ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. CP24 Advanced Wishlist: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist tool can feel like a small decision, but it affects conversion paths, customer retention, and the number of apps a merchant needs to maintain. Shopify merchants weighing single-purpose wishlist apps must balance cost, features, and the long-term friction caused by stacking many niche apps.

Short answer: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is an ultra-simple, low-cost option for stores that only need a basic save-for-later widget and social sharing. CP24 Advanced Wishlist offers a broader feature set—guest wishlists, price-drop alerts, web push, and analytics—making it better suited for merchants who want wishlists to generate re-engagement. For merchants chasing long-term retention and fewer moving parts, a single integrated platform such as Growave can deliver better value for money by combining wishlist capabilities with loyalty, reviews, referrals, and VIP tiers.

This post provides a feature-by-feature, evidence-based comparison of ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and CP24 Advanced Wishlist, highlights likely use cases for each, and explains when an all-in-one retention platform becomes the smarter operational choice.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. CP24 Advanced Wishlist: At a Glance

How this comparison was evaluated

This analysis uses publicly listed feature sets, pricing tiers, and available Shopify review data. Where app marketplaces show limited reviews, the impact on reliability and support risk is discussed. The goal is to provide an unbiased view of functionality, total cost of ownership, developer responsiveness risk, and strategic fit for merchants at different growth stages.

Quick note on review data

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: 2 reviews, rating 1 — small sample and very low score, which raises caution about current merchant satisfaction.
• CP24 Advanced Wishlist: 6 reviews, rating 5 — positive sentiment in a small sample; indicates promising functionality but limited scale.
• Growave (alternative referenced later): 1,197 reviews, rating 4.8 — large sample size and strong rating, signaling broader adoption and social proof.

Feature comparison

This section examines the functional differences merchants care about most: wishlist behavior, re-engagement tools, customization, analytics, multi-device behavior, and data control.

Wishlist behavior and use patterns

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

ESC positions itself as a convenience-focused widget that places "saved for later" items beneath the cart. The behavior is simple: customers save items to return to them on subsequent visits, and social sharing can extend reach. The app describes unlimited wishlists so customers can categorize items, which is useful for shoppers who collect items by theme. The primary objective is to shorten the path from discovery to purchase by surfacing saved items at checkout.

Strengths:

• Keeps saved items visible in the checkout path, reducing friction to purchase.
• Unlimited lists allow basic organization for customers.
• Simple setup and appearance customization for store themes.

Limitations:

• No advanced re-engagement features such as price-drop or low-stock alerts.
• No built-in push notifications or email automation.
• Very limited social proof and analytics capabilities based on description and available review data.

Implication for merchants: ESC works when the aim is a minimal install that helps customers keep items in view during checkout without requiring follow-up automation.

CP24 Advanced Wishlist

CP24 is designed to treat wishlists as an engagement channel. It supports guest wishlists and multiple wishlist options, syncing lists across devices. The app explicitly includes price-drop and low-stock reminders and shows wishlisted counts on product pages—features that turn passive intent into re-engagement triggers.

Strengths:

• Guest wishlist support reduces friction for first-time visitors.
• Price/stock reminders and dedicated wishlist reminders nudge customers to return.
• Sync across devices keeps intent persistent between mobile and desktop sessions.
• Displays wishlisted counts, which can act as social proof.

Limitations:

• Reliant on push notification impressions and usage caps in lower tiers (see pricing).
• Complexity may require some configuration effort to match brand voice and language.
• As a smaller app (6 reviews), merchants should validate support and performance expectations.

Implication for merchants: CP24 suits stores that want to convert saved intent into resumed sessions and purchases using notifications and alerts.

Re-engagement capabilities

Email and push triggers

ESC: No explicit support for automated price-drop or low-stock notifications in the public description. The app primarily surfaces saved items at checkout and offers social sharing.

CP24: Provides price drop, low stock, and wishlist reminders, plus web push features that collect visitor & customer push tokens. This makes CP24 a more proactive re-engagement tool—especially useful if a merchant does not already have a separate push provider.

Practical takeaway: For merchants that rely on passive wishlist visibility (hoping customers will return), ESC suffices. For those wanting automated reminders and push campaigns, CP24 provides built-in mechanisms to bring visitors back.

Social sharing and external reach

ESC: Includes free social sharing so customers can send wishlist items to friends and family. This is valuable for gifting occasions.

