Rivo vs. OneLoyalty: A Strategic Loyalty App Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right retention tools is a pivotal decision for any Shopify storefront. The choice between a specialized loyalty tool and a feature-rich rewards program often dictates the long-term success of customer lifetime value strategies. As businesses grow, the complexity of managing multiple subscriptions, disparate data points, and inconsistent user experiences becomes a significant hurdle. Evaluating Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards against OneLoyalty: Loyalty & Rewards requires a look beyond simple point systems and into how these tools fit into a broader growth strategy.

Short answer: The choice depends on whether a merchant prioritizes high-end technical customization and Shopify Plus readiness (Rivo) or a budget-friendly, gamified approach with AI-assisted setup (OneLoyalty). While both apps excel in their respective niches, businesses seeking to reduce operational overhead often find that integrated platforms provide a more cohesive experience for the end user.

This comparison focuses on the technical capabilities, pricing models, and strategic fit of Rivo and OneLoyalty. By examining the nuances of each platform, merchants can identify which tool aligns with their current operational maturity and future growth goals.

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

The following table provides a high-level overview of how these two loyalty solutions compare across several key performance indicators and operational metrics.

Core Mechanics: Points, Rewards, and Referrals

At the heart of any loyalty program is the ability to incentivize specific customer behaviors. Both Rivo and OneLoyalty offer the standard foundations of points and referrals, but their execution philosophies differ.

Earning and Redemption Workflows

Rivo focuses on a streamlined experience built on Shopify’s latest technology. The platform allows for "ways to earn" and "ways to redeem" that are deeply integrated into the customer account experience. Because Rivo emphasizes weekly product updates, the workflows often reflect the most current Shopify UI standards. This ensures that the loyalty program feels like a native part of the storefront rather than a third-party add-on.

OneLoyalty, developed by FireGroup, takes a different approach by utilizing an AI algorithm to suggest a tailored program based on the store's specific selling niche. This is particularly useful for merchants who may not have a clear strategy in place and want a data-driven starting point. OneLoyalty also supports earning points for both guests and registered members, which can be a powerful tool for capturing top-of-funnel interest before a full account creation occurs.

Referral Program Dynamics

Referrals are a key component of organic acquisition. Rivo provides a fully customizable referral platform designed to move core retention metrics. By allowing merchants to checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals before finalizing their strategy, businesses can see how social proof and peer recommendations drive conversion.

OneLoyalty includes specific rules against program abuse, which is a common concern for merchants running referral campaigns. Their system rewards both the referrer and the referee, keeping the incentive structure balanced. Additionally, OneLoyalty supports omnichannel recording, meaning referral history and rewards can be tracked across mobile apps and POS systems, providing a consistent experience for brands with physical locations.

VIP Tiers and Customer Segmentation

Segmentation is what transforms a basic points program into a high-impact retention engine. By creating exclusive levels of access, brands can foster a sense of community and reward their most profitable customers.

Building Tiers in Rivo

Rivo’s approach to VIP tiers is available in its Scale plan and above. The focus here is on brand consistency. With advanced branding options, including custom CSS and fonts, merchants can ensure that their VIP program looks and feels premium. For brands that need even more control, the Rivo Developer Toolkit allows for seeing how the app is positioned for Shopify stores to be reflected in custom-coded tier structures and unique benefits.

Gamification and Tiers in OneLoyalty

OneLoyalty leans heavily into gamification to keep users engaged with their VIP status. Features like daily check-ins for points and "lucky wheels" for loyalty gifts create a more interactive experience than a static tier list. Their VIP perks can include exclusive rewards, bonus points, and even QR code membership cards. This makes OneLoyalty a strong contender for brands that want to create a fun, app-like experience for their customers.

Customization and Technical Control

The ability to tailor an app to a brand's specific visual identity is often a deciding factor for growing businesses.

The Developer-First Approach of Rivo

Rivo is built for fast-growing DTC brands that may have internal design or development resources. The inclusion of a Developer Toolkit in the Plus plan signifies a commitment to flexibility. Merchants can build custom integrations or use checkout extensions to place loyalty elements directly into the Shopify checkout process. This level of control is essential for Shopify Plus stores that need to maintain a high-performance, low-friction environment.

AI and Template-Based Design in OneLoyalty

OneLoyalty prioritizes speed and ease of use. Their AI-driven setup enables a program to be launched in "literal clicks." While they offer widget customization (colors, positions), the focus is on providing a functional and effective program without requiring deep technical knowledge. For international brands, OneLoyalty’s support for over 130 languages is a massive advantage, allowing for VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers to be localized across global markets without manual translation overhead.

Pricing Structure and Total Value

Pricing is often the most scrutinized aspect of app selection. Both apps offer free tiers, but their scaling models are distinct.

Rivo’s Order-Based Scaling

Rivo’s free plan is capped at 200 monthly orders. This is a straightforward metric that allows small stores to test the platform's core features. As a store grows, the Scale plan at $49 per month introduces advanced branding and analytics. The jump to the Plus plan at $499 per month is significant, positioning Rivo as an enterprise-grade solution for those who need concierge support and developer tools. When comparing plan fit against retention goals, merchants must consider if their order volume justifies the leap to the Plus tier.

OneLoyalty’s Member-Based Scaling

OneLoyalty uses "Monthly Active Loyalty Members" (MALM) as its primary scaling metric. The free plan allows for unlimited orders but limits the number of active loyalty members to 50. This means that a store with high volume but low loyalty participation can stay on a lower-cost plan longer. The paid tiers are more granular, with steps at $9, $29, and $49 per month. This makes OneLoyalty a very attractive option for businesses that are highly sensitive to fixed monthly costs.

