WC Wishlist Club vs. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist app is a deceptively important decision for Shopify merchants. Wishlists can lift conversion, re-engage visitors, and feed valuable signals into email and retention programs — but a poorly chosen wishlist tool can add cost, complexity, and missed opportunities. This comparison focuses on two single-purpose wishlist apps that are commonly considered by merchants: WC Wishlist Club (WebContrive) and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards (Vellir). The goal is a practical, feature-by-feature evaluation to help merchants decide which app fits their needs — and when a broader retention platform might be the better investment.

Short answer: WC Wishlist Club is a mature, well-reviewed wishlist app that focuses on conversion-driving features such as guest lists, multiple lists, and automated alerts (price drop, back-in-stock) at a modest monthly cost. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards offers basic wishlist and board sharing capabilities with a usage-tier model that limits wishlist adds, but its single review and 1-star rating suggest caution. For merchants who want wishlist functionality plus loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers without a growing app stack, a unified retention platform like Growave typically provides better value for money and long-term scalability.

This post provides an in-depth, impartial comparison of WC Wishlist Club and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards across features, pricing, integrations, implementation, and real merchant fit. After the side-by-side analysis, the piece outlines the risks of spreading retention across single-purpose apps and presents an integrated alternative that reduces tool sprawl.

WC Wishlist Club vs. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Features

Wishlist Basics: Add, Save, Sync

WC Wishlist Club enables guests and logged-in customers to save items, supports multiple wishlists per customer, and provides an option to display a wishlist icon on Home, Collection, and Product pages. Multiple lists and guest functionality are important when targeting both anonymous browsers and returning customers.

First Wish supports anonymous and logged-in wishlist adds and enables synchronization for logged-in customers across devices. On paper, both apps cover the basic "save for later" use case, but WC Wishlist Club emphasizes more storefront placements and multi-list management.

Why it matters: Support for guest wishlists lowers friction for first-time visitors; multi-wishlist capability helps power gifting and event-based lists.

Key points:

• WC Wishlist Club: Guest + multiple wishlists, broad placement options.
• First Wish: Anonymous and logged-in saves, synchronized lists for accounts.

Alerts, Automation, and Re-Engagement

WC Wishlist Club offers price-drop alerts, back-in-stock and restock notifications, and automated wishlist reminder emails. These features directly target return visits and conversions by turning saved interest into purchase signals.

First Wish provides sharing and curated boards but does not list native price-drop or back-in-stock alerting in its feature description. For merchants whose wishlist strategy relies on turning product interest into purchase through timely triggers, WC Wishlist Club has the stronger native automation set.

Why it matters: Alerts and automated reminders create measurable ROI from wishlists by converting saved items into orders and increasing average order value (AOV).

Summary:

• WC Wishlist Club: Built-in alerts and automated emails → stronger recovery and conversion potential.
• First Wish: Focuses on list creation and sharing; automation appears limited or absent.

Sharing, Social, and Collaboration

First Wish sells its "boards" as a social-friendly feature: customers can create curated lists and share them via social media, email, or messaging apps. This is useful for gift-shopping, inspiration lists, and social commerce.

WC Wishlist Club enables wishlist sharing as well, but its emphasis lies more on alerts and conversions than on social virality. Merchants that prioritize friend-and-family sharing or social-first inspiration flows gain more from First Wish’s board language, provided the sharing is well-implemented and mobile-friendly.

Summary:

• First Wish: Better language and emphasis for curated, shareable boards.
• WC Wishlist Club: Shareable wishlists available, but core focus on conversion triggers.

Analytics and Admin Dashboard

WC Wishlist Club promises "insightful analytics" and live tracking of products and user wishlists. Its Enterprise plan includes more advanced integrations and headless support for complex setups.

First Wish advertises an admin dashboard with metrics on wishlist usage, best-performing products, and activity reports. The functionality appears basic and described as suitable for tracking engagement.

Both apps provide admin insights, but the depth and exportability of the analytics will determine how easily a merchant can act on wishlist data. With 142 reviews and a 4.9 rating, WC Wishlist Club’s analytics claims have more social proof behind them, though merchants should test dashboards during trial periods.

