seamless integrations and joyful shopping experiences help businesses increase customer satisfaction and repeat purchases through customized initiatives that reflect their unique brand.
App Features:
- Joy makes it easy to offer points for signups, purchases, reviews, and social follows - basically any action you want to motivate.
- Manage customer tiers, point levels, missions, and more. Export and import data like a boss too.
- Built-in emails keep customers informed plus you can design custom notifications.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- You can't fully change things like the colors, layouts, and styles or design very unique types of rewards programs with Joy.
- Joy doesn't have tools for setting up automatic emails, points expirations or other features that run on their own.
- While it works for basic Shopify stores, Joy doesn't integrate as smoothly with lots of different shopping carts or retail software compared to other loyalty apps.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing:
- Pro: $29/month
- Advanced: $99/month
- Enterprise: $499/month
6. Referral Candy & Affiliate
Referral Candy's full-featured referral and affiliate platform for Shopify could help grow your business through the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Their intuitive app bundle empowers merchants to easily design and implement rewarding referral programs that encourage customer advocacy. Tailored initiatives allow merchants across industries to retain customers and boost sales through customized perks for sharing positive brand experiences.
App Features:
- Referral Candy will have you set up and generate leads within half an hour.
- Leverage popups, emails, and pages to enroll buyers into your program right after purchase.
- Fully automate givebacks like cash or coupons based on one-time or recurring sales. Customers love getting appreciated.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- Setting up your programs requires more technical skills compared to other apps that are simpler to get started with.
- There's a big list of instructions and features to digest before feeling comfortable using all the tools.
- The lowest price plan has limitations like just one campaign that could be an issue for some.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing:
- Premium Plan: $59/month
- Plus: $299/month
7. LL: Loyalty Rewards Referrals
LL Rewards' full-featured platform for Shopify could help grow your business through powerful yet easy-to-launch initiatives. Their intuitive app bundle simplifies designing customized rewards, points systems, referral campaigns, and discounts to increase repeat purchases and find new customers through brand advocates. Migrating data from other apps helps merchants maximize past engagement insights.
App Features:
- Motivate customers to keep coming back with reward options like discounts, store credit, VIP tiers, and more.
- Community building tools. Encourage advocacy by giving points for social shares, reviews, and other engagement.
- Watch your influencer network grow like wildfire with customizable referral links and coupons.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- You have less control over things like colors, layouts and reward type options compared to other apps.
- The stats you get only show basic totals, not deeper insights into things like best campaigns or highest spending customers.
- While it works as a standalone app, LL doesn't integrate as smoothly with retail systems or email providers compared to apps that sync better.
Shopify Rating: 4.9 ⭐
Pricing:
- Starter: $29/month
- Growth: $69/month
8. LoyaltyLion Rewards & Referral
LoyaltyLion's rewards and referrals platform for Shopify could help with customizable loyalty programs seamlessly integrated into your site. Their full-featured app bundle empowers merchants to engage customers through points-based rewards and targeted referral incentives. Integrations improve synergy across tools while built-in loyalty pages refine the shopping experience.
App Features:
- Showcase your program right on your site with their easy drag-and-drop builder.
- Loyalty links customer actions to purchases. Motivate signups and engagement via a points system fans can redeem for sweet prizes.
- Drive engagement with automatic communications. LoyaltyLion's emails and notifications promote positive behaviors.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- You can only use basic features in the free trial, any advanced stuff requires upgrading to a paid plan.
- Connecting it to your website or setting up automatic rewards may be tricky and require technical expertise.
- While documentation exists, getting help from their team if issues arise could take some time compared to apps with faster responses.
Shopify Rating: 4.6 ⭐
Pricing:
- Small Business: $159/month
- Classic: $399/month
- Advanced: $729/month
9. Loyalty, Rewards & Referrals
Loyalty's rewards, referrals, and points programs could help grow your Shopify business. Their full-featured app bundle empowers merchants to easily design and implement customized loyalty initiatives right within their online store. Referral incentives and personalized rewards may increase repeat purchases while handling operational details allows merchants to focus on new customer acquisition through positive brand advocacy.
App Features:
- Host birthday deals, seasonal sales or contests to keep people coming back for more throughout the year.
- Send welcome messages, birthday shouts or thank you notes to make each shopper feel appreciated.
- Check what people bought, when they bought it and how they spent points to find your most loyal shoppers.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- You have fewer options to fully tailor the look, rewards and program to your branding compared to other apps.
- It's not as easy to use with retail systems or shopping websites as apps built to smoothly sync together.
- The app is better optimized for desktop than mobile, unlike solutions designed well for both apps and phones.
Shopify Rating: 4.6 ⭐
Pricing:
- Basic-Premium: $19.99/month
- Higher Volume: $199.99/month
10. BLOOP: Referral & Loyalty
BLOOP's full-featured app for Shopify could simplify building powerful initiatives within minutes. Their intuitive bundle empowers easy program creation while a dedicated support team assists with setup and beyond. Merchants may accelerate word-of-mouth growth, expand customer lifetime value through rewards, and see sales increase due to simplified sharing and perks for customers.
App Features:
- It handles points/cash givebacks for referrers and new customers so you can chill.
- Customize exactly what your promotions look like from copy to visual design.
- Set up targeted referral campaigns based on specific products or buyer types.
Flows, Not Dealbreakers:
- You don't have as many options to customize things like reward designs, colors, and layouts compared to other apps.
- It may not link seamlessly to every shopping cart, sales system, or email program you want to use it with.
- The price is higher than some other loyalty apps that offer similar basic features, which could be an issue for smaller budgets.
Shopify Rating: 5.0 ⭐
Pricing: $20/month
Conclusion
Referral programs are good for Shopify stores. Apps like Refersion make it easy to reward people when they share brands. Everybody wins - people feel nice helping stores, stores get new customers without ads. Research shows referrals can make more money come in.
Best part is less work for store owners. Let people help your brand and more will find out. If no referral program yet, start now. Try app and see how referrals help without much work.
Make more money!