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

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist app is a small decision that can have an outsized impact on conversion, retention, and product demand insights. Shopify merchants often weigh ease of use, design fit, automation, and integrations when deciding between focused wishlist apps. This comparison examines Swish (formerly Wishlist King) and Wishl Favorites Wishlist side-by-side, using feature-level analysis, pricing comparisons, integration checks, and real user signals to help merchants choose wisely.

Short answer: Swish (formerly Wishlist King) is a feature-rich wishlist solution aimed at merchants that want deep customization, advanced analytics, and white-glove onboarding; it carries strong reviews (272 reviews, 5.0 rating). Wishl Favorites Wishlist is a lightweight, straightforward wishlist tool focused on simple one-click saves, price drop tracking, and email reminders; it earns positive feedback (32 reviews, 4.8 rating) at a lower monthly cost. For merchants who prefer fewer, integrated tools and broader retention capabilities, an all-in-one platform such as Growave can reduce app sprawl while combining wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, and reviews.

This article provides a detailed, feature-by-feature comparison of Swish (formerly Wishlist King) and Wishl Favorites Wishlist, highlights where each app excels, outlines realistic trade-offs, and explains when a merchant should consider consolidating tools into a single retention platform.

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

Deep Dive Comparison

Product Positioning and Target Merchant

Swish: Ambitious Brands and Custom Workflows

Swish presents itself as a fully customisable, feature-rich wishlist solution designed for brands with growth ambitions. With white-glove onboarding available on higher tiers and explicit support for Hydrogen and headless stacks, Swish targets merchants that need a wishlist to be a strategic data and conversion tool rather than a simple UX enhancement.

Key signals that a merchant is a fit:

• Requires full visual and UX customization to match brand aesthetics.
• Runs a larger catalog or requires wishlist insights for merchandising.
• Uses Klaviyo, GA4, Meta and needs event-level integrations.
• Operates on Shopify Plus or a headless architecture and needs dedicated support.

Swish user metrics: 272 reviews and a 5.0 rating on the Shopify App Store indicate a solid track record with merchants who value support and customization.

Wishl: Simplicity, Speed, and Cost-Conscious Stores

Wishl focuses on simple, one-click wishlists with price-drop tracking and email reminders. The value proposition centers on ease of use, mobile responsiveness, and basic analytics about coveted variants. Its pricing is usage-based, which appeals to stores that have predictable wishlist volumes or tight budgets.

Fit indicators:

• Needs a basic wishlist quickly with little customization.
• Wants to offer price-drop tracking and email reminders without complex setup.
• Prefers a lower monthly cost and usage caps that align with small to mid-sized traffic.

Wishl user metrics: 32 reviews and a 4.8 rating suggest satisfied customers, though the user base and review volume are smaller than Swish.

Core Features and Functionality

Wishlist Creation & UX

Swish:

• Supports wishlist creation throughout the shopping journey (product pages, collection pages, search results).
• Unlimited wishlists and saved items across plans.
• Highly customisable widget look-and-feel; integrates with themes to match the store aesthetic.
• Customer accounts and session persistence for logged-in and guest shoppers.

Wishl:

• One-click wishlist creation to lower friction for mobile shoppers.
• Offers permanent saving when shoppers sign up.
• Includes notes and sharing functionality to facilitate gifting and social sharing.
• Mobile-responsive design for an out-of-the-box mobile experience.

Practical takeaway: Swish is stronger when UX needs to be aligned tightly with brand design or when wishlist placement across many touchpoints is required. Wishl wins for rapid deployment and low-friction mobile saves.

Notifications, Automation & Email

Swish:

• Focus on highly personalised and automated wishlist notifications.
• Integrates with Klaviyo for richer email flows and segmentation.
• Can execute targeted re-engagement based on wishlist activity.

Wishl:

• Offers wishlist email reminders and price drop alerts as native features.
• Bundles a set number of email reminders per plan (usage-based).
• Email capabilities primarily focused on bringing customers back to view wishlist items.

