Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards vs. Frak Comparison

Introduction

Selecting the right retention tools for a Shopify storefront involves more than just comparing feature lists. It requires an understanding of how specific reward mechanics align with long-term business goals, operational capacity, and the existing technology stack. Merchants often find themselves caught between broad loyalty frameworks and specialized referral systems, each offering different paths toward improving customer lifetime value.

Short answer: Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards is a comprehensive loyalty and referral platform built for scalability and deep integration, making it ideal for high-growth brands. Frak is a specialized referral solution focusing on cash-based rewards and performance-driven word-of-mouth growth. Choosing an integrated platform can significantly reduce operational overhead by consolidating multiple retention functions into a single administrative interface.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide a neutral, data-driven comparison of Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards and Frak. By examining their core functionalities, pricing models, and compatibility with the Shopify ecosystem, store owners can determine which solution best fits their current stage of growth and their long-term customer engagement strategy.

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards vs. Frak: At a Glance

The following table provides a quick overview of how these two applications compare based on available data points and core functionality.

Deep Dive Comparison

Core Features and Workflows

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards is designed as an all-encompassing retention engine. It focuses on a multi-pronged approach to customer engagement, primarily through loyalty points and referral mechanics. The workflow allows customers to earn points through various actions, which can then be redeemed for discounts or other incentives. This structure is intended to create a continuous loop of engagement where the customer feels rewarded for every interaction with the brand.

Key features of Rivo include:

• Points-based loyalty programs with customizable ways to earn and redeem.
• Referral programs that incentivize existing customers to bring in new buyers.
• VIP tiers designed to reward high-value customers with exclusive benefits.
• Automated email campaigns to keep customers informed about their point balances.
• Branded interfaces, including a dedicated loyalty and referral page.

Frak operates on a different philosophy, prioritizing "success-based" advocacy. Rather than managing a complex point system, Frak focuses on turning satisfied customers into advocates by offering cash rewards for authentic referrals. This streamlined focus is intended to reduce acquisition costs by leveraging word-of-mouth marketing.

Key features of Frak include:

• A custom word-of-mouth sharing component for customers.
• Automated reward distribution, specifically focusing on cash incentives.
• Real-time performance tracking for referral activity.
• A referral tracking and analytics dashboard for merchants.
• A focus on building a direct link between the brand and its community through advocacy.

Customization and Control

Control over brand aesthetics and technical implementation varies significantly between the two apps. Rivo provides a high level of customization, particularly for brands that need their loyalty program to feel like a native part of their storefront. On the Scale and Plus plans, merchants can access advanced branding features, including custom CSS and fonts. For enterprise-level needs, the Rivo Developer Toolkit allows for deep technical customization, enabling developers to build bespoke loyalty experiences.

Frak offers customization focused on its specific referral components. Merchants can tailor referral campaigns to align with their specific goals, ensuring the sharing experience matches the brand's voice. However, the data does not suggest the same level of deep technical access (like an API or developer toolkit) that Rivo provides for its Plus-tier users. Frak is positioned as a tool that can be connected with no technical hassle, suggesting a more "plug-and-play" experience for the referral widget.

Pricing Structure and Value for Money

The financial commitment required for these tools reflects their differing scopes. Rivo follows a traditional SaaS subscription model with tiered pricing based on order volume and feature access.

• The Free Forever plan supports up to 200 monthly orders and includes basic points programs and automated emails.
• The Scale plan at $49 per month introduces VIP tiers, points expiry, and advanced branding.
• The Plus plan at $499 per month is aimed at high-volume stores, offering checkout extensions, custom integrations, and priority support.

Frak utilizes a performance-based pricing model. There are no monthly subscription fees; instead, the "Success Share" plan is free to install. Merchants pay only for successful referrals. This reduces the upfront risk for smaller stores or those testing referral programs for the first time. It creates a direct correlation between the app's cost and the revenue it generates through new customer acquisitions.

When comparing plan fit against retention goals, merchants must weigh the predictability of a monthly subscription against the variable costs of a performance-based model. Rivo offers a more predictable pricing structure that scales as order volume grows, whereas Frak is highly efficient for stores that want to keep fixed costs low while focusing exclusively on referral-driven growth.

Integrations and Ecosystem Fit

The ability for a retention tool to communicate with the rest of the tech stack is critical for maintaining a unified customer profile. Rivo excels in this area, offering a wide array of integrations with industry-standard tools. It works with Shopify POS, Shopify Flow, and popular marketing apps like Klaviyo, Gorgias, Postscript, and Attentive. These integrations allow loyalty data to trigger automated flows in other platforms, such as sending a "Points Expiring" SMS via Postscript or displaying a customer's VIP status to a support agent in Gorgias.

Frak’s integration list is more focused. According to the provided data, it works primarily with Shopify Checkout. This focus ensures that referral tracking and reward distribution are tied directly to the conversion event. While this simplicity makes it easy to set up, it may lack the cross-platform data synchronization that larger brands require for complex omnichannel marketing strategies.

Customer Support and Reliability

Reliability is often judged by merchant feedback and the level of support provided by the developer. Rivo emphasizes its support as a core part of its value proposition, offering 24/7 live chat support and dedicated success teams focused on retention metrics. With a rating of 4.8 from its initial feedback, the app signals a commitment to quality. The developer mentions shipping weekly product updates, which indicates an active development cycle and a focus on keeping pace with Shopify’s evolving technology.

Frak, with zero reviews and a rating of 0 at the time of this data, represents a newer or less reviewed option in the market. While this does not necessarily indicate a lack of quality, it does mean merchants have fewer public signals to use when checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals. The app is positioned as a simple, automated solution, which may appeal to those looking for a low-maintenance tool rather than a high-touch partnership with a success team.

