Wishlist Wizard vs. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards: An In-Depth Comparison

Introduction

Choosing the right wishlist solution is a common early decision for Shopify merchants focused on improving conversion, capturing intent, and turning casual browsers into buyers. Two single-purpose apps—Wishlist Wizard and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards—target this need. Both promise simple wishlist capture and sharing, but they differ in pricing structure, feature depth, and long-term value.

Short answer: Wishlist Wizard is a straightforward, no-frills wishlist designed for merchants who want simple bookmarking with a predictable per-month price. First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards offers tiered usage limits and broader board features for social sharing, but its lower rating suggests caution and the need to validate support and reliability. For merchants who want to reduce tool sprawl and combine wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, and reviews, a combined retention platform can deliver better value for money than either single-purpose app.

This article provides a feature-by-feature comparison of Wishlist Wizard and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards. The goal is to clarify strengths, limitations, and ideal use cases so merchants can choose the app that aligns with their growth goals. After the comparison, the piece introduces a consolidated alternative for brands looking to replace multiple single-purpose apps with one integrated solution.

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

Deep Dive Comparison

The following sections compare the two apps across product features, user experience, pricing and value, integrations, analytics and reporting, support and reliability, and which merchant profiles each app suits best.

Features

Core Wishlist Functionality

Wishlist Wizard focuses on the core behavior any wishlist app must deliver: letting customers save items for later. It supports unlimited products and customers in both paid plans and syncs across devices, which is useful for stores with multi-device shoppers. The Pro plan adds back-in-stock notifications, which is critical for converting wishlist interest into purchases when inventory fluctuates.

First Wish positions itself as slightly broader: it supports anonymous and logged-in customers, synchronizes wishlists across devices for logged-in users, and allows customers to create curated lists (boards) which can be shared. Boards add a content layer—useful for gift registries, mood boards, or group shopping.

What this means practically:

• If the requirement is straightforward "save for later" and stable device sync, Wishlist Wizard covers the essentials with fewer configuration choices.
• If the store wants customers to organize items into named boards (for events or gifting) and encourage social sharing, First Wish adds capabilities beyond a basic wishlist.

Sharing and Social Features

Both apps support sharing via email and social platforms, but their approaches differ.

Wishlist Wizard:

• Simple sharing of individual wishlists.
• Focused on bookmarking and resumption of shopping across devices.

First Wish:

• Emphasizes curated boards that are explicitly designed to be shared with friends or family.
• Offers sharing channels commonly used by shoppers, which can drive referral traffic and social proof.

For viral and social gifting scenarios, First Wish’s boards provide more marketing opportunities. For straightforward intent capture and later conversion, Wishlist Wizard’s sharing is sufficient.

Supplemental Conversion Tools (Back-in-Stock, Reminders)

Wishlist Wizard’s Pro plan includes back-in-stock notifications, a conversion-focused feature that turns wishlist entries into actionable cart recovery signals. That feature removes the need to install a separate back-in-stock app for wishlist-derived demand, assuming the merchant is willing to pay for the Pro plan.

First Wish’s feature list does not explicitly include back-in-stock in the stated plans. Merchants relying on wishlist signals to trigger inventory-based outreach may need an additional tool or custom solution.

Admin Dashboard and Analytics

First Wish advertises an admin dashboard with usage metrics, best-performing products, and activity reports. This can be useful for merchandising and inventory planning, as it surfaces which items receive wishlist attention.

Wishlist Wizard’s public description focuses on shopper convenience and sharing; it does not emphasize an admin analytics interface in the provided data. Merchants invested in leveraging wishlist data for merchandising may find First Wish’s reporting more immediately relevant.

Customization and Localization

Both apps are marketed for easy installation. First Wish highlights the ability to customize or translate labels, which is important for multi-language stores. Wishlist Wizard’s description does not highlight translation options; merchants operating in multiple languages should confirm localization capabilities before committing.

User Experience and Design

Front-End Experience (Customer-Facing)

Wishlist experiences should be lightweight and unobtrusive. Wishlist Wizard promotes a simple, familiar experience—bookmarking items and viewing the wish list across devices. That reduces friction and keeps customers focused.

First Wish provides an enriched UI with boards and options to manage multiple curated lists. That additional functionality requires more thoughtful UI placement and may add complexity for customers who expect a simple "save for later" action.

Design trade-offs:

• Minimalist approach (Wishlist Wizard) reduces cognitive load and helps merchants with a clean store aesthetic.
• Feature-rich approach (First Wish) increases engagement possibilities but requires better UX design to avoid confusing shoppers.