CP24: Sharing appears in the free tier as well, and wishlisted counts (when shown on product pages) act as a subtle social proof signal.

Practical takeaway: Both apps support social sharing, but CP24 layers in signals and automated outreach that can amplify reach and convert interest more effectively.

Analytics, reporting, and decision-making

ESC: The public description emphasizes customization and placement, not analytics. With only 2 reviews and a 1-star rating, there is limited evidence of robust reporting.

CP24: Includes detailed analytics and a metrics dashboard even on the free plan. Paid tiers unlock more granular reports—useful for measuring wishlist-to-purchase conversion, top wishlisted products, and the impact of price-drop notifications.

Why analytics matter: Wishlists create intent data. Without analytics, merchants miss opportunities to turn intent into targeted promotions, restock prioritization, or personalized outreach.

Customization and multilingual support

ESC: Offers a broad range of options for customizing appearance. It likely matches theme aesthetics and lets merchants choose placement and styling.

CP24: Advertises fully manageable front-store text and language support, which is important for international merchants.

Practical takeaway: For stores operating in multiple languages or with complex theme requirements, CP24 appears to provide better built-in localization support.

Guest access, account sync, and cross-device behavior

ESC: The description doesn't emphasize guest wishlist behavior or cross-device sync.

CP24: Specifically calls out guest wishlist and sync across all devices. Cross-device persistence greatly reduces lost intent and is especially important for mobile-first shoppers.

Merchant impact: If a store sees many guest or mobile-first sessions, CP24’s sync and guest options will preserve intent across sessions and devices.

Performance, code footprint, and theme compatibility

ESC: Simpler widgets typically have a smaller code footprint and fewer conflicts, which suits merchants who want minimal overhead.

CP24: Offers more features, which can mean a larger code footprint; however, it advertises responsive design and full customization that should fit modern themes. Merchants testing CP24 should audit load times and theme conflicts during installation.

Advice: Run a performance test before and after installation. If site speed is a priority, measure the impact of any third-party script and consider lazy-loading or server-driven approaches.

Support and maintenance

ESC: Limited review data (2 reviews) makes it difficult to evaluate support reputation. The low rating suggests caution; merchants should verify support responsiveness and update cadence before committing.

CP24: Positive rating in a small sample suggests decent satisfaction, but the small number of reviews indicates lower adoption. Merchants should test support responsiveness prior to scaling usage.

Operational guidance: Ask each developer about update frequency, compatibility with major Shopify theme updates, and a rollback plan for any conflicts.

Pricing and value for money

Pricing is not simply subscription cost; it’s about expected ROI and the number of apps necessary to achieve retention goals.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later pricing

• Monthly plan: $5 / month

This is a straightforward, low-dollar option for merchants seeking a cheap add-on. At $5/month, ESC is accessible to small stores with very tight budgets.

Value considerations:

• Low monthly cost reduces direct financial risk.
• If wishlists are the sole requirement, this might be the best value for small operations.
• However, the lack of re-engagement automation and limited review data may increase indirect costs (missed sales, manual follow-ups, fractured tech stack).

CP24 Advanced Wishlist pricing

Tiers:

• FREE: Share wishlist, metrics dashboard, visitor/guest wishlist, welcome & push campaign, up to 100 wishlist items/mo, up to 100 push impressions/mo
• BASIC: $2.99 / month — adds detailed reports, multiple wishlists, price-drop & low stock reminder; up to 2K wishlist items/mo, up to 10K push impressions/mo
• PROFESSIONAL: $9.99 / month — 10K wishlist items/mo, 50K push impressions/mo, unlimited sessions/mo
• ENTERPRISE: $19.99 / month — 25K wishlist items/mo, 100000K push impressions/mo, unlimited sessions

Value considerations:

• Extremely low-cost tiers provide an attractive ROI for stores that need automated reminders and push.
• Free tier offers a no-cost entry point to test core features; usage caps are limiting but sensible for trialing.
• For stores that need significant push impressions or many wishlist items, PROFESSIONAL or ENTERPRISE tiers remain inexpensive compared to many single-function marketing tools.

Comparing total cost of ownership

ESC is cheaper at $5/month than CP24’s higher tiers, but CP24’s free and BASIC tiers mean some merchants may pay less than ESC while getting more features—CP24 BASIC at $2.99/month is notably better value for feature-rich needs (detailed reports, price-drop alerts).

