Best Shopify referral apps: rewards, fees and fit
Compare five apps for customer referrals, loyalty rewards and affiliate programs. Start with who can refer, what earns a reward and how the bill grows.
Memberply Growth: US$49/month, unlimited members and a 14-day trial.
Which referral app is right for your Shopify store?
Consider ReferralCandy for dedicated referral campaigns, Smile for referrals within a points program, Loox when product reviews and referrals belong together, UpPromote for affiliate management, and Memberply when active members earn points or store credit for inviting friends. These are starting points, not exclusive capabilities or a universal ranking.
This comparison is published by Memberply and draws on official listings and documentation. It is not a hands-on test of every app. We chose five options covering different referral models rather than treating every tool as interchangeable.
Jump to the shortlist, pricing and limits, Memberply’s fit or a practical trial checklist.
Five Shopify referral apps to compare
On smaller screens, scroll the table to see all columns.
| App | Consider it for | Decide before installing |
|---|---|---|
| ReferralCandy | Dedicated customer-referral and affiliate campaigns; coupons, store credit, cash or gift-card rewards. | Check the success-fee basis and reward payout costs. |
| Smile | Referrals alongside points, rewards and earned VIP tiers. | Check monthly order limits and the plan for your integrations. |
| Loox | Post-purchase and on-site referrals alongside visual product reviews. | Check the referral-enabled plan, order allowance and overages. |
| UpPromote | Affiliate links, coupons and commission management, with customer referrals on Growth. | Check referral review limits, sales fees and payout features. |
| Memberply | Referrals by eligible active members, rewarded with points or store credit. | Check membership eligibility and reward timing; no automatic friend discount or cash commissions. |
Choose the referral model before comparing prices
Customer referrals
A customer invites a friend to shop. Decide whether both people receive an incentive and whether only the friend’s first purchase qualifies.
Loyalty or member rewards
A referral earns points, store credit or another program benefit. Define who is eligible: all enrolled customers or active members of selected tiers.
Affiliate commissions
Partners or creators promote your store for commissions. Evaluate recruitment, links and coupons, approval rules and payout administration.
For example, a merchant asking for “give a friend 10% off and earn cash” needs a different workflow from a VIP club awarding members $10 credit after a friend’s first purchase. These are illustrative requirements, not claims that every app supports both.
Referral-app pricing: compare the plan you would actually use
The figures below are published monthly USD prices, excluding reward funding and other applicable charges. Follow each official listing to confirm current terms, billing limits and the plan available to your store before installing.
On smaller screens, scroll the table to see all columns.
| App | Published pricing | Important limit or extra cost |
|---|---|---|
| ReferralCandy | Basic $9 + 10.5%; Grow $79 + 3.5%; Scale $249 + 1.5%; Enterprise $799 + 0.25%. | Success fees are additional to the base price. All plans advertise a 7-day trial. |
| Smile | Free includes referrals up to 200 monthly orders. Essential $15: up to 500. Standard $79: up to 1,000. | Growth $199 includes 2,500 orders, then $20 per additional 100. Check feature and integration limits. |
| Loox | Convert $49.99 includes post-purchase and on-site referrals, with 300 orders. | An extra $50 per additional 300 orders. Unlimited is $299.99. The free Beginner listing does not include referrals. |
| UpPromote | Growth $29.99 + 2% of successful referral sales includes customer referrals and review of 300 referrals/month. | Professional $89.99 + 1.5%: 600/month. Enterprise $199.99 + 1%: unlimited referral-order approvals. Free has separate limits. |
| Memberply | Growth $49; unlimited members; 14-day free trial. | No Memberply percentage fee. Rewards and Shopify/payment-provider charges are separate. |
Budget for rewards as well as software
Write down total store orders, qualifying referred orders, the revenue subject to fees, and the rewards you will fund. These are different measures. An order-based plan and a referral-revenue plan can produce different bills for the same store.
Illustrative ReferralCandy example: if $2,000 is subject to its success fee, Basic costs $9 + $210 = $219, while Grow costs $79 + $70 = $149, before rewards and other costs. Its pricing page defines eligible revenue using new customers’ first three orders, after discounts and before tax and shipping. Confirm that your reporting uses the same basis. See ReferralCandy’s fee definition.
