Smart Wishlist vs. Swish (formerly Wishlist King): An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist app is a common decision point for Shopify merchants who want to capture intent, recover potential sales, and nurture longer-term relationships with customers. With dozens of wishlist options available, the right pick depends on how a wishlist fits into a broader retention strategy, budget constraints, and technical flexibility.

Short answer: Smart Wishlist is a lightweight, simple wishlist for merchants who want a fast, low-cost, no-code way to let guests and logged-in users save items. Swish (formerly Wishlist King) is a more fully featured, enterprise-ready wishlist with stronger customization, analytics, and onboarding support. For merchants who want to reduce tool sprawl and consolidate retention features like loyalty, reviews, referrals, and a wishlist into a single platform, an integrated solution like Growave can offer better value and long-term ROI.

This article provides a feature-by-feature, unbiased comparison of Smart Wishlist and Swish (formerly Wishlist King), covering features, integrations, pricing, performance, support, and real merchant fit. After the direct comparison, the post explains why consolidation is valuable and how an all-in-one retention platform can address limitations that single-purpose apps create.

Smart Wishlist vs. Swish (formerly Wishlist King): At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Overview: Positioning and Target Merchant

Smart Wishlist (Webmarked)

Smart Wishlist positions itself as a minimal, fast wishlist solution aimed at merchants who want an out-of-the-box wishlist with minimal setup and no coding. Its headline benefits are speed, a small code footprint, guest wishlist support, and the low starting price.

Strengths:

• Low price point ($4.99/month).
• Simple setup and one-click save experience.
• Lightweight payload to reduce theme breakage risk.

Trade-offs:

• Limited advanced automation and analytics.
• Fewer platform-level integrations out of the box.
• Lower average rating and fewer reviews (81 reviews, 3.6 rating) which suggest mixed user experiences for more advanced use cases.

Swish (formerly Wishlist King)

Swish pitches itself as a modern, enterprise-grade wishlist for brands that want more control, better analytics, and white-glove onboarding. It provides integrations for Klaviyo, GA4, Meta, and supports Hydrogen/headless setups for Plus stores.

Strengths:

• Higher review count and rating (272 reviews, 5.0 rating) indicating strong satisfaction among users.
• Free setup and customization across plans.
• Rich integration ecosystem and advanced analytics.
• Tiered plans up to Shopify Plus, including white-glove onboarding and dedicated support.

Trade-offs:

• Higher starting price ($19/month).
• May be overkill for merchants who only need a simple wishlist.
• More configuration options could require time for merchants without marketing resources.

Features: What Each App Actually Delivers

Core Wishlist Capabilities

Smart Wishlist:

• Wishlist button on product, collection, search results, and cart pages.
• Supports guests and logged-in users.
• Unlimited wishlists.
• Shareable lists for social or gifting workflows.

Swish:

• Wishlist across the entire shopping journey including product, collection, and search pages.
• Unlimited wishlists & saved items across plans.
• Highly customizable UI to match store styling.
• Saved items available across sessions and devices.
• Wishlist curation and enhanced customer-facing features (e.g., collections of saved items).

Analysis: Both apps cover the essentials (saving, sharing, guest support). Smart Wishlist prioritizes simplicity and speed, while Swish layers in customization and journey-wide support intended for conversion and lifecycle marketing.

Notifications, Automations, and Conversion Triggers

Smart Wishlist:

• Basic save and share flows. No built-in advanced automation claims in the provided data.
• Exposes JavaScript and REST APIs for custom automation if developers are available.

Swish:

• Built-in automated wishlist notifications and personalized messages.
• Integrations with Klaviyo, GA4, and Meta make building lifecycle flows and targeted ad retargeting possible out of the box.
• Free setup service helps merchants to connect triggers into marketing tools.

Analysis: For merchants who plan to convert wishlist signals into email or ad campaigns, Swish offers direct connectors and pre-built workflows. Smart Wishlist requires developer work or middleware to reach the same level of automation.

Analytics and Insights

Smart Wishlist:

• No explicit advanced analytics listed in the description. Some events can be collected via JS/REST API if configured.

Swish:

• Advanced analytics and wishlist curation to help merchants understand which items are most saved and by whom.
• The richer analytics are oriented toward merchants that want to prioritize assortment, promotions, and remarketing based on wishlist behavior.

Analysis: Swish has a clear advantage for merchants who need product-level insights and behavioral segmentation. Smart Wishlist's analytics will depend on custom instrumentation.

