Introduction

Choosing a wishlist app for a Shopify store seems straightforward until a merchant compares features, pricing, and how each tool will affect retention and the tech stack. Wishlists are often the first step toward capturing purchase intent, recovering abandoned interest, and increasing lifetime value. The decision between two popular single-purpose apps can have ripple effects on marketing workflows, customer experience, and long-term growth.

Short answer: Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow is a strong, budget-friendly option for stores that want a simple, highly customizable wishlist with unlimited items and guest support, while Wishl Favorites Wishlist offers a polished one-click wishlist experience with built-in price-drop tracking and tiered usage limits that suit growing catalogs. Merchants focused on consolidation and long-term retention should consider an integrated platform such as Growave as a better value for money alternative that reduces app sprawl and combines wishlist features with loyalty, referrals, and reviews.

This article compares Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow and Wishl Favorites Wishlist feature-by-feature to help merchants make an informed choice. The analysis covers core functionality, customization, notifications, integrations, analytics, pricing, support, and recommended use cases. After the side-by-side evaluation, the article explains how an all-in-one retention platform addresses the limits of single-purpose apps and introduces Growave as a consolidated alternative.

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow vs. Wishl Favorites Wishlist: At a Glance

AspectMst: Wishlist + Marketing flowWishl Favorites Wishlist
Core FunctionWishlist widget with advanced customization and unlimited itemsOne-click wishlist with price-drop tracking and wishlist email reminders
Best ForStores needing full customization, guest wishlists, and a low-cost solutionStores wanting quick setup, wishlist analytics, and built-in price-drop alerts
Rating (Shopify)4.7 (150 reviews)4.8 (32 reviews)
Key FeaturesMultiple wishlists, guest wishlist, unlimited items, back-in-stock & price alerts (email/SMS/push), API & headless support, multi-language/currencyOne-click wishlist, mobile-responsive, price-drop tracking, email reminders, sharing, variant-level insight
Pricing (entry)$2 / month (flat, all features)$9.99 / month (Basic: up to 2,000 new wishlists/month)
Notable IntegrationsKlaviyo, SMS/push providers, API/headless, third-party mobile buildersBuilt-in email reminders; limited public integration listing
Typical Merchant FitBudget-conscious stores that want full control over presentation and behaviorStores that value quick adoption, product-level insights, and email-driven re-engagement

Deep Dive Comparison

Feature Set and Core Functionality

Wishlist Mechanics and User Experience

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Supports multiple wishlists per user and guest wishlists, allowing anonymous shoppers to save items and convert later.
  • No limit on items or customers, which removes friction for large catalogs.
  • Offerings include multiple UI options and full control of the "My Wishlist" page via Liquid, HTML, and CSS.
  • Works well for stores that want to match the wishlist experience to complex themes or unique UX flows.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Focuses on simplicity and speed: one-click wishlist creation and a streamlined experience optimized for mobile.
  • Includes notes and sharing functionality — helpful when shoppers curate lists for events or gifting.
  • Tracks variants and highlights most-wished items, lending immediate commercial insight to merchandising teams.

Verdict: Mst favors customization and unlimited scale, while Wishl prioritizes speed of adoption and mobile-first usability.

Notifications: Price Drop, Back-in-Stock, and Email Reminders

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Supports price-drop and back-in-stock alerts via email, SMS, and push notifications — assuming the store hooks into supported providers.
  • Works with Klaviyo, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), PushOwl and other messaging tools, enabling richer automation and segmentation.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Built-in price-drop tracking and wishlist email reminders that actively bring shoppers back.
  • Designed to function as an out-of-the-box re-engagement tool without requiring external automation platforms.

Verdict: Wishl offers a turnkey notification setup with native reminders; Mst provides broader channel flexibility for merchants already using marketing stacks like Klaviyo.

Customization and Theming

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Highly customizable through Liquid and CSS, enabling near-complete control over display and behavior.
  • API and headless theme support make it suitable for stores with bespoke frontends or multi-site architecture.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Customizable to an extent, but primarily focused on maintaining its mobile-responsive template and quick setup.
  • Best suited for stores that need consistent UX without deep customization.

Verdict: Stores that require pixel-perfect integration should prioritize Mst. Merchants who want to keep a simple, reliable look-and-feel will appreciate Wishl’s out-of-the-box design.