For a separate member-referral example, 20 qualifying referrals rewarded with $10 credit create $200 of issued credit. That is a reward obligation, not proof of $200 in cash spent or incremental profit. Assess redemptions, margin, returns and the app fee before deciding whether the offer is sustainable.
When Memberply belongs on your shortlist
Choose Memberply when referrals support a membership program. Eligible active members of selected tiers receive personal links and earn fixed points or store-credit rewards. You can choose membership signup or the friend’s first-ever store purchase as the conversion goal.
Membership signup
Reward the member when their friend becomes active or after the friend’s first successful membership payment. Choose the latter when a free trial should not immediately trigger a reward.
First store purchase
Enable the Referral tracking theme app embed. The friend’s first-ever paid store order must qualify, and the reward remains pending for a fixed 14-day review.
Attribution lasts 30 days and uses the latest valid referral link. Self-referrals and duplicate rewards are blocked. Orders cancelled, voided or refunded before first-purchase reward issuance are disqualified; rewards already delivered are not automatically clawed back after later refunds.
The friend does not receive an automatic referral discount. Memberply does not pay affiliate cash commissions. Native credit requires Shopify customer accounts and store credit enabled; legacy accounts receive a Memberply discount code instead. Configure Reward Points on each eligible tier if using points.
Explore Memberply’s referral feature or read the member referral setup documentation.
Run the same trial checks for every shortlisted app
- Eligibility: Confirm who can share a link and whether new, existing and inactive customers qualify. Test the exact audience you want to invite.
- The friend’s experience: Open the referral link, browse, add to cart and check out. Verify any promised friend discount and its interaction with existing promotions.
- Attribution: Test another referral link, an existing customer and an attempted self-referral. Check the attribution window and which source wins.
- Reward delivery: Record when the reward becomes pending and when it is issued. For Memberply’s first-purchase goal, the 14-day review may extend beyond the app trial; do not mistake pending rewards for a failed setup.
- Returns and fees: Confirm cancellation/refund handling, payout administration and overage calculations. Get written confirmation for any behavior not covered in the documentation.
Use a small pilot before inviting your whole audience. For original invitation ideas, see the referral email examples.
Questions about Shopify referral apps
What is the best Shopify referral app?
The best choice depends on your program. Compare ReferralCandy for dedicated referral campaigns, Smile for loyalty points, Loox for reviews with referrals, UpPromote for affiliates, and Memberply for referrals by active members. Confirm the required plan and reward workflow before installing.
Are there free Shopify referral apps?
Smile lists referrals on its free plan for up to 200 monthly orders. Other apps may have free plans with different limits or without the referral workflow you need. Compare included referral features, usage limits and reward costs rather than the free-plan label alone.
Does Memberply reward the friend as well as the referring member?
Memberply rewards the eligible referring member with points or store credit. The friend does not receive an automatic referral discount. If your offer requires rewards for both people, verify that workflow with another app.
Can Memberply replace an affiliate commission platform?
Memberply is designed for member referrals and rewards, not affiliate cash commissions. Choose a dedicated affiliate workflow if you need creator recruitment, cash payouts or commission administration.
How long do Memberply referral rewards take?
Membership signup rewards can qualify on activation or after the friend’s first successful membership payment. First-store-purchase rewards have a fixed 14-day review period before issuance, subject to qualification checks.
Do I need a new referral app if my loyalty app already includes referrals?
Not necessarily. First test whether your current plan supports the intended audience, friend incentive, reward, attribution and refund rules. Keep the existing app if it meets those requirements and its total cost is appropriate.
Merchant reviews
Merchants use Memberply to launch practical membership programs
Read what merchants say about using Memberply for their membership programs. Read reviews on the Shopify App Store.
"The app is great and does exactly what i need it to. It is well priced and Doug is so great."
Olverum Official Store
United Kingdom
"Their pricing is fair, and their support is legendary."
Puzzery
Canada
"Our store is based in Argentina so we don't have access to Shopify Payments... Memberply solved it."
Elemental Outfit AR
Argentina
Make referrals part of your membership program
Explore Memberply with a 14-day trial. Growth is US$49/month.