Summary:

• WC Wishlist Club: Positioned as having actionable analytics; good social proof.
• First Wish: Provides usage metrics and activity reports; feature maturity less certain.

Email & Third-Party Integration

WC Wishlist Club lists integrations with Klaviyo and Mailchimp, and its Enterprise plan specifically mentions Klaviyo/Mailchimp integration and Back in Stock import/export. That makes it easier for merchants to feed wishlist events into existing email flows.

First Wish does not list explicit third-party integrations in the provided app data. Lack of native integrations makes it harder to combine wishlist events with email campaigns or personalization platforms without custom work.

Why it matters: Integration with email marketing tools is critical to capitalizing on wishlist signals — price drop alerts alone won’t move the needle if wishlist events cannot trigger personalized flows.

Summary:

• WC Wishlist Club: Clear integration path with popular email platforms.
• First Wish: Integration status unclear; might require manual or custom work.

Customization & Theming

WC Wishlist Club’s higher-tier plans advertise custom design and headless integration options, implying merchants can tailor the wishlist UI and behavior to match a brand's theme and custom storefronts.

First Wish notes customizable or translatable labels. That supports basic localization and label tweaks, but the app description doesn’t promise deep UI or design customizations.

Summary:

• WC Wishlist Club: Offers custom design on paid levels; better for stores needing a branded experience.
• First Wish: Basic label customization; likely quicker to install but less flexible visually.

Pricing & Value

Pricing is a practical filter for many merchants. The two apps use different pricing philosophies.

WC Wishlist Club Pricing Snapshot

• Basic: $4.99 / month — Unlimited wishlists, back-in-stock/price-drop/restock alerts, wishlist reminders, import/export, guest/share/multi-wishlist, customize emails.
• Pro: $9.99 / month — Same feature list (tiered pricing appears mostly for support or account size).
• Advance: $14.99 / month — Same core features, likely higher support limits.
• Enterprise: $24.99 / month — Includes headless integration, back-in-stock import/export, Klaviyo/Mailchimp integration, custom design, custom feature build.

Value takeaways:

• Low entry price provides immediate access to alerting and reminder features.
• Enterprise tier adds headless and deeper integrations for growth brands.
• Pricing is flat and not tied to wishlist event volume.

First Wish Pricing Snapshot

• Free: Free — Wishlist for anonymous and logged-in customers; 1,000 wishlist adds/month across all customers.
• Beginner: $9.90 / month — 5,000 wishlist adds/month, unlimited boards, sharing.
• Advanced: $19.90 / month — 20,000 wishlist adds/month.
• Pro: $29.90 / month — 50,000 wishlist adds/month.

Value takeaways:

• Freemium option allows small stores to trial the product with up to 1,000 adds per month.
• Usage caps require attention; a fast-growing store may outgrow tiers and need to upgrade.
• Price per month is modest for higher tiers but tied to usage limits, which can make cost unpredictable if wishlist activity spikes.

Comparative assessment:

• WC Wishlist Club delivers predictable monthly pricing and includes automation/alerts even at the lowest tier — strong value for direct conversion features.
• First Wish offers a free tier for testing but imposes volume limits; it may become more expensive or restrictive as a merchant scales.

Practical merchant guidance:

• If the store expects high wishlist volume or wants message automation out of the box, WC Wishlist Club likely offers better predictable value.
• If the store wants to experiment with social sharing boards and has low volume, First Wish’s free tier is a reasonable low-risk trial.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Integration with other tools is a critical factor for how wishlist data translates into revenue.

WC Wishlist Club: Explicitly lists Klaviyo and Mailchimp, customer accounts support, and its Enterprise plan mentions Klaviyo/Mailchimp integration and headless features. These integrations enable merchants to trigger email flows and combine wishlist data with lifecycle segmentation.

First Wish: Does not list integrations in the provided data. The lack of listed integrations means merchants may need to use webhooks, custom scripts, or manual exports to get wishlist events into marketing platforms.

Integration verdict:

• WC Wishlist Club has an integration advantage out of the box, especially for merchants using Klaviyo or Mailchimp.
• First Wish will require additional work to connect wishlist events to retention systems.