Data, Analytics, and Insights

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Provides fundamental wishlist data and integrates with analytics tools through API and third-party platforms like Klaviyo.
  • The power here depends on how merchants forward wishlist events into their analytics stacks.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Exposes stats for the number of wishlists, items added, and top variants directly in the app dashboard.
  • This gives merchandisers immediate insight into demand without extra reporting setup.

Verdict: Wishl gives clearer quick-access reporting; Mst enables richer reporting if merchants route events into their analytics or CRM.

Integrations and Workflow Compatibility

Native and Third-Party Integrations

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Lists integrations with Klaviyo, Brevo, PushOwl, plus API and headless support.
  • Works with mobile app builders like Apploy and with Shopify Flow and customer accounts.
  • This flexibility helps merchants automate lifecycle messaging and create complex flows (e.g., syncing wishlist events to email segments).

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Built mainly as a wishlist-focused tool with built-in email reminders; public integration details are less extensive.
  • Good for merchants that prefer standalone functionality or minimal integration overhead.

Verdict: Mst offers more integration touchpoints for custom workflows; Wishl provides simpler, fewer-moving-parts operations.

Technical Compatibility

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Offers headless API support, which is useful for stores on progressive frontends or for Shopify Plus merchants with custom checkout flows.
  • Multi-language and multi-currency support align with international stores’ needs.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Optimized for standard Shopify themes and responsive mobile experience. May require less developer time to maintain for most merchants.

Verdict: Technical teams and Plus merchants will find Mst more malleable; small teams without developer resources may favor Wishl.

Pricing & Value

Pricing Models and Cost Predictability

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Flat-rate price of $2/month for all features. The single low-cost plan includes unlimited items and customers and all features.
  • Excellent cost predictability for stores with high volume of wishlist activity.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Tiered pricing: Basic $9.99/month (up to 2,000 new wishlists/month), Premium $17.99/month (up to 4,000), Premium Plus $29.99/month (up to 22,000).
  • The tiered approach is usage-based; as wishlist volume grows, merchants may need to upgrade.

Value Assessment

  • Mst: Strong value for money for merchants that want predictable costs and unlimited use.
  • Wishl: Better for merchants who need built-in analytics and reminders and are comfortable with usage-based pricing until their wishlist activity scales.

Hidden Costs and Long-Term Considerations

  • Consider potential developer time for deeper customization (Mst) or the cost of connecting wishlist events to third-party tools (Wishl if external data needs to be exported).
  • Wishl’s email reminder quotas and wishlist-creation limits can trigger plan upgrades; Mst’s flat fee avoids that but may require integration costs if merchants want advanced automations.

Verdict: For lean budgets and predictable billing, Mst is attractive. For stores that value built-in engagement features and immediate insights, Wishl offers good short-term ROI with the caveat of scaling costs.

Support, Documentation, and Community

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Reported rating of 4.7 from 150 reviews suggests a mature user base and consistent support.
  • Developer (Mascot Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd) typically provides setup help and supports customization via Liquid/CSS.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Rating 4.8 from 32 reviews indicates high satisfaction among a smaller reviewer pool.
  • Support tends to focus on configuration and ensuring reminders and price tracking function as intended.

Verdict: Both apps show positive user sentiment; Mst’s larger review base implies broader adoption. Merchants should assess the responsiveness of each developer and support SLA before committing.

Performance, Stability, and Scalability

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow

  • Designed to handle unlimited wishlist items and customers, which suggests backend scalability.
  • Headless and API support allow engineering teams to optimize delivery, cache data, and manage performance at scale.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist

  • Performance optimized for mobile and lightweight operations, but real-world scalability depends on the app’s internal architecture and plan limits.
  • Usage limits on new wishlists are the primary constraints.

Verdict: For large catalogs and high wishlist event volumes, Mst’s unlimited approach is less likely to create bottlenecks. Wishl is optimized for typical mid-volume stores.

Security, Data Ownership & Privacy

Both apps operate within Shopify’s app ecosystem and must comply with Shopify’s App Store requirements and data handling norms. Key considerations for merchants:

  • Where wishlist data is stored and how it can be exported.
  • How email/SMS communications are routed and whether user consent is managed appropriately for notifications.
  • Availability of GDPR and CCPA-compliant features (consent capture, data export/delete).

Merchants should verify the apps’ privacy policies and confirm how wishlist ownership is handled when uninstalling the app.

UX and Storefront Considerations

  • Mst’s deep customization enables UX patterns like event-driven wishlists, curated lists, or integrated wishlist pages that match brand storytelling.
  • Wishl’s minimal friction, one-click wishlist button, and social-sharing options prioritize conversion and social proof.

