Swish vs. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist tool is a small decision that can have outsized effects on conversion, repeat visits, and customer lifetime value. Shopify merchants frequently weigh trade-offs between simple, low-cost utilities and richer, more integrated solutions that require a larger investment or more setup. Understanding capabilities, gaps, and long-term implications for retention is essential before adding another app to the stack.

Short answer: Swish (formerly Wishlist King) is a polished, feature-rich wishlist solution aimed at merchants that want advanced wishlist functionality plus integrations and white-glove onboarding. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is a minimal, bargain-priced tool that covers basic save-for-later and social sharing, but its low review count and rating suggest limited polish and support. For merchants who want to reduce tool sprawl and capture more lasting value, an integrated retention platform like Growave can deliver wishlist functionality alongside loyalty, referrals, and reviews — offering better value for money over time.

This post provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of Swish (formerly Wishlist King) and ESC Wishlist + Save for Later. The goal is to help merchants decide which app fits current priorities and which path — single-purpose tools or a consolidated retention stack — will best support long-term growth.

Swish (formerly Wishlist King) vs. ESC Wishlist + Save for Later: At a Glance

Deep-Dive Comparison

Product Positioning and Target Merchant

Swish (formerly Wishlist King)

Swish positions itself as a "feature-rich wishlist solution for brands with ambition." It focuses on delivering customizable wishlist experiences, automated and personalized notifications, and analytics to surface wishlist-driven demand. The app emphasizes white-glove onboarding and broad integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, Meta), signaling a fit for merchants who want a wishlist that supports marketing automation and conversion campaigns.

Key indicators:

• 272 reviews and a perfect 5.0 rating — strong social proof.
• Multiple Shopify-plan-based pricing tiers, with specialized Plus-level services.
• Free setup and customization across plans; dedicated onboarding at higher tiers.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is presented as a lightweight solution to help customers save items during browsing and at checkout. Its functionality centers on storing items under the cart as a "saved for later" area, plus unlimited wishlists and social sharing.

Key indicators:

• Only 2 reviews and a 1.0 rating — low social proof and possible product/support issues.
• Very low monthly price ($5) with a limited public feature set.
• Simpler positioning oriented to stores that strictly need save-for-later behavior.

User Experience & Wishlist UX

Swish

Swish aims for a seamless, store-like experience:

• Fully customizable wishlist widgets that match store themes.
• Ability to wishlist items across the entire shopping journey: product pages, collections, quick view, and mobile.
• Multiple wishlist views and organizational tools for customers (e.g., categories, saved items).
• Social sharing capabilities and "share lists with friends" functions when desired.

Strengths:

• High emphasis on matching brand aesthetic and maintaining consistent UX.
• Free setup ensures the widget is implemented correctly the first time, minimizing friction.

Considerations:

• Merchants must evaluate whether the rich UI is necessary if customer behavior is simple.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

ESC focuses on minimal friction:

• Saved items appear under the cart to increase visibility at checkout.
• Unlimited wishlists so customers can categorize products.
• Visual customization options are available but likely more limited than Swish.

Strengths:

• Simple, low-friction placement under the cart increases the chance of recovery before checkout.
• Quick to deploy for merchants who only need a basic save-for-later surface.

Considerations:

• The limited feature surface may not support multi-touch engagement across marketing channels.
• Poor rating and few reviews raise concerns about edge-case behavior or UX polish.

Notifications, Personalization, and Automation

Swish

Notifications and automation are a major selling point for Swish:

• Highly personalised, automated wishlist notifications aimed at converting saved interest into purchases.
• Native integrations with Klaviyo allow wishlist events to trigger email and SMS flows.
• Scheduled or behavior-triggered reminders can be used to convert high-intent users.

Merchants with email programs or advanced CRM workflows will appreciate Swish’s integration-first approach; wishlist events become usable signals for lifecycle campaigns.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

ESC’s documentation highlights the save-at-cart functionality and social sharing, but lacks mention of advanced or automated lifecycle notifications.

Implication:

• ESC may rely on manual follow-up or separate tools to re-engage saved-item users. Merchants wanting automation likely need another app or a custom integration.

Analytics & Reporting

Swish

Swish advertises "meaningful insights with advanced analytics and wishlist curation." That implies:

• Reporting on popular saved items, conversion rates from wishlist events, and aggregated wishlist behavior.
• Ability to curate and surface wishlist-driven demand for marketing or merchandising.

