Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty vs. Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Selecting the right retention tools for a Shopify storefront involves a careful balance between specialized functionality and technical simplicity. Merchants often find themselves choosing between apps that focus on a single core mechanic, such as subscriptions, and those that attempt to bridge multiple retention strategies like loyalty and referrals. The challenge lies in determining which tool provides the necessary features without adding excessive weight to the store's code or the merchant's daily operations.

Short answer: Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty is a robust choice for stores where recurring revenue and membership perks are the primary drivers of growth. Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards offers a modern, loyalty-first approach for brands looking to scale through referrals and points programs with high customization. Choosing between them requires evaluating whether the business model relies more on automated repeat billing or community-driven incentives, though many merchants find that managing these separate functions leads to significant operational overhead.

The purpose of this analysis is to provide a feature-by-feature comparison of Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty and Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards. By examining their workflows, pricing models, and integration capabilities, merchants can make a decision that aligns with their specific growth stage and technical requirements. This expert evaluation looks at the data-driven performance of both apps to help store owners navigate the nuances of retention technology.

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

Core Features and Retention Workflows

The fundamental difference between these two applications lies in their primary retention engine. Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty is built on a foundation of recurring revenue. It enables merchants to create "subscribe and save" plans, memberships, and subscription boxes. The workflow is designed to automate the billing cycle, ensuring that once a customer is acquired, their lifetime value is secured through consistent, scheduled transactions. This app includes specific tools for physical and digital products, making it versatile for service-based businesses or traditional e-commerce brands.

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards approaches retention through a different lens. Instead of focusing on the transaction schedule, it focuses on the emotional and social drivers of repeat purchases. The core workflow involves earning points for specific actions and redeeming them for rewards. This is paired with a referral platform designed to turn existing customers into brand advocates. While Subi attempts to include loyalty points as part of its subscription package, Rivo’s entire infrastructure is dedicated to the gamification of the customer journey.

Subscription and Recurring Billing Mechanics

Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty provides a high level of control over the subscription experience. It includes features like smart dunning, which manages failed payments to reduce involuntary churn. This is a critical technical requirement for any store relying on recurring billing. The app also supports "mystery boxes" and bundles, which are effective strategies for increasing Average Order Value (AOV). Merchants can offer flexible billing cycles and delivery schedules, giving the end-user a self-service portal to skip, pause, or cancel their orders without contacting support.

Rivo does not list subscription billing or recurring payment management in its provided data. This means that for a merchant whose business model is predicated on subscriptions, Rivo would likely need to be paired with another application. This highlights a common dilemma in the Shopify ecosystem: choosing a specialized tool for loyalty while needing another specialized tool for subscriptions, which can lead to data silos and a fragmented customer experience.

Loyalty, Referrals, and VIP Programs

In the realm of loyalty, Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards offers a comprehensive suite of tools. It provides ways to earn and redeem points, automated email campaigns to remind customers of their balance, and VIP tiers to reward high-intent shoppers. One of its standout features is the referral platform, which is specifically mentioned as a tool to move metrics. For brands that grow through word-of-mouth or social sharing, having a dedicated referral engine is a significant advantage.

Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty also includes loyalty points and rewards, but these features appear to be designed to complement the subscription model rather than stand as a standalone loyalty platform. For example, a merchant might use Subi to offer points to subscribers as an incentive to stay enrolled. However, based on the provided data, Subi’s loyalty features are primarily accessible in its higher-tier plans, such as the $69 per month plan.

Customization and Control

Modern Shopify merchants require tools that can blend seamlessly with their brand's aesthetic. Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards places a strong emphasis on this, offering a developer toolkit and the ability to use custom CSS and fonts in its "Scale" plan. This level of control is essential for brands that have a very specific visual identity and do not want their loyalty widget to look like a generic add-on. The mention of "Shopify's latest tech built for 2025" suggests that Rivo is focused on maintaining compatibility with the latest Online Store 2.0 themes and checkout extensions.

Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty offers widget customization and templates, particularly starting from its $19 per month "Growth" plan. It provides an "auto-adding widget" and a seamless subscriber portal. While Subi offers customization of the portal and emails, it does not explicitly mention a developer toolkit for deep code-level adjustments like Rivo. Subi’s focus is more on the utility of the subscriber interface, ensuring it is easy for customers to manage their own accounts, which indirectly reduces the merchant's customer service load.

