Ultimate Wishlist vs. SE Wishlist Engine: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist app is a deceptively important decision for Shopify merchants. Wishlist features are no longer a simple convenience — they feed marketing workflows, inform inventory and merchandising decisions, and directly influence retention and repeat purchase behavior. Yet merchants face hundreds of apps that claim to solve similar problems, so picking the right balance of features, scalability, and integrations matters.

Short answer: Ultimate Wishlist is a focused, lightweight wishlist tool with tight customization and a very small but high-rated review base (34 reviews, 4.9). SE Wishlist Engine is a more mature wishlist platform with a broader feature set (price-drop alerts, restock, product recommendations) and a larger user base (249 reviews, 4.9). For merchants wanting a single, clean wishlist capability that’s inexpensive, Ultimate Wishlist is a practical fit. For brands that want built-in alerts, advanced automations, and deeper reporting within a wishlist app, SE Wishlist Engine provides more out of the box. For teams that want to reduce tool sprawl and manage retention holistically, a unified retention suite is better value for money than adding separate single-purpose apps.

This post compares Ultimate Wishlist and SE Wishlist Engine feature by feature, covering customization, email and alerts, analytics, integrations, pricing, and support. The goal is to give a clear verdict about which app suits specific merchant profiles — and then show how an all-in-one retention platform can remove the pain of stacking single-purpose apps.

Ultimate Wishlist vs. SE Wishlist Engine: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Product Positioning and Target Merchant

Ultimate Wishlist: Focused wishlist for stores that want simplicity

Ultimate Wishlist targets merchants that need a dedicated wishlist widget with strong appearance and text customization, plus basic analytics. It supports wishlists with or without login, cross-device sync for registered users, social sharing, and customizable reminder emails. The app is appropriate where wishlist is one part of customer experience, not the center of a broader retention strategy.

Strengths tied to positioning:

• Lightweight and simple to implement.
• Good for merchants who prioritize appearance and basic workflows.
• Low starting price and useful free tier for testing.

Limitations tied to positioning:

• Feature scope is narrow compared with more full-featured wishlist apps.
• Fewer public reviews (34), so less social proof and fewer community-driven tips.

SE Wishlist Engine: A broader wishlist engine with built-in alerts

SE Wishlist Engine positions itself as a wishlist tool that converts saved items into sales. It adds automated processes (price drop, restock alerts), advanced email capabilities, and product recommendations. The app targets merchants that want the wishlist to be an active driver of revenue and customer reactivation.

Strengths tied to positioning:

• Extensive alerting and automation to re-engage users.
• Strong integration set (Klaviyo, Facebook pixel) for conversion tracking and email flows.
• Larger user base and review count (249), indicating broader adoption.

Limitations tied to positioning:

• More features can mean more configuration and potential overlap with other marketing tools.
• Higher-tier plans cost more if advanced features are required.

Features & End-User Experience

Wishlist creation & guest support

• Ultimate Wishlist: Allows wishlist creation with or without login. Guest wishlist functionality exists on free plan for up to 500 wishlist items/month. Cross-device sync for logged-in users is supported.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Guest wishlist included. Free plan limits to 100 items, while paid plans enable unlimited wishlist items. SE emphasizes variant detection and multi-item saves.

Practical takeaway: Both apps support guest wishlists and cover basic wishlist expectations. Stores with heavy anonymous traffic should note SE’s free plan limits and consider paid tiers for unlimited items.

UI customization & store fit

• Ultimate Wishlist: Focuses on customizable text and colors to match store design. Offers non-English support and customizable icons and placement. Good for stores that must preserve on-brand aesthetics without deep theme edits.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Offers customizable button/icon and popup + wishlist page. Also supports multi-language in higher tiers.

Practical takeaway: For pixel-perfect visual needs, Ultimate Wishlist’s simplicity and direct customization options make it a fast fit. SE provides similar capabilities but within a broader feature set that may require more decisions during setup.

Sharing & social behaviors

• Ultimate Wishlist: Social sharing via Facebook, Twitter, and Email built into the experience. Sharing is simple and user-facing.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Also supports social sharing and provides a wishlist page and popup to promote saved items.