Benefits:

• Actionable data helps merchandising and segmentation efforts.
• Integration with GA4 further centralizes analytics for performance measurement.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

ESC does not emphasize analytics beyond basic tracking. The lack of visible advanced reporting means merchants should expect limited out-of-the-box insight.

Implication:

• Merchants who treat wishlist data as a revenue signal will find Swish more useful for optimizing campaigns and inventory decisions.

Integrations & Ecosystem Compatibility

Swish

Explicit integration claims include:

• Klaviyo for email/SMS automation.
• GA4 for analytics.
• Meta (Facebook/Instagram) for audience and ad targeting.
• Works with Checkout, Hydrogen, Markets, Customer Accounts, Search Recommendations.

This reduces friction for merchants who already use common martech and measurement tools. The headless/Plus-level support (Hydrogen, dedicated account manager) also makes Swish suitable for more complex architectures.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

ESC lists fewer integrations publicly. The app likely functions in standalone mode with limited third-party hooks.

Consideration:

• For merchants depending on deeper CRM or ad-management integrations, Swish will usually be the better fit.

Pricing & Value for Money

Swish Pricing Overview

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

Value proposition:

• All plans include free setup & onboarding — this reduces implementation cost and risk.
• The Plus plan adds priority and dedicated support for higher-volume brands.

Assessment:

• Swish represents strong value for merchants that need robust wishlist features plus integrations and support. The pricing sits in the mid-range for app functionality of this depth.

ESC Pricing Overview

• Monthly plan: $5 / month

Value proposition:

• Very low entry price; suitable for merchants with minimal needs.
• No public tiering or onboarding options; unclear if advanced support is available.

Assessment:

• ESC may be the right short-term, low-cost choice when the wishlist is required but not central to retention strategy. The low price can be better value for money for budget stores that do not leverage wishlist signals.

Support & Onboarding

Swish

• Promises free setup and customization across all plans.
• Plus tier includes white-glove onboarding and a dedicated account manager.
• High review count and rating imply reliable support experiences.

Implication:

• Merchants with limited technical resources can offload implementation risk to Swish’s onboarding services.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• No formal onboarding services listed.
• Very low rating and review count suggest support may be minimal or inconsistent.

Implication:

• Merchants should be cautious; low-cost apps often require merchants to handle customization and troubleshooting themselves.

Performance, Maintenance & Reliability

Swish

• Appears designed for continuous use across sites and themes with claims of theme compatibility.
• Supports headless setups at the Plus level, indicating attention to modern storefront architectures.

Considerations:

• The cost of ownership includes monthly fee plus possible maintenance if customizations are desired beyond setup.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later

• Simpler footprint likely means smaller overhead but also fewer guarantees about bug fixes, updates, and compatibility with the latest Shopify features.

Implication:

• For rapidly evolving stores or headless builds, Swish’s explicit support for Hydrogen and headless stacks may reduce friction and technical debt.

Data Ownership, Privacy & Compliance

Both apps will collect wishlist events and customer interactions. Merchants should confirm:

• How wishlist data is stored and whether it is exportable.
• Whether customer opt-in for notifications is managed correctly.
• How apps handle PII and compliance with regional privacy laws.

Swish’s richer integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, Meta) make it easier to centralize data, but merchants must ensure consent flows and data governance are correct when moving wishlist signals into CRMs or ad platforms.

Use Cases and Merchant Fit

When Swish Makes Sense

• Brands that want to treat wishlists as a growth channel, feeding lifecycle marketing and ad retargeting.
• Merchants that need dedicated onboarding and guaranteed theme integration.
• Stores on Shopify Plus or planning headless projects that need enterprise-level support.
• Brands that rely on analytics and wishlist curation to inform merchandising and inventory decisions.

When ESC Might Be Appropriate

• Very small shops or those that simply want a low-cost saved-for-later feature in the cart.
• Merchants that don’t plan to integrate wishlist events into CRM or ad flows.
• Stores that prioritize minimal monthly cost over advanced features or support.

Pros and Cons (Quick Summary)

Swish (formerly Wishlist King) — Strengths

• Feature-rich wishlist with automation and analytics.
• Strong social proof: 272 reviews at a 5.0 rating.
• Free setup across plans and specialized Plus benefits.
• Integrates with Klaviyo, GA4, Meta, and supports headless setups.

