SWishlist: Simple Wishlist vs. Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

Introduction

Shopify merchants face a common tension when choosing apps: should the store add a focused, single-purpose tool that does one thing very well, or adopt a multi-feature retention platform that aims to replace several apps at once? The decision influences conversion, customer retention, tech complexity, and long-term growth.

Short answer: SWishlist: Simple Wishlist is a strong, lightweight choice for stores that only need an easy-to-implement wishlist and want simple pricing. Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist is better suited for merchants who want a unified retention stack—loyalty, referrals, reviews, user-generated content, and wishlist—built to scale customer lifetime value. For stores focused on minimizing tool sprawl and maximizing repeat purchase mechanics, Growave offers stronger long-term value.

This article provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of SWishlist: Simple Wishlist (by SoluCommerce) and Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist (by Growave). The comparison covers core functionality, pricing and value, integrations, customization, analytics, support, and recommended use cases. The goal is to help merchants choose the right approach for their growth stage, technical capacity, and retention objectives.

SWishlist: Simple Wishlist vs. Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist: At a Glance

Quick interpretation

• SWishlist offers a high rating (4.9) with a modest review count (106) and a clear feature focus: wishlist functionality at a very low price.
• Growave has a larger review base (1,197) with a solid 4.8 rating and a broad feature set aimed at retention, combining wishlist with loyalty, referrals, and reviews.

Deep Dive Comparison

The following sections examine how each app performs across the key merchant decision criteria: functionality, customization, pricing and ROI, integrations, implementation complexity, analytics and reporting, performance and scalability, localization, data and compliance, and support.

Features and Core Functionality

Wishlist Capabilities

SWishlist: Simple Wishlist

• Provides straightforward "add to wishlist" behavior that is easy to install and use.
• Features built-in wishlist sharing for customers to send lists to friends.
• Offers customization to match store theme and basic multilingual support (2 languages on free plan; up to 20 on Premium).
• Designed to be minimal so merchants can get a wishlist live quickly with low friction.

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

• Includes wishlist as part of a suite of retention tools. Wishlist features are integrated with other modules such as back-in-stock emails and account extensions.
• Wishlist actions can be tied into loyalty programs and email flows—so adding an item, creating a wishlist, or coming back after a wishlist action can trigger rewards or nudges.
• Back-in-stock wishlist emails are supported on higher plans, which directly turn wishlist data into conversion opportunities.

How this matters

• If the primary goal is a fast, lightweight wishlist with affordable pricing, SWishlist is purpose-built for that.
• If the goal is to leverage wishlist behavior to drive repeat purchases and link it to loyalty or email automation, Growave provides greater strategic depth.

Loyalty, Rewards, and VIP Programs

SWishlist: Simple Wishlist

• No loyalty or tiered rewards functionality—its focus is strictly wishlist management.

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

• Offers a full loyalty engine: points, redeemable rewards, VIP tiers, and advanced reward actions on higher plans.
• Ability to customize earning and redemption rules, tier benefits, and integrate with checkout and POS flows.
• Loyalty programs can be used to increase average order value, frequency of purchase, and overall LTV.

How this matters

• Merchants seeking to retain customers and increase repeat purchases will find Growave’s loyalty features essential. SWishlist cannot replace loyalty functionality.

Referrals and Social Mechanics

SWishlist: Simple Wishlist

• No referral program or built-in referral incentives.

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

• Built-in referral program with fraud protection on entry and higher plans.
• Referrals work alongside loyalty to reward both referrer and referee, which helps acquire new customers at lower CAC.

How this matters

• Referral mechanics are a core driver of efficient customer acquisition for many DTC brands; Growave includes these tools natively.

Reviews & User-Generated Content (UGC)

SWishlist: Simple Wishlist

• No reviews or UGC features.

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

• Supports product reviews, review request automation, UGC aggregation, Google Shopping Reviews, and Instagram UGC capture on growth plans.
• Reviews can be incentivized with loyalty points and included in marketing flows.

How this matters

• Reviews and UGC increase on-site conversion and build social proof. Growave provides direct tooling to collect and display this content.

