ESC Wishlist vs. Webkul Product Wishlist: In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist app for a Shopify store can feel deceptively simple. Wishlists are a small feature to customers but can materially impact conversion, average order value, and repeat visits. Merchants face a choice between lightweight, single-purpose tools and broader stacks of retention software—and the wrong pick can create integration hassles, duplicated costs, and missed opportunities to retain buyers.

Short answer: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is a low-cost, focused tool for stores that need basic “save for later” and social sharing features. Webkul Product Wishlist offers richer wishlist management—category grouping, reminder emails, and admin tracking—making it a stronger choice for stores that want more control over wishlist behavior and customer follow-up. For merchants looking to reduce app sprawl and drive repeat purchases with a single integrated platform, Growave presents a higher-value alternative that combines wishlist functions with loyalty, referrals, and reviews.

This post provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Webkul Product Wishlist. The goal is to help merchants understand how each app performs on usability, customization, pricing value, integrations, analytics, and support—and when a merchant should consider moving to a broader retention platform instead.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later vs. Webkul Product Wishlist: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

The following sections analyze each app across core criteria merchants evaluate when selecting wishlist tools: features, UX, customization, pricing and value, integrations, analytics, support, implementation, and common use cases.

Features

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later — Feature Overview

ESC positions itself as a compact wishlist and save-for-later tool. Core claims and visible features include:

• Unlimited wishlists so customers can categorize products.
• A “save for later” section placed under the cart to nudge checkout conversion.
• Social sharing to let customers share lists with friends.
• A range of customization options for how the app looks in the store.

These features target the common merchant goal of recovering intent (capture interest now, convert later) and increasing visibility via social sharing.

Strengths

• Focused functionality; it does a small number of things and keeps them simple.
• Low monthly cost ($5/month), making it accessible to stores with tight budgets.

Limitations

• Limited evidence of active usage or strong ratings—Shopify listing shows 2 reviews and a 1-star rating.
• No public mention of reminder emails, robust admin reporting, or integrations.
• The apparent focus on cart-level placement means less flexibility for storefront placements beyond the cart area.

Webkul Product Wishlist — Feature Overview

Webkul’s wishlist app emphasizes customer-controlled lists and admin follow-up capabilities. Key feature claims include:

• Allowing customers to create wishlists and wishlist categories.
• Requiring login to access wishlists (adds persistence tied to accounts).
• Admin tracking of wishlists and the ability to send reminder emails to customers.
• Multiple wishlist icons and basic visual options.

Strengths

• Category-based wishlist organization helps customers segment desired items, improving usability for larger or lifestyle-oriented catalogs.
• Reminder email functionality is a direct revenue-facing feature: it enables merchant outreach to convert intent into purchase.
• Admin tracking gives store owners visibility into wishlist data for merchandising and marketing.

Limitations

• Requires customers to log in to access wishlists, which may raise friction for stores preferring anonymous persistence.
• Shopify listing shows only 2 reviews with a 5-star rating—low review volume reduces statistical confidence in the rating.
• Integration surface appears limited (listed “Works With: Product Auction”), which could complicate more advanced marketing workflows.

Feature Comparison Summary

• Wishlist organization: Webkul wins with categories and admin visibility.
• Cart-level save for later: ESC focuses on this placement to influence checkout; Webkul may require different UI placements.
• Reminder emails: Webkul includes direct follow-up—ESC does not advertise this.
• Social sharing: ESC highlights sharing; Webkul does not emphasize social features.

User Experience (Customer-Facing)

Installation & On-Store Behavior

ESC aims for a minimal, cart-centric UX: it keeps saved items under the cart so customers see saved items close to checkout. This approach reduces the cognitive distance between intent capture and conversion—ideal for merchants who want a lightweight “save for later” nudge.

Webkul offers wishlists that rely on customer accounts. That ensures persistence across devices and sessions but requires customers to log in. For merchants with a strong logged-in user base (subscription customers, membership models), requiring login is a benefit; for high-traffic guest-checkout stores, it can be friction.

Mobile Experience

Both apps are designed for Shopify storefronts; however, mobile responsiveness and the usability of wishlist interactions matter. Webkul’s category-based structure can be more complex to navigate on mobile if not optimized. ESC’s cart placement is naturally prominent on mobile checkouts and may be simpler for mobile-first stores.

Accessibility & Internationalization

Neither app’s public descriptions emphasize multi-language support or accessibility features. Merchants with global customer bases should plan to test both apps for localized text, RTL support, and screen-reader friendliness.

