BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards: A Comparison

Introduction

Selecting the right retention tools for a Shopify storefront often feels like navigating a maze of features, price points, and integration promises. Merchants frequently find themselves choosing between specialized applications that promise to solve one specific problem, only to realize later that their tech stack has become a fragmented collection of disjointed data. For those looking to implement a loyalty program, the choice often narrows down to two popular options: BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards.

Short answer: BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is highly effective for merchants needing specialized B2B tiered rewards and technical flexibility through API access. Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards tends to prioritize a highly customizable user interface across many touchpoints and extensive third-party integrations. Both offer strong entry-level plans, but merchants may eventually face challenges with tool sprawl and data silos as they grow.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide a feature-by-feature comparison of BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards. This objective overview helps merchants determine which application aligns with their current operational size, technical requirements, and long-term retention strategy. By examining the nuances of their point systems, VIP structures, and pricing models, store owners can make a decision that supports sustainable growth without unnecessary technical overhead.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards: At a Glance

A Detailed Comparative Analysis of Core Features

Both applications provide the foundational elements necessary to run a modern loyalty program on Shopify. This includes the ability to award points for purchases, social media engagement, and referrals. However, the execution of these features differs in ways that impact the daily operations of a merchant.

Points and Rewards Mechanisms

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards focuses on a streamlined approach to point accumulation. It offers standard "money off," "percentage off," and "free shipping" rewards. One specific highlight of the BON system is the "Anti-Cheat" referral program included even in the free tier. This is a practical addition for merchants who worry about the integrity of their referral loops. For Shopify Plus users, BON enables points at checkout, a feature that significantly reduces friction during the final stages of the buyer journey.

Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards approaches points with a focus on flexibility and "limitless" point rules. The platform allows for earning points through social engagement and purchases, similar to BON, but emphasizes a "Loyalty Rule Engine" in its higher tiers. This engine allows for bonus points and more complex logic regarding how customers earn and spend. A standout feature for Joy is the "Redeem in cart drawer" capability. This allows customers to apply their rewards without leaving the shopping process, which can help maintain conversion momentum.

VIP Tiers and Membership Structures

VIP tiers are essential for increasing customer lifetime value by incentivizing higher spending. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards includes VIP tiers in its Growth plan, priced at ninety-nine dollars per month. A unique differentiator for BON is the inclusion of a B2B Tier Program. This allows wholesale merchants to offer exclusive tiered rewards to business clients, a segment often overlooked by standard loyalty apps.

Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards also introduces VIP tiers and memberships at the ninety-nine dollar per month level. Joy frames its membership structure around "exclusive perks," aiming to create a sense of belonging. The platform also supports B2B tiers and memberships, matching BON in its utility for wholesale operations. The choice between the two here often comes down to the user interface of the tier display rather than the underlying logic.

Referral Programs and Customer Acquisition

Referrals serve as a bridge between retention and acquisition. Both platforms offer robust referral features. BON includes its referral program in the free plan, which is helpful for new stores looking to grow their customer base without immediate investment. The automated emails for referrals ensure that both the advocate and the new customer are notified of their rewards without manual intervention from the store owner.

Joy also offers a referral program in its Starter plan. The emphasis in the Joy ecosystem is on the "on-brand loyalty experience" across referrals. This means the referral modals and emails can be customized to match the brand aesthetic more closely across various customer touchpoints. For merchants who view every customer interaction as a branding opportunity, the customization options in Joy may provide a slight advantage.

Customization and User Experience

A loyalty program only works if customers find it easy to use and visually appealing. If the loyalty widget or page feels out of place, it can diminish trust.

Visual Branding and Layouts

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards provides a loyalty page and a tailored loyalty experience. One of the more technical aspects of BON's customization is the "Unlock custom CSS" feature. However, this is gated behind the ninety-nine dollar Growth plan and requires developer support from the BON team. This is a high-touch approach that ensures the CSS is implemented correctly but limits the speed at which a merchant can make independent changes.

Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards prides itself on being "unrestricted" in its design. The application supports customization across more than thirty touchpoints, which is quite extensive for a standalone loyalty app. This includes the widget, the dedicated loyalty page, and various on-page elements. Joy's focus on "Shopify UI" for loyalty accounts suggests a deeper integration with the native Shopify theme experience, which often results in faster load times and a more cohesive feel for the shopper.

Multi-Language and Internationalization

For brands selling globally, the ability to translate the loyalty program is non-negotiable. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards includes multi-language display options starting at the twenty-five dollar Basic plan. This is a relatively accessible price point for international stores.

Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards offers "Automated translation" in its Advanced plan. While this saves time compared to manual entry, it is positioned at a higher price point (ninety-nine dollars) than BON’s initial multi-language offering. Merchants must decide if the convenience of automated translation justifies the higher monthly cost.

Pricing Structure and Total Cost of Ownership

Understanding the value for money requires looking beyond the monthly fee and considering the features included at each tier.

Free Tiers and Entry-Level Plans

Both apps offer a "Free Forever" or "Starter" plan. BON’s free plan is quite generous, offering points, rewards, the referral program, and automated emails. Joy’s free plan is limited to one hundred and fifty monthly orders, which might be a constraint for stores with high volume but low average order value.

At the twenty-five dollar level, BON's "Basic" plan introduces POS rewards and point expiration reminders. Joy’s "Essential" plan is priced similarly at twenty-four dollars and ninety-nine cents and includes analytics, reports, and Shopify Flow integration. For merchants who rely heavily on data to make decisions, Joy’s inclusion of analytics at this level is a strong selling point.

Mid-Range and Enterprise Scaling

Both apps have a ninety-nine dollar tier. BON’s "Growth" plan focuses on unlimited orders and the B2B tier program. Joy’s "Advanced" plan introduces the loyalty rule engine and POS extension.

At the enterprise level, the pricing diverges significantly. BON’s "Professional" plan is three hundred and forty-nine dollars per month and includes full API access and a Software Development Toolkit (SDK). This is clearly aimed at developers building custom or headless storefronts. Joy’s "Ultimate" plan reaches four hundred and ninety-nine dollars per month, offering white-glove onboarding and on-demand development. This suggests that Joy is positioning itself as a more service-heavy solution for high-growth brands.

Integrations and Ecosystem Fit

The "Works With" list is a critical indicator of how well an app will function within an existing tech stack.

Email and Marketing Automation

Both apps integrate with Klaviyo, which is the standard for Shopify email marketing. This allows merchants to sync loyalty data, such as point balances and referral links, into their email flows. BON also lists integration with LAI and Fera for reviews, while Joy lists Loox, Omnisend, and Gorgias.

Joy’s integration list is broader, claiming over thirty integrations. This includes helpdesk software like Gorgias, which allows support agents to see loyalty data while chatting with customers. For brands that prioritize a unified customer service experience, this level of connectivity is highly beneficial.

Technical and Headless Readiness

For stores using modern architectures like Hydrogen or other headless commerce setups, BON Loyalty Program & Rewards provides a clear path with its SDK and full API access in the Professional plan. Joy also supports headless commerce through Hydrogen in its Ultimate plan. Both apps recognize the shift toward decoupled storefronts, though BON makes these tools available at a slightly lower price point than Joy’s Ultimate tier.

The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform

While specialized apps like BON and Joy offer robust loyalty features, they represent only one piece of the retention puzzle. As a Shopify store grows, the temptation to add more single-function apps for reviews, wishlists, and social proof increases. This often leads to "app fatigue"—a state where the store's performance suffers from too many scripts, and the merchant’s time is consumed by managing multiple subscriptions and fragmented data silos.

Tool sprawl creates several hidden costs. First, there is the stacked subscription cost, where paying for four or five separate "basic" plans actually exceeds the cost of a single integrated platform. Second, there is the inconsistent customer experience; a loyalty widget might look different from the review stars, which might look different from the wishlist icon. Finally, data silos prevent merchants from seeing the full picture of customer behavior. It becomes difficult to know, for example, if a customer who leaves a five-star review is also a member of the loyalty program and has three items on their wishlist.

