Rivo vs. Lootly Loyalty & Referrals: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Retention strategy remains a primary driver of profitability for e-commerce brands. Selecting the right software to manage customer loyalty, rewards, and referrals often dictates whether a brand builds a sustainable community or simply cycles through one-time buyers. While many tools promise to increase customer lifetime value, the operational differences between platforms can lead to vastly different outcomes in terms of site performance, technical debt, and total cost of ownership.

Short answer: Choosing between Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards and Lootly Loyalty & Referrals depends on whether a merchant prioritizes developer-level customization or a built-in affiliate marketing suite. Rivo offers a highly modern, developer-friendly toolkit and a free entry point for smaller stores, while Lootly provides a robust affiliate and referral architecture designed for broader customer acquisition. Both apps offer strong core loyalty features, but the choice should be guided by the existing tech stack and long-term scaling requirements of the storefront.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide a feature-by-feature comparison of Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards and Lootly Loyalty & Referrals. By examining their pricing structures, integration capabilities, and core workflows, merchants can better understand which platform aligns with their operational goals.

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards vs. Lootly Loyalty & Referrals: At a Glance

The following table summarizes the key characteristics of both applications based on available data.

Deep Dive Comparison

To understand the practical impact of these platforms, it is necessary to examine how they handle the mechanics of retention. While both focus on loyalty and referrals, their philosophies regarding merchant control and customer acquisition differ significantly.

Core Features and Workflows

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards positions itself as a solution built on the latest Shopify technology. The platform emphasizes speed and a modern user experience. The core loyalty program allows customers to earn points through various actions and redeem them for rewards, which is standard. However, Rivo differentiates itself through its frequent update cycle and a focus on "Shopify-native" experiences, such as checkout extensions on higher-tier plans. This ensures that the loyalty experience feels like an organic part of the buyer's journey rather than a third-party overlay.

Lootly Loyalty & Referrals takes a broader approach to growth. In addition to standard loyalty points and rewards, it includes a dedicated affiliate marketing module. This allows brands to turn their best customers into ambassadors who earn commissions or special perks for driving new traffic. Lootly’s referral engine is also highly optimized for mobile sharing, offering one-click options for WhatsApp and FB Messenger. This makes it a strong contender for brands that rely heavily on social commerce and peer-to-peer recommendations to lower their customer acquisition costs.

Customization and Brand Control

Brand consistency is vital for high-growth stores. Rivo provides basic branding even on its free plan, but the real power is found in the Scale and Plus tiers. On the Scale plan, merchants gain access to custom CSS and fonts, allowing for a pixel-perfect match with the store’s theme. For enterprise-level brands, the Rivo Developer Toolkit provides the ability to build entirely custom loyalty experiences using APIs. This level of control is ideal for teams with in-house developers who want to move beyond standard widgets and create unique interactions.

Lootly offers significant customization through its visual editor, where colors, text, and images can be adjusted to match store branding. One of its standout features for engagement is "Nudges"—automated popups that remind customers of their points balance or available rewards while they browse. While Lootly offers an Email HTML Editor and API access on its higher tiers, its customization tools are generally geared toward being user-friendly for marketing teams rather than purely developer-centric. This makes it easier to manage for brands without a dedicated technical team.

Pricing Structure and Value for Money

The financial commitment for these apps varies based on order volume and required functionality. Rivo offers a "100% Free Forever" plan, which is highly attractive for new stores. This plan includes loyalty points, ways to earn and redeem, and basic branding for up to 200 monthly orders. This allows smaller brands to start building a retention strategy without upfront costs. As the brand grows, the Scale plan at $49 per month introduces VIP tiers and advanced branding. The Plus plan, at $499 per month, is designed for high-volume merchants needing checkout extensions and priority support.

Lootly does not offer a free-forever tier, starting its pricing at $99 per month for the Growth plan. This plan includes the referral program and email customization but is significantly more expensive as an entry point than Rivo. However, Lootly does not specify monthly order limits in its provided plan data, which may offer better value for high-volume stores with low-margin products. The Pro plan at $299 per month adds VIP programs and the HTML email editor, while the Advanced plan at $699 per month includes a dedicated manager and a full referrals suite. Merchants must weigh the higher starting cost of Lootly against the potential limitations of Rivo’s order caps.

Integrations and Tech Stack Compatibility

A loyalty app cannot exist in a vacuum; it must communicate with the rest of the marketing stack. Rivo lists compatibility with essential Shopify tools, including Shopify POS, Checkout, and Flow. Its integration list focuses on the core DTC stack: Klaviyo for email, Gorgias for support, and Postscript or Attentive for SMS. These integrations allow loyalty data to flow into communication channels, enabling automated emails based on point balances or VIP status changes.

Lootly also offers a wide array of integrations, claiming over 40 pre-built one-click connections. It works with many of the same tools as Rivo, such as Klaviyo and Gorgias, but adds specific compatibility for apps like Recharge (for subscriptions) and PowerReviews. The inclusion of subscription-based integrations makes Lootly a strong candidate for brands running recurring revenue models, as loyalty and subscriptions are often deeply intertwined.

Support and Reliability Cues

Both apps have limited review data provided (one review each), making it difficult to assess long-term reliability through public sentiment alone. However, their support structures offer some insight. Rivo emphasizes 24/7 world-class live chat support and adds priority or concierge support for Plus users. The developer’s commitment to weekly product updates suggests an active and responsive maintenance cycle.