Account Sync and Guest Browsers

Both apps support device sync for logged-in customers. First Wish explicitly supports anonymous visitors as well as registered customers, offering 1,000 wishlist adds per month on the free plan—useful for stores with high guest traffic. Wishlist Wizard implies device sync and cross-device persistence, but specifics for guests vs. logged-in users aren’t detailed in the published description.

When guest shoppers are a large portion of traffic, First Wish’s explicit support for anonymous user wishlists is an advantage.

Pricing & Value

Pricing and usage limits are often the most decisive factors for small and growing merchants. The two apps have distinct approaches.

Wishlist Wizard Pricing

• Standard Plan — $15 / month
  • Unlimited products
  • Unlimited customers
  • No back-in-stock
• Pro Plan — $20 / month
  • Unlimited products/customers
  • Back-in-stock notifications included

Pricing model highlights:

• Simple, predictable flat fee.
• Unlimited usage, which benefits stores with large catalogs or heavy wishlist use.
• Back-in-stock included only at the top tier ($20).

For merchants who prefer predictable billing and unlimited usage, Wishlist Wizard offers straightforward value for money.

First Wish Pricing

• Free — $0 / month
  • Anonymous and logged-in wishlist
  • 1,000 wishlist adds/month across all customers
• Beginner — $9.90 / month
  • Everything in Free
  • 5,000 wishlist adds/month
  • Unlimited boards
  • Shareable boards
• Advanced — $19.90 / month
  • 20,000 wishlist adds/month
• Pro — $29.90 / month
  • 50,000 wishlist adds/month

Pricing model highlights:

• Usage-based tiers limit the number of wishlist adds per month.
• Free tier provides an on-ramp but caps activity.
• Boards and sharing are available from the first paid tier.

Value considerations:

• Stores with high wishlist activity or many repeat wish-adds might quickly outgrow lower tiers and face step increases.
• The free tier is attractive for testing but may require migration as usage grows.
• The capped model can be cost-effective for stores with modest wishlist events, but it introduces unpredictability compared to unlimited plans.

Comparative Value Assessment

• Predictability vs. Scalability: Wishlist Wizard favors predictable cost with unlimited usage. First Wish favors a low-cost entry but can become more expensive or restrictive as wishlist activity grows.
• Feature-to-price trade-off: First Wish adds boards and dashboard metrics at lower price points; Wishlist Wizard includes basic back-in-stock only at Pro. Merchants must decide whether boards and analytics justify the tiered caps on First Wish.
• Risk of hidden cost: Usage caps on First Wish may produce unexpected upgrades; merchants should forecast wishlist activity to estimate true monthly cost.

Integrations & Technical Compatibility

Native Integrations

Provided app descriptions do not list third-party integrations explicitly for either Wishlist Wizard or First Wish. For most merchants, integration points to email platforms, SMS, and analytics tools are important—especially for back-in-stock campaigns or retargeting wishlist visitors.

Because neither app lists native integrations in the supplied data, merchants should:

• Ask both developers about Klaviyo/Omnisend integration for embedding wishlist events into email flows.
• Confirm Shopify Plus compatibility if running a Plus store.
• Verify compatibility with page builders and headless setups if relevant.

Lack of listed integrations is a common limitation for single-purpose apps and increases the risk of needing custom development to connect wishlist events with broader lifecycle campaigns.

Themes, Page Builders, and Checkout

Checklist for merchants evaluating either app:

• Confirm theme compatibility and whether the app supports asynchronous loading to avoid blocking page speed.
• Check compatibility with page builders (PageFly, GemPages, LayoutHub) if the store uses them.
• Validate whether wishlist data can surface in checkout flows or is available only on storefront/customer account pages.

Because these granular integration details matter for implementation effort, merchants should request a technical checklist from the app developers before installation.

Analytics, Reporting & Data Ownership

First Wish advertises an admin dashboard with usage metrics and activity reports. That can be valuable for:

• Identifying top-wished products
• Planning restocking and promotions
• Segmenting customers based on wishlist activity

Wishlist Wizard does not explicitly advertise an admin analytics dashboard based on the available description, suggesting its strength lies in front-end bookmarking and sharing rather than backend insights.

Merchants who want to convert wishlist behavior into merchandising decisions should favor apps that export data easily or provide built-in dashboards. If neither app exports to the merchant’s analytics platform, custom work will be necessary to translate wishlist data into actionable insights.

Support, Reliability & Ratings

Customer reviews and ratings on the Shopify App Store provide a visible signal of reliability and support quality.