Integrations & Platform Support

Smart Wishlist:

• Works with SendGrid and ShareThis (per provided data).
• Exposes JS and REST APIs for custom integrations.

Swish:

• Native integrations listed: Checkout, Hydrogen, Markets, Klaviyo, Customer Accounts, Search, Recommendations.
• Explicit support for GA4 and Meta integrations.
• Headless and Shopify Plus-friendly (Hydrogen support).

Analysis: Swish provides a broader set of readymade integrations, reducing implementation time for merchants who rely on common marketing and analytics tools. Smart Wishlist will require more manual integration work to plug into advanced stacks.

Customization & Theming

Smart Wishlist:

• Marketed as super-easy to setup with no coding required and a lightweight payload that avoids theme breakage.
• Allows some customization via JS and APIs for advanced needs.

Swish:

• Emphasizes full theme integration and free setup & customization service.
• White-glove support on higher tiers ensures the widget matches brand aesthetics.

Analysis: Merchants without design or dev resources who want a pixel-perfect wishlist may find Swish’s white-glove approach more attractive. Smart Wishlist offers a faster path to launch with lower risk of theme conflicts.

UX, Performance, and Implementation

Speed & Theme Impact

Smart Wishlist:

• Lightweight payload and claims it won't break themes upon uninstall — a major advantage if page speed and theme stability are top priorities.
• Simple UI typically results in minimal render impact.

Swish:

• More features and integrations can increase asset load, but professional onboarding and headless support allow performance to be optimized for advanced setups.
• For high-traffic stores, Swish’s configuration and headless options can be better for scaling while maintaining UX quality.

Analysis: If absolute minimal footprint is the primary requirement, Smart Wishlist’s lightweight claims are compelling. But performance trade-offs with Swish can be mitigated through professional setup and modern headless architectures.

Ease of Setup

Smart Wishlist:

• Focus on no-code, easy setup; suited for stores that need to add wishlist quickly.

Swish:

• Free setup and onboarding included; more steps during setup but guided by support teams.

Analysis: Both apps aim to simplify setup for merchants. Smart Wishlist will get merchants live fastest; Swish will take longer but provide more tailored outcomes with onboarding included.

Pricing & Value for Money

Smart Wishlist Pricing

• Standard Plan: $4.99 / month
• Value proposition revolves around being low-cost and low-friction.

Swish Pricing

• Basic Shopify: $19 / month (includes all features, free setup)
• Shopify: $29 / month
• Advanced Shopify: $49 / month
• Shopify Plus: $99 / month (white-glove onboarding, priority support, Hydrogen/headless)

Analysis: Swish has tiered pricing that aligns with merchant scale and support needs. The additional cost buys integrations, onboarding, and analytics that can drive conversion. Smart Wishlist is dramatically cheaper, making it a strong choice for small merchants or stores that only need the core wishlist function.

Value-for-money framing:

• Smart Wishlist: Better value for money for merchants strictly seeking a simple wishlist with minimal overhead.
• Swish: Better value for money for merchants that view wishlist data as part of broader lifecycle and ad optimization strategies, where setup costs and higher monthly fees pay off through improved conversion and repeat purchase rates.

Support, Onboarding, and Trust Signals

Smart Wishlist:

• Emphasizes no-code setup and reliability but has fewer reviews (81) and a middling 3.6 rating. That rating suggests some merchants faced issues or unmet expectations.

Swish:

• Claims free setup and customization across plans, plus dedicated support for Shopify Plus.
• Stronger social proof with 272 reviews and a 5.0 rating, which suggests consistent satisfaction among its user base.

Analysis: For merchants who prioritize hands-on onboarding and a service-oriented vendor, Swish’s higher rating and setup offerings reduce implementation risk. Smart Wishlist’s lower price point can mean lighter support expectations.

Data Ownership, Migration & APIs

Smart Wishlist:

• Exposes JavaScript and REST APIs which can be used to extract wishlist data or integrate it into merchant systems.
• The lightweight approach can simplify migration when uninstalling.

Swish:

• Focuses on integrations with customer accounts and marketing tools, enabling smoother data flows into analytics and email platforms.
• Offers capabilities for Hydrogen/headless and dedicated plus-level features that aid complex migrations and customization.

Analysis: Swish is more intentionally built to be part of a data ecosystem, while Smart Wishlist provides the hooks but expects merchants to wire integrations themselves.

