Introduction
Choosing the right wishlist app can be deceptively important. A wishlist affects how customers save items, share gift ideas, and return to complete purchases — all actions that influence retention and lifetime value. With dozens of wishlist options on the Shopify App Store, merchants must weigh ease of use, customization, integration, and long-term value.
Short answer: SWishlist: Simple Wishlist is an excellent choice for merchants who want a lightweight, high-rated wishlist that’s easy to install and offers clear price tiers for growing stores; K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist is better suited for brands that need flexible display types (floating button, popup, embedded page) and social sharing out of the box. For merchants that want to reduce tool sprawl and get more retention features in one place—wishlist plus loyalty, referrals, and reviews—a single integrated platform is often better value for money than stacking specialist apps.
This article provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of SWishlist: Simple Wishlist (SoluCommerce) and K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist (Kaktus). The goal is to give merchants a clear sense of which app fits which needs, highlight trade-offs, and explain when a broader retention platform may be the smarter long-term investment.
SWishlist: Simple Wishlist vs. K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist: At a Glance
| Aspect | SWishlist: Simple Wishlist (SoluCommerce) | K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist (Kaktus) |
|---|---|---|
| Core Function | Simple, high-quality wishlist with multi-language support and usage tiers | Flexible wishlist with floating button, page, popup and social sharing |
| Best For | Merchants who want a lightweight, well-rated wishlist with straightforward pricing | Merchants needing multiple wishlist display types and built-in sharing |
| Rating & Reviews | 4.9 (106 reviews) | 4.7 (81 reviews) |
| Key Features | Add-to-wishlist, sharing, deep customization, API support, multi-language | Floating button, header icon, popup/embedded views, social sharing, checkout compatibility |
| Works With | API | Checkout |
| Free Plan Highlights | 300 wishlist additions/mo; 2 storefront languages; free setup (2 themes) | Float button, header icon, add notifications, sharing, popup & embedded wishlist |
| Entry Paid Plan | $5/mo (7,000 additions; 7 languages) | $6.70/mo (same feature set as free) |
| Higher Plans | $12/mo (unlimited additions; 20 languages; full stats) | $19.99/mo (growth 2 plan) |
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
The following sections break down critical areas merchants should evaluate: core experience, customization, localization, integrations, reporting, pricing and support. Each subsection compares how the two apps match merchant needs and highlights practical trade-offs.
Core Functionality
Wishlist User Experience
SWishlist: Simple Wishlist focuses on a straightforward save-and-share experience. Its core flow is simple: shoppers add products to a wishlist, access a wishlist page, and optionally share lists with others. The app emphasizes a frictionless experience and claims fast setup, with free setup available for up to two themes on the Free plan.
K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist provides more display options. The app supports:
- A floating wishlist button that follows shoppers while they browse
- A header or navigation icon linked to a wishlist page
- Popup and embedded wishlist types for product pages
Impact for merchants:
- Stores that want a minimal, unobtrusive save action and a clean wishlist page will find SWishlist aligned with that goal.
- Stores that want to increase item saves by using persistent UI (floating button) or to promote wishlists during browsing will find K Wish List better suited.
Wishlist Types and Placement
K Wish List’s multi-placement approach is a strength. A floating button increases visibility and can directly increase saves because it reduces friction. The popup or embedded wishlist types are useful for different shopping behaviors — embedded lists for comparison, popups for immediate feedback.
SWishlist supports adding favorites and sharing, but the published description emphasizes a clean "wishlist page" experience rather than multiple UI injection points. Merchants who prefer a single, brand-consistent wishlist page may prefer SWishlist; those who want on-page nudges and persistent CTAs may prefer K Wish List.
Sharing and Social
Both apps offer wishlist sharing. K Wish List explicitly lists social media sharing as a key feature and offers built-in social sharing flows for gift buying and events. SWishlist also supports sharing, but the marketing language emphasizes enhancing the shopping journey and sharing with friends.
Considerations:
- If social virality or social gifting is a priority — for gift registries, holidays, or influencer-driven sharing — K Wish List’s emphasis on social sharing and multiple entry points will generally provide faster wins.
- If sharing is a secondary capability, SWishlist’s simpler, high-quality implementation may be easier to manage.
Multi-Channel and Checkout Compatibility
K Wish List lists compatibility with Checkout, which can be relevant for interactions tied to the customer account and checkout experience. SWishlist lists API support, indicating more developer-oriented extensibility for integrations and custom workflows.