Checkout, POS, and Shopify Plus Functionality

SWishlist: Simple Wishlist

• Works with API; no specialized Shopify Plus or checkout extensions listed.

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

• Built for Shopify Plus with checkout extensions, POS loyalty QR support, and account extensions.
• Headless support with API and SDK on Plus plan.

How this matters

• For larger merchants and brands on Shopify Plus, Growave supports advanced checkout and headless workflows, while SWishlist is focused on storefront wishlist functionality only.

Pricing and Value

Pricing is often decisive. Review pricing tiers objectively, considering what each plan includes and the value for money.

SWishlist Pricing Summary

• Free: 300 wishlist additions/month, 2 languages storefront, free setup up to 2 themes, 24–48 hour support.
• Basic ($5/mo): 7,000 wishlist additions/month, 7 languages, faster support (12–24 hours).
• Premium ($12/mo): Unlimited wishlist additions, 20 languages, full stats, top-priority support.

Value proposition

• Very low entry cost, making it accessible for small stores or those that only want a wishlist.
• Premium remains inexpensive compared with multi-feature platforms, which is attractive for stores with a very narrow need.

Growave Pricing Summary

• FREE: Includes wishlist, basic loyalty points, product reviews, data import/export, Growave branding, and 48-hour email support (limit: 100 orders/month).
• ENTRY ($49/mo): Loyalty & rewards, referrals, nudges, review request emails, Shopify POS/Flow support, one integration (e.g., Klaviyo), 24/7 email support.
• GROWTH ($199/mo): VIP tiers, dedicated pages, account extensions, Google & Instagram UGC, back-in-stock wishlist emails, onboarding and priority support.
• PLUS ($499/mo): Checkout extensions, headless API & SDK, custom reward actions, unlimited integrations, CSM, dedicated launch plan, 24/7 full support.

Value proposition

• Higher base price reflects the all-in-one nature and replacement of multiple apps.
• Designed to reduce total cost of ownership over time by consolidating features (loyalty, referrals, reviews, wishlist) that otherwise would require multiple subscriptions.
• Scales with business needs; advanced features for high-growth and Plus-level merchants provide enterprise-level support.

Comparative points on value

• SWishlist is better value for stores that only need wishlist functionality; its low price is compelling for that use case.
• Growave offers better value for stores that measure ROI in retained revenue and LTV instead of monthly app fees; replacing several single-purpose apps can reduce friction, integration costs, and data fragmentation.

Integrations and Ecosystem

SWishlist Integrations

• Works with API. Integration details are limited to the API capability, which means merchants can build custom bridges but may need developer time for deep integrations.

Growave Integrations

• Extensive out-of-the-box integrations: Checkout, Shopify POS, Customer accounts, Shopify Flow, page builders (Pagefly, LayoutHub, GemPages), mobile solutions (Shopney), and marketing/CRM tools (Klaviyo, Omnisend, PushOwl, Postscript, Recharge, Gorgias, Attentive).
• Native connectors cut integration time and reduce reliability risk compared to custom API work.

How this matters

• For merchants using Klaviyo, Recharge, or Gorgias, Growave’s native integrations make advanced automation and customer journey triggers much easier to implement.
• SWishlist’s API approach can suit teams with in-house engineering resources who want a lean wishlist but are comfortable building bespoke integrations.

Implementation, UX, and Customization

Installation and Time To Value

SWishlist

• Quick install and straightforward setup focused on wishlist UI and sharing.
• Free setup up to 2 themes on free plan helps non-technical merchants get started fast.

Growave

• Installation and initial setup cover multiple modules—wishlist, loyalty, referrals, reviews—so initial setup is more involved.
• Offers onboarding and, on paid plans, 5-star onboarding with priority support to speed implementation.

UI/UX Customization

SWishlist

• Allows customization to match store theme, with multilingual support across plans.
• Design focus is limited to wishlist widgets and pages.

Growave

• Strong customization across modules, brandable widgets, loyalty pages, and higher-tier custom design for the loyalty page.
• Headless and checkout extensions on Plus allow deep UX tailoring for enterprise stores.

