Smart Wishlist vs. XB Wishlist: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right app for a Shopify store is a practical decision, not a popularity contest. Merchants must weigh functionality, reliability, and long-term value against costs and maintenance overhead. With thousands of single-purpose apps available, the right pick depends on how a wishlist feature will fit into a broader retention and conversion strategy.

Short answer: Smart Wishlist is a solid pick for merchants who want a lightweight, guest-friendly wishlist with a low monthly price and fast setup; XB Wishlist is a good option for stores that prioritize an elegant account-based experience and built-in analytics. For merchants who want to reduce app sprawl and combine wishlists with loyalty, referrals, and reviews, an integrated retention platform can deliver better long-term value than either single-purpose app.

This article provides a feature-by-feature, data-driven comparison of Smart Wishlist (by Webmarked) and XB Wishlist (by XB), explains where each app makes sense, and then examines a strategic alternative for merchants tired of stitching together multiple single-purpose tools.

Smart Wishlist vs. XB Wishlist: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

What both apps offer: core wishlist basics

Both Smart Wishlist and XB Wishlist cover the essential wishlist functionality expected by merchants:

• Wishlist buttons on product pages and collection pages.
• Ability for customers to save items for later.
• Shareable wishlists so customers can send lists to friends, family, or themselves.
• Integration into the customer journey to increase returning visits and conversions.

Despite this common ground, the two solutions diverge on who they prioritize (guest shoppers vs. account holders), how they present analytics, and how deeply they integrate with other parts of the store.

Features: depth, customization, and UX

Guest access and saving behavior

Smart Wishlist emphasizes guest support: one-click saving even for non-logged-in visitors. That reduces friction for browsers who are not ready to create an account and can boost the number of saved items quickly. For stores with high traffic but low account creation, guest-friendly wishlists reduce lost opportunities.

XB Wishlist centers on storing wishlists in the customer's account. This is beneficial if the store already has strong account usage and wants the wishlist to become part of a returning customer's record. Account-based saving often ties more cleanly to customer profiles and email flows, which helps with targeted re-engagement.

Key considerations:

• If a store relies heavily on guest traffic or social referrals, the frictionless guest saving in Smart Wishlist is a practical advantage.
• If a store focuses on membership, loyalty programs, or logged-in repeat buyers, XB Wishlist’s account ties are more powerful.

Design controls and on-store placement

Both apps allow button placement and styling to match a store's theme, but approach customization differently.

Smart Wishlist offers simple, flexible placement across product, collection, search results, and cart pages. It positions itself as lightweight and unlikely to break themes upon uninstall, which matters during iteration cycles.

XB Wishlist highlights tailored button design to fit the store’s style and provides a polished customer-facing experience out of the box. For brands that care about pixel-perfect design and consistent account UI, XB Wishlist aims to deliver.

Sharing, lists, and organization

Both apps allow sharing wishlists. Smart Wishlist markets unlimited wishlists and easy shareability for both guests and logged-in users. XB Wishlist also supports saving and sharing, and combines it with account access.

Where they differ is around organizing lists and the customer experience of managing favorites. Smart Wishlist is straightforward and fast; XB Wishlist focuses on an experience that integrates into a customer's account, which can allow more structured organization for repeat customers.

Analytics and activity tracking

Built-in analytics matter for merchants who want to measure wishlist impact on conversions.

XB Wishlist includes built-in analytics to track wishlist activity. Merchants who care about which items are frequently saved, how wishlist saves translate into purchases, and how wishlist behavior correlates with campaigns will find this helpful.

Smart Wishlist provides JavaScript and REST APIs for advanced tracking, enabling merchants to capture events through their own analytics setup (e.g., GA4, Klaviyo). The app itself is lighter on analytics dashboards, but the API access gives flexibility for teams with analytics capacity.

APIs and developer access

Smart Wishlist advertises JavaScript and REST APIs to meet advanced requirements. That makes it appealing to teams that may want to forward events to external tools or build custom flows. Smart Wishlist’s lightweight payload and uninstall behavior are additional technical advantages for merchants who iterate frequently.