Merchants with strong brand design requirements and a developer team will benefit from Mst. Retailers prioritizing mobile buyers and simplified social sharing will find Wishl appealing.

Use Cases and Recommended Merchant Profiles

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow — Best for:

  • Merchants that need unlimited wishlist capacity and strict cost control.
  • Stores requiring headless or custom front-end integrations.
  • Brands that want full control over the wishlist UI and behavior.
  • International stores needing multi-language and currency support.

Wishl Favorites Wishlist — Best for:

  • Stores that want a near-instant setup and a polished mobile-first wishlist.
  • Merchants that prioritize built-in reminders and price-drop tracking without adding another marketing integration.
  • Small to mid-size catalogs where monthly wishlist volume is within pricing tiers.

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

Why Single-Purpose Apps Create Friction

Most merchants begin by installing a focused app to solve a single problem — a wishlist for intent capture, reviews for social proof, or loyalty for repeat business. Over time, adding single-purpose apps leads to:

  • Increased monthly costs and billing complexity.
  • Overlapping features and inconsistent UX across customer touchpoints.
  • Integration gaps where data lives in silos, making audience segmentation and automated flows harder.
  • Higher maintenance: theme updates, app compatibility, and technical debt accumulate.

This phenomenon is often called "app fatigue." It affects outcomes that matter — retention, customer lifetime value, and operational efficiency.

The Value of a Consolidated Retention Stack

An integrated retention platform reduces the number of separate tools and delivers consistent customer journeys. Benefits include:

  • Unified customer profiles that combine wishlist data, review activity, referral status, and loyalty points.
  • Single set of automations and integrations that drive lifecycle messaging without synchronization gaps.
  • Lower total cost of ownership when overlapping features are bundled under one provider.
  • Easier measurement of retention metrics (repeat purchase rate, LTV) because events are captured and attributed consistently.

Introducing Growave: More Growth, Less Stack

Growave positions itself as a retention platform that consolidates wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, VIP tiers, and UGC — reducing the need for multiple single-purpose apps. Growave’s approach is encapsulated by the principle of "More Growth, Less Stack": fewer apps, integrated data, and coordinated retention strategies.

Key components that address app fatigue:

  • Integrated loyalty and rewards to incentivize repeat purchases and increase LTV.
  • Referral campaigns that tap into existing customers to acquire new buyers at lower CAC.
  • Reviews and UGC modules to build social proof and increase conversion rates.
  • Wishlist functionality that syncs with rewards and campaigns, enabling cohesive re-engagement flows.

Growave links and references:

How Growave Solves Common Limits of Single-Function Wishlists

  • Single data source: Wishlist actions feed into loyalty and referral logic, so a wishlist add can trigger a reward-earning opportunity or be used to identify high-intent cohorts.
  • Unified messaging: Email and push campaigns can target customers based on wishlist behavior combined with loyalty tier, which yields more precise segmentation than isolated wishlist events.
  • Reduced integration costs: Rather than integrating multiple apps and connecting them with middleware, Growave’s suite minimizes the need for additional connectors.
  • Predictable billing: Consolidation typically reduces the sum of subscription fees versus paying separately for wishlist, reviews, and loyalty tools.

Integration and Ecosystem Compatibility

Growave supports broad compatibility with Shopify ecosystem tools and commonly used marketing platforms. Integration benefits include:

  • The ability to power lifecycle automations in Klaviyo or Omnisend with richer event sets coming from loyalty, referrals, and wishlist activity.
  • Seamless display of UGC and reviews on product pages, supporting conversion optimization without extra plugins.
  • Compatibility with headless setups and enterprise needs, as described for Plus merchants.

Key links for merchants evaluating integration:

Cost Comparison and Value Proposition

Compared to single-purpose apps:

  • Growave’s entry plans include a set of core retention tools, which often yields better value for money for merchants that need more than a wishlist.
  • For merchants who would otherwise subscribe to multiple apps (wishlist + loyalty + reviews + referrals), Growave can reduce per-feature costs while centralizing data and reducing engineering overhead.

Pricing and trials:

  • Merchants can evaluate Growave’s tiers and free trial options on the pricing page to compare total cost of ownership against the cost of standalone apps and the operational cost of integrating them: consolidate retention features.