How this matters

• SWishlist is sufficient for stores that want a wishlist matching the theme without deep branding adjustments.
• Growave is preferable when cohesive branded experiences across loyalty pages, account areas, and checkout are required.

Analytics, Reporting, and Data Usage

SWishlist

• Premium plan includes unlimited access to statistics. Basic analytics likely focused on wishlist activity counts and shares.
• Simpler analytics suited for wishlist performance monitoring.

Growave

• Provides deeper behavioral data across loyalty actions, referral conversions, review submission rates, and wishlist-to-purchase flow.
• Data imports/exports and integration with analytics and email platforms enable richer attribution and segmentation.

How this matters

• If merchants need to measure how wishlist activity feeds into orders and LTV, Growave’s integrated analytics deliver better insight out of the box.
• For merchants simply tracking wishlist adds and shares, SWishlist analytics are adequate.

Support, Reliability, and Reputation

SWishlist

• 24–48 hour support on free plan; faster support windows on paid plans.
• Smaller review base (106 reviews) but very high rating (4.9), suggesting users appreciate core functionality and reliability.

Growave

• 24/7 support available in higher tiers, onboarding services, customer success managers on Plus, and dedicated documentation.
• Larger review base (1,197 reviews) with a 4.8 rating indicates broader enterprise adoption and consistent performance.

How this matters

• Small merchants with predictable needs may accept SWishlist’s standard support cadence.
• Scaling brands and enterprise stores will value Growave’s dedicated CSMs, round-the-clock support, and onboarding for complex launches.

Performance, Scalability, and Technical Considerations

SWishlist

• Lightweight plugin approach results in minimal overhead and predictable page load impacts.
• Scalability concerns are limited because the app’s scope is narrow.

Growave

• More features and scripts may increase technical complexity; however, Growave emphasizes enterprise-level performance and supports headless and checkout extensions for high-scale use.
• The ability to consolidate multiple apps into one can reduce overall performance costs compared to running several single-purpose apps.

How this matters

• Small stores with minimal traffic may prefer the minimal performance impact of SWishlist.
• High-traffic brands, especially on Shopify Plus, will prefer Growave for its scalability and enterprise support.

Internationalization and Languages

SWishlist

• Language support depends on plan: 2 languages on free, 7 on Basic, 20 on Premium. This tiered multilingual support is a clear, budget-friendly path.

Growave

• Built to support multilingual stores and Shopify Plus requirements; language support is part of the platform and tied to plan capabilities.

How this matters

• Stores with multilingual requirements should review limits on SWishlist plans; Growave’s higher-tier plans accommodate more complex international needs alongside other retention features.

Data Ownership, Privacy, and Compliance

SWishlist

• Stores wishlist data and shares via app; API available for custom control.
• Merchants should review privacy and data export options if integrating wishlist data into CRM.

Growave

• Emphasizes data exports, integration with CRMs, and enterprise features including headless API & SDK on Plus.
• Built for integration into merchant data workflows which supports compliance and data portability.

How this matters

• Merchants prioritizing consolidated customer records and compliance workflows will find Growave’s integration and export features beneficial.

Practical Comparisons: Which App for Which Merchant?

Below are concise recommendations based on common merchant profiles.

• Small, single-product or boutique stores that simply need wishlists and minimal cost: SWishlist provides the fastest, cheapest route to add wishlist functionality with a tidy UX and very low monthly fees.
• Growing DTC brands focused on increasing repeat purchase rates, building loyalty programs, and using social proof and referrals to scale efficiently: Growave offers tools that directly impact retention and LTV, with integrations to support automated marketing and conversion paths.
• Shopify Plus stores or those planning headless implementations: Growave includes checkout extensions, headless API/SDK, and support designed for enterprise use.
• Stores with limited developer resources but a desire to tie wishlist behavior into marketing automation and loyalty: Growave’s native integrations (Klaviyo, Omnisend) and pre-built automations reduce engineering overhead.
• Merchants who want to minimize the number of apps and reduce data fragmentation: Growave’s all-in-one approach helps lower maintenance and integration costs over time.

