What is the difference between store credit and a gift card?

Gift cards have a code that can be transferred to anyone. Store credit is tied to a specific customer account and cannot be gifted.

Best Shopify store credit apps in 2026 (native vs third-party)

Shopify store credit app category completely overhauled when Shopify rolled out native store credit in 2024. Before, businesses big and small were using third-party apps to power store credit. Native store credit is real, it actually exists, is totally integrated into checkout, customer accounts, and the overall order flow. There are, however, notable limitations on the feature, and it is only fully available on Shopify’s higher priced plans. Compared to third-party apps long since fully fleshing out this function, Shopify’s store credit offering is somewhat basic.

Note that while this post is useful on Basic or standard Shopify plans, because native store credit functionality still may not be enough for you (e.g. you want referrals, tiered rules, cashback on certain product categories, etc.), you will still need an app to fill these gaps. The post goes through the actual features of native store credit, then lists real apps that will either enhance or replace these native functions. Only apps that currently exist on the Shopify App Store as of April 2026. No apps that do not currently exist, and no fictional app names or prices.

Shopify’s native store credit

You can offer store credit to customers by depositing credits to a customers account using the Shopify payment methods. These are stored in the customers account area of the store and can be used at the customers convenience during checkout. These are displayed correctly in the customers account area, relevant during the refund process and are tracked by the customers ID so can be correctly associated with the relevant customer and order. This is a straightforward feature that has been fully tested and can be enabled without the use of an external app.

Raw Store Credit is very basic. See #3 for details, but raw store credit does NOT include earn rules (e.g. “spend $100 get $5 free”), it does NOT include tiered VIP levels, no birthday credits, no referral credits, no excluded products, and no rules engine for expiry. It is a manual balance that you can add and remove manually or via an API. Of course, for just a simple balance isn’t an app necessary?

Why merchants still use third-party apps

Earning rules tied to spend, reviews, referrals, signups
Tiered programs (silver, gold, platinum)
Gift card integration alongside store credit
Credit expiry after N days
Bulk issuing credits to a customer segment
Branded credit balance widget on storefront
Returns-as-credit workflow (refund to credit instead of card)

Rise.ai by Stamped

Rise.ai (now owned by Stamped) 5 of the best Shopify apps for store credit – 5. Rise.ai (now owned by Stamped) 5 of the best Shopify apps for store credit Rise.ai (now owned by Stamped) 5 of the best Shopify apps for store credit – Rise.ai is one of the oldest solutions when it comes to apps that allow you to give out store credit. This solution supports multiple types of credits, including Gift Cards, Store Credit, and Cashback rewards. One of the great things about Rise.ai is the returns-to-credit ratio, and it’s a great solution for businesses looking to issue credit as a form of refund. They also integrate with Shopify Flow, which means that you can easily automate processes that involve the app. Overall, it’s a solid solution that can help to take care of credit operations at scale. It’s also a good solution for businesses that are trying to mitigate the risk of chargebacks.

Smile.io

Smile.io is a great solution for running a loyalty points / store credit based system – particularly if you choose to operate an an optional store credit component where people can spend points to receive credit. Smile.io has a solid “points” economy model at its core where players earn points for activities and then have the ability to burn said points for rewards. Smile also includes a free plan which fits for small stores and makes a very smart, cost-free solution for running a loyalty program before deciding whether or not to spend money every month as a larger store.

LoyaltyLion

LoyaltyLion sits at the more enterprise end. Tiered VIP programs, full analytics, lots of integrations with review apps and email tools, customer segmentation and a very powerful rules engine. It’s not cheap and I wouldn’t recommend it for small stores doing fewer than a couple hundred orders per month. For mid market stores and up it’s a serious contender though.

Yotpo Loyalty and Referrals

Yotpo Loyalty is part of the larger Yotpo ecosystem of reviews, referrals, and SMS marketing, all combined into one app to manage store credit and loyalty rewards. It’s most valuable for stores already using some of these tools and can apply the data and rewards across products. Stores not already using Yotpo reviews or SMS marketing may find this app less valuable.