Swish — Weaknesses

• Monthly cost that may be significant for very small stores.
• Potential redundancy if a merchant already uses a retention suite.

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later — Strengths

• Very low monthly price ($5).
• Simple save-for-later workflow that places saved items in the cart area.
• Unlimited wishlists and social sharing.

ESC — Weaknesses

• Extremely low review count (2) and poor rating (1.0) on Shopify.
• Limited integrations and likely minimal support or onboarding.
• Less suitable for merchants who want to use wishlist signals in lifecycle marketing.

Implementation Considerations

Installation and Theming

• Swish gives free setup and customization, lowering the barrier for a polished implementation that matches the store's aesthetic.
• ESC likely requires merchant-side styling and testing, increasing internal workload.

Data Migration and Customer Experience

• If replacing an existing wishlist, Swish’s onboarding and export/import options may simplify the migration of wishlists and customer preferences.
• ESC’s lack of advanced support could make migration manual, risking lost wishlist data and customer frustration.

Long-Term Maintenance

• Swish’s dedicated support and Plus-level services reduce maintenance burden for fast-growing merchants.
• ESC may work as a short-term, low-maintenance solution, but the merchant must accept the risk of maintenance being a self-managed task.

Pricing Scenarios and ROI

A merchant evaluating ROI should consider more than monthly fees:

• Expected incremental purchases from wishlist-to-purchase conversions.
• Reduction in cart abandonment if saved items are surfaced at checkout.
• Value of wishlist events as signals for email and ad campaigns.
• Cost of multiple single-purpose apps versus a consolidated solution.

Swish’s cost becomes defensible when wishlist behavior feeds automated flows and ad targeting, whereas ESC’s low cost is defensible for merchants who simply need a visual reminder under the cart and do not plan to leverage wishlist data.

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

The Problem: App Fatigue and Tool Sprawl

Many merchants experiment with single-purpose Shopify apps to solve immediate problems: a wishlist here, a review widget there, a referral app next. Over time, this creates tool sprawl with consequences:

• Fragmented data across multiple vendors.
• Higher combined monthly costs and overlapping features.
• Increased friction for checkout or theme updates when multiple apps inject scripts.
• More vendors to manage for support and compliance.

Consolidating capabilities can reduce these overheads and transform one-off features into coordinated retention programs.

Growave’s Philosophy: More Growth, Less Stack

Growave positions itself as a retention platform that combines wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers. The product aims to replace several single-purpose apps to reduce complexity and increase the lifetime value of customers.

Growave’s core advantages:

• Built-in wishlist plus loyalty and rewards, referrals, and review automation.
• Enterprise readiness for Shopify Plus and headless setups.
• Integration with major tools like Klaviyo and Recharge, enabling centralized workflows.
• A high volume of merchant feedback (1,197 reviews, rating 4.8) indicating mature market adoption.

Merchants evaluating consolidation should weigh both short-term costs and long-term impact on retention, LTV, and operational simplicity.

What an Integrated Stack Delivers (Compared to Single-Purpose Apps)

Benefits of consolidation:

• Unified customer profiles with wishlist events feeding loyalty and email flows directly.
• Fewer scripts and app injections, often improving page speed and stability.
• Greater strategic coherence: loyalty points can be awarded for wishlist actions, and reviews can be incentivized through the same reward program.
• Centralized analytics and reporting that combine behavioral data from multiple engagement points.

Growave examples of consolidated features:

• Use wishlist activity to trigger automated loyalty points or personalized rewards via loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
• Collect and showcase social proof with integrated tools to collect and showcase authentic reviews.

Practical Migration Paths

Merchants moving from single apps to an all-in-one platform should follow practical steps:

• Audit existing apps and identify redundant features.
• Export wishlist and customer data if possible.
• Map the most valuable signals (e.g., wishlist-to-purchase conversion rates) to new automation flows.
• Pilot with a segment of customers before a full rollout.

For merchants who want help evaluating an integrated approach, it can be useful to compare plans and expected costs — or to test via the app listing. Merchants can also install Growave from the Shopify App Store to review permissions and scope, or visit the pricing page to compare plans and pricing for an apples-to-apples comparison.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention and reduces operational overhead. (This is a direct invitation to schedule a demo.)