User Support, Reviews, and Trust Signals

User ratings and number of reviews are useful proxies for product maturity and merchant experience.

• WC Wishlist Club: 142 reviews, 4.9 rating. This volume of reviews and near-perfect average suggests the app is widely used and generally well-received.
• First Wish: 1 review, 1.0 rating. A single review and low score indicate the app is early-stage or has had a poor experience; merchants should be cautious and test thoroughly before committing.

Support channels, response time, and documentation are not fully detailed in the provided data. However, WC Wishlist Club’s higher review count suggests a more established support model. First Wish’s nascent review profile means merchants should rely on trial periods and support testing before launching.

Practical note: Always test support responsiveness during the trial phase — prompt issue resolution matters for critical features like back-in-stock alerts.

Implementation & UX

Ease of installation and the quality of the user-facing UI influence adoption.

• WC Wishlist Club emphasizes placement across Home, Collection, and Product pages, suggesting flexible installation and clean storefront integration. Headless support at Enterprise makes it suitable for custom storefronts.
• First Wish uses straightforward wishlist and board language with sharing options; setup may be quick, but UI polish and cross-device behavior should be validated.

Actionable guidance:

• Verify how the wishlist icon interacts with theme builders and page builders in use.
• Test guest wishlist behavior and cross-device sync for logged-in customers.
• Assess mobile UX: many wishlists are created on mobile, so responsive behavior is crucial.

Security, Data, and Compliance

Wishlist apps store customer interest data and may collect emails for alerts. Security, data ownership, and compliance with privacy rules matter.

• WC Wishlist Club’s Enterprise mentions import/export and headless, implying merchant control over wishlist data can be managed.
• First Wish does not disclose data handling specifics in the feature snippet; merchants should ask the developer specific questions about data retention, exports, and GDPR/CCPA compliance before installation.

Checklist to verify pre-installation:

• Can merchants export wishlist data and user emails?
• How long are wishlist records retained?
• What access controls exist for data exports?
• Does the app provide a documented privacy and security policy?

Performance & Scalability

Two practical differences affect scalability:

• WC Wishlist Club: Unlimited wishlist support advertised across plans suggests the app is prepared for growth; Enterprise adds headless support and custom features for complex setups.
• First Wish: Plans limit wishlist adds per month; this built-in quota is a scalability throttle for stores that experience rapid engagement growth. That model can be cost-effective for controlled usage but risky if wishlist-driven marketing becomes a growth lever.

Conclusion on scaling:

• WC Wishlist Club is structured to scale with predictable pricing and advanced technical options for high-growth merchants.
• First Wish can work for low-traffic or test stores but will require frequent monitoring of the "adds/month" metric.

Real-World Use Cases

To make the comparison actionable, here are several merchant profiles and the recommended app approach.

• Boutique store with strong email program and Klaviyo flows: WC Wishlist Club. The Klaviyo integration and alerting make it easier to turn wishlists into orders.
• Gift-oriented brand that wants shareable boards for holiday shoppers: First Wish could be useful if the volume is modest and the social sharing is the primary goal.
• High-growth brand on Shopify Plus or headless storefront: WC Wishlist Club’s Enterprise headless options and predictable feature set are a better fit.
• Small store that wants to trial wishlist concepts with zero upfront cost: First Wish free tier allows experimentation, but watch for volume limits.

Pros & Cons Summary

WC Wishlist Club

• Pros: Mature product with 142 reviews and a 4.9 rating; strong automation (price-drop, back-in-stock), Klaviyo/Mailchimp integration, multiple wishlist support, predictable pricing, headless options.
• Cons: Limited public documentation about advanced analytics depth; UI customization may require higher-tier plan.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards

• Pros: Freemium plan for experimentation; emphasis on curated boards and social sharing; simple dashboard for activity.
• Cons: Usage caps tied to wishlist adds; only 1 review at 1.0 rating — concerning for reliability; integrations not clearly listed.