Security & Privacy Considerations

Both apps operate within Shopify’s ecosystem and must comply with platform-level privacy requirements. Key considerations:

• Guest wishlist support requires careful handling of cookies and session data.
• Both apps provide APIs; merchants should ensure data stored or transmitted adheres to GDPR, CCPA, or other relevant regulations.
• Swish’s server-side integrations with analytics and ad platforms likely introduce more third-party data flows; merchants should document where wishlist event data is sent.

Use Cases and Merchant Recommendations

Below are practical recommendations to help merchants decide which app fits their needs.

Smart Wishlist is best for merchants who:

• Need a lightweight wishlist quickly and at low monthly cost.
• Prefer minimal risk to theme integrity and simple UI.
• Have minimal marketing automation needs or limited dev resources for integrations.
• Operate small to medium stores where wishlist behavior is nice-to-have rather than a core signal for lifecycle marketing.

Swish (formerly Wishlist King) is best for merchants who:

• Want wishlist data to feed automated email and ad campaigns (Klavyio, GA4, Meta).
• Need white-glove setup and more customization to match brand experience.
• Operate on Shopify, Advanced, or Plus plans and want scalability and headless compatibility.
• Need analytics to prioritize products, promotions, and retargeting strategies.

Migration and Multi-App Considerations

For merchants switching between wishlist apps:

• Export wishlist data where possible via APIs; both apps provide some level of API access, but the ease varies.
• Test how guest vs. logged-in wishlist mapping migrates — persistent cross-device saves often rely on account linking.
• Plan theme rollback and ensure that uninstall does not leave residual assets that affect speed.

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

App Fatigue and the Hidden Costs of Single-Function Tools

Adding single-purpose apps for each retention function (wishlists, loyalty, reviews, referrals) increases the number of integrations, billing lines, and maintenance tasks. Merchants often face:

• Fragmented customer data across tools, making segmentation and personalization harder.
• Multiple monthly fees that add up faster than a consolidated solution.
• Repeating setup and rework when connecting each app to email providers, analytics, or customer support tools.
• Higher risk of theme conflicts as more scripts load on storefront pages.

This phenomenon—commonly referred to as app fatigue—affects merchant efficiency and long-term cost of ownership.

The "More Growth, Less Stack" Value Proposition

An integrated retention platform reduces tool sprawl by combining wishlist functionality with other retention channels. Growave’s philosophy of "More Growth, Less Stack" focuses on delivering multiple retention levers from a single suite so merchants can centralize data and run coordinated campaigns.

Key benefits of consolidation:

• Centralized customer signals (wishlist saves, loyalty points, review activity) enable coherent lifecycle flows.
• Reduced integration overhead: one billing relationship, one support channel, fewer theme scripts.
• Better value-for-money when multiple features are needed, as combined plans typically cost less than the sum of separate apps.

Merchants can compare consolidation benefits by trialing how wishlist events feed directly into loyalty or review triggers inside the same platform rather than sending data through separate connectors.

Growave: What an Integrated Retention Stack Looks Like

Growave combines core retention features into one platform: loyalty programs, referrals, reviews & UGC, wishlist, and VIP tiers. The integration is designed so wishlist saves can directly influence loyalty points, VIP tier assignments, and review requests without needing separate middleware.

For example, merchants can use loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases to tie wishlist behavior into point accrual and targeted offers. Growave’s wishlist sits alongside reviews and referral systems, which makes coordinated campaigns easier to build and measure.

Growave also provides tools to collect and showcase authentic reviews, which helps turn wishlist interest into social proof and post-purchase UGC. Having reviews and wishlist behavior in a single platform reduces friction when running review seeding campaigns or incentivized referral flows.

Integrations and Platform Support

Growave supports a wide ecosystem, including Klaviyo, Omnisend, Recharge, Gorgias, and storefront builders. For merchants on enterprise stacks, Growave lists solutions for high-growth Plus brands. Consolidating wishlist and other retention features inside Growave reduces the number of connector points needed to stream data into analytics and email platforms.

Pricing and implementation transparency can be reviewed when merchants decide to consolidate retention features. For merchants who prefer to try firsthand, Growave is available on the Shopify App Store and can be installed from the Shopify App Store.