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

App fatigue is the real operational cost of growth. Many merchants start by adding single-purpose apps—one for wishlists, one for reviews, another for loyalty, and so on. That solves an immediate need but introduces multiple points of failure, duplicated data, separate billing lines, and fractured customer experiences. Over time, such a stack increases maintenance costs, complicates reporting, and reduces the ability to use behavioral signals across channels (e.g., turning wishlist adds into loyalty incentives or back-in-stock emails).

What merchants often need instead is a single retention platform that connects the behaviors that matter across the customer lifecycle: capture interest (wishlist), capture trust (reviews and UGC), reward repeat behavior (loyalty and VIP tiers), and acquire through happy customers (referrals). The "More Growth, Less Stack" philosophy focuses on reducing tool sprawl while increasing the number of retention levers available.

Growave is designed around that philosophy. It bundles wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews & UGC, and VIP tiers so wishlist interactions are not siloed but directly feed retention and marketing programs. The integrated approach unlocks several practical advantages:

• Convert wishlist interest into purchase via back-in-stock emails, wishlist nudges, and loyalty-triggered offers.
• Incentivize review submission using loyalty points, turning reviews into a growth lever.
• Measure a single source of truth for customer behavior across wishlist, referrals, and rewards—simplifying attribution and optimizing for LTV.
• Reduce overhead of maintaining multiple apps, integrations, and developer work to reconcile disparate datasets.

For merchants evaluating consolidation, exploring pricing and plan fit is a logical next step. To see how plans stack up and what features align with growth goals, merchants can review options to consolidate retention features. For those who prefer to evaluate via the Shopify marketplace before installing, the Growave listing on the Shopify App Store gives quick access to reviews and install details at the app level: view the app listing.

How Growave Implements Cross-Module Value

• Wishlist → Loyalty: Wishlist adds trigger points or nudges that can be tied to loyalty actions, rewarding users for engagement and encouraging conversion.
• Wishlist → Reviews: Customers who saved items and purchased can be targeted for review requests automatically, using review request sequences that raise submission rates.
• Loyalty → Referrals: Points-based incentives for referrals increase the likelihood of customers sharing brand links, while fraud protection keeps acquisition clean.
• UGC → Conversion: Instagram UGC and on-site reviews serve as social proof, boosting conversion and enabling marketing reuse.

To understand how these modules work in practice, merchants can explore how Growave supports loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and how it helps to collect and showcase authentic reviews. The combined effect is greater than the sum of the parts because data flows between modules without the need for manual syncs or separate integrations.

Reducing Friction and Technical Debt

• Consolidation reduces the number of third-party scripts and API calls, improving page performance and reducing headless complexity.
• Centralized support and onboarding accelerate time to ROI by aligning loyalty rules, review workflows, and wishlist triggers from the start.
• For merchants on Shopify Plus, Growave’s checkout and headless support address common technical limitations encountered when trying to stitch multiple apps into enterprise checkout flows; explore solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

If a merchant wants a guided walkthrough to evaluate whether consolidation is right for their store, it is practical to book a personalized demo. This helps connect feature needs with concrete implementation plans and timelines.

(Hard CTA — 1 of 2) Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated stack improves retention and simplifies growth.

Which Secondary Integrations Matter Most

Consolidation only pays if the platform connects to existing systems. Growave supports many common marketing and operations tools. For example, integrations with Klaviyo and Omnisend enable loyalty and wishlist events to become email automations, while connections with Recharge support subscription-related loyalty logic. Review features feed into Google Shopping Reviews for visibility on product pages and ads. Refer to Growave’s integration capability when comparing whether consolidation reduces work for existing processes.

Cost Comparison: TCO and Long-Term ROI

• Short-term cost: SWishlist is cheaper month-to-month for wishlist-only needs.
• Mid-term to long-term cost: Growave often delivers better value when replacing several single-purpose apps because the combined subscription fees, developer time for integrations, and data reconciliation costs are often higher than a single integrated platform.
• ROI drivers: Increased retention, higher AOV from loyalty-driven upsells, referral-driven customer acquisition, and increased conversion from reviews and UGC.

To evaluate this concretely, merchants should map current app spend and time-to-manage against anticipated revenue impact from loyalty and referrals. A conservative estimate often shows payback within a few months for brands that convert even a small number of wishlist interactions into purchases and leverage referrals.