Practical takeaway: For advanced lifecycle automation using wishlist signals, Swish’s Klaviyo and event integrations provide more flexibility. Wishl provides immediate, native reminder functionality without a separate ESP.

Price Tracking & Dynamic Alerts

Swish:

• Emphasises personalised notifications but positions integrations (e.g., Klaviyo) to power price alerts and flows.
• Built for curated campaigns and dynamic segmentation.

Wishl:

• Built-in price drop tracking and native price-change notifications.
• Out-of-the-box convenience for stores that want automatic price alerts.

Practical takeaway: Wishl simplifies price-drop alerts. Swish enables richer, multi-channel strategies if merchant is prepared to use external automation tools.

Analytics & Merchandising Insights

Swish:

• Promotes advanced analytics and wishlist curation; useful for merchandising and product demand insights.
• Provides data on which products/variants are most wished-for and can feed GA4 and other analytics stacks.

Wishl:

• Offers basic stats: number of wishlists, items added, and popular variants.
• Helps merchants identify which variants are in demand but may lack advanced segmentation or funnel analysis.

Practical takeaway: Swish is the better choice for merchants that treat wishlist data as a source of merchandising intelligence rather than just UX engagement.

Integrations (Third Party & Headless)

Swish:

• Explicitly lists Klaviyo, GA4, Meta integrations.
• Supports Hydrogen and headless setups on Plus plans.
• Works with Checkout, Customer Accounts, Search Recommendations, and other Shopify features.

Wishl:

• Limited explicit third-party integrations listed; focus is on native features and email reminders.
• Mobile-first and designed for easy setup without a complex integration map.

Practical takeaway: Brands with an existing marketing stack (Klaviyo, GA4) or headless ambitions will get more mileage from Swish. Stores that prefer fewer integrations and simpler maintenance may prefer Wishl.

Pricing & Value For Money

Pricing is not just dollar amount — it’s value relative to features, support, and long-term growth.

Swish Pricing Snapshot:

• Basic Shopify — $19 / month (all features, free setup).
• Shopify — $29 / month.
• Advanced Shopify — $49 / month.
• Shopify Plus — $99 / month (white-glove onboarding, priority support, dedicated account manager, headless/Hydrogen support).

Key value points:

• Free setup/customisation across all plans is a material benefit that reduces implementation friction.
• Plus-tier adds managed support and headless capabilities — valuable for enterprise-level merchants.

Wishl Pricing Snapshot:

• Basic — $9.99 / month (up to 2,000 new wishlists / month + email reminders).
• Premium — $17.99 / month (up to 4,000 new wishlists / month + 2,000 email reminders).
• Premium Plus — $29.99 / month (up to 22,000 new wishlists / month + 6,000 email reminders).

Key value points:

• Lower starting price and predictable usage tiers.
• Price increases align with wishlist volume, which can be efficient if wishlist usage is modest.

Value comparison:

• Swish provides higher-touch onboarding and enterprise-ready features; this extends value for brands needing customization and heavy integrations.
• Wishl is lower-cost with caps; merchants who only need wishlist basics may find better value for money here.

Onboarding, Implementation & Maintenance

Swish:

• Promises entirely free setup and customisation across all plans — this reduces initial friction and technical debt.
• Dedicated onboarding for Shopify Plus with priority and account manager on the $99 plan.
• Documentation and integration support for Klaviyo/GA4 make it easier to operationalize wishlist events.

Wishl:

• Designed for rapid, self-serve installation and minimal setup.
• Setup is straightforward for most themes and does not require managed customisation.
• Best for merchants with limited development resources or those who want a fast deployment.

Practical takeaway: If hands-on onboarding and visual polish are priorities, Swish’s free setup is a differentiator. If time-to-live is the priority and the store does not require custom visual work, Wishl delivers the simplest path.

Design Flexibility & Theming

Swish:

• Integrates with all themes and emphasises visual fidelity.
• Offers customization to ensure the wishlist UI and CSS match brand guidelines.