Govalt (store credit and refund)

Govalt – Good if all you want is the ability to refund returned orders to store credit instead of the original payment method, without the cost of a full loyalty suite that you won’t be using.

Comparison table

Option	Free tier?	Loyalty points	Refund to credit	Tiered VIP	Best for
Shopify native	Included	No	Yes	No	Simple credit, no rules needed
Rise.ai (Stamped)	No	Limited	Strong	Limited	Returns to credit, gift cards
Smile.io	Yes	Yes	Indirect	Yes	Small-to-mid loyalty programs
LoyaltyLion	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Mid-market and enterprise
Yotpo Loyalty	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes	Stores already on Yotpo
Govalt	Limited	No	Yes	No	Focused refund-to-credit workflow

Pricing changes rapidly on Smile, LoyaltyLion, Rise.ai and Shopify native, so you should check the App Store listing for the most up to date pricing info. Pricing is basically tiered and add-on based. Smile has the best free tier, but for a low-cost overall solution I’d say LoyaltyLion has the deepest set of features, then Rise.ai for strongest returns, and then Shopify native if you literally need something super basic.

How to pick

If you’re only using credit as a refund method, use Shopify native or Govalt.
If you want a points-based loyalty program, start with Smile.io on the free plan.
If you’re doing 500+ orders a month and want tiers and analytics, look at LoyaltyLion.
If you’re already on Yotpo for reviews, add Yotpo Loyalty.
If you issue a lot of credits as apology gestures or gift cards, Rise.ai is purpose-built for that.

Store credit that can be applied to separate colour variants stored as separate products (for SEO reasons) is affected by how you have your catalog set up. Your customers need to be able to see the difference between “Navy Hoodie” (for which they have store credit) and “Olive Hoodie”. I’ve found two apps that solve this problem: Rubik Combined Listings which shows swatches on collection and product pages of grouped products, and has a demo here: http://rubikify.com and documentation here: http://rubikswatch.com. Then on the product page, you’ll want to show images of the correct variant when a customer selects a variant. Rubik Variant Images does this. The demo is here: http://rubikvariantimages.com and the documentation is here: http://rubikvariant.com.

“This is by far the best variant app I have tried, I deleted maybe 7 others after a slew of issues. Wonderful support as well!”
Anonymous merchant, Rubik Variant Images review

“I use Rubik Combined Listings along with Rubik Swatch. I went through, no exaggerating, 50 apps before I found what I needed.”
Parks Nerd, US, App Store review

Install Rubik Variant Images

Install Rubik Combined Listings

If you’re starting from scratch, then a bunch of these free Shopify tools and this list of theme store IDs could be pretty useful.

FAQ

Is Shopify native store credit available on Basic plan?

Native store credit is available on all plans in most regions, but some of the more powerful features such as API-driven issuance at scale are limited to lower tiers on some plans. Check the Customers section of your Admin for more details.

What’s the difference between store credit and a gift card?

Gift cards have codes that can be given to anyone. Store credit has a customer account that it is tied to and therefore cannot be given as a gift. Usually credit is given by the store (as a refund or as a reward) as opposed to gift cards which are given by customers.

Can I issue store credit instead of a refund?

Yes, both with native store credit and with most of the apps listed above. This is one of the main use cases because you get to keep the money within your store as opposed to refunding back to customers’ credit cards.

Does store credit expire?

Depends on local consumer protection law and the app you use. Shopify native vouchers do not have an expiry date, but most third-party apps will allow you to set an expiry date. Be sure to check the laws in your jurisdiction before enabling expiry.

Which store credit app has a free plan?

Smile.io is probably the most well-known provider of a free plan to offer rewards in an Shopify store. Plus the native Shopify rewards feature is free as well. But all other dedicated rewards apps are paid from the very first day.

Can I migrate store credit balances between apps?

Most apps will allow you to import balances from a CSV file to get things started. Not all apps will allow you to import historical transactions though, and generally you wouldn’t want to migrate in the middle of busy season. This would be something you’d want to alert your customers to, & do during a slower period of the year.

Keep the simple stuff simple. If the native Shopify options cover what you need to do, use those first. Only move on to a full-fledged loyalty app when you actually have a loyalty program to run.