Practical takeaway: Both apps provide the sharing features merchants expect. If social virality is a key tactic, the choice should be guided by which app’s UI better converts social clicks into store visits.

Alerts, reminders, and automation

• Ultimate Wishlist: Offers customizable email templates and reminder emails (higher plans improve reminder volume). It focuses on wishlist reminders as the primary automation.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Provides robust automated alerts — wishlist reminders, low-stock alerts, price-drop and restock alerts, and customizable unlimited emails on higher tiers. Also supports product recommendations tied to wishlist behavior.

Practical takeaway: SE Wishlist Engine has a clear advantage for merchants who expect wishlist interactions to drive direct conversions through automated notifications. Ultimate Wishlist covers basics well but with smaller email/reminder quotas at lower price tiers.

Variant & product intelligence

• Ultimate Wishlist: Tracks wishlist adds, page views, and added-to-cart metrics in a dashboard. Analytics surface popular products and variants.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Provides basic and advanced insights depending on plan. Reports show top-saved products and customer-level wishlist data. Advanced plan includes product recommendations and import/export capabilities.

Practical takeaway: SE aims to be more actionable for merchandising teams because it combines wishlist signals with alerts and recommendations. Ultimate Wishlist gives simple reporting that’s enough for stores using wishlist data to inform promotions.

Integrations & Platform Compatibility

Email & marketing platforms

• Ultimate Wishlist: Custom email templates and reminders. No explicit integrations listed in the provided description for Klaviyo or other ESPs.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Explicit integration with Klaviyo available on advanced plans; Facebook pixel support on higher tiers for ad retargeting.

Practical takeaway: Merchants who rely on Klaviyo or ad platforms for lifecycle campaigns will find SE Wishlist Engine easier to connect into existing flows. Ultimate Wishlist may require manual exports or simpler workflows.

Shopify ecosystem & page builders

• Ultimate Wishlist: Works within Shopify and supports non-English stores; details on external page builder integrations are limited in the description.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Lists compatibility with Customer accounts, Klaviyo, and PageFly — suggesting better out-of-the-box compatibility with common Shopify page builders.

Practical takeaway: If a store uses PageFly or similar builders, SE’s explicit compatibility lowers friction.

Data portability & export

• Ultimate Wishlist: Provides full reports (dashboard metrics). Export options are not listed explicitly.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Advanced plans include import/export wishlist features, facilitating offline analysis or CRM enrichment.

Practical takeaway: SE is better suited to merchants that plan to integrate wishlist data into external BI, CRMs, or email lists.

Analytics, Reporting & Insights

Both apps provide analytics, but the scope and depth differ.

• Ultimate Wishlist: Dashboard with stats for wishlist adds, page views, and "added to cart" events. Useful for identifying popular products.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Basic insights on free/basics, advanced insights on higher tiers. Includes who saved each product and which products are most saved. Offers enhanced analytics that can feed into product recommendations and retargeting.

Analytical strength lies with SE for merchants that require customer-level visibility and integrations with marketing stacks. Ultimate Wishlist is adequate for merchants that need directional signals and a simple dashboard.

Admin UX, Setup, and Support

Onboarding and ease of setup

• Ultimate Wishlist: Lightweight app with clear visual customization. Likely faster to set up for stores that only want a wishlist widget and basic reminders.
• SE Wishlist Engine: More options and automations require more configuration. For stores wanting advanced alerts and integrations, additional setup time is a trade-off.

Support & community signals

• Ultimate Wishlist: Very high rating (4.9) but lower volume of reviews (34). Small review count can indicate a more limited user base or less public feedback.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Large number of reviews (249) and the same rating (4.9) suggests both reliability and broad adoption. Larger user bases typically create more community knowledge and quicker resolution of edge-case issues.

Documentation & developer friendliness

• SE includes integrations with Klaviyo and PageFly that suggest a developer-aware setup. Ultimate Wishlist’s customization focus signifies a simple admin experience without heavy developer requirements.

Practical takeaway: If support speed, community knowledge, and documented integrations matter, SE’s larger install base is an advantage. If a store needs a quick, out-of-the-box widget, Ultimate Wishlist reduces time-to-value.