A merchant should consider:

• How many wishlist items and push impressions are expected.
• Whether automated reminders and analytics will replace manual workflows or other paid tools.
• The operational cost of adding separate solutions for reviews, loyalty, or referrals if the plan is to scale retention beyond wishlists.

Integrations and ecosystem fit

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

Public description does not list integrations. For small, theme-integrated widgets, the integration surface is usually limited to the storefront. Merchants that use email automation tools like Klaviyo or push providers may need custom work to connect wishlist events to marketing automation.

Risk: Lack of listed integrations can create friction when attempting to create automated lifecycle campaigns that rely on wishlist data.

CP24 Advanced Wishlist

CP24 collects push tokens and supports push campaigns directly, which reduces the need for a separate push provider. It also advertises device sync and configurable front-store text for localization. Explicit integrations with major ESPs or customer service platforms are not listed, so test whether wishlist events can be exported or connected via API/CSV or third-party middleware.

Practical guidance: If a merchant relies on an existing marketing stack, confirm with the developer how wishlist events can be forwarded to the ESP (e.g., Klaviyo, Omnisend) or to other tools.

Data ownership, privacy, and compliance

Both wishlist apps collect customer behavior signals. Merchants should confirm:

• How wishlist data is stored and exported.
• Whether the app respects GDPR/CCPA consent flows and allows data deletion requests.
• How push tokens are managed and whether consent flows are implemented for web push.

CP24’s push token collection makes consent important; merchants must ensure push opt-in dialogs meet legal requirements.

Support, reviews, and reliability signals

Shopify review counts are a blunt but useful signal for maturity and social proof.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: 2 reviews with a rating of 1 — extreme caution. Low score suggests either product issues or severe support problems. Test in a staging theme and request a demo before launching.
• CP24 Advanced Wishlist: 6 reviews with a rating of 5 — positive but small sample. Good early signal about functionality; still advisable to verify support SLA and response times.
• Growave (all-in-one alternative): 1,197 reviews with rating 4.8 — strong social proof for merchants evaluating long-term reliability.

Operational advice: A small app with few reviews can still be excellent, but merchants should require a test period and check the developer’s public changelog, support channels, and speed of fixes.

Implementation and merchant workflows

Typical implementation steps for ESC

• Install app and configure placement under cart.
• Customize appearance to match theme.
• Enable social sharing if desired.
• Test saved-for-later visibility across device types.
• No automated reminder setup; merchants may choose to notify customers manually.

Time to value: Fast, but limited features.

Typical implementation steps for CP24

• Install app and configure wishlist buttons and product page counters.
• Configure guest wishlist and device sync options.
• Set up price-drop and low-stock alerts.
• Enable web push campaigns and design welcome/push messages.
• Review metrics dashboard and configure reporting cadence.

Time to value: Moderate, with immediate advantages from automated notifications and analytics.

Where each app fits (Use-case guidance)

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is best for:

• Micro-stores and hobbyists with very tight budgets.
• Merchants who want a minimal save-for-later function with very quick setup.
• Stores that do not require automated re-engagement or deep analytics.

CP24 Advanced Wishlist is best for:

• Small to mid-size merchants aiming to convert wishlist intent through push and alerts.
• Brands that want guest wishlist functionality and cross-device persistence.
• Teams that need built-in analytics to measure wishlist-driven performance before committing to larger marketing investments.

When neither single-purpose app is enough:

• Merchants planning a growth path that includes loyalty programs, referral campaigns, review collection, and wishlists will likely end up installing multiple apps. That increases costs, integration complexity, and app maintenance overhead.

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

Many merchants start with a single tool to solve a narrow problem: a wishlist to capture intent, a review app to build trust, a loyalty app to increase repeat purchase rates. Over time, the stack grows—new apps to solve each new use case, each with separate billing, support touchpoints, and potential theme conflicts. This is app fatigue.

App fatigue consequences:

• Higher monthly spend across many subscriptions.
• Duplicate features and data silos, where loyalty points, wishlists, and reviews live in separate systems.
• More complex troubleshooting when a theme or update causes a bug.
• Slower time-to-market for cohesive retention strategies.

Growave addresses app fatigue with a "More Growth, Less Stack" approach: integrate loyalty, referrals, reviews, wishlist, and VIP tiers into a single platform to reduce fragmentation and improve long-term retention outcomes. By consolidating functions, merchants can manage one integration set, one billing relationship, and a unified customer profile.

