Introduction
Choosing the right wishlist app can feel deceptively small—and it often isn't. A wishlist is one of the few retention features that both reduces friction at checkout and creates future purchase signals. Yet merchants face dozens of single-purpose wishlist tools with different limits, support levels, and integration styles. Picking the wrong one can create technical debt, missed revenue, or a fragmented customer experience.
Short answer: SWishlist: Simple Wishlist is a well-rated, lightweight choice for stores that want a low-cost, easy-to-install wishlist with predictable usage limits; Stellar Wishlist targets stores that need more email-driven engagement and customization but has weaker user satisfaction and a higher price point. For merchants who prefer to avoid adding multiple single-purpose apps—and want loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlist in one integrated platform—Growave delivers a higher-value alternative.
This post lays out a feature-by-feature, evidence-based comparison between SWishlist: Simple Wishlist (SoluCommerce) and Stellar Wishlist (Severium). The goal is to make the trade-offs clear so a merchant can choose the right tool for a specific store size, technical skillset, and growth plan.
SWishlist: Simple Wishlist vs. Stellar Wishlist: At a Glance
| Aspect | SWishlist: Simple Wishlist (SoluCommerce) | Stellar Wishlist (Severium) |
|---|---|---|
| Core Function | Lightweight wishlist widget with sharing and basic customization | Wishlist with email follow-ups, advanced branding, and reporting |
| Best For | Small to mid stores that need a simple, affordable wishlist | Stores wanting wishlist-driven email engagement and reporting |
| Shopify App Store Reviews | 106 | 8 |
| Shopify Rating | 4.9 / 5 | 3.2 / 5 |
| Free Plan | Yes (limits apply) | No free plan; paid starting at $9.99/mo |
| Monthly Price Range | Free → $12 / month | $9.99 → $89.99 / month |
| Item / Action Limits | 300 free additions → unlimited on Premium | 1,000 → 50,000 WL items depending on plan |
| Key Strengths | Low cost, high rating, simple setup | Email templates, branding, engagement reports |
| Key Weaknesses | Basic integrations, limited free allowances | Lower rating, fewer reviews, higher cost for scale |
Deep Dive Comparison
Product Positioning and Philosophy
SWishlist: Simple Wishlist
SoluCommerce positions SWishlist as a minimalist wishlist that focuses on straightforward functionality: let customers save products, share lists, and match the store’s look-and-feel. Pricing tiers reflect usage allowances (wishlist additions and supported languages) rather than adding feature gates. The model suits merchants who want a single-purpose tool without heavy customization or complex setup.
Stellar Wishlist
Stellar markets itself as a conversion-focused wishlist that leverages email to bring customers back. It emphasizes shareable lists, customizable email templates, and engagement reporting. Plans are tiered by item limits and scale toward stores that expect higher wishlist traffic and want to run email flows tied to wishlist activity.
Feature Comparison
The next sections break down the core wishlist capabilities and neighboring features merchants care about.
Wishlist UX: Adding, Viewing, and Managing Items
SWishlist
- Adds favorites via a product-level button or collection view.
- Simple management page for customers to view and share saved items.
- Sharing capability included in all plans.
- Focused on minimal clicks and consistent UI.
Stellar Wishlist
- Adds items via a similar button interface, with custom branding options.
- Customer-facing wishlist page with sharing and potentially richer email-driven paths back to the cart.
- Emphasizes conversion by surfacing wishlist items in follow-up emails.
Assessment Both apps provide the foundational wishlist interactions shoppers expect. SWishlist prioritizes a frictionless in-store saving flow and consistent UI. Stellar emphasizes post-save engagement (email nudges and conversion signals). If the primary goal is low-friction saving and shareability, both work—SWishlist does it at a lower entry price and with a higher user rating. If the goal is to actively drive return visits and conversions via email tied to wishlist actions, Stellar presents more built-in hooks.
Customization and Theming
SWishlist
- Promises “Customize everything to perfectly match your store.”
- Language support scales by plan (2 languages on Free; 20 on Premium).
- Free setup includes up to two themes.