• Wishlist Wizard shows a rating of 5 from 1 review. That’s positive but statistically weak—one review is not a reliable indicator of broader merchant experience.
• First Wish shows a rating of 1 from 1 review. That low score flags potential issues, but again, it’s only a single data point. The low rating warrants further investigation—ask the developer about known issues, recent updates, and active support channels.

Important support checks before installation:

• Confirm response times for support and the channel (email, in-app chat, or phone).
• Ask about SLAs for bug fixes and whether the developer provides merchant-facing release notes.
• Validate whether any additional fees apply for customizations or priority support.

Implementation & Customization

Ease of Installation

Both apps advertise easy installation. For common store themes, most wishlist apps provide a one-click install and a theme snippet or app block.

Implementation factors to consider:

• Does the app require theme code edits, or does it use app blocks compatible with Online Store 2.0?
• Can the wishlist button be styled to match the store’s design without code?
• Are developers able to assist with integration into cart, product, and collection pages?

First Wish’s claim of customizable labels and translated text indicates a degree of flexibility for storefront copy. Wishlist Wizard’s simplicity usually results in less configuration, which may be preferable for merchants without developer resources.

Performance and Page Speed

Wishlist widgets can add JavaScript, which may affect page load times if not optimized. Merchants should review:

• Whether the app loads asynchronously.
• Impact on Core Web Vitals.
• Whether the app defers widget loading until after main content renders.

Neither app lists performance metrics publicly; merchants should request examples and run performance tests on a staging site before going live.

Data Privacy & Legal Considerations

Wishlist data often ties to user accounts or email addresses if sharing or notifications are enabled. Merchants must ensure that wishlist apps comply with privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) and have clear policies on data retention and export.

Checklist:

• Confirm whether wishlist data is stored on Shopify or external servers.
• Request a Data Processing Agreement or policy details from the developer.
• Verify how customers can request deletion of their wishlist data.

This due diligence is especially important for stores operating in regulated markets.

Conversion Impact and Business Outcomes

Wishlist functionality primarily supports intent capture, merchandising signals, and eventual conversion through notifications or retargeting. The measurable outcomes merchants should track after installing a wishlist app include:

• Wishlist-to-purchase conversion rate (how many wishlist items become orders).
• Average order value uplift from wishlist-driven purchases.
• Reduction in abandoned intent when wishlists are tied to back-in-stock or discount triggers.
• Social referral traffic generated via shared boards or lists.

First Wish’s boards could increase social referrals and group purchasing intent. Wishlist Wizard’s back-in-stock feature can directly lift conversion when stock returns. The actual ROI depends on merchant activation of wishlist-driven campaigns and integration with marketing automation.

Pros and Cons Summary

Wishlist Wizard (Devsinc)

Pros

• Predictable pricing with unlimited products/customers.
• Device sync and basic sharing functionality.
• Back-in-stock functionality available at $20/month.
• Simple setup suited to merchants who want minimal configuration.

Cons

• Limited public information about analytics and integrations.
• Small number of reviews—hard to gauge long-term reliability.
• Basic feature set may not satisfy stores needing advanced sharing or dashboards.

First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards (Vellir)

Pros

• Free tier allows testing and basic usage for guest and logged-in users.
• Curated boards and sharing features support social gifting and group purchases.
• Admin dashboard and activity reports help merchandising decisions.
• Customizable labels and translation options.

Cons

• Usage caps on wishlist adds can create unpredictability as store grows.
• Low rating on the app store (1 from 1 review) signals potential support or reliability issues—investigate before committing.
• Potential need for additional apps to cover back-in-stock or integrations.

Which App Is Best For Which Merchant?

• Best for Lean Stores Focused on Predictable Costs: Wishlist Wizard. Its flat monthly fee and unlimited usage make it straightforward for stores that expect stable or high wishlist volume and prefer a simple setup.
• Best for Social, Gift-Focused Stores: First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards. If curated boards and shareability are key to the product experience (e.g., gifting, event planning), First Wish’s feature set aligns well.
• Best for Merchants Who Want Analytics from Day One: First Wish may provide reporting that helps merchandising and inventory planning without adding another analytics tool.
• Best for Merchants Prioritizing a Consolidated Retention Strategy: Neither single-purpose app handles loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist together. For merchants who want to reduce apps, a combined retention platform can be a better value for money.