XB Wishlist provides a simpler integration path, including Shopify Flow compatibility for automation. For many merchants, the built-in analytics and Flow-ready events are sufficient and easier to implement without developer resources.

Pricing and value for money

Public pricing and transparency

Smart Wishlist lists a Standard plan at $4.99 per month. That low price point positions it as accessible for small stores and those testing wishlist functionality.

XB Wishlist does not show public pricing in the provided data. Absence of visible pricing often indicates either a free plan with paid upgrades, pricing hidden behind install, or custom pricing. Merchants should confirm pricing directly in the app listing or during install to avoid surprises.

A merchant evaluating value should balance price against:

• How much time or developer effort a solution saves.
• Whether guest saving, sharing, and APIs are included.
• Future needs for analytics or automation.

Given the data points, Smart Wishlist is clearly lower-cost and likely better value for stores seeking a focused, inexpensive wishlist tool. XB Wishlist may be better value for stores that prefer richer analytics and are willing to trade price transparency for a more polished account experience.

Long-term total cost of ownership

Single-purpose apps like Smart Wishlist and XB Wishlist can feel inexpensive initially, but each app adds:

• Monthly fees (even small ones add up).
• Maintenance and potential theme adjustments.
• Duplicate functionality across several single-purpose apps (e.g., reviews, loyalty, referrals), driving app sprawl.

Merchants must consider whether a low per-app price is actually better value for money when multiple single-purpose apps are stacked. For budgets focused on simplicity and low initial spend, Smart Wishlist provides immediate value. For teams willing to consolidate costs for integrated features, a combined platform may be a better long-run investment.

Integrations and ecosystem fit

Out-of-the-box integrations

Smart Wishlist works with SendGrid and ShareThis per the provided data. These integrations suggest capabilities in email and sharing flows but are limited in scope.

XB Wishlist integrates with Shopify Flow, which is useful for automations inside the Shopify admin. Flow compatibility can streamline internal workflows such as tagging customers who save items, triggering notifications, or feeding wishlist events into custom automations.

Compatibility with wider tech stacks

Smart Wishlist exposes APIs, which makes it suitable for merchants using advanced tools like Klaviyo, GA4, or custom backends. If a store wants to push wishlist events into a lifecycle marketing stack, the API surface is valuable.

XB Wishlist’s Flow integration is helpful for stores that rely on Shopify-native automations and want immediate events without developer work.

When choosing between the two, consider which ecosystem is primary:

• External marketing stack and custom analytics → Smart Wishlist APIs are an advantage.
• Shopify-native automation and simple admin flows → XB Wishlist’s Flow support is meaningful.

Support, reviews, and reliability

Ratings and review counts

Use of the apps’ Shopify ratings gives real-world insight:

• Smart Wishlist: 81 reviews, 3.6 rating.
• XB Wishlist: 19 reviews, 5.0 rating.

A higher rating with fewer reviews (XB Wishlist) suggests satisfied users among a smaller customer base. A larger review count with a lower rating (Smart Wishlist) points to a broader user base and a mix of experiences. Both numbers are useful:

• Smart Wishlist’s larger sample size (81 reviews) provides more data points to assess recurring issues or strengths. A 3.6 rating is middling; merchants should read recent reviews to understand whether complaints are about missing features, support response time, or edge-case bugs.
• XB Wishlist’s perfect rating with 19 reviews is promising, but lower review volume means each review has higher weight and may not reflect long-term scale usage.

Support options and documentation

Smart Wishlist claims “no coding required” and positions itself as easy to set up. For merchants who prefer minimal setup and clear documentation, this is important. API access requires documentation and responsive developer support; merchants should evaluate documentation completeness and support channels.

XB Wishlist’s simple setup and Shopify Flow support imply an admin-friendly orientation. The presence of analytics also suggests support for merchant reporting needs. However, merchants should confirm response SLAs, availability of help articles, and support channels (email, chat, phone).

Implementation complexity and theme impact

Smart Wishlist markets itself as a lightweight payload that “doesn’t break your theme upon uninstall.” That is a practical claim, as app uninstall cleanup can be painful. An app that injects minimal code and cleans up on uninstall reduces the risk of theme issues.