Key benefits of consolidating features:

• Consistent customer experience across loyalty and wishlist interactions.
• Unified analytics to measure LTV lift from combined retention tactics.
• Fewer app-to-app conflicts and reduced engineering overhead for theme compatibility.
• Centralized support and strategic guidance for retention programs.

Merchants evaluating consolidation should consider:

• Whether the consolidated platform supports the specific re-engagement features required (e.g., price-drop alerts, push, guest wishlist).
• Integration capabilities with the rest of the marketing stack.
• Total cost of ownership compared to operating several single-function apps.

Growave is positioned as a retention platform that bundles wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, and reviews. This reduces the need to combine ESC or CP24 with separate loyalty or review apps.

• Growave combines wishlist with loyalty and rewards, referrals, reviews & UGC, and VIP tiers—making it possible to run coordinated campaigns from a single platform.
• The platform offers enterprise features such as checkout extensions and headless APIs for more advanced storefronts and Shopify Plus merchants.
• For merchants that want to consolidate retention features and measure the full customer lifecycle, Growave’s integrated approach reduces complexity and increases the potential return from each retained customer.

For merchants who want to evaluate Growave’s retention suite or discuss implementation specifics, there is an option to book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention.

How Growave maps to the wishlist use case

• Wishlist plus re-engagement: The wishlist sits within a broader retention system that can tie reward points to wishlist actions, creating gamified incentives to convert saved items.
• Reviews and UGC: The same customers who save and purchase items can be prompted to leave verified reviews, improving conversion rates for wishlisted items.
• Referral and VIP campaigns: Wishlists and referral flows can be orchestrated to reward ambassadors who promote popular wishlisted products.
• Analytics across channels: Rather than separate dashboards, Growave offers cross-functional insights—e.g., how wishlists correlate with referral conversions or loyalty program participation.

This unified view simplifies segmentation and campaign design: a merchant can target customers with many wishlisted, out-of-stock items using discount codes delivered through loyalty rewards and track the full impact in one place.

Integrations and store architecture considerations

Consolidation only helps if it fits the merchant’s ecosystem. Growave provides integrations to common tools (Klaviyo, Omnisend, Postscript, Recharge, Gorgias) and supports Shopify Plus features like Flow and checkout extensions. This reduces custom middleware work and ensures wishlist events can be used in existing automation workflows.

Merchants on Shopify Plus or those expecting rapid scaling should evaluate the platform’s advanced options and potential to replace multiple niche apps with a single integrated partner. Explore solutions for high-growth Plus brands and the available pricing plans to ensure technical fit.

Cost comparison at scale

An important metric is total monthly spend across multiple single-use apps versus a single platform subscription that bundles more functionality.

• Single-use apps: Often low per-app cost, but the combined monthly spend rises with each addition (wishlists, loyalty, reviews, referrals).
• One platform: Higher single monthly fee but often better value for money as it replaces multiple subscriptions and reduces engineering and support overhead.

Merchants should model their projected month-to-month spend at different growth stages and compare the operational value of unified analytics and support.

Proof points and customer inspiration

Merchants considering consolidation benefit from studying how other stores implemented retention strategies with unified platforms. See customer stories from brands scaling retention for concrete examples of consolidation delivering measurable LTV improvements and reduced overhead.

For a quick way to assess the platform before committing, merchants can view the app listing in the Shopify App Store and compare plans to existing subscriptions to estimate savings and operational benefits.

Migration and testing recommendations

Whether a merchant chooses ESC, CP24, or a consolidated platform, follow these steps to minimize risk:

• Test in a staging environment and run a performance benchmark before and after installation.
• Export wishlist data (if migrating) and confirm data portability with the developer.
• Validate push and email consent flows, particularly for CP24’s web push features.
• Monitor theme conflicts and roll back if errors arise.
• If consolidating, map out which single-purpose apps will be replaced and identify feature gaps to be covered by the consolidated platform.

Security and compliance checklist for wishlist apps

When evaluating wishlist apps, confirm the following:

• Data storage location and retention policy.
• Ability to delete or export customer wishlist data on request.
• Compliance with GDPR and CCPA for personal data and push consent.
• Clear support and SLA statements for critical bugs and compatibility issues.

