BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right loyalty software for a Shopify store often feels like a balancing act between specific features and long-term operational efficiency. Merchants must decide if they need a traditional rewards structure or a more experimental, engagement-focused approach to keep customers returning.

Short answer: BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is a robust, traditional loyalty platform focused on VIP tiers and multi-channel support, making it ideal for established brands and B2B sellers. LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty focuses on "addictive" game mechanics like quests and streaks, better suited for stores targeting younger demographics or high-frequency hobbyist markets. Integrated platforms often provide a path to reduce the technical debt that comes with managing these separate functions.

The purpose of this comparison is to look at the features, pricing, and strategic fit of BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty. By examining how each app handles customer retention, merchants can determine which methodology aligns with their brand identity and growth stage.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards vs. LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty: At a Glance

Detailed Analysis of Loyalty Features and Workflows

Retention strategies differ based on how a brand wants to interact with its audience. One app favors the established path of earning currency for spend, while the other attempts to turn the shopping process into a series of interactive challenges.

Traditional Points and VIP Structures in BON Loyalty

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards operates on a foundation of reliability and familiarity. The core mechanics allow customers to earn points for purchases, which they can later redeem for various incentives. This structure is highly effective for brands with high order values or those where the customer expects a professional, value-driven relationship.

The inclusion of VIP tiers is a significant differentiator. By categorizing customers into different levels based on their activity or spend, brands can create a sense of exclusivity. Higher tiers often provide accelerated point earning, giving top-tier customers more value for every dollar spent. This is a proven method for increasing customer lifetime value because it encourages shoppers to "level up" within the brand ecosystem to maintain their status.

Furthermore, the B2B loyalty features within BON Loyalty allow wholesale merchants to apply these same retention principles to their business clients. Wholesale customers often have different buying patterns than retail shoppers, and having a system that accommodates tiered rewards for large-scale orders is a distinct advantage for enterprise-level operations.

Gamification and Habit Formation in LevelUp

LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty takes a different psychological approach. Instead of focusing solely on the transaction, it focuses on the "game" of shopping. This is achieved through three primary mechanics: quests, badges, and streaks.

Quests are designed to guide a new visitor through a specific journey. A merchant might set up a quest that requires a customer to sign up for a newsletter, view a specific collection, and then make a first purchase. By breaking the onboarding process into small, rewarded steps, the app reduces the friction usually associated with converting a new visitor.

The streak mechanic is perhaps the most unique aspect of LevelUp. By rewarding consecutive visits or monthly purchase patterns, the app attempts to build a daily or weekly habit. This is particularly effective for consumable products or stores with large catalogs where frequent browsing is encouraged. Collectible badges add a layer of social proof and personal achievement, encouraging customers to explore more of the store to "complete the set."

Customization and Brand Control

A loyalty program should feel like a native extension of the storefront, not a third-party add-on. Both apps offer tools to align the rewards experience with the brand’s visual identity, though the scope of this customization varies.

Branding within BON Loyalty

BON Loyalty offers a tailored loyalty page that can be adjusted to match the store’s aesthetics. For brands that require more control, the higher-tier plans provide access to custom CSS. This is useful for merchants who have a specific brand book and need the loyalty widget and page to blend seamlessly with their typography and color schemes.

Because BON Loyalty supports multi-language displays, it is a stronger candidate for international brands. A store selling in multiple regions needs its rewards explanations and automated emails to be in the local language of the shopper. This level of localization helps build trust and ensures that the mechanics of the loyalty program are clearly understood across different markets.

Visual Adjustments in LevelUp

LevelUp provides a widget that can be customized in terms of colors, fonts, and borders. The focus here is on ease of use. A merchant can quickly match the gamification elements to their site without needing a developer.

The visual nature of badges and trophies in LevelUp means that the design elements are more central to the user experience than in a standard points program. The app allows for a 100% customizable design to ensure that the gamified elements do not look out of place on a high-end or niche storefront. However, it lacks the advanced CSS support and multi-language capabilities found in BON’s professional tiers, which may limit its use for global enterprises.