XB Wishlist aims for seamless integration and polished design. Depending on the theme and customizations, some merchants may need theme edits to place buttons or align with account UI. Both apps advertise simple setup, but the experience will vary by store complexity.

Considerations for implementation:

• Test installs on a staging theme where possible.
• Verify uninstall behavior and whether the app leaves code snippets behind.
• Confirm if developer assistance will be required for customization and whether support includes theme edits.

Data ownership, event tracking, and privacy

Smart Wishlist’s APIs provide merchants control over event streams and the ability to forward wishlist activity into email marketing platforms or analytics tools. Having direct event hooks simplifies building flows that convert wishlist activity into email nudges or personalized ads.

XB Wishlist’s analytics and Shopify Flow integration allow merchants to create Shopify-centric automations and internal reports. This is useful when merchant workflows are tightly aligned to Shopify-native processes.

Merchants should ask both vendors:

• How long wishlist data is retained.
• Whether customer PII is stored and how it’s protected.
• If events can be exported or integrated with existing CDPs.

Performance and scalability

Wishlist features may be light from a performance perspective, but footprints can vary. Smart Wishlist’s emphasis on a lightweight payload is meaningful for high-traffic stores and mobile-first stores where script weight affects performance.

XB Wishlist’s account-centered approach ties wishlist load to customer accounts and the store’s own account pages. For stores with tens of thousands of accounts, confirm that wishlist queries do not create latency on account pages.

For both apps, ask about:

• CDN usage for static assets.
• Script async loading and defer options.
• Impact on page speed scores and Lighthouse metrics.

Security and compliance

Wishlist apps capture user preferences and, in some cases, PII (if stored in accounts). Merchants selling internationally must ensure compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA. Important questions include:

• Does the app process PII or only product SKU/ID references?
• Is data stored in a compliant manner, and are processors documented?
• Are opt-out and data deletion flows supported?

Both apps should provide data handling documentation on request; merchants should require it before adoption.

Use-case driven recommendations

Below are pragmatic recommendations for typical merchant profiles.

• Small store testing wishlist functionality on a tight budget:
  • Smart Wishlist is attractive due to the low $4.99 monthly price, simple setup, and guest support. It’s quick to try and unlikely to break a theme.
• Brand that relies on account holders and wants analytics baked in:
  • XB Wishlist fits stores that value account integration and built-in tracking. If the store already encourages account creation, this app meshes with that strategy.
• Merchants who plan to trigger lifecycle emails or custom automations from wishlist saves:
  • Smart Wishlist’s JavaScript and REST APIs are powerful for pushing events into marketing platforms.
• Teams that want to avoid multiple single-purpose apps and prefer consolidation:
  • Consider an integrated retention platform that combines wishlist with loyalty, referrals, and reviews to reduce app sprawl and simplify data flows.

Pros and Cons Summary

Smart Wishlist — Pros

• Low monthly cost ($4.99 Standard).
• One-click saving for guest users and logged-in customers.
• Lightweight payload and claims of safe uninstall.
• API access (JavaScript & REST) for custom workflows.
• Quick setup without coding.

Smart Wishlist — Cons

• Mixed user sentiment reflected in a 3.6 rating across 81 reviews.
• Limited built-in analytics compared to competitors.
• Narrow scope—single-purpose app that may require additional tools for loyalty, referrals, and reviews.

XB Wishlist — Pros

• High rating (5.0) across 19 reviews, indicating strong satisfaction among users.
• Built-in analytics to track wishlist activity.
• Tailored design options and account-based wishlist experience.
• Integration with Shopify Flow for admin automations.

XB Wishlist — Cons

• Smaller review base; fewer data points on scale reliability.
• Pricing not publicly detailed in the provided data, which requires merchants to research further.
• Single-purpose nature may necessitate additional apps for broader retention strategies.