Stellar Wishlist
- Strong focus on custom branding and UI matching.
- Email template customization emphasized as a core strength.
- Plans include "custom branding" by default.
Assessment Merchants with precise branding needs should check both on a live demo. Stellar advertises deeper email and UI customization, which matters if wishlist emails must match brand campaigns. SWishlist provides multi-language support that scales affordably, which is important for international stores.
Email Integration and Marketing Capabilities
SWishlist
- Provides basic sharing and wishlist functionality; email capabilities are not described as a core marketing feature.
- Best used alongside an email marketing tool to build automated flows.
Stellar Wishlist
- Explicit focus on driving traffic through personalized emails based on wishlist actions.
- Comes with customizable email templates and engagement reports.
Assessment For merchants who want wishlist activities to trigger marketing automation without adding developer work, Stellar’s built-in email templates are an advantage. SWishlist remains a reliable data source, but merchants should plan to connect it to their ESP or automation platform to build flows.
Sharing & Social Behavior
SWishlist
- Allows customers to share their wishlists with friends—highlighted as a core feature.
- Sharing likely uses links and standard social sharing patterns.
Stellar Wishlist
- Includes share wishlist features across plans.
- Positioning suggests sharing can feed into conversion by making wishlists visible to gift buyers or referrers.
Assessment Both apps support sharing. The difference lies in the downstream use: Stellar pairs sharing with email engagement and reporting, potentially making shared lists more actionable for merchants.
Reporting & Analytics
SWishlist
- Premium plan includes "Unlimited access to all statistics."
- The Free and Basic plans likely expose limited data.
Stellar Wishlist
- Advertises "Detailed engagement reports" across plans.
- Reporting aims to tie wishlist behavior to conversion metrics, per promotional copy.
Assessment Stellar appears to package reports as a central benefit, whereas SWishlist gates full analytics behind its Premium plan. Merchants must validate which specific metrics are available (saved item counts, conversion from wishlist, email open/click rates) before choosing.
Mobile & Theme Compatibility
SWishlist
- Free setup includes support for up to 2 themes; additional themes likely supported on paid plans.
- Works via API compatibility.
Stellar Wishlist
- Claims customizable UI to match site—typically requires theme-level integration for consistent mobile behavior.
Assessment Both apps aim for theme compatibility, but SWishlist’s explicit free setup support reduces friction on initial installations. If a store uses a heavily customized theme or headless setup, merchants should test installations in a staging environment.
Internationalization & Language Support
SWishlist
- Free plan: 2 storefront languages.
- Basic: 7 languages.
- Premium: 20 languages.
Stellar Wishlist
- No explicit language support data in the product summary.
Assessment For stores with multi-language storefronts, SWishlist has clear, tiered language support which makes it a better fit without custom engineering. Stellar’s lack of explicit language promises requires merchants to confirm support.
Pricing & Value
Pricing influences not only budget but also perceived value and scalability.
SWishlist Pricing Structure
- Free: Free — 300 wishlist additions per month, 2 storefront languages, free setup for up to 2 themes, support within 24–48 hours.
- Basic: $5 / month — 7,000 wishlist additions, 7 storefront languages, support within 12–24 hours.
- Premium: $12 / month — unlimited wishlist additions, 20 languages, unlimited statistics, top-priority support.
Value assessment
- For small merchants with low wishlist volume, the free tier provides a functional entry point.
- The jump from Basic ($5) to Premium ($12) unlocks unlimited additions and advanced analytics—good value for growing stores.
- SWishlist presents strong price-to-value for stores that want a clean wishlist without extra marketing features.
Stellar Wishlist Pricing Structure
- Basic Plan: $9.99 / month — up to 1,000 wishlist items/month, custom branding, email template, detailed engagement reports, share wishlist.
- Standard Plan: $29.99 / month — up to 5,000 WL items/month.
- Premium Plan: $39.99 / month — up to 10,000 WL items/month.
- Business Plan: $89.99 / month — up to 50,000 WL items/month.
Value assessment
- Stellar's pricing starts higher and scales to much larger item allowances.