Case for Merchants Considering Migration

  • Small teams that plan to scale: Moving from standalone wishlist tools to a unified platform will reduce admin overhead and improve segmentation capabilities.
  • Mid-market and Plus merchants: Integrated loyalty programs and headless options improve retention and support complex storefront architectures.
  • Merchants prioritizing long-term LTV growth: The combination of rewards, referrals, reviews, and wishlist data yields coordinated campaigns that drive measurable repeat purchase behavior.

If the decision requires conversation, merchants can get tailored information and assess fit by booking a session with the Growave team. Book a personalized demo to see how a unified retention stack accelerates growth: book a personalized demo.

How Growave Aligns With Key Wishlist Use Cases

  • Convert wishlist signals into loyalty points to nudge conversion.
  • Trigger review requests after purchases of items that were on a wishlist.
  • Use wishlist popularity to power merchandising and product prioritization without exporting data to third-party tools.
  • Combine wishlist insights with referral incentives to turn wishlisters into advocates.

Additional resources for merchants researching platform fit:

Practical Migration Considerations

Migrating from a single-purpose wishlist app to an integrated platform requires planning:

  • Data export: Confirm the ability to export existing wishlist data in a usable format (customer IDs, product variants, timestamps).
  • Theme and UI: Decide whether to replicate existing wishlist UI or adopt the platform’s widgets. For highly customized experiences, expect some theme work.
  • Automations: Map wishlist triggers to desired automations (email, SMS, push). With Growave, wishlists can feed directly into loyalty and referral rules.
  • Testing: Validate that wishlist actions are tracked, that notifications send as expected, and that reward flows do not double-count events.

Merchants should request a demo or trial and evaluate the platform using a checklist that includes data fidelity, UI match, automation coverage, and cost comparisons.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow and Wishl Favorites Wishlist, the decision comes down to priorities. Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow is an excellent choice for merchants who need unlimited wishlist capacity, deep customization, headless/API support, and predictable low-cost pricing. Wishl Favorites Wishlist fits stores that prioritize fast deployment, mobile-first one-click wishlists, built-in price-drop alerts, and integrated email reminders with straightforward analytics.

Both apps have strong user ratings (Mst: 4.7 across 150 reviews; Wishl: 4.8 across 32 reviews), signaling that either can deliver reliable wishlist functionality. However, both are single-purpose tools — which means merchants that require reviews, referrals, or loyalty will likely add more apps, increasing costs and operational complexity.

For teams that want fewer apps, integrated customer data, and retention tools that work together, Growave offers a compelling alternative. The platform bundles wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers, reducing tool sprawl and enabling coordinated campaigns that increase repeat purchases. Review the pricing and plan options to understand how consolidation affects total cost of ownership: consolidate retention features. Merchants evaluating enterprise or Plus-level needs can review solutions tailored for larger merchants: solutions for high-growth Plus brands. Learn how integrated loyalty programs can increase repeat purchases by exploring how to build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases, and see how reviews and UGC can boost conversion when merchants collect and showcase authentic reviews.

Start a 14-day free trial to see how a unified retention stack cuts tool sprawl and drives repeat purchases: consolidate retention features.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do the wishlist limits differ between Mst and Wishl?

Mst: Wishlist + Marketing flow offers unlimited wishlist items and no per-customer limits under its flat $2/month plan, making it cost-predictable for high-volume catalogs. Wishl uses tiered plans with explicit monthly new-wishlist limits (e.g., Basic up to 2,000 new wishlists/month), which can necessitate upgrades as wishlist activity scales.

Which app is better if a merchant wants to trigger automated emails and SMS from wishlist events?

Wishl provides built-in email reminders and price-drop tracking out of the box, which is useful for merchants that want simple automation without external setup. Mst integrates with marketing platforms like Klaviyo and Brevo and supports SMS/push routing, giving more flexibility for stores that already use advanced marketing automation.

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

An all-in-one platform combines multiple retention tools so wishlist events feed directly into loyalty, referral, and review logic. This reduces integration overhead, improves data consistency, and enables coordinated campaigns across channels. For merchants seeking to grow retention and LTV without adding multiple single-purpose subscriptions, an integrated platform often provides better value for money and operational simplicity.

Is there a performance or SEO difference between choosing a dedicated wishlist app and a combined platform?

Performance depends on implementation. Dedicated wishlist apps optimized for a single function can be lightweight, but combining multiple tools into a single platform can be more efficient than running several separate apps that each inject scripts. A consolidated platform can reduce the number of third-party scripts and simplify theme maintenance, which benefits site speed and can indirectly help SEO.

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