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

The cost of feature fragmentation

Many merchants start with a single-purpose app to solve a single gap—wishlists, reviews, loyalty, referrals—but small monthly fees multiply. Each app introduces:

• Additional monthly charges.
• Redundant or overlapping features.
• Separate dashboards and analytics.
• Multiple points of contact for support.
• Integration and data consolidation work that increases technical debt.

This "app fatigue" creates hidden costs and slows growth.

What “More Growth, Less Stack” means

A consolidated retention platform reduces overhead by combining wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into one integrated suite. This reduces tool sprawl, ensures consistent customer data, and enables cross-feature campaigns that are more effective than isolated tactics.

Growave positions itself around this concept. It combines wishlist functionality with loyalty and reward programs, referrals, review collection, VIP tiers, and more. This integrated approach helps merchants increase customer lifetime value and reduce the friction of managing multiple vendors.

Merchants considering consolidation should evaluate whether combining features under one roof improves outcomes like retention and repeat purchases, and whether it simplifies operations.

How an integrated platform changes execution

An all-in-one platform provides several strategic advantages:

• Unified customer profiles: Wishlist saves, rewards, and review activity live on the same customer record, enabling richer segmentation and personalized campaigns.
• Single billing and fewer apps to maintain: Consolidation reduces monthly fees and administrative overhead.
• Cross-feature automation: Actions like rewarding points for wishlist conversions or prompting reviews after a purchase are easier when features are native to the same system.
• Consistent UX across features: Branded loyalty pages, wishlists, and reviews maintain a coherent customer experience.

For merchants who want to pivot from point solutions, exploring an integrated platform is a practical next step.

Growave as an integrated alternative

Growave is positioned as a flexible retention platform that includes wishlists alongside loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers. The suite is designed to work as a single source of truth for engagement and retention activities.

Benefits that Growave highlights include:

• Ability to build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
• Tools to collect and showcase authentic reviews.
• Enterprise-level features for high-growth stores, including support for Shopify Plus.

For merchants looking to compare direct app functionality, Growave’s wishlist offers integration with loyalty and referral mechanics out of the box, enabling campaigns like “save to wishlist, earn points when purchased.”

Growave’s public presence and transparency are accessible via the Shopify App Store listing, where merchants can also find Growave on the Shopify App Store to install and explore the features in context.

Direct operational advantages compared with single-purpose apps

• Data consolidation: Wishlist events are routed into the loyalty and review engines without needing separate middleware.
• Reduced setup time: One integration replaces multiple installs and potential theme edits.
• Centralized reporting: Merchants can view combined metrics—how wishlist activity feeds into loyalty redemptions and referral conversions.
• Safer uninstall behavior: Managing a single suite reduces the risk of orphaned code coming from multiple apps.

Merchants often find it easier to scale promotions when the wishlist feature is part of a broader growth toolkit.

Integrations and platform compatibility

Growave supports a wide range of integrations and Shopify ecosystem touchpoints designed to replace the need for multiple niche apps. Merchants can use the platform with the checkout, POS, Shopify Flow, and popular page builders. These integrations aim to reduce friction across marketing, support, and operational teams.

For stores that want more details on plan comparisons and costs, merchants can evaluate plans and compare feature sets on the Growave pricing page and decide whether consolidation aligns with their goals for retention and lifetime value. Merchants can review options to consolidate retention features and find the plan that matches their order volume and desired feature set.

Proof points and merchant stories

Growave includes customer examples and inspiration showing how brands use combined features to increase repeat purchases and drive higher lifetime value. Merchants can review case studies and inspiration to see how similar stores used combined wishlist, loyalty, and review strategies to scale retention. See curated customer stories and examples to understand creative executions and results by visiting pages that highlight customer wins.

Support, scale, and enterprise readiness

Growave supports plans ranging from entry-level to enterprise, including options that cater to Shopify Plus merchants. For brands running at scale, the platform offers advanced customization, checkout extensions, APIs, and dedicated support. Those evaluating whether to migrate away from multiple single-purpose apps should weigh the benefit of a dedicated launch plan and ongoing customer success resources for complex migrations.