- Merchants paying for Stellar are effectively paying for built-in reporting and email features alongside scale.
- For stores that need significant wishlist volume and want the reporting capabilities included, the higher-tier plans may be justified; however, the relatively low Shopify rating suggests merchants should vet support quality and implementation complexity before committing.
Which App Offers Better Value for Money?
- SWishlist typically offers better value for merchants focused on straightforward wishlist functionality and international stores on a budget, thanks to a robust free tier and low-cost Premium.
- Stellar may provide better value for merchants whose primary objective is to drive reopen rates and conversions through wishlist-triggered email flows, provided the store can absorb the higher monthly costs.
Integrations & Technical Compatibility
SWishlist Integrations
- Works with API (explicitly listed).
- Likely minimal third-party integrations; designed as a focused wishlist tool.
Stellar Wishlist Integrations
- No extracted "Works With" list provided in the product data.
- Emphasizes email templates and engagement reporting, suggesting potential integrations with ESPs or analytics platforms, but merchants should confirm specifics.
Assessment If a store relies heavily on an ecosystem of tools (Klaviyo, Omnisend, Recharge, customer support tools), both apps require validation of integration options. The lack of clear integration listings for Stellar is a risk and necessitates pre-purchase verification. SWishlist’s API focus offers flexibility for custom integrations via developers.
Support, Reliability, and Marketplace Signals
Quantitative Signals
- SWishlist: 106 reviews, 4.9 rating — strong signal of broad customer satisfaction and maturity.
- Stellar Wishlist: 8 reviews, 3.2 rating — raises red flags about product-market fit or support reliability.
Support Policies
- SWishlist support: Free plan 24–48 hours; Basic 12–24 hours; Premium top priority.
- Stellar: No explicit support SLA in provided data; merchants should check developer responses and support channels on the app listing.
Assessment Higher review count and a 4.9 rating are meaningful indicators that SWishlist delivers on expectations for many merchants. Stellar’s low number of reviews and a sub-par rating suggests more variance in merchant experience—this could stem from setup issues, unmet expectations, or developer responsiveness.
Onboarding & Setup
SWishlist
- Offers free setup up to two themes, which reduces friction for merchants installing the app across small stores.
- API-first orientation suggests developers can extend behavior.
Stellar Wishlist
- Custom branding and email templates suggest more configuration steps.
- If custom work is required, merchants should budget developer time.
Assessment Merchants seeking a plug-and-play solution will find SWishlist’s onboarding promises reassuring. Stellar may require more hands-on configuration to align email templates and reporting with existing workflows.
Performance & Scalability
SWishlist
- Premium plan removes addition limits, allowing unlimited wishlist additions as the store grows.
- Pricing scales modestly, so performance costs remain predictable.
Stellar Wishlist
- Offers explicit scale tiers up to 50,000 items, but costs rise substantially.
- Merchants with very high wishlist volume should weigh price versus expected ROI from wishlist-driven conversions.
Assessment Both apps can scale, but SWishlist's unlimited Premium is cost-effective. Stellar’s tiered caps offer predictable billing for very large volumes but at a much higher monthly cost.
Data Ownership & Privacy
Both apps operate within Shopify and will interact with customer data. Merchants must verify:
- Where wishlist data is stored and owned.
- Whether wishlist emails are sent via the merchant’s ESP or the app’s servers.
- Compliance with privacy regulations relevant to the merchant (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).
Recommendation Request a data-processing statement from each developer and confirm export options for wishlist data before committing.
Security & Reliability
Both apps should follow Shopify's app security requirements. Merchants should review:
- App listing details on the Shopify App Store for developer responses and update cadence.
- Support responsiveness (SWishlist’s SLA tiers are explicit; Stellar’s are not).
App Store Presence & Developer Credibility
SWishlist’s higher review count and 4.9 rating suggest longer presence and better-reviewed support. Stellar’s fewer reviews and lower rating suggest either a newer app or inconsistent merchant experiences—both situations warrant careful testing before rolling into production.
Use Cases and Merchant Profiles
This section maps merchant needs to the app that best fits them.