Practical effect:
- Merchants with custom checkout flows or who want to integrate wishlist data directly into checkout or cart logic may prefer K Wish List for its Checkout-level compatibility.
- Stores with developers who want to pull or push wishlist data to other services might favor SWishlist’s API support.
Customization and Design
Customization matters because wishlists must match brand look-and-feel to avoid jarring experiences.
SWishlist highlights "Customize everything to perfectly match your store." Its paid tiers increase language support and provide unlimited access to statistics, implying that higher tiers also accompany higher levels of customization and faster support.
K Wish List advertises "fully customizable icons, labels, colors to match your brand" and multiple display types. That makes it straightforward for stores to tune the iconography and labels without deep theme edits.
Comparative notes:
- Both apps allow visual customization, but K Wish List’s configurable display types plus label/icon options make it more flexible for non-technical merchants wanting varied UI placements.
- SWishlist’s promise to "customize everything" plus API support is attractive to merchants with development resources who want fine-grained control.
Localization & Languages
SWishlist offers notable language support tied to plan tiers: Free supports 2 storefront languages, Basic supports 7, and Premium supports up to 20 languages. For stores serving multilingual audiences, SWishlist’s graduated language tiers provide predictable scaling.
K Wish List’s public feature set mentions general storefront support but doesn’t list tiered language quotas in its publicly published feature highlights. Merchants with multi-language storefronts should verify supported languages and multi-currency behavior with Kaktus before committing.
Key takeaway:
- Merchants with significant multilingual needs will likely find better explicit support from SWishlist given its clearly defined language tiers.
Reporting & Insights
SWishlist lists "Unlimited access to all statistics" on its Premium tier, suggesting analytics are considered a premium feature. That indicates a clear path: small stores can start on free and upgrade to get behavior analytics.
K Wish List highlights "Track wishlist usage to gain insights into customer interest." The app provides usage tracking, but publicly available plan descriptions do not show advanced analytics as clearly gated to higher tiers.
Advice:
- Merchants seeking detailed wishlist analytics should confirm which metrics are available (save counts, shares, conversion on saved items, customer-level data) and whether the data can be exported via API. SWishlist’s Premium plan appears to have a strong analytics value proposition.
Integrations & Extensibility
Integrations are a practical concern for retention and lifecycle marketing. Wishlist data is most valuable when connected to email flows, customer segments, and loyalty programs.
SWishlist: API support is explicitly mentioned, which is useful if a store plans to forward wishlist activity into CRM/email tools or custom back-end systems.
K Wish List: Works with Checkout, which indicates a different integration focus — potentially tighter link to Shopify's checkout process and customer accounts.
Neither app advertises deep, built-in integrations with major email platforms or loyalty providers in the provided descriptions, which is common for single-purpose apps. For many merchants, that limitation means either custom development to forward wishlist events or reliance on a multi-app stack.
If integration with lifecycle tools (email automation, loyalty points, or review prompts) is a priority, merchants should confirm whether the app can send wishlist events to third-party apps or whether a platform-level solution would be more efficient.
Pricing & Value
Price towers and what merchants actually get per dollar matter more than the sticker price. Both apps offer free entry tiers, which makes testing low-risk.
SWishlist pricing summary:
- Free: 300 wishlist additions per month; 2 storefront languages; free setup up to 2 themes; support within 24–48 hours
- Basic ($5/mo): 7,000 wishlist additions per month; 7 languages; faster support (12–24 hours)
- Premium ($12/mo): Unlimited wishlist additions; 20 languages; full stats; top-priority support
K Wish List pricing summary:
- Free: Free to install; includes float button, header icon, add notifications, social sharing, popup & embedded wishlist types, customer wishlists, support
- Growth ($6.70/mo): Same feature list as free (public descriptions mirror each other)
- Growth 2 ($19.99/mo): Same feature list at higher price point (public descriptions repeat features across plans)
Value observations:
- SWishlist provides clear usage quotas (wishlist additions) and language tiers that map to store growth. Its premium tier is inexpensive ($12/mo) to unlock unlimited additions and advanced analytics, which can be attractive for scaling stores.
- K Wish List’s pricing appears simple, but the public feature descriptions show the same features across plans. Merchants should confirm what additional benefits (if any) are unlocked at higher tiers because the value proposition across tiers is less explicit.
- Both offer strong free plans; the decision for paid plans should consider how many wishlist additions a store expects and whether analytics or language scale matters.
Which app gives better value for money depends on store priorities:
- For a small store with modest wishlist activity that wants a persistent float button and solid social sharing, K Wish List’s free tier may be sufficient and offer good value.