Pricing Structure and Value for Money

The cost of a retention tool must be measured against the potential increase in repeat purchase rates. Both apps offer tiered pricing, but they scale based on different metrics.

BON Loyalty Pricing Tiers

BON Loyalty offers a range of plans designed to grow with the business.

• Free Forever: This plan is surprisingly robust, offering points and rewards, an anti-cheat referral program, and automated emails. It even includes points at checkout for Shopify Plus merchants, which is often a paid feature in other apps.
• Basic ($25/month): This level adds the dedicated loyalty page, POS rewards for in-store customers, and points expiration reminders. It also opens up unlimited integrations, which is vital for merchants using email tools like Klaviyo.
• Growth ($99/month): This tier is where VIP tiers and B2B programs are introduced. It also supports unlimited orders, making it a predictable cost for high-volume stores.
• Professional ($349/month): Targeted at enterprise brands, this includes full API access, a software development toolkit, and Hydrogen support for headless commerce.

LevelUp Pricing Tiers

LevelUp scales primarily based on the number of customers in the program.

• Starter ($9.99/month): Limited to 100 customers and basic quests. This is a low-risk way for very small stores to test gamification.
• Growth ($29.99/month): Increases the limit to 1,000 customers and introduces streaks and basic analytics.
• Professional ($79.99/month): Allows up to 10,000 customers and offers unlimited quests and trophies, along with email notifications.
• Enterprise ($199/month): Offers unlimited customers and priority support.

When comparing plan fit against retention goals, merchants will notice that BON Loyalty is better for those who need deep integrations and B2B features, while LevelUp offers a lower entry point for small stores that want to experiment with game mechanics.

Integrations and Technical Compatibility

The utility of a loyalty app is often determined by how well it "talks" to the rest of the tech stack.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards has a clear advantage in the "works with" category. It integrates with major review platforms like Fera, LAI, and Judge.me, as well as marketing giants like Klaviyo. Its support for Shopify POS makes it a viable option for omnichannel retailers who sell both online and in physical locations. Furthermore, its readiness for Hydrogen and Headless commerce suggests it is built for the future of Shopify development.

LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty has not specified any external integrations in its provided data. This suggests it may operate as a more siloed experience. While this makes setup easier, it could create challenges for merchants who want to trigger loyalty-based emails from their primary ESP or display rewards data on custom landing pages.

Trust and Market Presence

Reliability is a major factor when choosing an app that will handle customer data and rewards currency.

BON Loyalty currently has a 5-star rating, though this is based on a very limited review count (1 review). However, the developer, BON Loyalty, provides 24/7 support across several tiers, which is a strong signal of commitment to merchant success. The breadth of their feature set suggests a more mature product.

LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty currently has 0 reviews and a 0-star rating in the provided data. This indicates it is a newer or less-adopted app on the market. While being an early adopter of a tool can sometimes offer a competitive edge with unique features like streaks, it also carries the risk of a less-tested user experience. Merchants may want to exercise more caution and test the workflows thoroughly before a full-scale launch.

Operational Overhead and Maintenance

Running a loyalty program requires ongoing management. For BON Loyalty, the overhead involves managing VIP tiers, adjusting point values, and ensuring the B2B rules are functioning. Because it integrates with Shopify Flow, many of these processes can be automated, reducing the daily manual workload for the store owner.

For LevelUp, the maintenance is more focused on content and "game design." To keep the gamification feel fresh, merchants might need to regularly update quests or create new badges. This requires a more creative type of management compared to the administrative nature of a points-based program.

When evaluating feature coverage across plans, merchants should consider not just the monthly fee, but the time required to manage the tool. A complex setup that requires constant manual intervention can end up costing more in labor than a more expensive, automated platform.