Decision framework: How to choose between ESC, CP24, and a consolidated platform

Use this practical decision tree (conceptual, not numbered):

• If the shop only needs an inexpensive save-for-later widget and minimal maintenance, ESC is a reasonable short-term choice—provided the merchant is comfortable testing the app in a staging environment and confirming support responsiveness.
• If the priority is to convert saved intent through automated alerts, wishlists across devices, and built-in push campaigns, CP24 offers a very competitive feature-to-price ratio, especially at free or BASIC tiers.
• If the merchant plans to run loyalty programs, referral campaigns, or regular review collection and wants fewer integrations to maintain, a consolidated platform that combines wishlist with other retention tools will generally offer better long-term value for money and a cleaner operational model.

Practical examples of merchant goals and recommended options

• Goal: Reduce cart abandonment and give customers a way to save items without sending follow-up notifications.
  • Recommendation: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later for simplicity and low cost.
• Goal: Turn saved items into sales using price-drop alerts, low-stock warnings, and web push.
  • Recommendation: CP24 Advanced Wishlist for its built-in notifications and analytics.
• Goal: Improve repeat purchase rates and increase lifetime value by combining wishlists with loyalty rewards and referral incentives.
  • Recommendation: Explore an integrated retention platform that unifies wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals.

Implementation checklist for CP24 and ESC

Before launching either app, complete this checklist to reduce risks:

• Install in a staging theme and verify layout.
• Test wishlist behavior as a guest and as a logged-in customer.
• Verify cross-device sync (CP24).
• Review push opt-in flows and compliance (CP24).
• Confirm data exportability and backup.
• Set up and test analytics reporting.
• Monitor page load and script impact.

Cost and growth modeling

Forecast expected wishlist items, push impressions, and expected conversion from wishlist reminders. Compare the monthly cost of CP24 (or ESC) plus other required apps (loyalty, reviews) with the cost of an integrated platform that bundles those features. This helps to quantify "value for money" beyond the sticker price.

Support escalation and SLA expectations

Ask developers the following before launch:

• Typical support response time for critical bugs.
• Frequency of updates and compatibility testing with Shopify theme releases.
• Escalation path for unresolved issues.

Smaller developers may offer personalized support but limited resources for fast fixes. Evaluate whether that level of support matches the store’s risk tolerance.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and CP24 Advanced Wishlist, the decision comes down to feature depth and future growth plans. ESC is a low-cost, lightweight solution best suited for merchants that only need a save-for-later widget and simple social sharing. CP24 provides a richer set of engagement tools—guest wishlists, cross-device sync, price-drop and low-stock alerts, and web push—at very modest price points, making it a stronger choice for merchants who want wishlists to actively drive re-engagement.

For merchants aiming to reduce tool sprawl and build predictable retention, consolidating wishlist functionality into a single retention platform often delivers better operational value. Growave’s "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy unifies wishlist capabilities with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers to reduce maintenance overhead and improve the lifetime value of customers. Compare plans and pricing to model out the total cost of ownership and evaluate the potential upside from unified analytics and coordinated campaigns. Start a 14-day free trial to test how a consolidated retention stack could replace multiple single-purpose apps and accelerate growth.

FAQ

Q: Which app is best if the budget is the only constraint? A: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is inexpensive at $5/month and is appropriate when wishlist functionality is the only need. CP24 can be even lower-cost at the BASIC tier ($2.99/month) for richer features, so evaluate expected wishlist volumes and push needs before deciding.

Q: Which app has better re-engagement features? A: CP24 Advanced Wishlist includes price-drop alerts, low-stock reminders, wishlist reminders, and web push capabilities—making it the stronger choice for proactive re-engagement. ESC focuses on visibility at checkout and social sharing rather than automated outreach.

Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps? A: An integrated platform consolidates loyalty, wishlist, reviews, referrals, and VIP tiers so merchants manage fewer integrations, enjoy unified analytics, and run coordinated campaigns. This reduces app fatigue and often yields better long-term value for money compared with maintaining multiple single-purpose apps.

Q: What should merchants test before installing a wishlist app? A: Test in a staging theme, verify guest and logged-in behavior, confirm cross-device sync (if required), evaluate push consent flows (for push-capable apps), check performance impact, and confirm support response expectations.

Further reading and resources:

• For merchants who want to explore loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases, review the available loyalty options.
• To see how to collect and showcase authentic reviews and UGC, examine review capabilities.
• To review customer stories and inspiration from brands scaling retention, explore customer case studies.
• To compare plans and pricing and determine the right package for a store’s growth stage, review available plans.
• To test the platform with hands-on guidance, book a personalized demo.