Customization & Theming

ESC

• Advertises a “broad range of options for customizing how the app looks” which suggests theme styling control.
• Likely focused on visual matching for cart-area elements rather than site-wide components.

Practically, merchants should verify whether styling requires Liquid edits, whether the app supports theme editor sections, and whether custom CSS is allowed.

Webkul

• Offers various wishlist icons and category labels.
• Customization on layout and styling is not heavily documented publicly; merchants may need to request theme support or make code edits.

Customization takeaway: Both apps provide basic styling but merchants aiming for tight visual integration or advanced UI patterns should test in a dev theme before going live.

Pricing & Value

Pricing is a common decision driver. Both apps present simple monthly plans.

• ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: $5 / month (Monthly plan)
• Webkul Product Wishlist: $7 / month (Basic Plan)

On raw price alone, both are inexpensive, with ESC being the lower-cost option. Value evaluation should weigh price against business impact:

• Webkul’s reminder emails and admin tracking are features that can directly generate incremental revenue. If reminder emails convert wishlist users at even a low rate, the additional monthly $2 can be paid back quickly.
• ESC’s cart-level save-for-later is targeted at reducing friction at checkout; for stores where cart abandonment is the main problem, ESC may deliver disproportionate value relative to its price.

However, price alone does not capture total cost of ownership. Single-purpose apps can add to monthly costs as more retention features are added. At $5–$7 per app, a stack of 4–5 single-purpose apps can equal the cost of integrated platforms that combine wishlist with loyalty, referrals, and reviews.

Pricing & value considerations

• Low absolute cost makes both apps accessible to small stores.
• Webkul provides more revenue-focused tools for slightly higher cost.
• ESC provides basic functionality at the lowest entry price.
• Merchants should calculate expected conversion lift from reminders (Webkul) vs. saved cart nudges (ESC) to estimate ROI.

Integrations & Ecosystem

ESC

• Public listing does not show deep third-party integrations.
• The app’s focus on cart placement suggests it integrates with the store theme and checkout flow, but no explicit Klaviyo, Omnisend, or CRM integrations are listed.

This limits the app’s usefulness when merchants want to route wishlist data into customer journeys, email flows, or analytics tools.

Webkul

• Mentions compatibility with “Product Auction” and provides admin tracking, but broader integrations are not detailed.
• The presence of reminder emails indicates an internal messaging capability; merchants should determine whether reminder data can be exported or synced with marketing stacks.

Integration takeaway: Neither app demonstrates a rich, public integration matrix. Merchants that rely on email automation platforms, analytics, or headless architectures should test data export options and ask both developers about API access or webhooks before committing.

Data, Reporting & Admin Tools

ESC

• No explicit reporting features advertised beyond wishlist saving.
• Merchants looking for data-driven decisions (which products are most wished, conversion rates from wishlist to order) may find ESC limited.

Webkul

• Lists admin tracking of wishlists and the ability to send reminder emails—two admin-facing features that increase operational control.
• Admin tracking can be used for merchandising decisions or customer outreach if data is accessible.

If reporting and exportability matter, Webkul appears more functional than ESC, but merchants should confirm data export formats (CSV, API) and whether aggregated metrics are presented.

Support & Documentation

Publicly available review counts and ratings can offer hints about user satisfaction, though low review volumes reduce confidence.

• ESC: 2 reviews, rating 1/5 — a low visible rating raises concerns about support responsiveness, reliability, or missing features.
• Webkul: 2 reviews, rating 5/5 — high rating but also only 2 reviews, which limits statistical relevance.
• Growave (for context): 1,197 reviews, rating 4.8/5 — demonstrates large-scale adoption and substantial feedback.

Support evaluation checklist for both apps:

• Response time expectations and support channels (email, in-app chat, phone).
• Availability of implementation guides and theme installation instructions.
• Willingness to provide developer support for custom integration.
• SLA or uptime expectations (if relevant).

Given the low public review counts for ESC and Webkul, merchants should request proof points: typical response times, sample support tickets redactions, and a migration plan in writing.

Implementation & Performance

• Both apps inject frontend code into themes; performance impacts should be tested (load times, script conflicts).
• ESC’s cart placement implies script execution during checkout flow—test for any checkout delays or conflicts with checkout extenders.
• Webkul’s wishlist UI and category structures may add DOM complexity; confirm that theme minification and lazy-loading practices are supported.

