How do I add a loyalty program to Shopify?
Getting a first sale is expensive. Getting the second one from the same customer is where the profit actually lives, and a loyalty program is the cheapest way to make that second sale happen. So how do you add one to Shopify? The short answer: Shopify has no built-in loyalty program, so you install an app that layers points, rewards, VIP tiers, and referrals onto your store. The longer answer is that the loyalty category is crowded, the pricing is full of traps, and the “free” plans are where most of them hide. This guide walks how loyalty apps work, then looks closely at Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards (4.9 stars across more than 1,600 reviews, Built for Shopify), which has the most generous free tier of the bunch, and the one pricing catch you need to see coming.
We build Shopify apps ourselves (variant images and combined listings), so we read this category the way a store owner counting pennies should: what’s genuinely free, what’s the real cost when you grow, and which feature is quietly locked behind the expensive plan? Let’s start with the question everyone asks first.
In this guide
- Does Shopify have a built-in loyalty program?
- What is Joy, and what does it do?
- How much does Joy cost?
- What do merchants say?
- Where Joy shines
- Where it falls short
- Is Joy better than Smile.io or BON?
- How do you set it up?
- FAQ
Does Shopify have a built-in loyalty program?
No. There’s no native points-and-rewards system in Shopify, so every loyalty program you’ve seen on a Shopify store is a third-party app. What those apps do is fairly consistent: customers earn points for buying (and often for signing up, following you on social, or leaving a review), then spend those points on discounts or free products. On top of that base, the better apps add referral programs (existing customers bring you new ones), VIP tiers (spend more, get better perks), and sometimes paid memberships. The mechanics are similar across apps. What differs, wildly, is where each app puts its price wall. So the real skill isn’t picking “the best loyalty app,” it’s matching an app’s free-and-cheap tiers to the specific features you need, before you’re locked in.
What is Joy, and what does it do?
Joy is a loyalty and rewards app built by Avada Commerce, an established Shopify app studio behind a big portfolio (SEO Image Optimizer, Chatty AI chatbot, AOV.ai free gifts, and more), published under its joy.so retention brand. That pedigree matters, because loyalty support is where cheaper apps fall down, and Avada is a well-resourced team. Feature-wise, Joy is deep. Points and rewards with flexible earning rules, referrals with built-in fraud prevention, social rewards (points for an Instagram mention or story tag), VIP tiers, paid memberships, a branded loyalty page and widget, Apple and Google Wallet passes, POS support, and 30-plus touchpoints across the shopping journey. It plugs into Klaviyo, Recharge, and Shopify Flow, and there’s even an AI copilot to help configure it. If anything, it does too much, which we’ll come back to.
How much does Joy cost?
This is the part to read twice, because the price you see (free) and the price you’ll actually pay for the features you want are two very different numbers. Joy has four tiers, gated by monthly order volume and by feature:
| Plan | Price | Order cap | What you get here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Free | 250 orders/mo | Points, rewards, referrals with fraud prevention, loyalty widget, 24/7 live chat |
| Essential | $29/mo | 500, then +$15/100 | Social points, loyalty page, points expiry, 30+ integrations, Flow, analytics |
| Advanced | $129/mo | 2,000, then +$10/100 | VIP tiers, paid memberships, POS, Wallet passes, rule engine, cart redemption |
| Ultimate | $499/mo | 7,000, then +$5/100 | Dynamic point expiry, checkout extensions, developer toolkit, API |
Two things to notice, one good, one a trap. The good: the free Starter plan covers 250 monthly orders, which is the most generous free cap in this whole category (most rivals cut you off at 150 to 200, some at 50), and it includes referrals with fraud prevention, a feature several competitors charge for. If you’re small, Joy’s free tier genuinely does more than most. The trap: VIP tiers, the headline “spend more, get more” feature that half of people install a loyalty app for, don’t appear until the Advanced plan at $129/mo. Points expiry and the dedicated loyalty page start at $29. So if tiered loyalty is your whole plan, your real cost isn’t free and it isn’t $29, it’s $129/mo. Know that before you fall in love with the free tier. Since a loyalty program lives or dies on repeat-customer economics, work out whether it pays with our customer lifetime value calculator and the deeper CLV guide before committing to a tier.
What do merchants say about Joy?
Joy sits at 4.9 across more than 1,600 reviews, with about 95% five stars. Two themes come up again and again: the support is excellent, and the app is powerful but can be a lot to set up. Both show up honestly in the reviews.
“We run a leather handbag store and use Joy for our loyalty program. The earning and redeeming rules are flexible enough to build a sensible ladder of rewards, and the Ways to redeem block on the cart page makes redeeming obvious to customers instead of hiding it away inside a widget.”
TAKEASY, United States, July 2026 — Joy on the Shopify App Store
“We just switched to Joy Loyalty and so far it’s been great! The price for what you get is exceptional. Some things on setup can be a bit confusing, but the customer service team has been very helpful.”