- For stores that expect significant wishlist activity, need multi-language support, and want analytics at low cost, SWishlist’s tiered plans present clear, low-cost scaling.
Support, Onboarding, and Time to Launch
First impressions matter. SWishlist offers free setup for up to two themes on the Free plan and progressively faster support windows with paid plans (24–48 hours in Free, 12–24 hours in Basic, top-priority in Premium). That suggests more hands-on onboarding for merchants upgrading.
K Wish List advertises "Set up in minutes with no coding required" and "Knowledgeable Support" for its plans. The variety of UI placements also suggests minimal theme edits may be required.
Practical guidance:
- Merchants who prefer guided setup and predictable support SLAs will appreciate SWishlist’s tiered support windows, particularly when upgrading to paid plans.
- Merchants who want an out-of-the-box floating button and immediate, self-serve setup may prefer K Wish List.
Security, Data Ownership, and Privacy
Both apps handle customer wishlist data, which can include customer accounts and product preferences. Merchants should validate:
- How wishlist data is stored and whether it's exportable.
- Whether wishlist events can be forwarded via API or webhook.
- Compliance with applicable privacy regulations, especially if wishlists are shared publicly.
SWishlist’s API support suggests more straightforward data export capabilities. K Wish List’s Checkout compatibility suggests reliable behavior within Shopify’s ecosystem. Merchants with strict data export or retention requirements should request documentation before choosing.
Use Cases and Ideal Merchant Profiles
To help merchants choose, the following profiles outline which app aligns with common store priorities.
- Stores on a tight monthly budget needing a simple wishlist and multi-language support:
- SWishlist fits this profile, particularly for stores that will scale wishlist usage and need low-cost unlimited additions.
- Brands prioritizing gift registries, social sharing, and on-site prompts:
- K Wish List’s float button, sharing, and popup options make it a practical fit.
- Merchants with development resources and custom workflows:
- SWishlist’s API can be used to integrate wishlist data into CRM, analytics, or custom full-stack features.
- Stores that want to avoid multiple single-purpose apps and prefer an integrated retention strategy:
- Neither standalone wishlist app provides loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist in a single package. For merchants intent on combining wishlist behavior with loyalty and reviews, an integrated platform is worth considering.
Implementation, Migration, and Common Pitfalls
Adding a wishlist sounds simple, but three implementation areas commonly trip up stores: theme conflicts, inconsistent UX, and disconnected data flows.
- Theme Conflicts and Visual Consistency
- Floating buttons or injected widgets can clash with theme elements (mobile nav, announcements). Test on desktop and mobile across popular devices before pushing to production. K Wish List’s floating button is powerful but requires careful placement to avoid obstructing CTAs.
- SWishlist’s approach of a dedicated wishlist page tends to be less intrusive but needs styling to match the store.
- Account vs. Guest Saves
- Clarify whether wishlists are tied to customer accounts or can persist for guest users. Persistent customer signals are more valuable for lifecycle email segmentation. Both apps offer customer wishlists, but merchants should test how saves migrate across guest-to-account conversions.
- Data Flow into Marketing Systems
- A wishlist is only as useful as the follow-up. If wishlist events do not easily flow into email platforms or loyalty engines, the merchant misses conversion opportunities. SWishlist’s API is an advantage if developers can forward events; K Wish List’s Checkout compatibility can help with account-bound behavior. For merchants without developer resources, a unified app that already integrates with email and loyalty may be preferable.
- Seasonal and Promotional Uses
- During holidays, gift lists and sharing are high-value. K Wish List’s social sharing and display options are beneficial here, but merchants must prepare for increased wishlist adds and verify that plan limits (if any) won’t throttle activity. SWishlist’s clear addition thresholds help predict when upgrade is needed.
Checklist for launch:
- Verify mobile behavior and float button placement
- Confirm save persistence across sessions and devices
- Test sharing links and privacy settings for wishlists
- Confirm analytics and export capabilities
- Ensure support SLA fits launch timeline
Comparing Outcomes: What Merchants Should Expect
A wishlist should achieve measurable outcomes: increased saves, more return visits, higher conversion rates on saved items, and better segmentation for lifecycle marketing. Here is how each app maps to those outcomes.
SWishlist:
- Predictable scaling due to explicit addition limits and clear pricing tiers.
- Strong rating (4.9 from 106 reviews) suggests positive merchant experiences and reliability.
- API support enables advanced lifecycle flows if the merchant has developer capacity.