Pricing & Value For Money

Both apps provide free tiers and incrementally priced plans. Important pricing data points:

Ultimate Wishlist plans:

• Free plan: Up to 500 wishlist items/month, guest wishlist, sharing, customizable text/colors, non-English support, full reports.
• Basic: $4.99/mo — Up to 1,000 wishlist items/month, custom email template, up to 500 email reminders/month.
• Pro: $9.99/mo — Up to 5,000 wishlist items/month, up to 2,000 email reminders/month, individual user reminders.
• Premium: $14.99/mo — Up to 10,000 items/month, up to 5,000 reminders/month, Facebook pixel integration.

SE Wishlist Engine plans:

• Free plan: Up to 100 wishlist items, customizable button/icon, variant change detection, wishlist page & popup, social share, basic insights.
• Basic: $7.99/mo — Unlimited wishlist items, hide branding, basic insights.
• Advanced: $14.99/mo — Wishlist reminders, low stock alerts, price drop/restock alerts, product recommendation, import/export, custom/unlimited emails, Facebook pixel & Klaviyo integration.
• Premium: $21.99/mo — Adds multi-language & multi-currency support, multi-language email templates, advanced insights, product recommendation.

Value analysis:

• Cost-sensitive merchants: Ultimate Wishlist provides a lower entry point for paid tiers and generous quotas at each step. The free plan’s 500 wishlist items/month is higher than SE’s free cap.
• Feature-driven merchants: SE’s Advanced plan ($14.99/mo) puts automated alerts, product recommendations, and integrations within reach — matching Ultimate Wishlist’s Premium price but with a broader feature set at that price.
• For scaling merchants: SE’s Premium at $21.99/mo adds multi-currency/language and advanced analytics; this is important for international stores.

Overall practical takeaway: Ultimate Wishlist is better value for money for stores that primarily want simple wishlist functionality and strong UI control at lower cost. SE provides better value for money for merchants who require automation and integrations that convert wishlists into sales.

Security, Data Ownership & Privacy

Both developers operate within the Shopify app ecosystem, which constrains data flow to Shopify-approved channels. Key merchant considerations:

• Confirm what user data is stored off-platform and the exportability of that data (SE explicitly offers import/export at higher tiers).
• Verify how reminder emails are sent (via the app’s servers or through connected ESP). SE’s Klaviyo integration is helpful for ESP-driven workflows; Ultimate Wishlist’s built-in reminders may be quicker to implement but less flexible.
• Check for GDPR and privacy compliance if operating in EU markets, especially with email reminders and tracking pixels.

Scalability & Long-Term Fit

• Ultimate Wishlist: Scales well for stores that keep wishlist as a feature within a larger stack. As the store grows and wants more automation or multi-channel campaigns, merchants may find themselves adding separate apps for price alerts, advanced analytics, or Klaviyo flows.
• SE Wishlist Engine: Designed to scale wishlist into lifecycle workflows. Its richer integrations allow it to play a longer-term role in retention strategy, reducing the need for some additional apps.

Practical takeaway: If the roadmap includes turning wishlist signals into automated lifecycle campaigns, SE reduces future tool additions. If wishlist remains a small part of UX, Ultimate Wishlist keeps the stack lightweight.

Pros & Cons Summary

Ultimate Wishlist — Pros:

• Tight visual customization; easy to match brand.
• Very high rating (4.9) for users who left reviews.
• Lower-cost paid plans and generous free-plan quota (500 wishlist items/month).
• Straightforward analytics for wishlist behavior.

Ultimate Wishlist — Cons:

• Small review count (34) limits community troubleshooting resources.
• Limited integrations for email platforms and ad pixels in lower tiers.
• Fewer automations (no built-in price-drop/restock alerts in base plans).

SE Wishlist Engine — Pros:

• Robust alerting (price-drop, restock, low-stock) and product recommendations.
• Larger user base and review set (249 reviews) with the same high rating (4.9).
• Integrations such as Klaviyo and Facebook pixel for marketing automation.
• Import/export functionality useful for data portability.