Lootly provides a dedicated manager for its Advanced tier users, which is a significant benefit for larger brands that need strategic guidance rather than just technical support. Both apps carry high ratings (4.8 and 5 respectively), indicating that their initial users found the value they were looking for. For a merchant, the choice between live chat and a dedicated manager often depends on the complexity of the internal team and the need for ongoing strategic partnership.

Operational Overhead and Performance

Adding a loyalty app to a Shopify store inevitably introduces some operational overhead. Rivo aims to minimize this by using modern Shopify tech, which often results in less theme interference and faster load times. The developer toolkit allows for headless commerce implementations, further reducing the impact on storefront performance for advanced users.

Lootly’s suite is comprehensive, which can be a double-edged sword. While having loyalty, referrals, and affiliates in one app is convenient, it requires careful configuration to ensure the various widgets and popups do not clutter the user interface. The "Nudges" feature, while effective for conversion, must be managed strategically to avoid distracting the customer.

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

While Rivo and Lootly provide excellent specialized services for loyalty and referrals, many merchants eventually encounter the challenge of app fatigue. As a store grows, the tendency to add single-function apps for reviews, wishlists, and loyalty programs leads to a fragmented tech stack. This "tool sprawl" often results in higher costs, inconsistent customer experiences, and data silos that make it difficult to get a clear picture of customer behavior.

If consolidating tools is a priority, start by comparing plan fit against retention goals.

The philosophy of "More Growth, Less Stack" addresses these challenges by consolidating essential retention tools into a single, integrated platform. Instead of managing separate subscriptions and integration settings for three different apps, merchants can handle their entire retention strategy from one dashboard. This integration ensures that loyalty data is perfectly synced with product reviews and wishlists, creating a more cohesive journey for the shopper.

Growave provides an alternative that bridges the gap between the developer-focused features of Rivo and the broad marketing tools of Lootly. By combining loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases with automated review collection, the platform reduces the technical overhead of syncing third-party data. This unified approach allows for more sophisticated marketing triggers. For example, a customer can be rewarded for leaving a review or adding an item to their wishlist, all within the same ecosystem.

Furthermore, managing costs becomes simpler when using a platform that covers multiple bases. Rather than paying separate fees for a loyalty app, a wishlist app, and a review app, merchants can focus on selecting plans that reduce stacked tooling costs. This not only lowers the total cost of ownership but also simplifies the workflow for marketing teams who no longer need to learn multiple interfaces.

For brands that are scaling quickly, real examples from brands improving retention show that an integrated approach often leads to better site performance. Fewer scripts running in the background means faster page loads, which directly impacts conversion rates. When review automation that builds trust at purchase time is handled by the same app that manages the VIP program, the customer experience feels seamless and professional.

Choosing an integrated path also provides a more stable foundation for long-term growth. As a brand moves toward higher volume, customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl highlight the value of having a single point of contact for support and strategic guidance. This prevents the "finger-pointing" that can happen when multiple apps from different developers conflict with one another.

To see how these integrated features look in practice, a brand can request a walkthrough that clarifies implementation expectations. This allows for a guided evaluation of an integrated retention stack before making a final commitment, ensuring the platform aligns with the store's specific operational needs. By moving away from fragmented tools, merchants can focus more on strategy and less on troubleshooting their tech stack.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards and Lootly Loyalty & Referrals, the decision comes down to the specific goals of the growth strategy and the technical resources available. Rivo is an excellent choice for modern DTC brands that want a high-speed, developer-friendly loyalty app with a low-cost entry point. Its focus on weekly updates and the latest Shopify technology makes it a forward-looking choice for those who want to stay on the cutting edge of e-commerce tech.

Lootly Loyalty & Referrals, on the other hand, is better suited for brands that view affiliate marketing and multi-channel referrals as their primary growth levers. Its robust sharing features and dedicated manager options provide a solid framework for brands that want to turn their existing customer base into a proactive sales force. While its starting price is higher, the inclusion of affiliate tools provides a broader scope of acquisition features than Rivo’s standard plans.

However, both apps represent the "specialized app" approach, which can eventually lead to the complexities of managing a large app stack. For many growing storefronts, the most sustainable path forward involves mapping costs to retention outcomes over time by using a more integrated platform. By centralizing retention programs that reduce reliance on discounts and collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews in one place, merchants can create a more efficient and effective customer experience.

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 a new Shopify store on a tight budget?

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards is likely the better fit for new stores because it offers a "Free Forever" plan for up to 200 monthly orders. This allow merchants to test loyalty features without any initial financial risk. Lootly’s entry-level plan starts at $99 per month, which may be a significant barrier for smaller businesses.

Can I manage an affiliate program with these apps?

Lootly Loyalty & Referrals includes a dedicated affiliate marketing program that allows you to drive new signups and revenue growth through ambassadors. Rivo focuses more strictly on loyalty and customer referrals and does not list a dedicated affiliate management suite in its standard feature set.

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

A specialized app like Rivo or Lootly focuses deeply on a specific niche, such as loyalty or referrals, often offering advanced technical tools within that single category. An all-in-one platform provides a broader suite of tools—including reviews, wishlists, and loyalty—integrated into one dashboard. This reduces the number of apps installed on your store, lowers the total cost of ownership, and ensures that different retention modules work together seamlessly without additional integration work.

Do these apps work with Shopify Plus?

Yes, both apps have features designed for the enterprise level. Rivo offers a Plus plan with checkout extensions and a developer toolkit, while Lootly offers an Advanced plan with API access and a dedicated manager. Both are built to handle the scaling requirements of high-volume merchants on the Shopify Plus platform.