Wishl:

• Mobile-responsive out of the box; designed to be visually acceptable across themes.
• Lower friction but less scope for bespoke visual work without developer edits.

Practical takeaway: For DTC brands where the wishlist should feel native to the brand experience, Swish has an advantage. For merchants who want a functional and responsive widget with minimal tweaks, Wishl will do the job.

Support & SLAs

Swish:

• High review count and perfect rating suggest strong customer satisfaction.
• Plus plan includes priority support and a dedicated account manager.
• Free setup across plans implies that support is part of the onboarding cost.

Wishl:

• Positive rating but fewer reviews, which makes it harder to gauge long-term support experience at scale.
• Support appears to be reactive and focused on self-serve documentation and standard app support.

Practical takeaway: Merchants that expect high-touch support or predictable SLA should lean toward Swish, especially at Plus tier.

Performance, Scalability & Reliability

Swish:

• Positioned to support enterprise stacks including headless and Hydrogen.
• Unlimited wishlists and saved items implies the app is built to scale.

Wishl:

• Usage caps (new wishlists per month) indicate an architectural design tailored to predictable volumes.
• For stores that expect sudden spikes or unlimited growth, wishlists caps may require plan upgrades.

Practical takeaway: Fast-growing and enterprise merchants should consider Swish for scalability; small stores can often stay within Wishl’s caps while benefiting from lower costs.

Data Ownership & Portability

Both apps are Shopify apps that store wishlist data tied to customer accounts or sessions. Differences to consider:

• Export options, event tracking (e.g., GA4), and ability to sync wishlist data to a CRM or CDP are stronger with Swish via integrations.
• Wishl’s basic stats can inform product demand but may require manual export or API work for deeper analysis.

Practical takeaway: Merchants that plan to use wishlist data for cross-channel personalization will appreciate Swish’s stronger integration story.

Use Cases & Merchant Types

Swish excels for:

• Shopify Plus stores or brands adopting headless architectures.
• Merchants who want data-driven merchandising and advanced automation.
• Businesses that need white-glove onboarding and a partner to implement wishlist flows.

Wishl makes sense for:

• Small merchants seeking a low-friction wishlist with price-drop tracking.
• Stores with limited teams that want native email reminders and mobile-first design.
• Merchants who value straightforward monthly pricing aligned to usage.

Pros & Cons Summary

Swish — Pros:

• Strong review count and perfect 5.0 rating (272 reviews).
• Free setup and white-glove options.
• Advanced integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, Meta) and headless support.
• Unlimited wishlists and analytics.

Swish — Cons:

• Higher price tiers for advanced features and Plus support.
• More features can mean more configuration and potential complexity.

Wishl — Pros:

• Lower starting price and usage-based plans.
• Easy one-click wishlist and native price-drop alerts.
• Mobile-responsive and simple sharing tools.

Wishl — Cons:

• Smaller review base (32 reviews) — less social proof at large scale.
• Limited integrations and fewer advanced analytics features.
• Usage caps can lead to upgrades as wishlist adoption grows.

Implementation Checklist For Merchants Considering Either App

• Confirm wishlist goals (capture demand, increase conversions, re-engage customers).
• Audit current tech stack (Klaviyo, GA4, CRM) and verify integration needs.
• Budget for monthly costs plus potential upgrades if wishlist adoption scales.
• Review onboarding needs — is white-glove setup required?
• Evaluate headless or Shopify Plus needs for compatibility and support.
• Decide whether wishlist events will be used for broader lifecycle marketing.

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

The Problem: App Fatigue and Tool Sprawl

A common pattern among merchants is incremental feature purchases: add a wishlist app, add a reviews app, add a loyalty program, then manage five different billing cycles and integration points. This approach causes "app fatigue" — more maintenance, inconsistent user experiences, and fragmented customer data. Single-purpose wishlist apps like Swish and Wishl resolve a specific need but can increase technical debt as marketing demands grow.