SE Wishlist Engine — Cons:

• Higher pricing for top-tier features (Premium $21.99/mo).
• More configuration required; potential overlap with existing marketing tools.
• Might duplicate functionality if a store already uses a retention suite.

Use-Case Recommendations

• For small stores that want a simple, attractive wishlist widget, low upfront investment, and minimal setup time: Ultimate Wishlist is a sensible pick.
• For merchants who want wishlist interactions to trigger lifecycle emails, retargeting ads, and product recommendations with minimal manual work: SE Wishlist Engine is the better fit.
• For stores already using Klaviyo or a sophisticated ad stack and wanting a wishlist app that plugs directly into those flows: choose SE Wishlist Engine.
• For teams that prefer a minimal, brand-focused storefront tweak without adding more marketing automations: Ultimate Wishlist keeps things clean.

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

Merchants often reach a point where single-purpose apps proliferate across the store. One app handles wishlists, another handles loyalty programs, another handles reviews and UGC, and yet another handles referrals. This creates integration overhead, duplicated costs, and fragmented user data — a phenomenon often called app fatigue.

Why app fatigue matters

App fatigue leads to:

• Fragmented customer data: Each app stores customer behavior in silos, making it harder to build consistent segments and coherent automations.
• Higher total cost of ownership: Multiple subscriptions, each with overlapping features, add up.
• Longer setup and maintenance: Multiple integrations multiplied by multiple vendors means more time spent on support and troubleshooting.
• Complicated analytics: Measuring LTV and retention requires stitching data across platforms.

For merchants who see wishlists as one signal among many that drive repeat purchases, product recommendations, and loyalty actions, a holistic approach reduces friction and increases lifetime customer value.

Growave’s “More Growth, Less Stack” value proposition

Growave offers a unified retention platform that combines Wishlist with Loyalty & Rewards, Referrals, Reviews & UGC, VIP tiers, and more. The platform is designed so wishlist behavior feeds directly into loyalty actions and review prompts — without the need to stitch multiple apps together.

Growave’s offering includes:

• Wishlist functionality integrated with loyalty and referral mechanics.
• Tools to collect and showcase UGC and reviews, improving conversion and social proof.
• Built-in referral and VIP tier capabilities that turn engaged customers into repeat buyers.
• Integrations with common tools like Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Shopify Flow to avoid rebuilding marketing automations.

This approach aims to replace several single-purpose apps with one coordinated system — reducing complexity while increasing the strategic value of each customer interaction.

How an integrated retention stack improves outcomes

• Wishlist signals trigger targeted loyalty rewards or referral invites, making saved-item behavior a direct path to conversion.
• Price-drop and restock alerts tied to customer segments can be orchestrated from one place, improving relevance and reducing redundant messaging.
• Reviews and UGC tools can be automatically prompted after wishlist-to-purchase journeys, boosting social proof at critical moments.
• Single-pane analytics give clearer views of retention metrics, improving decisions about offers, discounts, and VIP criteria.

Merchants interested in consolidating tools can review plan structures and see how an integrated stack compares to multiple subscriptions. To explore options, merchants can consolidate retention features with a single platform or install from the Shopify App Store to test the app in their store.

Feature highlights that solve the wishlist + retention gap

• Linked loyalty rewards and wishlist actions: Convert saved items into discount-based incentives or points redemptions.
• Review prompts triggered by purchase of wishlist items: Increase review rates for high-intent products.
• Referral incentives tied to wishlist sharing: Reward customers for bringing friends to items they care about.
• Centralized integrations for ESPs and ad pixels to keep marketing coherent.

Merchants can explore how the wishlist can be part of a broader retention program by looking at loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases or by learning how to collect and showcase authentic reviews. For teams that want a walkthrough of how Growave maps to existing marketing stacks, it’s possible to book a personalized demo to see implementation options.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention and reduces app sprawl.

Practical scenarios where the all-in-one approach beats single apps

• High-growth DTC brands: When every saved item is a signal that informs loyalty tiers and targeted promotions, a unified platform eliminates data latency.
• International brands: Cross-language and multi-currency support are easier to manage inside a platform that treats loyalty, reviews, and wishlist as interconnected.
• Teams with limited engineering resources: A single integration maintains one set of webhooks and APIs instead of many, simplifying maintenance.