Pricing Structure and Value for Money

Analyzing the pricing of these two apps reveals different philosophies regarding scalability and feature access. Both apps offer a free entry point, but the limitations and growth paths vary.

Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty Pricing Tiers

Subi’s pricing is structured around revenue and feature complexity:

• Free Plan: This is accessible for small stores with up to $300 in subscription revenue per month. It includes basic membership management and the customer portal.
• Growth Plan ($19/month): This removes the subscription revenue cap and adds customization options for the widget and emails. It also introduces prepaid subscriptions.
• Subi Plan ($69/month): This is where the loyalty programs and rewards are introduced, along with more advanced billing tools like failed payment retry and bulk edits.
• Subi Plus ($299/month): This enterprise-grade tier offers a dedicated customer success manager and 99.998% uptime, targeting high-volume stores that need priority support.

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards Pricing Tiers

Rivo’s pricing focuses on order volume and advanced technical features:

• 100% Free Forever: This allows up to 200 monthly orders and includes the basic points program and branding.
• Scale Plan ($49/month): This provides access to all features, including VIP tiers, analytics, and advanced branding with custom CSS.
• Plus Plan ($499/month): This is a significant jump in cost but includes checkout extensions, the developer toolkit, and custom integrations.

When evaluating these plans, a merchant must consider their primary growth metric. If the store generates significant revenue from a few subscribers, Subi’s $19 plan is highly efficient. If the store has high order volume but lower margins, Rivo’s 200-order limit on the free plan might be reached quickly. Subi’s inclusion of loyalty features only in its $69 plan means that merchants seeking a low-cost loyalty-only solution might find Rivo’s $49 plan more attractive, provided they do not need subscription billing.

Integrations and Ecosystem Fit

The ability of an app to communicate with the rest of the tech stack is a major factor in its long-term viability. Both apps integrate with Klaviyo, which is the industry standard for email marketing and retention. This allows merchants to trigger emails based on subscription status or loyalty point balances.

Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty lists integrations with Mailchimp, Fast Bundle, and various payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize. It also works with Translate & Adapt, which is crucial for international stores. Its compatibility with "Fast Bundle" indicates a focus on increasing AOV through product groupings.

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards highlights integrations with Gorgias, Postscript, Attentive, and Fuego. The inclusion of SMS platforms like Postscript and Attentive suggests that Rivo is optimized for a multi-channel retention strategy, where loyalty updates are sent via text. Rivo also works with Shopify POS, making it a viable option for merchants who have both an online and a physical retail presence.

Performance and Operational Overhead

Every app added to a Shopify store introduces a degree of operational overhead. This includes the time spent managing the app, the impact on site speed, and the complexity of troubleshooting when something goes wrong.

Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty requires the management of "subscription contracts." This involves overseeing billing cycles and ensuring that the dunning process is effectively recovering failed payments. Because subscriptions are a critical part of the checkout process, any failure here directly impacts revenue. Subi’s inclusion of a dedicated customer success manager at the $299 tier is a recognition of this complexity.

Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards focuses on the "frontend" experience of loyalty. The overhead here is more about creative management—setting up rewards, adjusting point values, and designing the referral experience. Since Rivo mentions using Shopify’s latest tech, it likely leverages app blocks and checkout extensions that minimize the impact on theme performance compared to older apps that rely heavily on script tags.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your Business

The choice between Subi and Rivo depends largely on the store’s business model and maturity.

When to Choose Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty

Subi is the logical choice for merchants who want to build a business around recurring revenue. If the store offers a product that customers need on a regular basis (like coffee, vitamins, or beauty products), the subscription features are the priority. The fact that Subi also offers loyalty points is a bonus that allows the merchant to incentivize subscribers to remain loyal. It is particularly well-suited for:

• Brands launching a membership-only store.
• Merchants who want to offer "Mystery Boxes" or curated monthly bundles.
• Stores that need advanced dunning management to protect their recurring revenue.

When to Choose Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards

Rivo is better suited for brands that rely on high-frequency, non-subscription purchases and a strong community. If the goal is to build a "viral loop" through referrals or to create an elite VIP experience with deep visual customization, Rivo’s toolkit is superior. It is the preferred option for:

• DTC brands with a strong social media presence.
• Omnichannel merchants who need to sync loyalty points with Shopify POS.
• Stores that have a dedicated developer or designer who can utilize the custom CSS and developer toolkit features.