K Wish List:
- Flexible UI placements increase on-site visibility and can lead to higher save rates.
- Social sharing and multiple view types support gifting and seasonal campaigns.
- Slightly lower rating (4.7 from 81 reviews) still indicates solid satisfaction.
In both cases, wishlist ROI depends on the merchant’s ability to convert saved items back into purchases through email, on-site reminders, and promotions. Without integrations into loyalty and marketing systems, wishlist behavior often remains an isolated metric.
The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform
Single-purpose apps like SWishlist and K Wish List are useful but expose merchants to "app fatigue": the accumulation of many small apps that individually solve problems but collectively create overhead, compatibility risk, and rising monthly costs.
What Is App Fatigue?
App fatigue occurs when a store relies on multiple specialist apps for adjacent functions — wishlist, loyalty, reviews, referrals, and email integrations. Symptoms include:
- Increased maintenance and theme conflicts
- Multiple monthly bills that add up faster than anticipated
- Fragmented customer data across systems, reducing the ability to personalize at scale
- More time spent managing integrations than on growth strategy
For many merchants, the pain of app fatigue becomes apparent as the brand scales and customer lifecycle programs require cohesive data and coordinated campaigns.
The Case for Consolidation
Consolidating retention features into an integrated platform reduces complexity and creates better outcomes:
- Single data model for customer actions (wishlists, referrals, purchases)
- Cross-functional campaigns that combine wishlist signals with loyalty and review prompts
- Fewer theme edits and fewer potential conflicts
- Predictable billing with clear upgrade paths
Merchants evaluating consolidation should weigh the incremental cost of a platform against the combined cost and hidden friction of multiple specialist apps.
Growave’s "More Growth, Less Stack" Value Proposition
Growave positions itself as a unified retention platform that combines wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews & UGC, and VIP tiers. That one-platform approach reduces the need for separate wishlist, review, and loyalty apps while enabling coordinated growth programs.
Key aspects to consider:
- Loyalty & Rewards: Growave enables merchants to implement points, rewards, and tiers that drive repeat purchases. Merchants can build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and use wishlist behavior as a signal to reward engagement.
- Reviews & UGC: An integrated review system allows merchants to collect and showcase authentic reviews and tie review prompts to product interest or wishlist activity.
- Wishlist and Referrals: Wishlist behavior can trigger referral campaigns or targeted incentives, creating a coherent lifecycle that turns saved products into purchases.
- Shopify Plus and Enterprise Support: For larger merchants and headless implementations, Growave lists solutions for high-growth Plus brands and provides API/SDK options.
Practical advantages for merchants:
- Consolidate retention features and reduce monthly tool overhead by replacing several single-function apps.
- Use wishlist data directly to inform loyalty rewards, review prompts, and referral incentives.
- Avoid repeated theme edits and integration mapping by using a single app designed to work across lifecycle touchpoints.
How Growave Handles Common Wishlist Shortfalls
When considering switching from a single wishlist app to an integrated platform, merchants should ask whether the alternative provides the following:
- Visual customization and floating widget options for on-site saves
- Multi-language support for international storefronts
- API/webhook access or native integrations to forward wishlist events to email platforms
- Analytics that combine wishlist behavior with purchase history and loyalty engagement
Growave’s suite addresses these points by integrating wishlist features into a broader retention stack. Merchants can both retain the UI flexibility expected from specialist wishlist apps and gain cross-functional analytics and activation.
Practical Interlinks and Further Reading
For merchants researching consolidation, the following resources explain key Growave capabilities and options:
- Merchants can evaluate and compare plans and pricing to see how an integrated plan stacks up against multiple single-purpose apps.
- For stores that prefer to install from the app marketplace, Growave is available to install from the Shopify App Store.
- To understand how loyalty programs integrate with wishlist behavior, review how merchants build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
- For social proof and user-generated content, explore how to collect and showcase authentic reviews.
Merchants considering migration should evaluate expected monthly order volumes and the feature map across entry, growth, and enterprise tiers. Growave’s pricing tiers and plans are designed to scale with business needs, and merchants can compare plans and pricing to estimate whether consolidation offers better value.
Integration Examples and Tactical Uses
- Trigger loyalty points for wishlist-driven purchases: a customer saves an item and later redeems a points reward for checkout on that item. This ties wishlist intent to loyalty incentives.
- Use wishlist saves to seed segmented email flows: customers who save products receive targeted content, discount offers, or social proof nudges.
- Encourage reviews from wishlist conversions: once a saved item is purchased, automated review requests can be sent to capture UGC.