Growave’s presence on the Shopify App Store and publicly detailed pricing make it straightforward to assess whether consolidation will be more cost-effective and operationally simpler than maintaining a stack of discrete tools. Merchants can also find Growave on the Shopify App Store for direct install and exploration.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack accelerates growth: Schedule a demo.

How to evaluate migration from a wishlist app to an integrated platform

When considering migration from Smart Wishlist or XB Wishlist to a platform like Growave, merchants should follow a pragmatic checklist:

• Map existing wishlist data and determine export/import options.
• Identify automations that will be replaced or consolidated.
• Confirm feature parity for wishlist behaviors (guest saves, shareability, account storage).
• Review how wishlist events feed into loyalty and marketing workflows.
• Estimate total cost of ownership over a 12- to 24-month horizon, including potential savings from reduced app fees.
• Plan a staged rollout: test the integrated wishlist on a subset of pages or customer segments before full switch.

Merchants that prioritize long-term retention, simplified reporting, and fewer vendor relationships frequently find the migration effort worthwhile.

Why consolidation often yields better ROI

Consolidation improves the ROI of retention features in a few predictable ways:

• Higher conversion rates from coordinated campaigns (e.g., wishlist reminder + loyalty incentive).
• Greater LTV uplift when loyalty and referral mechanics complement wishlist behavior.
• Lower operational overhead: fewer logins, fewer dashboards, fewer invoices.

This combined approach helps merchants move from tactical improvements to strategic retention growth.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Smart Wishlist and XB Wishlist, the decision comes down to priorities: Smart Wishlist is a practical, low-cost solution that excels at frictionless guest saving and developer-friendly APIs, while XB Wishlist is better suited to stores that prioritize account-based experiences and built-in analytics. Smart Wishlist’s $4.99 Standard plan and 81-review sample make it an accessible option for quick adoption; XB Wishlist’s 19 reviews and 5.0 rating point to a smaller but highly satisfied user base where account integration and reporting matter.

However, both apps are single-purpose solutions. Merchants who want to reduce tool sprawl, unify customer data, and run coordinated retention programs should consider an integrated platform instead. Growave’s “More Growth, Less Stack” philosophy aims to replace multiple single-purpose apps with a single suite that includes wishlist, loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers. Merchants can evaluate plans and decide whether consolidation is the right move by reviewing options to consolidate retention features and checking the app listing to find Growave on the Shopify App Store.

Start a 14-day free trial to see how a unified retention stack simplifies operations and increases customer lifetime value: Compare plans and start a trial.

FAQ

How do Smart Wishlist and XB Wishlist differ in customer retention impact?

Smart Wishlist reduces friction for first-time browsers by enabling guest saves and quick sharing. That can increase initial list saves and short-term engagement. XB Wishlist focuses on account-based storage and built-in analytics, which can better support long-term retention strategies tied to customer accounts. Both can move the needle, but the best choice depends on whether a merchant’s retention strategy centers on casual browsers or account holders.

Which app is better for stores with limited developer resources?

Smart Wishlist markets itself as “no coding required” with a lightweight payload and safe uninstall behavior, making it easier for merchants without developer resources to install and run. XB Wishlist also advertises simple setup, but merchants should validate theme compatibility and any desired customizations. If a store wants out-of-the-box analytics without technical work, XB Wishlist’s dashboards may be attractive; for simple, fast rollout, Smart Wishlist is a low-effort option.

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

An integrated platform combines wishlist with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers, enabling cross-feature campaigns and unified customer data. This reduces app sprawl, centralizes reporting, and supports coordinated retention strategies. While specialized apps can be cheaper initially and quicker to install, consolidation often yields better long-term ROI for merchants who plan to scale retention efforts.

If a merchant already uses one wishlist app, how hard is it to switch to Growave or another integrated solution?

Switch difficulty varies. Key steps include exporting existing wishlist data, confirming feature parity (guest saves, shareability, account storage), and mapping automations or integrations that rely on wishlist events. Growave provides migration support for higher-tier plans and documentation to assist in the transition. Merchants should test the new wishlist setup on a small segment before a full rollout to avoid disruption.