Implementation recommendations

• Install apps in a staging or duplicate theme for testing.
• Run Lighthouse or other performance audits before and after install.
• Verify mobile speed and checkout impacts, especially for stores with high mobile traffic.

Security & Data Privacy

Neither public description mentions specific data handling, GDPR, or privacy features. For apps that persist customer preferences and send reminder emails, merchants should verify:

• How wishlist data is stored and encrypted.
• Whether email reminders adhere to anti-spam rules and use merchant-controlled sending.
• Data export and deletion options to comply with privacy requests.

When in doubt, request a security whitepaper or answers to standard questions (hosting provider, access controls, data retention).

Use Cases & Decision Guidance

To make the choice actionable, compare by merchant profile.

• Small store with limited tech resources and a high cart-abandonment issue: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is a reasonable low-cost experiment—its cart-oriented UX targets checkout nudges and social sharing without complex setup.
• Catalog-heavy store where customers browse wishlists across sessions and expect saved collections: Webkul Product Wishlist is better suited. The category feature and wishlist reminders support deeper engagement.
• Merchants building a retention strategy that includes loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlists: Consider an integrated platform that reduces the number of apps, centralizes customer data, and powers cohesive campaigns.

Pros & Cons — Quick Reference

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Pros:
  • Low monthly cost ($5/month).
  • Simple cart-level save-for-later UX.
  • Social sharing features.
• Cons:
  • Very low review count and low average rating on the Shopify listing.
  • Limited admin reporting and no advertised reminder email capability.
  • Unclear integrations with email/CRM stacks.

Webkul Product Wishlist

• Pros:
  • Wishlist categories for better organization.
  • Admin tracking and reminder emails to customers.
  • Higher public rating (5/5) on the Shopify listing.
• Cons:
  • Requires customer login to access wishlists—possible friction.
  • Limited public information on broader integrations.
  • Low number of reviews reduces confidence in long-term reliability.

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

Many merchants discover the limits of single-purpose apps after stacking multiple solutions. Wishlist apps can be effective, but wishlists are only one lever in the retention playbook. Running separate apps for wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals leads to increasing monthly costs, fragmented data, and more technical maintenance.

What Is App Fatigue?

App fatigue is the operational and cognitive cost of managing many specialized tools. Symptoms include:

• Repeated billing cycles across multiple vendors.
• Fragmented customer data living in separate silos.
• Increased theme edits and potential script conflicts.
• Slower time to execute cross-feature campaigns (e.g., turning wishlist data into loyalty points or review requests).

Replacing several single-purpose apps with an integrated retention suite reduces complexity, centralizes customer behavior, and accelerates growth initiatives.

Growave: “More Growth, Less Stack”

Growave offers a consolidated approach: loyalty and rewards, referrals, reviews & user-generated content, wishlist functionality, and VIP tiers—all in one platform. The product is designed so merchants can use wishlist features while simultaneously leveraging loyalty campaigns and review collection to increase lifetime value.

Key aspects to consider

• Loyalty and rewards can turn wishlist activity into repeat purchases—wishlists capture intent; loyalty makes purchase incentives timely. Merchants can build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
• Reviews and UGC close the trust loop—collecting and showcasing feedback near wishlist items helps nudge hesitant buyers. Merchants can collect and showcase authentic reviews.
• Centralized customer profiles link wishlist behavior with reward balances and referral status, enabling more personalized automation.

For merchants evaluating the total cost and operational overhead of multiple apps, Growave provides a structured alternative to reduce tool sprawl and retain more customers.

How Growave Addresses Common Limitations

• Fragmented Data: Growave keeps wishlist data within the same customer record used for loyalty and review triggers, enabling richer segmentation and targeted campaigns.
• Limited Integrations: Growave supports a broad array of commerce tools and marketing platforms; merchants can see how wishlist interactions feed into Klaviyo or Omnisend customer journeys.
• Support & Scale: With over a thousand reviews and a high average rating, Growave demonstrates broad adoption and active product development—useful for merchants who plan to scale.

For merchants ready to evaluate an integrated approach, a practical next step is to install the integrated retention suite and test how wishlist data flows into loyalty and review workflows. To examine pricing and plan features when considering consolidation, merchants can consolidate retention features to understand the cost of replacing multiple single-purpose apps.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack accelerates growth. Book a personalized demo

Use Cases Where an Integrated Platform Outperforms Single-Function Apps

• Seasonal promotions: Use wishlist signals to identify high-intent items and launch targeted loyalty double-points events to accelerate conversion.
• Product launches: Encourage wishlisting for new SKUs, then combine referral incentives and review requests from early buyers to amplify reach.
• High-value catalogs: For stores with higher AOV, combining wishlist data with VIP tiers and personalized rewards increases customer lifetime value.