How Growave Compares to Swish and ESC for Core Wishlist Needs

• Wishlist Functionality: Growave includes wishlist features comparable to single-purpose apps, but benefits from being able to tie wishlist events into loyalty and referral campaigns automatically.
• Automations: Instead of needing a separate Klaviyo integration and campaign setup, Growave offers out-of-the-box actions and deeper product-native workflows.
• Support & Onboarding: Growave offers multiple plan levels with onboarding support; merchants can evaluate plans and pricing to select the appropriate level for growth.
• Ecosystem Compatibility: Growave integrates with Klaviyo, Recharge, and other major services to keep existing martech investments intact.

Additional resources for merchants exploring consolidation include customer stories from brands scaling retention, which illustrate real-world trade-offs and outcomes.

Tactical Use Cases: When to Consolidate vs. When to Keep a Single App

Consolidate when:

• Wishlist data is used in email flows, loyalty, or ad targeting.
• The store is already using multiple single-purpose tools that overlap.
• The merchant values centralized support and fewer vendor relationships.
• Speed, reliability, and fewer scripts are priorities for conversion optimization.

Keep single-purpose apps when:

• The feature is purely cosmetic and will never feed marketing automation.
• The merchant’s budget prevents immediate adoption of a consolidated platform.
• The store requires a highly specific wishlist behavior that only one app provides.

Merchants can reduce risk by testing a single feature set in Growave (entry plan or trial) to measure uplift vs. the current single-purpose app stack, and by reviewing loyalty and rewards options to estimate combined ROI.

Practical Checklist for Choosing Between Swish, ESC, and an Integrated Platform

Consider these non-numbered steps when deciding:

• Define the role of wishlist data in current marketing flows.
• Check required integrations (Klaviyo, GA4, ad platforms) and ensure compatibility.
• Assess support needs: is free setup or white-glove onboarding important?
• Calculate total monthly cost of current single-purpose apps versus a consolidated plan.
• Run a small test (A/B) where possible to measure wishlist-to-purchase conversion uplift.

Merchants can compare expected features and support levels on the app listing or by reviewing Growave’s options to compare plans and pricing.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Swish (formerly Wishlist King) and ESC Wishlist + Save for Later, the decision comes down to priorities and scale. Swish is a strong fit for brands that need a feature-rich wishlist with automation, analytics, and reliable onboarding — reflected by 272 reviews and a 5.0 rating. ESC appeals to stores that need a low-cost, basic save-for-later option, but the tiny review base and 1.0 rating suggest caution for merchants who require reliable support or advanced integration.

Beyond picking between these single-purpose tools, merchants should consider the strategic benefits of consolidation. An integrated retention platform reduces tool sprawl, centralizes data, and turns wishlist behavior into a long-term revenue signal. Growave’s approach — "More Growth, Less Stack" — combines wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into one platform, enabling merchants to consolidate retention functions while maintaining integrations with existing tools. Merchants can review options and compare plans and pricing or install Growave from the Shopify App Store to see how the platform might replace multiple single-purpose apps.

If the goal is to simplify operations while increasing repeat purchases and lifetime value, explore Growave’s features for loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and collect and showcase authentic reviews. For merchants ready to move from multiple apps to one platform, start a 14-day free trial to evaluate the combined impact on retention and operational efficiency.

FAQ

Which app is easiest to set up for a new Shopify store?

ESC Wishlist + Save for Later is the simplest and cheapest to install for basic save-for-later needs, but merchants should weigh the trade-off in support and integration capability. Swish offers free setup across plans, which reduces setup risk and ensures a polished result.

Which app provides better integrations with email and analytics platforms?

Swish provides native integrations with Klaviyo, GA4, and Meta, making it straightforward to use wishlist events in lifecycle campaigns. ESC does not prominently advertise such integrations. If integrations are a priority, Swish or an integrated platform like Growave will save implementation effort.

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

An all-in-one platform consolidates wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals into a single solution, reducing monthly overhead, script load, and fragmented data. Integrated platforms make it easier to create coordinated retention programs and measure combined impact. For merchants who value operational simplicity and cohesive retention strategy, consolidation often delivers better long-term value.

If a store is on Shopify Plus or planning headless, which option is best?

Swish and integrated platforms like Growave both offer Plus-level or headless support. Swish’s Plus tier explicitly mentions hydrogen and headless stacks with dedicated support. Merchants on enterprise tiers should evaluate onboarding and headless compatibility closely; both Swish and Growave offer paths to support these architectures.