Integrations and Ecosystem Fit

No app exists in a vacuum. The ability to sync loyalty data with email marketing, help desks, and SMS platforms is vital for a unified customer view.

Rivo’s Integration Stack

Rivo prides itself on instantly integrating with popular tools like Klaviyo, Gorgias, Postscript, and Attentive. These integrations are crucial for creating automated email campaigns that trigger based on loyalty events, such as a customer reaching a new VIP tier or having points that are about to expire. Rivo also works with Shopify Flow, allowing for complex backend automations that can reduce manual tasks for the growth team.

OneLoyalty’s Omnichannel Focus

OneLoyalty emphasizes its connection to the FireGroup ecosystem, working seamlessly with OneMobile and Transcy. This makes it a preferred choice for merchants who are already using those tools to manage their mobile apps or site translations. Their compatibility with Judge.me and Yotpo ensures that review automation that builds trust at purchase time can be linked to the loyalty program, rewarding customers for leaving feedback.

Support and Performance Signals

While features are important, the reliability of the developer and the quality of support can make or break the implementation process.

Trust and Reliability in Rivo

Rivo has a high rating of 4.8, though this is currently based on a single review in the provided data. This suggests a high level of satisfaction from early adopters but a smaller sample size for broader market validation. Their support model is "world-class live chat" available 24/7, with priority and concierge support reserved for the Plus plan. The founder's active involvement in the product's narrative suggests a high level of accountability and a focus on shipping updates frequently.

Market Presence of OneLoyalty

OneLoyalty has a more established presence in terms of review volume, with 120 reviews and a 4.5 rating. This indicates a well-tested product that has been used across a variety of store types and niches. Their support structure scales with the pricing tiers, moving from email support in the Startup plan to live chat in the Growth plan. For brands that have experienced customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl, having a seasoned support team is a significant comfort.

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

While Rivo and OneLoyalty offer powerful solutions for rewards and referrals, they primarily focus on the loyalty vertical. For many merchants, this leads to the challenge of "app fatigue"—a situation where a store is powered by a fragmented stack of single-purpose apps. Each new app adds a separate subscription, a different dashboard to learn, and another script that can potentially slow down site performance.

When a merchant uses one app for loyalty, another for reviews, a third for wishlists, and a fourth for social proof, data silos inevitably form. The loyalty program doesn't know which customers are leaving the most helpful reviews, and the wishlist data isn't being used to trigger personalized loyalty offers. This fragmentation creates a disjointed experience for the customer and an administrative burden for the merchant.

Growave addresses these challenges through a "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy. By integrating loyalty programs that keep customers coming back with modules for collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews and wishlists, Growave provides a unified source of truth for customer engagement. This approach ensures that every interaction a customer has with a brand—whether it is saving a product for later or sharing a referral link—is captured and rewarded in one place.

Managing retention from a single platform allows teams to see real examples from brands improving retention by leveraging cross-functional data. For instance, a customer who adds several items to their wishlist but hasn't purchased might be sent a personalized loyalty point bonus to nudge them toward a conversion. This level of automation and data harmony is difficult to achieve when using specialized apps like Rivo or OneLoyalty alongside other separate tools.

Furthermore, an all-in-one platform significantly reduces the technical overhead of maintaining a Shopify store. Instead of managing multiple API connections and potentially conflicting scripts, merchants work with a single, optimized integration. This leads to faster site speeds and a more consistent user interface across all customer touchpoints. By consolidating these functions, brands can achieve a clearer view of total retention-stack costs and focus their resources on strategy rather than troubleshooting app conflicts.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards and OneLoyalty: Loyalty & Rewards, the decision comes down to the specific needs of the business and the desired level of technical control. Rivo is an excellent fit for high-growth DTC brands that require deep technical customization, Shopify Plus features like checkout extensions, and a developer-friendly toolkit. Its pricing reflects this premium positioning, especially at the higher tiers.

OneLoyalty is a compelling choice for smaller to mid-sized stores that want to get a program up and running quickly with AI assistance. Its focus on gamification and its competitive pricing for stores with a smaller active loyalty member base make it an accessible entry point into the world of rewards. The choice between them involves weighing the importance of enterprise-grade technical flexibility against budget-friendly, "clicks-not-code" simplicity.

However, as e-commerce grows more complex, the strategic benefit of moving away from a fragmented app stack becomes clearer. Integrated platforms allow for a more seamless execution of retention strategies by bringing loyalty, reviews, and wishlists under one roof. This consolidation not only improves the customer experience but also simplifies the merchant's workflow and reduces the total cost of ownership.

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 Shopify Plus store?

Rivo is specifically positioned for Shopify Plus brands, offering checkout extensions and a developer toolkit that allows for deep customization within the Plus ecosystem. While OneLoyalty is functional on Plus, its feature set is more aligned with standard Shopify and mid-market needs.

How do Rivo and OneLoyalty handle internationalization?

OneLoyalty has a distinct advantage in internationalization, supporting over 130 languages. This makes it ideal for global brands. Rivo provides customization options that allow for translation, but it may require more manual effort or developer resources to achieve the same level of localization.

What is the main difference in how these apps charge merchants?

Rivo scales its pricing based on the total number of monthly orders the store processes. OneLoyalty scales based on "Monthly Active Loyalty Members," which focuses on the number of people actually interacting with the loyalty program rather than the total transaction volume of the store.

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

An all-in-one platform like Growave reduces tool sprawl by combining loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists into a single dashboard. Specialized apps like Rivo or OneLoyalty often offer deep functionality in one area (loyalty) but require merchants to install additional apps for other features, which can lead to higher costs and fragmented data. For businesses looking for a unified customer experience and lower operational overhead, the all-in-one approach is often more efficient.