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

Many merchants begin their journey by installing individual apps for every need—one for loyalty, one for reviews, one for wishlists, and another for referrals. While this approach allows for a customized stack, it often leads to "app fatigue." This phenomenon is characterized by a fragmented customer experience, where the rewards program doesn't know about the reviews the customer just left, and the email marketing tool is disconnected from the wishlist data.

Real examples from brands improving retention show that consolidating these tools often leads to a more cohesive brand experience. When a single platform handles multiple retention functions, data flows seamlessly between modules. This eliminates the need for complex "glue" integrations and ensures that the site speed isn't bogged down by too many competing scripts.

Growave operates on a "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy. Instead of forcing merchants to manage five different dashboards and five different invoices, it integrates these core functions into a single interface. This approach is particularly valuable for growing brands that need to scale without increasing their operational complexity.

By using loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases, merchants can ensure that every customer action—from leaving a review to sharing a product—is incentivized within the same system. This creates a unified profile for every shopper, allowing for much more targeted and effective marketing.

Furthermore, collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews becomes a natural part of the loyalty loop. Instead of asking for a review in a vacuum, the system can automatically award points for the review, which then contributes to the customer's VIP status. This interconnectedness is difficult to achieve when using separate apps like BON or LevelUp alongside other third-party review tools.

For larger operations, customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl highlight the importance of technical efficiency. Managing a tech stack with fewer moving parts means fewer points of failure and a more consistent user interface for the customer. Whether it is through VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers or review automation that builds trust at purchase time, the goal is to create a frictionless journey that keeps shoppers coming back.

Choosing a platform with a pricing structure that scales as order volume grows allows brands to plan their budget with more certainty. When loyalty, reviews, and wishlists are bundled, the total cost of ownership is often lower than paying for three or four separate premium subscriptions. This financial efficiency, combined with the time saved on management, makes a unified platform a compelling choice for many Shopify merchants.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between BON Loyalty Program & Rewards and LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty, the decision comes down to the desired customer psychology and the complexity of the business model. BON Loyalty is the professional choice for those requiring deep integrations, B2B functionality, and a traditional VIP structure that rewards high-spend behavior. In contrast, LevelUp offers an innovative way to build habits through streaks and quests, making it a potential fit for brands with a younger, highly engaged audience that values interaction over simple point accumulation.

However, as a store grows, the challenge of managing multiple specialized apps often outweighs their individual benefits. The resulting data silos and inconsistent customer experiences can hinder the very growth the merchant is trying to achieve. Transitioning to a unified platform allows for a more holistic retention strategy where loyalty, social proof, and customer desire (via wishlists) work in harmony.

By seeing how the app is positioned for Shopify stores through its multi-functional approach, brands can find a balance between power and simplicity. This consolidation not only saves time but also provides a clearer path to increasing customer lifetime value.

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 an international Shopify store?

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is generally better for international stores because it offers multi-language display options. This allows merchants to translate their loyalty program rules and notifications, which is essential for maintaining a professional presence in non-English speaking markets. LevelUp does not currently specify multi-language support in its core feature list.

Can I use these apps with Shopify POS for my physical store?

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards specifically lists Shopify POS as a compatible integration. This means customers can earn and redeem points regardless of whether they shop online or in your brick-and-mortar location. LevelUp: Gamification&Loyalty does not list POS compatibility, so it may be limited to your online storefront.

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

An all-in-one platform reduces tool sprawl by combining features like loyalty, reviews, and referrals into a single dashboard. This leads to better data synchronization, as all modules share the same customer database. While specialized apps might offer a niche feature, an all-in-one platform typically provides better value for money and a more consistent user experience for the customer, as all elements of the retention strategy use the same design language and logic.

Is gamification more effective than traditional loyalty points?

The effectiveness depends on your audience. Gamification (like streaks and quests in LevelUp) is highly effective for building daily habits and engaging shoppers who enjoy interactive experiences. Traditional points (like in BON Loyalty) are often better for high-value purchases or B2B environments where the customer is primarily motivated by clear financial incentives and exclusive status tiers. Many successful brands eventually try to combine both elements to maximize appeal.