Operational Overhead and App Stack Impact

Maintaining a high-performing Shopify store requires managing the cumulative impact of multiple applications. Every additional app can introduce complexity in terms of data silos, inconsistent user interfaces, and technical debt. Rivo, while comprehensive, requires active management of points, tiers, and integrations. Its impact on the stack is significant but provides a centralized hub for all things loyalty.

Frak has a much smaller operational footprint. Because it focuses solely on referrals and uses a performance-based model, the merchant's involvement is primarily in the initial campaign setup and ongoing performance monitoring. However, if a merchant later decides they need a points program or VIP tiers, they would be forced to install an additional app, leading to the "app sprawl" that many growing stores try to avoid.

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

As merchants scale, they often encounter the phenomenon of app fatigue. This occurs when a store relies on a fragmented collection of single-purpose apps to handle loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists. This fragmentation often leads to a disjointed customer experience where rewards from one app do not acknowledge actions taken in another. Furthermore, managing multiple subscriptions and support channels becomes a significant administrative burden.

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By selecting plans that reduce stacked tooling costs, merchants can move away from this fragmented approach. Growave provides an integrated philosophy that combines loyalty, rewards, referrals, reviews, and wishlists into a single platform. This "More Growth, Less Stack" approach ensures that all customer data lives in one place, allowing for more sophisticated automation and a more consistent user experience across the entire customer journey.

Using loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases alongside review collection and wishlists allows for a synergistic effect. For example, a customer can be rewarded with loyalty points for leaving a review, which then encourages them to use those points on an item they previously saved to their wishlist. This level of interconnectivity is difficult to achieve when using separate apps like Rivo for loyalty and a different tool for reviews.

The benefits of consolidation extend to the technical health of the store as well. Fewer apps generally mean fewer scripts loading on the storefront, which can lead to better site performance. It also simplifies the evaluation of feature coverage across plans, as merchants only need to manage one subscription tier that covers multiple retention modules. This helps in planning retention spend without app sprawl surprises that often occur when multiple apps simultaneously increase their pricing based on order volume.

For brands that require a more tailored approach, a guided evaluation of an integrated retention stack can help clarify how moving to a consolidated platform impacts their specific workflows. Seeing how VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers function within the same ecosystem as review automation that builds trust at purchase time provides a clearer view of total retention-stack costs.

Ultimately, the choice to consolidate is about more than just cost. It is about creating a seamless operational environment where the marketing team can execute complex retention strategies without getting bogged down by the technical limitations of a disjointed app stack. Whether it is collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews or managing a global referral network, doing so from a single dashboard provides a level of agility that single-function apps struggle to match. To understand the full scope of what a unified platform can offer, a product walkthrough aligned to Shopify store maturity is often the most efficient way to align stakeholders on the future of their retention strategy.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards and Frak, the decision comes down to the desired scope of the retention program and the preferred pricing model. Rivo is the better fit for brands looking for a traditional, robust loyalty system with points, VIP tiers, and extensive third-party integrations. Its model is built for the "always-on" retention strategy of growing DTC brands that have the budget for a monthly subscription and the need for deep technical customization.

Frak is best for merchants who want a low-risk, referral-specific tool. Its performance-based pricing is ideal for those who only want to pay when they see results in the form of a successful referral. However, it lacks the broader loyalty and engagement features found in Rivo, making it a specialized tool rather than a comprehensive retention platform.

Choosing between these two specialized options often highlights the broader challenge of managing a growing Shopify store. While both apps are effective in their respective niches, they contribute to the accumulation of separate tools that merchants must eventually reconcile. Moving toward an integrated solution allows for a more holistic view of the customer, combining loyalty, reviews, and referrals into a unified strategy that drives sustainable growth.

By seeing how the app is positioned for Shopify stores, merchants can better understand the value of an integrated approach. Consolidating these functions not only improves the customer experience but also provides a more scalable foundation for future expansion.

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

FAQ

How do points-based programs differ from cash-based referrals?

Points-based programs, like those in Rivo, focus on building a long-term currency within a store. Customers earn points for various actions (purchases, social follows, birthdays) and redeem them for store-specific rewards. This keeps the value within the brand's ecosystem. Cash-based referrals, like those in Frak, provide a more immediate and tangible incentive (actual money) for a single action: bringing in a new customer. While cash can be a stronger short-term motivator, points programs are generally more effective at building long-term habits and increasing the frequency of repeat purchases.

Which app is better for a brand on Shopify Plus?

Rivo is better suited for Shopify Plus merchants because it includes specific features like checkout extensions and a Developer Toolkit. These tools allow high-volume merchants to integrate loyalty rewards directly into the checkout experience and build custom functionalities that are not possible with simpler apps. Rivo also integrates with enterprise-level tools like Gorgias and Attentive, which are common in the Plus ecosystem. Frak is currently more limited in its integration scope, making it better for smaller or mid-market stores.

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

Specialized apps often provide deep, focused features for a single task, such as cash referrals or points management. However, using multiple specialized apps can lead to tool sprawl, where data is siloed and the customer experience feels fragmented. An all-in-one platform integrates these functions, allowing them to work together. This means a customer's referral activity, review history, and loyalty status are all connected, enabling more personalized marketing and a simpler administrative experience for the merchant.

Is performance-based pricing better than a subscription?

Performance-based pricing, used by Frak, is excellent for reducing upfront risk and ensuring that the app pays for itself. It is particularly useful for new stores with limited budgets. A subscription model, used by Rivo, provides more cost predictability as a brand grows. For high-volume stores, a flat monthly fee often becomes more cost-effective than a percentage-based or per-referral fee, which can become quite expensive as the number of successful referrals scales.