- Small stores with limited wishlist volume, minimal developer resources, and a desire for a low-cost solution: SWishlist.
- Mid-size stores that want to add wishlist-driven email campaigns without building flows inside an ESP: Stellar, if merchant verifies the email workflow quality and support.
- International stores with multi-language storefronts and concern for low-cost scaling: SWishlist (clear language tiers).
- High-traffic stores that expect heavy wishlist activity and want a dedicated reporting and email stack: Stellar’s upper tiers could be suitable, but merchants should validate ROI and support.
- Merchants with an existing loyalty or reviews program and a desire to reduce app sprawl: consider integrated platforms (see the Alternative section below).
Pros and Cons: Quick Reference
SWishlist: Simple Wishlist
- Pros:
- Strong Shopify rating (4.9) with 106 reviews.
- Low-cost pricing, including a functional free tier.
- Clear language support tiers and free theme setup.
- Unlimited wishlist additions on Premium.
- Cons:
- Limited built-in email/marketing automation.
- Fewer out-of-the-box integrations listed.
- Advanced behavior requires developer work via API.
Stellar Wishlist
- Pros:
- Built-in email templates and engagement reporting.
- Custom branding and UI focus.
- Multiple scale-oriented pricing tiers.
- Cons:
- Low review count and rating (8 reviews; 3.2 rating).
- Higher starting price than SWishlist.
- Unclear integration and support SLAs in the data provided.
Decision Framework: Which App Should a Merchant Pick?
Consider these questions:
- Is a wishlist a one-off feature, or part of a wider retention strategy? If a single feature, SWishlist is cost-effective. If it's meant to be a conversion engine, Stellar’s email tools are more directly relevant.
- Does the store need multi-language support? SWishlist has explicit tiered support.
- How important are integrations with ESPs, loyalty, or subscriptions? If critical, confirm integration capabilities or consider an integrated retention suite.
- How much technical support is acceptable? SWishlist’s explicit SLA tiers are reassuring for merchants who need predictable support.
The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform
Merchants often discover a simple trap: add a wishlist app, then a loyalty app, a reviews app, a referral app, and suddenly the store has multiple billing lines, overlapping features, and disconnected customer experiences. This fragmentation—commonly called "app fatigue"—creates higher maintenance costs, inconsistent data, duplicated notifications, and slower iteration cycles.
An integrated approach reduces the number of single-purpose tools and centralizes customer data so reward behavior, wishlist activity, and reviews inform one another. That’s the strategic case for considering an all-in-one retention suite rather than two or more stand-alone apps.
Growave presents its "More Growth, Less Stack" value proposition precisely to address app fatigue. Instead of stitching together a wishlist with separate loyalty and review tools, merchants can access a combined set of retention features that interoperate:
- Loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases can turn wishlist actions into points or reward triggers, aligning incentives across touchpoints. Explore how loyalty and rewards can increase repeat purchase frequency and lifetime value by examining Growave’s loyalty product pages: loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
- Collect and showcase authentic product feedback without adding another app by using integrated review capabilities. A unified reviews tool improves social proof and ties review actions to loyalty mechanics: collect and showcase authentic reviews.
- Instead of juggling several bills and admin portals, consolidate retention features and analytics into a single dashboard that shows how wishlist saves convert to purchases, how referrals add new customers, and how loyalty incentives lift average order value. Merchants can evaluate pricing tiers and feature bundles to see where consolidation saves time and increases ROI: consolidate retention features.
Advantages of an integrated retention suite over single-purpose wishlist apps:
- Unified customer profiles that combine wishlist behavior, purchases, and reward activity.
- Cross-feature triggers (e.g., reward points for adding wishlist items, referral incentives for shared wishlists).
- Reduced theme and performance conflicts because one vendor manages UI components.
- One source of support and implementation, reducing troubleshooting time.
- Clear upgrade paths for stores moving from basic features to enterprise needs.
Growave’s offering includes wishlist functionality as part of a broader platform that also supports loyalty programs, referrals, reviews & UGC, and VIP tiers. This integrated approach improves the signal-to-noise ratio for retention decisions: wishlist saves become part of a data set that informs loyalty segments and review outreach campaigns. Merchants can use the Growave Shopify app listing for installation details and merchant reviews: download the app from the Shopify App Store.
