Introduction
Selecting the right retention tools for a Shopify storefront often dictates the trajectory of customer lifetime value and repeat purchase rates. While many merchants focus heavily on top-of-funnel acquisition, the sustainability of a brand depends on its ability to turn one-time shoppers into loyal advocates. Choosing between specialized loyalty apps requires a careful evaluation of feature depth, technical compatibility, and long-term scalability.
Short answer: BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is a sophisticated solution best suited for scaling brands and B2B merchants who require advanced features like headless commerce support and VIP tiers. GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty provides a more accessible, entry-level option for smaller stores looking to implement basic point earning mechanics and social media rewards at a lower total cost. Both apps address the need for customer retention, though larger operations may find that consolidating these functions into an integrated platform reduces technical debt and operational friction.
This comparison provides an objective analysis of BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty. The goal is to help merchants understand which tool aligns with their specific business stage, technical requirements, and retention goals. By examining pricing, core features, and integration ecosystems, brands can make a data-driven choice for their store.
BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty: At a Glance
| Feature/Metric | BON Loyalty Program & Rewards | GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty |
|---|---|---|
| Core Use Case | Advanced retention with VIP tiers, B2B support, and headless compatibility. | Simple loyalty points for purchases, social actions, and birthdays. |
| Best For | Scaling B2C/B2B brands and Shopify Plus stores. | Early-stage merchants and budget-conscious stores. |
| Rating & Reviews | 5.0 Rating (1 review) | 0.0 Rating (0 reviews) |
| Notable Strengths | B2B tier program, POS integration, and custom CSS support. | Social media reward triggers and very low monthly costs. |
| Potential Limitations | Higher price points for professional features. | Limited technical data and no specified integrations. |
| Setup Complexity | Low to Medium | Low |
Deep Dive Comparison
To understand the practical differences between these two solutions, it is necessary to look beyond the surface-level features and examine how they impact day-to-day operations and customer experience.
Core Loyalty Mechanics and Workflow
The foundation of any rewards program is the ability to earn and redeem points. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards approaches this with a focus on comprehensive touchpoints. The app allows points to be earned not just through orders, but also via referrals. It offers a "Free Forever" plan that includes an anti-cheat referral system, which is critical for protecting the brand's margins against fraudulent self-referrals.
For merchants using BON Loyalty, the customer journey is integrated across several pages. Points can be visible on the product page, the homepage, and even within the checkout process for Shopify Plus users. This visibility is essential for reminding customers of the value they have accumulated, which directly influences conversion rates during the buying process.
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty focuses on a wide variety of earning triggers that are particularly useful for brands building a social presence. Beyond purchase rewards, it offers points for newsletter subscriptions, account creation, and social media actions such as liking or tagging. The inclusion of birthday rewards adds a personal layer to the retention strategy. While BON Loyalty also covers these bases, GreatsHub positions these as core elements of its more accessible Standard plans.
Customization and Brand Control
A loyalty program should feel like a natural extension of the store, not a third-party add-on. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards provides significant depth in this area. In its Growth plan, it unlocks custom CSS support, which allows brands with developer resources to match the loyalty interface perfectly to their theme. This is supplemented by a dedicated loyalty page and multi-language display options, making it a viable choice for international merchants.
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty provides "limited customization" on its free tier, which expands to "fully customization" on its Standard plans. While the specific technical limits of this customization are not detailed in the provided data, the app mentions the ability to remove branding on paid plans. This is a common requirement for growing stores that want to maintain a professional, white-label appearance.
VIP Tiers and B2B Functionality
One of the clearest points of divergence between these two apps is the support for VIP tiers and B2B operations. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards includes a dedicated VIP Tiers program in its Growth plan ($99/month). VIP tiers are a powerful psychological tool for retention, as they create a sense of exclusivity and encourage customers to reach higher spending thresholds to unlock accelerated point earning or exclusive rewards.
Furthermore, BON Loyalty offers a B2B Tier Program. Wholesale and B2B merchants have different needs than standard B2C retailers, often requiring different reward structures for high-volume purchasers. The ability to manage both B2C and B2B loyalty within one app is a distinct advantage for diversified businesses.
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty does not specify any VIP tier or B2B functionality in its current plan descriptions. Its focus remains on a flat rewards structure, which is often sufficient for new brands but may lack the depth needed for a sophisticated retention strategy as the business matures.
Pricing Structure and Value for Money
When evaluating feature coverage across plans, merchants must consider both the immediate cost and the potential for long-term ROI.
- BON Loyalty Program & Rewards Pricing:
- Free Forever: Includes points, referrals, and automated emails.
- Basic ($25/mo): Adds a loyalty page, POS rewards, and unlimited integrations.
- Growth ($99/mo): Adds VIP tiers, B2B tiers, and custom CSS.
- Professional ($349/mo): Offers full API access, Hydrogen support for headless commerce, and priority support.
- GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty Pricing:
- Free Plan: Includes 4 ways to earn and 2 ways to redeem points with limited customization.
- Standard Plan ($6.99/mo): Expands to 9 ways to earn and 3 ways to redeem, with branding removal.
- Standard Plan (Business) ($10.99/mo): Offers the same features as the $6.99 plan but with unlimited monthly orders.