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

Single-purpose apps can be a fast path to a needed capability, but they also create friction: multiple billing lines, overlapping tracking, and disconnected data. This "app fatigue" leads to a fragmented retention strategy where wishlist events, loyalty points, reviews, and referrals live in separate silos. The result is increased maintenance cost, complex integrations, and missed opportunities to orchestrate campaigns across retention channels.

Growave’s philosophy — More Growth, Less Stack — addresses app fatigue by combining wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and VIP tiers in one integrated suite. Rather than stitching separate tools to get a coherent retention program, merchants benefit from consolidated logic, unified customer profiles, and centralized analytics.

How consolidation fixes common problems:

• Unified events: Wishlist adds, loyalty actions, and referrals feed the same customer profile, enabling multi-touch personalization.
• Fewer integrations: One integration to Klaviyo or a CRM captures all retention signals instead of multiple connectors.
• Predictable pricing and support: An integrated vendor reduces billing noise and shrinks the vendor-management burden.

Growave’s retention suite includes native Loyalty & Rewards, Wishlist, Reviews & UGC, Referrals, and VIP tiers — which allows merchants to build campaigns that use wishlist behavior to trigger rewards, prompt review requests after purchases, or unlock VIP status for repeat wishlists converted to orders.

For merchants assessing the trade-offs between single-purpose wishlist apps and an integrated platform, consider these operational benefits:

• Faster experimentation: Create loyalty promotions tied to wishlist activity without additional development.
• Richer personalization: Combine wishlist signals with purchase history to create better-targeted offers.
• Support continuity: One support relationship to help diagnose cross-feature issues (e.g., why wishlist-triggered emails didn’t send).

Below are a few concrete product entry points where Growave’s platform reduces tool sprawl and increases retention efficacy. Each link points to a feature resource that explains how these capabilities work together.

• Use loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases to turn wishlist behavior into points and incentives, rather than treating wishlists as an isolated data source.
• Use collect and showcase authentic reviews to amplify social proof from purchasers who first engaged via wishlists.
• Install the app quickly by choosing to install the all-in-one app for merchants who want a single vendor for retention.
• For proof points and strategies, explore customer stories from brands scaling retention that show how combined features drive higher LTV.

Growave also supports advanced technical needs — solutions for high-growth merchants and headless storefronts — while providing the operational simplicity of a single platform. Merchants running on Shopify Plus can evaluate tailored offerings for enterprise needs and dedicated onboarding by exploring solutions for solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Why the integrated approach lowers long-term cost:

• Avoid duplicative integrations (e.g., separate Klaviyo connectors per app).
• Reduce data mapping and cleaning work.
• Centralize marketing logic so campaigns can use combined signals (reviews + wishlist + loyalty behavior).

If a merchant wants to evaluate how the integrated path compares in practice, a demo can be insightful. Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention: Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention.

Feature Map: How Growave Replaces a Wishlist App + More

• Wishlist: Native wishlist functionality that syncs to customer profiles, supports sharing, and triggers email automation.
• Loyalty & Rewards: Points for actions (including wishlist interactions), tiers, and custom reward actions that increase LTV.
• Reviews & UGC: Automated review requests and social-proof widgets to improve conversion.
• Referrals: Built-in referral campaigns to turn satisfied customers into acquisition channels.
• VIP Tiers: Create gated experiences and targeted perks that reward high-value customers.

Each of these features feeds the same customer record, enabling orchestration that single-purpose apps struggle to achieve without custom integrations.

Pricing & Deployment Considerations

Growave’s plans are structured to scale with store volume, offering an entry-level plan as well as Growth and Plus plans, which include expanded support and dedicated services. For merchants comparing cost, it is important to consider the total monthly spend of multiple single-purpose apps versus a single integrated platform. For many stores, the unified approach yields better value for money when the combined feature set is needed.

To evaluate the product hands-on, merchants can consolidate retention features and compare the single subscription to the cumulative cost of separate wishlist, loyalty, review, and referral apps.

Installers that prefer the Shopify interface can also install the all-in-one app to test basic functionality and integrations in a staging environment before fully committing.