Cost Comparison and Support

Because single-purpose wishlist apps may charge separately and require additional integrations, an all-in-one platform often delivers better long-term value for merchants who intend to use multiple retention features. Growave’s tiered plans bundle loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlist. Merchants can compare tiers and expected value with the flexible plans shown on the pricing page when deciding whether to consolidate or stitch together point solutions.

For merchants who want to see how consolidation performs before committing, Growave provides trial options and demo resources. Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack accelerates growth.

Real-World Benefits of an Integrated Approach

• Faster activation: one setup for loyalty + wishlist + referrals shortens time to ROI compared to separate apps each requiring configuration.
• Cleaner UX: consistent interface and reward logic across features improve customer understanding and adoption.
• Unified reporting: cross-feature attribution (e.g., wishlist saves leading to referrals or reviews) is simpler when all signals are captured centrally.
• Single source of truth: reduces discrepancies in customer segments across platforms which improves personalization accuracy.

Links to Explore Growave Further

To evaluate whether consolidation makes sense, merchants can review pricing and plan details on the Growave pricing page and experiment directly by installing Growave from the Shopify App Store. The following resources help illustrate how wishlist merges with other retention tools:

• Review how wishlist ties into loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases to increase customer lifetime value.
• Learn how wishlist and product interest can move into post-purchase cycles using tools to collect and showcase authentic reviews.
• Explore customer examples and implementation inspiration from customer stories from brands scaling retention.
• Compare pricing tiers to determine whether a consolidated plan could replace multiple single-purpose apps by visiting the pricing and plans page.
• If ready to test, merchants can install Growave from the Shopify App Store.

Migration Considerations: When Not to Rip-and-Replace

Moving wishlist or other retention features into an all-in-one platform requires planning:

• Map data flows: ensure wishlist data maps to loyalty identities or customer accounts.
• Keep historical data: extract exports from current apps where possible to preserve customer lists and previous saves.
• Maintain email flows: transition email automations gradually to avoid gaps in communication.
• Test in a staging environment for theme and UX impacts.
• Monitor KPIs closely for the first 30–60 days to validate parity in performance.

Growave’s onboarding resources and demo availability can help merchants evaluate migration risk and plan a staged rollout. For stores on Shopify Plus with custom stacks like Hydrogen, review headless support and enterprise options early in the migration planning process.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Smart Wishlist and Swish (formerly Wishlist King), the decision comes down to priorities and scale. Smart Wishlist is a strong option for merchants who want a speedy, low-cost wishlist with minimal setup and a small code footprint. Swish is better suited for merchants that need advanced analytics, deep marketing integrations, and white-glove onboarding—especially brands that rely on wishlist signals for email campaigns and ad retargeting.

However, if wishlist functionality is one of several retention levers—alongside loyalty programs, reviews, referrals, and VIP tiers—merchants may find better long-term value in a consolidated platform. Consolidation reduces integration and maintenance overhead and centralizes customer signals for more coherent lifecycle marketing.

Growave offers a single platform that combines wishlist with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP functionality so merchants can capture and act on intent without adding multiple single-purpose apps. Evaluate whether a consolidated approach reduces complexity and increases ROI by reviewing Growave’s pricing and plans and exploring its Shopify presence by installing Growave from the Shopify App Store. Start a 14-day free trial to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention and reduces tool sprawl.

FAQ

Q: How do Smart Wishlist and Swish differ in pricing for growing stores?

• Smart Wishlist offers an entry-level plan at $4.99/month, making it low cost for stores that only need basic wishlist features. Swish has tiered plans starting at $19/month with additional options up to a $99/month Shopify Plus plan. The higher tiers include onboarding, integrations, and priority support, which can be valuable for scaling merchants.

Q: Which app is easier to set up without a developer?

• Smart Wishlist emphasizes no-code setup and is designed to get merchants live quickly with minimal technical involvement. Swish also offers free setup but includes more customization options and onboarding assistance, which can take longer but yields a more tailored result.

Q: Which app is better for connecting wishlist behaviour to email and ad campaigns?

• Swish has clearer out-of-the-box integrations with Klaviyo, GA4, and Meta, and includes automated wishlist notifications. Smart Wishlist provides APIs and JS hooks but requires more custom integration work to connect wishlist behavior to marketing tools.

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

• An all-in-one platform consolidates multiple retention features, simplifying data flows and reducing maintenance overhead. Instead of stitching together wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals across multiple apps, a single platform provides unified reporting and coordinated campaigns. For merchants who use more than one retention channel, a consolidated solution often provides better long-term value and reduced complexity.