The price gap between these two is substantial. GreatsHub is clearly positioned for the micro-merchant or the brand just starting their loyalty journey. BON Loyalty, while requiring more overhead, provides the infrastructure for enterprise-level scaling, particularly with its Professional plan designed for headless environments.
Integrations and Ecosystem Fit
The value of a Shopify app is often amplified by its ability to communicate with other tools in the tech stack. This is an area where verifying compatibility details in the official app listing becomes a critical step in the selection process.
BON Loyalty Program & Rewards lists a comprehensive set of integrations, including Klaviyo for email marketing, Shopify POS for omnichannel retail, and several review apps like Fera and Judge.me. It also works with page builders like PageFly and headless frameworks like Hydrogen. This indicates that BON is built to sit at the center of a complex marketing stack, allowing data to flow between loyalty, email, and storefront design.
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty does not have specified integrations in the provided data. For a merchant, this might mean manual data handling or a lack of automated triggers in email marketing platforms. If a store relies heavily on Klaviyo or Gorgias for customer communication, the lack of native integration could result in a fragmented customer experience.
Customer Support and Reliability Signals
Trust is a major factor when choosing an app that will handle customer data and discount codes. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards has a 5.0 rating based on one review. While the sample size is small, the developer lists 24/7 live chat support on its Growth and Professional plans, which suggests a commitment to high-availability service.
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty currently has a 0.0 rating with 0 reviews. For early adopters, this presents an opportunity to be part of a new tool's growth, but it also carries the risk of unproven stability. When choosing between apps, assessing app-store ratings as a trust signal is a standard practice to gauge how a developer handles bugs and user feedback.
Performance and Technical Overhead
For merchants concerned about store speed, BON Loyalty offers specific technical features like custom CSS and API access. These tools allow developers to optimize how the loyalty program loads and interacts with the site. The support for Hydrogen (Shopify's headless framework) is a strong indicator that the app is built for high-performance environments where every millisecond of load time matters.
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty offers a simpler implementation. This often translates to a faster setup time and less technical debt for a small team. However, as a store grows, the lack of an API or SDK might become a bottleneck for custom development or advanced data analysis.
The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform
While choosing between specialized tools like BON Loyalty and GreatsHub is a common starting point, many merchants eventually encounter a phenomenon known as "app fatigue." This occurs when a store becomes a patchwork of different applications, each handling a single function like loyalty, reviews, or wishlists. This fragmentation often leads to tool sprawl, where costs stack up, data stays siloed, and the customer experience feels inconsistent across different widgets and emails.
When brands use separate apps for every function, they often pay more in total than they would for a single, integrated solution. More importantly, the technical overhead increases. Each app adds its own script to the storefront, which can impact page load speeds. Furthermore, getting a loyalty app to "talk" to a separate reviews app usually requires complex middleware or custom integration work. If consolidating tools is a priority, start by a pricing structure that scales as order volume grows.
Growave addresses these challenges with a "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy. Instead of managing five different subscriptions, merchants can access loyalty programs that keep customers coming back and collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews from a single dashboard. This integration ensures that when a customer leaves a review, they are immediately rewarded with loyalty points without any data syncing delays.
The benefits of an integrated platform extend to the customer's visual experience. With VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers built into the same system as the wishlist and review modules, the design remains cohesive. Merchants can see real examples from brands improving retention by simplifying their tech stack. By using review automation that builds trust at purchase time, brands can focus on strategy rather than troubleshooting app conflicts.
Conclusion
For merchants choosing between BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty, the decision comes down to the current scale and technical needs of the business. BON Loyalty is the clear choice for brands requiring deep customization, B2B functionality, and professional integrations. It is built for the merchant who views loyalty as a core technical pillar of their store. On the other hand, GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty offers a straightforward and budget-friendly entry point for those who need a simple way to reward social engagement and purchases without a large monthly commitment.
However, as a store matures, the limitations of single-function apps often become apparent. Moving beyond a simple point system to a holistic retention strategy requires a platform where loyalty, reviews, and wishlists work in harmony. By seeing how other brands connect loyalty and reviews, it becomes evident that an integrated approach leads to a more seamless customer journey. When choosing a plan built for long-term value, merchants should weigh the cost of individual apps against the efficiency of an all-in-one platform.
To reduce app fatigue and run retention from one place, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.
FAQ
Is BON Loyalty better for Shopify Plus merchants?
BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers features specifically for Shopify Plus, such as "Points at checkout" on its Professional plan. It also provides API access and Hydrogen support, making it well-suited for the complex requirements of enterprise-level storefronts.
Can I run a B2B loyalty program with these apps?
BON Loyalty includes a specific B2B Tier Program in its Growth plan, allowing wholesale merchants to create unique reward structures for their business clients. GreatsHub does not specify B2B-specific features in its current documentation.
Which app is better for social media engagement?
GreatsHub Rewards & Loyalty emphasizes social media actions like liking, following, and tagging as primary ways for customers to earn rewards. This makes it a strong contender for brands that rely heavily on social proof and community building.
How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps?
An all-in-one platform reduces tool sprawl by combining loyalty, reviews, wishlists, and referrals into one system. This typically results in a more consistent customer experience, faster site performance due to fewer scripts, and a lower total cost of ownership compared to paying for multiple separate subscriptions.