For merchants who want to evaluate Growave hands-on, there are a few practical next steps:
- Review pricing tiers to determine where consolidation unlocks value for the store. Growave’s pricing page describes plans and feature bundles in the context of order volume and desired integrations: compare pricing and plans.
- See how loyalty mechanics can be tied to wishlist behavior to increase repeat purchases: loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases.
- Review how native reviews and UGC work alongside wishlist functions to improve conversion: collect and showcase authentic reviews.
If a merchant prefers a guided walkthrough to validate that Growave solves a specific retention problem, an optional customized walkthrough is available—this is an efficient way to test integration scenarios and migration considerations: Book a personalized demo to evaluate how a unified retention stack performs for a real store and roadmap implementation specifics: book a personalized demo to see a tailored implementation.
Additional reasons to consider an all-in-one retention stack
- Fewer billing lines and administrative portals reduces overhead.
- Centralized reporting that ties wishlist saves to revenue and loyalty behavior.
- Enterprise-grade options for stores on Shopify Plus that need headless, checkout extensions, or dedicated launch plans. For merchants on larger plans or wanting Plus-level capabilities, Growave documents solutions for enterprise merchants: solutions for high-growth Plus brands.
Growave App Store presence and trial options
- Merchants can install the app and test features directly from the Shopify App Store listing: download the app from the Shopify App Store.
- For stores that want to evaluate without immediate commitment, Growave provides a free trial model and a clear pricing ladder to match growth stages: compare pricing and plans.
Integrations within Growave’s Platform
Because Growave combines multiple retention products, integration needs are handled inside the suite for common use cases:
- Email and automation integrations are available to sync loyalty and wishlist triggers with ESPs.
- User-generated content and reviews can be pushed to product pages or used in marketing channels.
- Loyalty points and referral credits can be applied directly to checkout behavior when the merchant uses supported checkout extensions.
Merchants reliant on best-of-breed ESPs or subscription platforms will find Growave integrates with many widely used tools, simplifying the task of connecting wishlist activity to lifecycle emails and subscription incentives.
Migrating from Single-Purpose Apps
A common fear is migration complexity. Growave provides documentation and support to migrate wishlists, reward histories, and review data, reducing the manual workload of stitching together data exports and imports. Before migration, merchants should:
- Export wishlist data from the current app.
- Map customer identifiers to ensure loyalty segments persist.
- Test migration on a small sample to validate expected behavior.
If migration complexity is a barrier, a demo will help assess effort required and whether in-place scripts or developer assistance are necessary: book a personalized demo to see a tailored implementation.
Practical Comparison Summary (No Single Winner)
Both SWishlist: Simple Wishlist and Stellar Wishlist are viable choices depending on merchant needs.
- SWishlist: Simple Wishlist is best for merchants who:
- Need a low-cost, easy-to-install wishlist.
- Want clear language support tiers and predictable pricing.
- Prefer a high Shopify rating and broad adoption as social proof.
- Will pair the wishlist with existing ESPs or a separate loyalty solution.
- Stellar Wishlist is best for merchants who:
- Want wishlist-driven email templates and engagement reports built into the app.
- Expect higher wishlist volume and are prepared to pay for scale.
- Need custom branding and a more marketing-oriented wishlist product.
Neither option resolves the broader problem of app sprawl if a merchant also needs loyalty, reviews, referrals, and VIP tiers. For that class of merchants, an integrated retention suite reduces complexity and unlocks cross-feature synergies. Growave is positioned to replace a wishlist plus several other single-purpose tools by unifying them into one platform with a single admin, consolidated data, and coordinated triggers that improve lifetime value.
If the objective is to try an integrated model quickly, a merchant can compare bundled features and pricing to determine whether consolidating tools delivers better overall ROI: compare pricing and plans.
Hard CTA (first): Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack accelerates growth and reduces operational complexity: book a personalized demo to see a tailored implementation.