Growave addresses these challenges with a "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy. Instead of being just a loyalty app, it provides an integrated suite that includes loyalty, reviews, wishlists, and referrals in one place. This integration allows for more sophisticated marketing. For instance, when collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews, the system can automatically reward the customer with loyalty points, creating a seamless loop that encourages both social proof and future purchases. This is much harder to coordinate when using separate apps that may not communicate in real-time.

By evaluating feature coverage across plans, merchants can see how consolidating their tech stack reduces operational overhead. Instead of learning four different user interfaces, a team only needs to master one platform. This unified approach also benefits the storefront's performance. Since one app handles multiple functions, there are fewer external scripts to load, which can lead to faster page speeds and a better shopping experience.

Furthermore, an integrated platform allows for deeper insights into the customer journey. Brands can look at real examples from brands improving retention to see how combining social proof with loyalty rewards drives higher engagement than loyalty alone. When a merchant uses review automation that builds trust at purchase time alongside loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases, the entire customer lifecycle is supported by a single, cohesive engine.

Consolidating these functions also simplifies the financial side of the business. Merchants can move toward a clearer view of total retention-stack costs rather than trying to track half a dozen different app invoices. This clarity is vital for accurately calculating the return on investment for retention efforts. When exploring customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl, the common theme is often the regained time and focus that allows the brand to spend more time on strategy and less on troubleshooting app conflicts.

For those concerned about the transition, checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals can provide the necessary confidence. A high review volume and a strong rating indicate that many brands have successfully made the switch to an integrated model. This approach ensures that as a store scales, its technology stack remains lean and its data remains unified, providing a solid foundation for VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards, the decision comes down to the specific technical needs and the desired level of design control. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is an excellent choice for businesses with a heavy B2B focus or those requiring deep API and SDK access for headless builds. Its "Anti-Cheat" referral system and tiered B2B rewards provide high utility for specialized business models. Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards, on the other hand, excels in its ability to offer a deeply branded experience across a vast number of touchpoints and integrates with a wide variety of third-party tools like helpdesks and specialized review apps.

However, as a store moves beyond the initial growth phase, the challenges of managing separate apps for every retention function become more pronounced. The hidden costs of tool sprawl—technical debt, fragmented data, and higher total cost of ownership—can eventually hinder the very growth these apps were intended to support. Transitioning to an integrated platform is often the most strategic move for brands looking to scale efficiently.

By comparing plan fit against retention goals, merchants can find a balance between comprehensive features and operational simplicity. Running a unified system for loyalty, reviews, and wishlists ensures that every customer interaction contributes to a single, powerful profile of their behavior. This holistic view is the key to creating personalized experiences that truly resonate with shoppers and keep them coming back.

To reduce app fatigue and run retention from one place, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

Which app is better for B2B stores, BON or Joy?

Both applications offer B2B loyalty features. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards includes a B2B Tier Program in its Growth plan, which is specifically designed for wholesale rewards. Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards also introduces B2B tiers and membership in its Advanced plan. The choice between them for a B2B store may depend on the specific rewards you wish to offer—such as "order boosters" in BON or "loyalty rule engine" bonuses in Joy.

Can I use these apps with Shopify POS?

Yes, both apps provide support for Shopify POS, allowing you to reward in-store shoppers as well as online ones. BON includes POS rewards in its twenty-five dollar Basic plan. Joy offers a POS loyalty extension in its ninety-nine dollar Advanced plan. If your physical retail presence is a significant part of your business, BON provides a lower entry price point for POS integration.

How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps?

Specialized apps often provide very deep functionality for one specific area, such as a loyalty program. However, an all-in-one platform provides an integrated environment where loyalty, reviews, and wishlists work together. This reduces "app fatigue," ensures a consistent visual brand across the store, and prevents data silos. While specialized apps might have more granular settings for one feature, integrated platforms offer higher overall value by streamlining the tech stack and improving the merchant's ability to see a complete view of customer engagement.

Is custom CSS available in these loyalty programs?

Custom CSS is available in both ecosystems but usually requires a higher-tier subscription. BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers custom CSS support in its Growth plan, which includes assistance from their development team. Joy Loyalty Program & Rewards offers extensive customization across thirty touchpoints and provides a developer toolkit and on-demand development in its higher tiers for more advanced design requirements.