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

While specialized apps like Subi and Rivo solve specific problems, they often contribute to a phenomenon known as app fatigue. This occurs when a merchant has to manage a dozen different apps, each with its own dashboard, billing cycle, and support team. This "tool sprawl" leads to fragmented data—customer loyalty data is in one app, their review history is in another, and their wishlist behavior is in a third. This fragmentation makes it nearly impossible to create a unified customer profile or a consistent experience.

Growave addresses this by consolidating these essential retention tools into a single platform. Instead of choosing between subscriptions or loyalty, merchants can access a broad suite of tools including loyalty programs, rewards, reviews, UGC, referrals, and wishlists. This "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy ensures that all retention data lives in one place, reducing the technical debt associated with multiple integrations. By evaluating feature coverage across plans, merchants can see how a single platform can replace three or four separate subscriptions.

The benefits of an integrated approach extend beyond just cost savings. When loyalty points, reviews, and wishlists are handled by the same system, the customer experience becomes much smoother. For example, a customer can receive loyalty points for leaving a review or for sharing a product from their wishlist. These interactions are much harder to coordinate when using a disconnected stack. For brands that are comparing plan fit against retention goals, the efficiency of an integrated platform often outweighs the benefits of a niche, single-function app.

Furthermore, an integrated platform provides a clearer view of total retention-stack costs. Instead of multiple monthly bills that increase as the store grows, merchants have a predictable pricing structure. This is especially important for high-growth brands that need loyalty points and rewards designed to lift repeat purchases without the complexity of managing separate vendor relationships. By reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from, store owners can see the impact of having a unified dashboard for their entire retention strategy.

The operational efficiency gained from this integration allows marketing teams to focus on strategy rather than troubleshooting app conflicts. Whether it is setting up VIP tiers and incentives for high-intent customers or collecting and showcasing authentic customer reviews to build trust, the process is streamlined. Social proof that supports conversion and AOV becomes a natural byproduct of the loyalty journey. Brands looking for real examples from brands improving retention often find that those who simplify their stack are the ones who scale the most effectively.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a seamless journey that keeps customers coming back. When a store can see customer stories that show how teams reduce app sprawl, it becomes clear that "more" is not always better. A leaner tech stack often leads to a faster site and a more cohesive brand experience. If consolidating tools is a priority, start by choosing a plan built for long-term value.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty and Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards, the decision comes down to the core engine of the business. Subi is an excellent choice for those who need a robust subscription and membership management system with a high rating and a proven track record across hundreds of reviews. Rivo, though newer in the market according to the provided review count, offers a modern and highly customizable approach to loyalty and referrals that appeals to design-conscious brands. Both apps serve their specific purposes well, but they also represent the potential for increased complexity in a store’s backend.

The trade-off for specialized functionality is often the burden of managing a fragmented stack. As a brand scales, the need for a unified data strategy and a consistent customer experience becomes more pressing. Integrated platforms provide a strategic alternative by combining loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists into one environment. This reduces the time spent on maintenance and ensures that every customer touchpoint is synchronized.

By checking merchant feedback and app-store performance signals, it is evident that many growing stores are moving toward consolidation to improve their retention execution. A simplified stack leads to better data visibility and a more agile marketing team. To reduce app fatigue and run retention from one place, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

Is Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty better than Rivo for new stores?

Subi offers a free plan that covers up to $300 in subscription revenue, making it a low-risk entry point for stores testing a subscription model. Rivo’s free plan allows for up to 200 orders, which may be more beneficial for stores that have high volume but are not yet ready to pay for a loyalty platform. The better choice depends on whether your initial focus is on recurring billing (Subi) or general loyalty and referrals (Rivo).

Can Rivo: Loyalty Program, Rewards handle subscription billing?

Based on the provided data, Rivo is focused on loyalty, rewards, and referrals. It does not list subscription billing or recurring payment management features. If you need subscription functionality while using Rivo, you would typically need to integrate it with a separate subscription app, which can increase your total monthly software costs.

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

Specialized apps often provide deep, niche features for one specific task. However, an all-in-one platform reduces "app fatigue" by housing multiple tools—like loyalty, reviews, and wishlists—under one roof. This usually results in a lower total cost of ownership, better site performance due to fewer external scripts, and more consistent data for marketing automation.

Does Subi: Subscriptions & Loyalty support international selling?

Yes, Subi works with the Shopify Translate & Adapt app. This allows merchants to offer subscription plans and member portals in multiple languages, which is essential for brands scaling into international markets. By verifying compatibility details in the official app listing, merchants can ensure their retention tools support global growth.