Consequences of tool sprawl:

• Disjointed customer data across multiple providers.
• Increased integration complexity and testing burden during releases.
• Higher cumulative monthly spend and overlapping feature sets.
• Longer time to orchestrate cross-channel campaigns because data isn’t unified.

The Case for Consolidation

Consolidating multiple retention tools into a single, integrated platform reduces overhead and aligns loyalty, wishlists, reviews, and referrals around a single customer profile. That improves the ability to run cohesive programs — for example, rewarding wishlist adds with loyalty points or automating referral incentives when wishlist items are purchased.

Merchants considering consolidation should prioritise:

• Native integrations between modules (loyalty, wishlist, reviews).
• A single source of truth for customer activity.
• The ability to scale without stitching events across many apps.

Introducing Growave: More Growth, Less Stack

For merchants seeking an alternative to assembling many single-purpose apps, Growave positions itself around the "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy. Growave combines wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews & UGC, and VIP tiers — enabling merchants to run retention programs from one platform and reduce technology overhead.

Key capabilities that address app fatigue:

• An integrated suite that includes wishlist, loyalty and rewards, referrals, and reviews.
• Native automation and reward actions that connect wishlist behavior to loyalty incentives.
• Support for Shopify Plus and headless setups while providing enterprise features.

Merchants interested in consolidating retention features can compare costs and benefits and decide whether the integration payoff justifies migration. For hands-on evaluation, merchants can explore ways to consolidate retention features that reduce billing complexity and integration work.

Integrated Loyalty and Wishlist

Growave allows wishlist activity to directly inform loyalty and rewards programs. For example, point incentives can encourage wishlist creation or conversion. More advanced programs can provide VIP tiers tied to wishlist engagement and repeat purchases.

Merchants can learn more about building loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and how wishlist actions can be rewarded.

Reviews, UGC, and Social Proof in One Place

Collecting reviews and showcasing them alongside wishlist items creates more persuasive product detail pages. Growave’s reviews module helps merchants collect and showcase authentic reviews, strengthening social proof and making wishlist items more likely to convert.

Customer Stories and Proof Points

Brands that have consolidated retention tooling often report cleaner data and simpler operational processes. See customer stories from brands scaling retention to understand practical outcomes and implementation patterns.

Pricing and Getting Started

Growave provides pricing tiers designed to scale with merchant needs and includes free and trial options so merchants can evaluate consolidated value against the combined costs of single-purpose apps. Merchants can review plans and see how consolidation compares with the cumulative cost of multiple apps as adoption grows across loyalty, reviews, and wishlist usage by exploring options to consolidate retention features.

Headless and Enterprise Considerations

Growave supports high-growth and Plus merchants with advanced capabilities. For merchants on Shopify Plus, Growave provides options that meet enterprise-level requirements, described under resources for solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Quick Demonstration Offer

Book a personalized demo to see how Growave integrates wishlists, loyalty, and reviews into a single retention platform. Book a personalized demo

Comparative ROI Lens

When comparing single-purpose wishlist apps to an integrated platform, evaluate ROI across three axes:

• Operational cost (monthly app fees + development time).
• Marketing impact (uplift in conversion, repeat purchase rate, and AOV).
• Time-to-value (how quickly can automation be built and executed).

For many merchants, the incremental cost of upgrading to a unified retention stack is offset by savings in app maintenance, faster campaign execution, and better lifetime value outcomes.

How Growave Maps To Wishlist Use Cases

• Wishlist as demand signal: wishlist behavior can be used to trigger segmentation and rewards via loyalty programs.
• Price-drop and reminder flows: built-in flows interoperate with loyalty and referral incentives to drive conversion without additional apps.
• Data centralization: all wishlist, review, and loyalty data live in a single platform for a unified customer view.

Merchants who want to see how these modules work together can consolidate retention features to compare costs and benefits across an integrated stack.