Migration Checklist and Technical Considerations
For merchants considering switching wishlist apps or moving to an all-in-one platform, the following checklist clarifies common technical tasks.
- Data export:
- Ensure wishlist items, timestamps, and customer identifiers (email/customer ID) are exportable.
- Check export format (CSV/JSON) and plan mapping to new fields.
- Email behavior:
- Confirm whether wishlist-triggered emails use the merchant’s ESP or the app’s sending infrastructure.
- Test one or two sample emails to validate branding, link behavior, and tracking.
- Integrations:
- Audit existing integrations (Klaviyo, Omnisend, Recharge, Gorgias).
- Verify the new app supports needed integrations or exposes an API for custom work.
- Theme and UI:
- Install on a staging theme to verify buttons, wishlist pages, and mobile behavior.
- Validate CSS names to avoid conflicts with theme customizations.
- Analytics:
- Ensure reporting provides necessary KPIs: wishlist save rate, wishlist-to-purchase conversion, email open/click rates.
- If moving to an integrated suite, ensure cross-feature attribution is available.
- Support and SLA:
- Review promised support response times.
- Validate support channels (email, chat, phone) and availability for critical issues.
Cost-Benefit Analysis Examples (Actionable Calculations)
Merchants can run a simple test to evaluate whether a wishlist app is returning value:
- Establish baseline metrics:
- Average order value (AOV).
- Conversion rate from wishlist to purchase (if available) or estimated uplift.
- Monthly wishlist saves.
- Estimate revenue uplift:
- If wishlist saves convert at X% and average order value is Y, the incremental revenue equals wishlist_saves * conversion_rate * AOV.
- Compare to app cost:
- Annualize the monthly app fee and divide by estimated incremental revenue to compute payback.
This kind of simple arithmetic helps merchants determine whether Stellar’s higher price tiers are justified versus SWishlist’s Premium plan or an integrated platform where additional revenue might arrive from loyalty and referrals as well.
Conclusion
For merchants choosing between SWishlist: Simple Wishlist and Stellar Wishlist, the decision comes down to priorities and scale. SWishlist is an excellent choice for stores that need a dependable, low-cost wishlist with strong user satisfaction and clear language support. Stellar Wishlist fits brands that want wishlist-triggered emails and engagement reporting baked into the app, but merchants should proceed carefully due to its lower Shopify rating and limited review sample.
For merchants who want to reduce tool sprawl and extract more value from wishlist behavior—by connecting saves to rewards, referrals, and reviews—an integrated retention platform delivers better long-term outcomes. Growave’s unified approach consolidates wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers, reducing administrative overhead and enabling cross-feature growth strategies. Merchants can evaluate bundling economics and feature fit on the pricing page: compare pricing and plans.
Start a 14-day free trial to test Growave’s all-in-one retention suite and see whether consolidation reduces costs while improving customer lifetime value: compare pricing and plans.
FAQ
Q: Which app is easiest to install and configure? A: SWishlist: Simple Wishlist emphasizes free theme setup (up to two themes) and offers clear support SLAs, making it straightforward to install for small stores. Stellar Wishlist may require more configuration for email templates and branding.
Q: If a merchant plans to run wishlist-triggered emails, which app should they choose? A: Stellar Wishlist advertises personalized emails and templates as a key feature, which can speed time-to-value for email-driven re-engagement. However, merchants should validate deliverability, ESP integration, and template flexibility before committing. An integrated platform can often execute more sophisticated cross-feature flows without multiple apps.
Q: How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps? A: An integrated platform centralizes customer data and offers coordinated triggers across loyalty, wishlist, reviews, and referrals. This reduces administration, avoids conflicting UI/UX patterns, and enables richer incentives (for example, awarding points for wishlist actions). Merchants should weigh the benefits of consolidation against the flexibility of specialized tools.
Q: How should merchants evaluate support and reliability? A: Look at review counts and ratings for signals of consistency (SWishlist’s 106 reviews and 4.9 rating are strong positive indicators). Confirm support SLAs, available channels, and response times. If possible, test support responsiveness during a demo or trial period.