Sprigs Life Inc, United States, July 2026 — Joy on the Shopify App Store
That second review is the whole app in two sentences: great value, a bit fiddly to configure, saved by responsive support. The recurring soft criticism across reviews is exactly that, the app has so many options that first-time setup can feel intimidating. It’s the flip side of being feature-rich. If you want a five-minute install and never touch it again, that depth is a cost, not a benefit. If you want to build something sophisticated, it’s the point.
Where Joy shines
- The most generous free tier in the category. 250 monthly orders, plus referrals with fraud prevention and 24/7 live chat, all at $0.
- Genuinely deep. VIP tiers, memberships, social rewards, Wallet passes, POS, 30+ touchpoints. Few rivals match the feature list.
- Backed by Avada. Support is the single most-praised thing in the reviews, and it’s a well-resourced studio, not a one-person side project.
- Native, on-brand UI. The widget and loyalty page style to match your theme, and it works in the cart, at checkout, and on POS.
- Strong integrations. Klaviyo, Recharge, and Shopify Flow, so loyalty data feeds your email and subscription flows.
Where it falls short
- VIP tiers cost $129/mo. The feature many people specifically want is locked to the Advanced plan, not the $29 one. Budget accordingly.
- The cheapest paid tier is the priciest entry here. $29 vs $15 for Smile, BON, Rivo, and Growave, so once you pass 250 orders, Joy costs more than the incumbents’ first step.
- Feature density. Reviewers repeatedly note setup can be confusing. Powerful, but not a two-minute install.
- Younger than the leader. 1,600+ reviews is a lot, but Smile.io has 4,000+, and BON edges Joy on both rating and count.
Is Joy better than Smile.io or BON?
Honestly, it depends on your size and which feature you’re chasing, and it would be dishonest to crown one winner. Smile.io is the incumbent everyone benchmarks against (4.9 across 4,000+ reviews), and it’s the safe, proven choice, but its pricing climbs fast: $15 to start, then $79, then $199 as you grow, and VIP tiers and points aren’t all on the cheap tier either. BON Loyalty is arguably the strongest direct challenger by the numbers (5.0 across 1,800 reviews, $15 entry) and beats Joy on both rating and price-to-start. Rivo and Growave also start at $15. So where does Joy actually win? On the free tier (250 orders is the most generous here), on referrals-with-fraud-prevention being free, and on Avada’s support depth. Where it loses: its $29 paid entry is the priciest, and VIP tiers sit at $129. The honest read: if you’re small and want the most capable free plan, Joy is a genuinely strong pick. If your first paid dollar has to stretch furthest, Smile, BON, or Rivo start cheaper. Pick on your order volume and your must-have feature, not on the star rating, since nearly everyone here sits at 4.8 to 5.0.
How do you set up a loyalty program with Joy?
The core flow is quick even if the options are deep. Install Joy, set your earning rules (how many points per dollar spent, plus any bonus actions like signing up or a first review), set your redeeming rules (what a customer can spend points on), turn on the referral program, and place the loyalty widget so shoppers can see their balance and rewards. Style the widget and loyalty page to match your theme, and if you’re on the Advanced plan, define your VIP tiers and their perks. Don’t switch everything on at once, though: start with a simple earn-and-redeem loop plus referrals, launch, then layer in tiers and campaigns once customers are actually using it. A loyalty program only works if the rest of the store converts, so it pairs with our notes on a high-converting product page, and it sits alongside other retention levers like email marketing, store credit, and subscriptions. If you reward customers for collecting a full colour set, our piece on loyalty plus combined listings shows how the merchandising side connects.
Joy is built by Avada Commerce; you can see the full app at joy.so or browse the developer’s other apps on the Joy partner page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shopify have a built-in loyalty program?
No. Shopify has no native points-and-rewards system, so you add a loyalty program with a third-party app like Joy, Smile.io, or BON Loyalty. These apps handle points earning and redemption, referrals, VIP tiers, and often memberships, and connect to your Shopify checkout, customer accounts, and POS.
Can I run a loyalty program on Shopify for free?
Yes, up to a point. Most loyalty apps have a free plan capped by monthly orders. Joy’s free Starter plan is the most generous here at 250 monthly orders and includes referrals with fraud prevention; rivals cap free plans lower (Smile and Rivo at 200, BON at 150, some at 50). But advanced features like VIP tiers usually require a paid plan, so free is fine to launch a basic earn-and-redeem program, not a full tiered one.
How much does a Shopify loyalty app cost?
Entry paid plans run roughly $15 to $29/mo, with prices scaling by monthly order volume. Joy starts free (250 orders), then $29/mo; Smile, BON, Rivo, and Growave start their paid tiers around $15. The bigger cost driver is which features you need: VIP tiers on Joy require the $129/mo Advanced plan, and Smile’s price climbs to $79 and $199 as you grow. Match the plan to your order volume and must-have features.
Do loyalty programs actually increase repeat purchases?
They can, when the reward is worth chasing and easy to redeem. The mechanism is simple: points give a customer a reason to come back to you instead of a competitor, and referrals turn happy customers into a low-cost acquisition channel. The payoff depends on your margins and repeat-purchase rate, so calculate your customer lifetime value first to confirm the reward economics work before you launch.
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Umid
Co-Founder at Craftshift