How To Decide: A Practical Decision Framework

When choosing between Swish, Wishl, or a consolidated platform such as Growave, merchants should ask the following in the evaluation process:

• What is the primary objective of the wishlist? (UX enhancement, data collection, or lifecycle automation)
• Does the store have a broader retention strategy requiring loyalty, referrals, or reviews?
• How important is white-glove onboarding and customisation?
• What is the expected wishlist volume and will usage caps matter?
• Are there existing ESP/analytics integrations that must be preserved?
• What is the tolerance for maintaining multiple apps vs. consolidating?

Guidance by merchant profile:

• Small DTC stores with minimal technical resources and limited wishlist volumes: Wishl is an efficient, low-cost choice.
• Mid-market and growing brands that want deep customisation and integrations: Swish offers the stronger fit.
• Merchants prioritising long-term retention efficiency and wanting to reduce tool sprawl: consider an integrated stack such as Growave to centralise wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and VIP programs.

Migration Considerations

Switching wishlist providers or consolidating into an all-in-one platform requires planning:

• Export wishlist data from the current app (customer-linked wishlists, variant IDs).
• Map events and webhooks to the destination platform and ensure Klaviyo/GA4 event continuity.
• Recreate custom visual styles or use the destination’s theme integration tools.
• Test email flows and price-drop notifications in staging before going live.
• Communicate any change to customers if wishlists may be temporarily inaccessible.

Both Swish and Wishl support data continuity, but Swish’s integrations simplify the data mapping for merchants using Klaviyo and GA4.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Swish (formerly Wishlist King) and Wishl Favorites Wishlist, the decision comes down to scale, customization needs, and the broader retention strategy.

• Swish is best for merchants who need unlimited wishlists, deep customization, advanced analytics, and white-glove onboarding — a fit for brands investing in wishlist-driven merchandising and complex integrations (272 reviews; 5.0 rating).
• Wishl is best for merchants who want a fast, low-cost wishlist with built-in price-drop alerts and simple email reminders — ideal for stores prioritizing speed and straightforward functionality (32 reviews; 4.8 rating).

For teams that prefer to reduce app sprawl and run more cohesive retention programs across loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlist, consolidating tools into a unified retention platform often delivers higher long-term value. Merchants evaluating consolidation can compare options to consolidate retention features and explore how integrating wishlist behavior into broader loyalty and review programs improves lifetime value while reducing maintenance.

Start a 14-day free trial to explore how Growave reduces tool sprawl and centralizes wishlist, reviews, and loyalty for a more efficient retention stack. Start a 14-day free trial

FAQ

Q: Which app is better for a store that uses Klaviyo for email automation? A: Swish explicitly lists Klaviyo integration and is designed to feed wishlist events into Klaviyo for personalised lifecycle flows. Wishl includes native email reminders but would require custom integration work to use Klaviyo for advanced segmentation.

Q: My store is on Shopify Plus and uses a headless stack — which option is more suitable? A: Swish provides Shopify Plus-specific features and white-glove support for Hydrogen and headless architectures. Growave also supports enterprise and Plus needs with integrations for headless setups and centralized retention programs; merchants on Plus should evaluate Swish for dedicated wishlist capabilities and Growave for broader loyalty and retention consolidation.

Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialised wishlist apps? A: Specialized wishlist apps like Swish and Wishl shine at focused use cases: Swish for deep customisation and analytics, Wishl for easy deployment and price alerts. An all-in-one platform reduces operational overhead by centralising loyalty, wishlist, reviews, and referrals into a single tool, enabling joined-up campaigns and a unified customer profile. For merchants with multiple retention needs, consolidation frequently improves ROI and reduces the total cost of ownership.

Q: What cost considerations should be factored when choosing between a single-purpose app and a consolidated platform? A: Compare the monthly costs of single-purpose apps plus development/maintenance overhead vs. the consolidated platform price. Factor in the value of free setup, managed onboarding, integration time saved, and the potential uplift in repeat purchases when wishlist events are tied to loyalty and automation. Merchants can evaluate consolidated options to consolidate retention features and compare plans side-by-side.