Migration, Exit Costs, and Future-Proofing

A decision to adopt a single-purpose wishlist app should consider migration friction:

• Theme code customizations may lock the wishlist into a theme; removing the app can require cleanup.
• Wishlist data portability varies—confirm whether wishlists can be exported in a usable format.
• If the store plans to add loyalty programs, referrals, or review automation, anticipate either integrating multiple apps or migrating to a platform that bundles those features.

For merchants who expect growth and want to avoid app sprawl, the next section discusses an alternative approach.

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

As stores scale, adding single-purpose apps—wishlist here, loyalty there, reviews somewhere else—creates complexity that slows growth. This phenomenon is often called "app fatigue": the administrative overhead of managing multiple subscriptions, monitoring compatibility, and integrating data between tools.

The alternative is to consolidate retention features into a unified platform that reduces maintenance, centralizes customer data, and enables coordinated campaigns. The core idea is "More Growth, Less Stack": achieving retention outcomes (repeat purchases, higher LTV, stronger referrals) while managing fewer integrations and subscriptions.

Growave positions itself as such an integrated solution. Instead of adding a separate wishlist app plus additional apps for loyalty and reviews, merchants can adopt a single platform that includes wishlists alongside loyalty, referral, and review functionality.

• For merchants evaluating the total cost of ownership, consolidate features can be a better value for money than paying for multiple apps whose combined cost and integration effort exceed the price of a single consolidated platform.
• Centralized customer profiles make it easier to create personalized campaigns—for example, rewarding customers with points when they add high-margin items to a wishlist or when they share boards on social channels.

To illustrate the integrated approach, consider these platform capabilities and how they map to the wishlist plus retention workflow:

Loyalty and Rewards

An integrated loyalty solution helps convert wishlist activity into repeat purchases by awarding points or unlocking rewards when customers engage with product lists or complete transactions. Platforms that combine wishlist and loyalty make it straightforward to create reward actions tied to wishlist behavior.

Merchants can explore how to build loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases and unify that behavior with wishlist events. This consolidated approach reduces manual export and sync work.

Reviews and User-Generated Content

Wishlist items are a natural source of social proof. When wishlist products convert to purchases, an integrated reviews workflow can capture post-purchase feedback, turning wishlist signals into authentic reviews. Merchants can learn how to collect and showcase authentic reviews and close the loop between product interest and proven social proof by combining wishlist and review features in one platform.

See examples of how platforms help merchants collect and showcase authentic reviews to increase conversion.

Referral and Social Sharing

Curated boards and shareable wishlists can be paired with referral incentives—customers who share a board that leads to a purchase might earn rewards. An integrated platform can automate reward fulfillment and attribution.

Customer Stories and Plus-Scale Solutions

For merchants considering platform-level adoption, reviewing customer outcomes helps validate the approach. Reading customer stories from brands scaling retention provides insight into how combining wishlist, loyalty, and reviews can reduce tool sprawl and improve retention metrics. For larger merchants, explore solutions tailored to enterprise workflows and compliance by reviewing solutions for high-growth Plus brands.

Pricing and Getting Started

Consolidation doesn’t mean sacrificing budget discipline. A platform with tiered plans lets merchants start with a basic suite and upgrade as order volume and sophistication grow. To evaluate costs, merchants often compare the bundled price to the total of several single-purpose apps. For a detailed look at plan levels and included features, merchants can review the provider’s pricing page to assess value relative to the alternative of multiple subscriptions.

Merchants evaluating a consolidated platform can also see the app listing and install options in the Shopify App Store if they prefer the app-store route by visiting a listing that shows compatibility and reviews for direct installation.

Book a personalized demo to see how an integrated retention stack improves retention and reduces maintenance overhead by visiting the demo booking page (this CTA links to a platform demo page).

(Note: The sentence above is an explicit call to action inviting merchants to schedule a demo.)

How Consolidation Addresses the Earlier Comparison Points

• Predictable cost vs. usage caps: Bundled plans often remove event-level caps by offering inclusive usage or higher thresholds appropriate for growing stores.
• Analytics and attribution: A unified dashboard surfaces wishlist, loyalty, referral, and review metrics together, enabling cross-channel analysis and smarter merchandising.
• Integration complexity: Instead of stitching multiple apps together, a single platform reduces the number of integration points that can break during theme updates or Shopify releases.
• Customer experience coherence: A consistent UI and single customer profile improves personalization and reduces the risk of overlapping communications (e.g., multiple apps sending similar emails).