Growave’s suite is designed to let merchants create these workflows without stitching together multiple apps. Explore how to consolidate retention features and how loyalty programs integrate with wishlist behavior to increase conversion.

Integrations & Enterprise Readiness

Growave is built to work with common tools that merchants already use:

• Marketing platforms like Klaviyo and Omnisend help turn wishlist and loyalty events into automated campaigns.
• Customer support tools like Gorgias integrate so agents can view reward balances and wishlist contents during support exchanges.
• Headless and Shopify Plus stores are supported through dedicated solutions—merchants can review solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Growave’s platform supports merchants as they scale, reducing the need to keep adding one-off apps for each new retention task.

Why the Total Cost of Ownership Favors Consolidation

Compare the practical costs:

• Multiple single-purpose apps: Each adds monthly fees, integration work, theme edits, and potential compatibility issues.
• One integrated platform: One subscription that covers wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews, with fewer theme edits and a single support contact.

Merchants can compare pricing tiers to see how an all-in-one plan compares against a stack of small apps. For many growing merchants, the integrated approach represents better value for money once multiple retention functions are required.

Implementation Checklist — Migrating From Single Apps to an Integrated Suite

For merchants considering the move from ESC or Webkul to an integrated option, a migration checklist reduces friction:

• Audit current features in use (wishlists, reminders, styling).
• Export wishlist data and customer lists from existing apps if possible.
• Set up loyalty rules and map wishlist events to rewards actions.
• Configure email flows that convert wishlist adds into targeted promotions.
• Test in a staging theme: verify speed, mobile UX, and checkout behavior.
• Disable legacy apps only after thorough QA and data migration.

For merchants wanting a guided migration, a demo is recommended to review the migration plan and timeline. Learn how integrations work and ask for a migration checklist during onboarding.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between ESC Wishlist + Save for Later and Webkul Product Wishlist, the decision comes down to specific needs and context. ESC is a sensible choice for stores that want a minimal, cart-oriented save-for-later experience at a low monthly cost. Webkul is better for merchants seeking wishlist organization, admin tracking, and reminder emails that support direct conversion follow-up.

Beyond choosing between these two single-purpose apps, merchants should weigh the operational and financial costs of maintaining multiple specialized tools. An integrated retention platform that includes wishlist functionality alongside loyalty, referrals, and reviews reduces tool sprawl and enables coordinated retention strategies.

Growave combines wishlist features with loyalty and rewards, referral programs, reviews & UGC, and VIP tiers—designed so merchants can grow repeat purchases without assembling a patchwork of apps. Merchants can evaluate plans and the cost savings of consolidation by reviewing how to consolidate retention features and by choosing to install the integrated retention suite for a hands-on trial. For merchants who want to see the platform in action, compare pricing tiers to find the plan that aligns with growth goals.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which app is best if budget is the primary constraint?
A: ESC Wishlist + Save for Later provides the lowest monthly entry price ($5/month) and is suitable for merchants who need a simple cart-level save-for-later feature. However, the public Shopify listing shows only 2 reviews and a 1-star rating, so merchants should test thoroughly in a staging environment before relying on it for core revenue flows.

Q: Which app is better for converting wishlist activity into sales?
A: Webkul Product Wishlist has built-in reminder emails and admin tracking—direct channels for converting wishlist additions into purchases. These features give Webkul an advantage for merchants who want proactive follow-up and better admin visibility.

Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized wishlist apps?
A: An all-in-one platform centralizes wishlist data with loyalty, referrals, and reviews so merchants can run coordinated campaigns (for example, turning wishlist adds into targeted reward offers). This reduces monthly app count, consolidates customer data, and accelerates marketing actions. Merchants can explore how to consolidate retention features and see integrations that connect wishlist events to broader retention workflows by installing the integrated suite on Shopify.

Q: If a store uses wishlist data in email automation, which option is more practical?
A: Webkul’s reminder emails offer a direct channel without external tooling, but both ESC and Webkul appear to lack robust, documented integrations with major email platforms. For merchants who rely on Klaviyo or Omnisend, an integrated platform that supports those integrations natively and links wishlist behavior to loyalty segments may be more practical—consider testing how wishlist events map into email flows and reward triggers in an integrated solution.