Implementation Checklist: Choosing and Launching the Right Tool

Below are practical steps for merchants deciding between a focused wishlist or an all-in-one retention platform.

• Define objectives: Is the goal to simply let customers save items, or to convert those signals into higher LTV and repeat purchases?
• Audit current stack: List existing apps for reviews, loyalty, referrals, and wishlist. Calculate monthly spend and duplicated integrations.
• Estimate resource cost: Developer hours required to connect wishlist data to email and loyalty systems if using a single-purpose app.
• Pilot plan: For consolidation, choose a plan level that matches current order volume and integration needs (Growave offers a free plan for small volumes).
• Measure KPIs: Track wishlist-to-purchase conversion, repeat purchase rate, retention, LTV, and referral-driven orders.
• Iterate: Use analytics to optimize earning rules, review request timing, and wishlist nudges.

Mapping these steps helps merchants decide pragmatically whether to adopt a lightweight wishlist solution or invest in an integrated platform aimed at sustainable growth.

Migration and Coexistence

If a merchant currently uses a wishlist-only app and is considering consolidation, migration paths matter.

• Data export: Ensure wishlist data can be exported from the existing app. SWishlist provides API-based access which supports custom exports; review data export options when planning migration.
• Mapping behavior: Map wishlist events to loyalty and email automations to preserve user context and avoid losing historical behavior.
• Staged rollout: Consider running both systems in parallel for a short window to validate data and UX before fully switching off the old app.
• Communication: Alert customers if loyalty or wishlist UI changes significantly. Use banners and email to reduce confusion.

Growave supports data imports/exports and onboarding on paid plans to ease migration, including technical assistance and migration strategy as part of higher-tier services.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between SWishlist: Simple Wishlist and Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist, the decision comes down to scope and strategy. SWishlist is an excellent choice for merchants who need a focused, easy-to-install wishlist with low monthly cost and minimal setup. Growave is a better fit for brands that want to use wishlist behavior as one piece of a broader retention strategy—combining loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist features into a single system that scales with growth.

Consolidating retention tools reduces friction, centralizes customer data, and often yields higher lifetime value than a patchwork of single-purpose apps. To compare plan features and find the fit for store goals, review options to consolidate retention features. Merchants who want to explore the app listing and reviews on Shopify can also view the Growave app in the Shopify App Store.

If the objective is to reduce tool sprawl and invest in retention mechanics that increase repeat purchases, start a hands-on trial to evaluate fit. (Hard CTA — 2 of 2) Start a 14‑day free trial to test how a unified retention stack drives higher LTV and lowers the cost of growth: compare plans and start a trial.

FAQ

How do the review counts and ratings compare, and why do they matter?

SWishlist shows 106 reviews with a 4.9 rating; Growave has a much larger sample of 1,197 reviews with a 4.8 rating. A higher review count generally indicates broader adoption and more varied usage contexts, which can be useful when evaluating for scale. Ratings reflect satisfaction but should be read alongside feature fit and support levels.

Which app is faster to install and see value from?

SWishlist is faster to install and get live for a basic wishlist—time to value is minimal. Growave requires more initial setup for its multiple modules but delivers faster cumulative ROI when wishlist activity is tied into loyalty, review automation, and referral programs.

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

An all-in-one platform reduces integration overhead, consolidates data, and enables feature cross-talk (wishlist triggers loyalty actions; reviews are incentivized with points). Specialized apps can be cheaper upfront and simpler to install but often increase long-term maintenance, data fragmentation, and total cost of ownership when multiple single-purpose tools are needed.

Can SWishlist and Growave be used together?

Technically yes—SWishlist could be used for wishlist UI while Growave manages loyalty and reviews—but using both increases complexity and may duplicate functionality. For many merchants, selecting a single platform that covers both wishlist and retention mechanics reduces technical debt and simplifies reporting.

Additional resources for merchants exploring retention consolidation include Growave’s feature overview on loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and guidance on how to collect and showcase authentic reviews. For customer examples of brands that consolidated retention to grow faster, see real customer stories from brands scaling retention.