Integrations & Platform Compatibility

Growave integrates with common platform tools merchants rely upon:

• Email & SMS: Klaviyo, Omnisend, Postscript, and others.
• Helpdesk & CX: Gorgias.
• Subscription: Recharge.
• Page builders: Pagefly, GemPages, LayoutHub. This reduces engineering overhead and supports a coherent stack that spans marketing, support, and commerce.

Two more feature pages that clarify how wishlist-driven retention ties into broader growth strategies:

• loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases — shows how points and tiers can be triggered by wishlist conversions.
• collect and showcase authentic reviews — shows how reviews increase conversion for items frequently saved to wishlists.

Implementation Checklist: Switching From a Single App to an All-In-One

Migrating from a single-purpose wishlist app into an integrated platform requires a plan:

• Export wishlist data from the existing app (verify import/export support).
• Map wishlist events to customer profiles in the new platform.
• Test critical automations: price-drop and back-in-stock alerts, welcome journeys, and loyalty triggers.
• Verify that email templates and brand styling are preserved or re-created.
• Monitor event accuracy for the first 30 days and validate key conversion metrics.

Growave supports import/export workflows and provides onboarding resources for merchants migrating from single apps. Review available onboarding options and compare them to the support model of the incumbent wishlist app before the migration.

Support & SLA Considerations

Single-purpose apps may provide focused support for one feature, but cross-feature issues require coordination across vendors. An integrated vendor reduces vendor management risk. When evaluating support, review:

• Response times and channels (email, live chat, phone).
• Onboarding assistance and migration help.
• Documentation coverage and troubleshooting guides.

Growave’s Plus plan includes a dedicated launch plan and customer success manager for merchants that need extra support during migration and scale-up.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between WC Wishlist Club and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards, the decision comes down to priorities:

• WC Wishlist Club is better for merchants who want a focused wishlist solution that includes conversion-driving automation (price-drop, back-in-stock, wishlist reminders), clear Klaviyo/Mailchimp integrations, and predictable monthly pricing. Its 142 reviews and 4.9 rating indicate a mature product with strong adoption and positive merchant feedback.
• First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards may suit small stores that want to test curated boards and social sharing on a very small budget, thanks to its free tier. However, its single public review and 1.0 rating raise reliability concerns, and usage limits on wishlist adds mean merchants must monitor volume carefully.

Beyond the single-app trade-offs, merchants should consider whether wishlists are just one retention lever or part of a broader strategy that includes loyalty, referrals, and reviews. An integrated retention platform reduces tool sprawl and enables workflows where wishlist activity feeds loyalty programs, triggers review requests, and informs VIP segmentation.

Start a 14-day free trial to test Growave’s unified retention stack and see how consolidating wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals reduces complexity and accelerates repeat purchases: consolidate retention features.

For merchants who want to evaluate the product quickly on Shopify, it is possible to install the all-in-one app and explore how unified signals can create clearer, higher-value customer journeys.

Frequently asked questions

• How does WC Wishlist Club compare to First Wish in terms of reliability and reviews? WC Wishlist Club has significantly more social proof, with 142 reviews and a 4.9 average rating, which suggests consistent merchant satisfaction. First Wish has one review at a 1.0 score; that low and sparse review count indicates an early-stage app or a poor user experience and warrants cautious trialing.
• Which app is better for stores that want email automation tied to wishlists? WC Wishlist Club has a clear advantage because it includes price-drop, back-in-stock alerts and lists integrations with Klaviyo and Mailchimp, enabling direct automation. First Wish’s integration story is unclear, so connecting wishlist events to email flows may require custom work.
• If a merchant expects rapid wishlist growth, which app scales better? WC Wishlist Club is structured to scale with unlimited wishlist support and headless options in higher tiers. First Wish’s usage-based tiers (1,000 → 50,000 wishlist adds/month) can quickly become a constraint and require monitoring or upgrades as engagement increases.
• How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps? An all-in-one platform consolidates wishlist, loyalty, reviews, referrals, and VIP tiers into a single customer profile and admin console. This reduces integration overhead, enables multi-channel orchestration (for example, turning wishlist interest into loyalty points), and often delivers better long-term value for merchants that use multiple retention channels. For hands-on evaluation, merchants can explore loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and collect and showcase authentic reviews to see how combined features work together.