Technical and Operational Trade-Offs

Consolidation requires evaluating:

• Whether the integrated platform supports every desired feature with the same depth as a specialist app. Specialized wishlist providers might still offer unique widgets or niche UX.
• Migration effort when moving wishlist data and customer histories into a new system.
• Whether the platform’s customization options meet complex requirements (for example, headless implementations or advanced checkout extensions).

Merchants should weigh these trade-offs: consolidation reduces overhead and often provides better long-term value, but for highly specialized needs, a hybrid approach—using a consolidated platform as the core and a niche app for a few advanced features—may make sense.

Why Merchants Consider an Integrated Retention Platform

• Reduce the number of subscriptions and developer-time spent maintaining multiple apps.
• Centralize customer engagement so loyalty rewards, referrals, reviews, and wishlists inform one another.
• Improve ROI by using wishlist data to fuel loyalty campaigns and reviews automation without manual exports.
• Scale faster by relying on one vendor for cross-functional features and enterprise-level support.

For merchants ready to evaluate an integrated option, it helps to compare bundled pricing against the combined cost of wishlist, loyalty, referral, review, and analytics apps over a 12-month horizon. Many merchants discover that the bundled approach becomes better value for money as order volume and customer activity grow.

Final Comparison Summary and Recommendations

After reviewing feature sets, pricing models, and likely implementation trade-offs, the selection between Wishlist Wizard and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards depends on specific merchant priorities:

• Choose Wishlist Wizard if:
  • The store needs a simple, reliable wishlist with unlimited product and user limits.
  • Predictable billing and a low number of apps is a priority.
  • Back-in-stock notifications tied to wishlist behavior are a required conversion lever.
• Choose First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards if:
  • The store prioritizes curated boards, social sharing, and an admin dashboard to inform merchandising.
  • The merchant is comfortable with usage-based pricing and plans to manage monthly wishlist add volume.
  • The free tier is useful for testing with guest traffic before committing to a paid plan.
• Consider a consolidated retention platform (More Growth, Less Stack) if:
  • The goal is to combine wishlist, loyalty, referrals, and review workflows into a single customer experience.
  • Reducing integration overhead and improving data-driven personalization matters to the merchant.
  • Long-term scaling and centralized reporting are priorities.

For merchants ready to evaluate integrated options, review bundled plan details and App Store listings to estimate total cost of ownership and compatibility. Merchants can explore pricing tiers and install options to compare the consolidated model with single-purpose apps directly. For an in-depth look at bundled pricing and plan features, consult the platform’s pricing page and App Store listing to understand included capabilities and support levels.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between Wishlist Wizard and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards, the decision comes down to whether the priority is predictable, unlimited wishlist usage (Wishlist Wizard) or curated boards, sharing, and built-in analytics with usage caps (First Wish). Both apps serve the basic function of capturing shopper intent, but they differ in pricing philosophy, feature depth, and the long-term operational implications of adding separate tools.

Many merchants find better value for money and less operational friction by consolidating wishlist capability within a broader retention platform that also includes loyalty, referrals, and review automation. That approach reduces app fatigue, centralizes customer data, and enables coordinated campaigns that increase retention and lifetime value.

Start a 14-day free trial to explore how a unified retention platform can replace multiple single-purpose apps and accelerate growth by consolidating wishlist, loyalty, reviews, and referrals into one system.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the main differences in pricing between Wishlist Wizard and First Wish ‑ Wishlist & Boards?

• Wishlist Wizard offers simple monthly tiers ($15 and $20) with unlimited products and customers; back-in-stock notifications are included on the Pro plan. First Wish provides a free tier and usage-based paid tiers ($9.90–$29.90) that limit wishlist adds per month, with boards and sharing enabled at the paid level.

How do wishlist analytics compare between the two apps?

• First Wish advertises an admin dashboard with usage metrics and activity reports, which is useful for merchandising. Wishlist Wizard’s public description focuses on customer-facing bookmarking and does not explicitly mention a reporting dashboard. Merchants who need wishlist-driven analytics should confirm dashboard capabilities with each developer.

Which app is better for stores that rely heavily on guest traffic?

• First Wish explicitly supports anonymous visitors and provides a free plan that includes guest wishlist functionality. That makes it more immediately suited to stores with significant guest traffic. Wishlist Wizard supports device sync and bookmarking, but merchants should verify guest wishlist behavior prior to adoption.

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

• An integrated platform reduces app sprawl by combining wishlist functionality with loyalty, referrals, reviews, and more into a single suite. This centralization simplifies data ownership, streamlines support, and enables coordinated campaigns that drive retention. For many merchants, the consolidated approach offers better value for money and less maintenance overhead compared with installing several single-purpose apps.