Merchants evaluating cost vs. consolidation can compare current subscriptions to the bundled plans available on Growave’s pricing page to quantify potential savings and value. See how plans align with business size and expected orders by visiting detailed plan pages to consolidate retention features.

Integrations and enterprise readiness

Growave supports a wide set of commerce and marketing tools and is built to scale for larger merchants, including Shopify Plus. Its integration matrix reduces the need to separately wire wishlist data into Klaviyo or ad platforms because these workflows are pre-built. Learn how Growave supports enterprise features and migration workflows for larger merchants on the page devoted to solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Proof points

• Growave’s public reviews and adoption (1,197 reviews, 4.8 rating) show broad usage across many store sizes.
• Customer stories highlight migrations from multiple single-purpose apps to a single retention platform — saving time and improving retention metrics. Merchants can review real-world examples on the customer stories and inspiration hub.

Cost & value comparison to single-purpose stacks

• Compare the combined monthly fees of a wishlist app + a loyalty app + a reviews app + referral tool with Growave’s bundled plans. In many cases, unified suites deliver better value for money because they remove feature redundancy and combine usage quotas across one vendor.
• The pricing page allows merchants to evaluate plan tiers and expected monthly order volume to determine ROI. Merchants can consolidate retention features to test whether the bundle reduces monthly cost while expanding capability.

How to evaluate whether to consolidate

• Map current tools and overlapping features.
• Identify core business goals (increase LTV, reduce churn, raise review rates).
• Compare incremental value of integrated workflows (e.g., wishlist → loyalty reward → review prompt).
• Pilot the unified platform on a brand segment or product category to measure impact.

Merchants interested in a tailored walkthrough can book a personalized demo to evaluate migration paths and to see how loyalty, wishlist, and review workflows work end to end.

Final Comparison Summary & Decision Framework

For merchants choosing between Ultimate Wishlist and SE Wishlist Engine, the decision comes down to scope and future plans.

• Ultimate Wishlist is best for merchants who:
  • Need a lightweight, highly customizable wishlist UI.
  • Want an affordable entry point and a simple admin UX.
  • Prefer a fast implementation for store-front polish and basic reminder functionality.
• SE Wishlist Engine is best for merchants who:
  • Want wishlist interactions to convert through automated alerts (price-drop/restock/low-stock).
  • Use Klaviyo or ad platforms and want native integrations to reduce manual work.
  • Need advanced reporting, import/export, and product recommendations.

If the priority is to run fewer apps and to treat wishlist behavior as one input to a larger retention and loyalty strategy, a unified platform is often a smarter investment. Growave offers wishlist capabilities within a broader retention suite that also includes loyalty programs, referrals, and reviews — helping merchants increase repeat purchases without maintaining multiple disconnected apps. Merchants can compare plan fit and expected savings by choosing to consolidate retention features or try the app by opting to install from the Shopify App Store.

Start a 14-day free trial to evaluate Growave’s unified retention stack and see how it compares to a multi-app setup.

FAQ

Q: Which wishlist app is better for a small store with limited budget?

• For a small store that only needs a wishlist widget and basic reminders, Ultimate Wishlist offers strong value for money with a generous free tier and low-priced paid plans. If the store expects growth that will require alerting and integrations, factor in future expansion costs.

Q: Which app provides more automation for converting wishlist items into sales?

• SE Wishlist Engine includes price-drop, restock, and low-stock alerts plus product recommendations, making it more automation-focused. Those capabilities can materially increase conversion from saved items into purchases.

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

• An all-in-one retention platform reduces app fatigue by centralizing wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and reviews into a single data model and interface. This consolidation improves data portability, reduces subscription overhead, and enables coordinated workflows that are difficult to achieve with standalone apps alone.

Q: If a store already uses Klaviyo and an advanced review app, does it make sense to switch to a combined platform?

• It depends on priorities. If the store values tighter integration between loyalty, wishlist, and referrals — and seeks to reduce the number of vendors — an integrated platform may deliver better long-term value. If the existing tools are deeply configured and performing well, evaluate whether the time and migration cost justify consolidation.