- Create VIP experiences by combining wishlist frequency with purchase thresholds to invite high-intent users into VIP tiers.
Each tactic requires cross-feature orchestration that is cumbersome when apps are siloed. A unified platform reduces setup friction and increases the probability that these tactics will be executed consistently.
Where Consolidation Might Not Be Ideal
An integrated platform is not always the immediate best choice. Scenarios where a specialist app may still be preferable:
- A store with a single, very narrow problem and the internal capacity to stitch integrations cheaply.
- A merchant seeking an extremely lightweight wishlist with no plans for loyalty or review programs.
- A brand that has already deeply customized a wishlist experience via a bespoke solution and only needs a single, stable component.
Even in these cases, merchants should evaluate the long-term cost of tech debt and integration maintenance.
Learn More and Next Steps
Merchants who want to explore consolidation can:
- Review and compare plans and pricing to model monthly savings versus a specialized app stack.
- Install from the Shopify App Store to test Growave’s combined wishlist plus retention features in a live environment.
- Review case studies and customer stories from brands scaling retention to see how other merchants used consolidation to reduce friction and boost LTV.
Decision Guide: Which App Is Best for Which Merchant?
The following guidance synthesizes previous sections into actionable recommendations.
- Best for budget-conscious stores that need predictable scaling and multi-language support:
- SWishlist: Simple Wishlist — clear tiered pricing, inexpensive premium tier, explicit language quotas.
- Best for merchants who want multiple on-site wishlist entry points and social sharing:
- K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist — float button, header icon, popup, and embedded wishlist types; built-in social sharing.
- Best for brands that want to build coordinated programs connecting wishlist behavior to loyalty, referrals, and reviews:
- Consider an integrated platform. Consolidating into a single platform reduces integration overhead and unlocks coordinated campaigns; merchants can compare plans and pricing to evaluate cost and benefits.
- Best for merchants with developer resources who want a customizable, API-driven solution:
- SWishlist’s API support allows custom integrations, exports, and bespoke workflows that connect wishlist behavior with other systems.
- Best for merchants wanting a quick, no-code setup with visible UI elements:
- K Wish List emphasizes simple setup and visible wishlist CTAs that can increase saves immediately.
Conclusion
For merchants choosing between SWishlist: Simple Wishlist and K Wish List‑Advanced Wishlist, the decision comes down to priorities. SWishlist is an outstanding option for stores that want a lightweight, developer-friendly wishlist with clear usage tiers and excellent user ratings (4.9 from 106 reviews). K Wish List is a strong choice for merchants that need flexible display options, persistent on-site CTAs, and social sharing (4.7 from 81 reviews).
Beyond the shortlist of specialist apps, an integrated retention platform can reduce tool sprawl while enabling coordinated growth tactics. Consolidating wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals into a single suite simplifies data flows, reduces theme conflicts, and often delivers better long-term value for money. Merchants evaluating consolidation can compare plans and pricing and consider installing via the Shopify App Store to test integrated workflows.
Start a 14-day free trial to see how a unified retention stack improves repeat purchase rates.
FAQ
Q: Which app is easier to set up for merchants with no developer resources?
- K Wish List advertises quick, no-code setup with floating button and popup options, making it easier for non-technical merchants to deploy visible wishlist CTAs. SWishlist also offers free setup for up to two themes, but merchants who expect to customize deeply may need developer assistance.
Q: How do the two apps compare on languages and international stores?
- SWishlist lists explicit language quotas by plan (2 languages on Free, 7 on Basic, 20 on Premium), which helps predict scaling needs. K Wish List’s public feature highlights do not list tiered language limits; merchants should confirm language support directly before committing.
Q: Which app is better if the goal is to convert saved items into purchases through email and loyalty programs?
- Both apps provide wishlist functionality, but neither advertises deep, built-in loyalty or review integrations in the provided descriptions. SWishlist’s API makes it easier to forward events to email and loyalty systems with development help. For turnkey conversion workflows that tie wishlist saves to loyalty and reviews, an integrated platform that includes wishlist plus loyalty and reviews is typically more efficient.
Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps for wishlist functionality?
- An all-in-one retention platform offers wishlist functionality alongside loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers. This consolidation reduces integration overhead, centralizes customer data, and enables coordinated campaigns (for example, awarding loyalty points for wishlist-triggered purchases or prompting reviews after wishlist conversions). Merchants can compare plans and pricing and review examples of integrated use cases to determine whether consolidation will deliver better value and less operational friction.








