Top 12 Shopify Referral Apps FREE & Paid in 2024

 In the bustling world of e-commerce, standing out from the crowd can be quite a challenge. That’s where referral apps come into play. If you’re running a Shopify store, leveraging the power of referral marketing can transform your business, driving more traffic and increasing sales through word-of-mouth. But with so many options available, how do you choose the proper referral app for your store?

This guide will lead you through the top 12 Shopify referral apps. Whether you’re a newbie looking to dip your toes into referral marketing or a seasoned pro seeking the best tools to optimize your strategy, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive in and explore each app's features, benefits, and standout qualities to help you make an informed decision and take your Shopify store to the next level.

What are Referral Apps?

Referral apps are powerful tools designed to help businesses leverage the age-old concept of word-of-mouth marketing in a digital format. These apps enable you to generate and manage referral programs that incentivize your existing customers to get the word out about your store to their friends, family, and social networks.

In the context of Shopify, referral apps integrate directly with your store, allowing you to set up customized referral campaigns that align with your brand and business goals. Whether you offer discounts, free products, or other incentives, these apps help motivate your customers to bring in new business, creating a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Referral apps offer numerous advantages for Shopify store owners:

• Increased Customer Acquisition: Tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing to attract new customers through trusted recommendations.
• Cost-Effective Marketing: Save on advertising costs by incentivizing existing customers to refer others, leading to higher returns on investment.
• Enhanced Customer Loyalty: Reward loyal customers for their advocacy, strengthening their bond with your brand and encouraging repeat purchases.
• Better Customer Retention: Referred customers often have higher lifetime value and retention rates, contributing to long-term growth.
• Increased Brand Awareness:Boost your brand's visibility through social sharing, reaching a wider audience organically.
• Detailed Analytics and Insights: Track and optimize your referral program with robust analytics tools provided by the apps.
• Easy to Implement and Manage: Set up and manage referral programs effortlessly with user-friendly and automated features.

Quicks comparisons of top Referral Apps for Shopify

Top 12 Shopify Referral Apps

1. AfterShip Referral&Affiliate

This affiliate marketing tool builds brand trust, increases brand advocates, and generates revenue through word-of-mouth marketing. By motivating existing customers to refer your brand to their network and collaborating with influencers, the tool helps grow your business. Customers are rewarded for successful referrals, and new referred customers receive discounts on their next purchase, fostering a cycle of engagement and loyalty.

Highlight Features:

• One-Click Referral Campaigns: Make referral campaigns effortlessly with unique links and reward coupons.
• Automated Reward Emails: Send automated reward emails to advocates with easy-to-redeem coupon codes.
• Bulk Influencer Invites: Invite influencers en masse and monitor their activities through a single dashboard.
• Free Gifts as Commission: Offer gifts to influencers as a commission to reduce marketing costs.
• Customizable Widgets: Easily customize widget text, color, and layout to maintain a consistent brand experience.

Pros:

• Simplifies the setup and management of referral campaigns.
• Automates reward distribution, saving time and effort.
• Effective influencer collaboration and management.
• Cost-effective with the option to offer gifts as commissions.
• Customizable interface to match brand aesthetics.

Cons:

• Initial setup and customization might require some time.
• Managing a large number of influencers and referrals can be complex.

Pricing: Free

Rating: 4.9/5 (2,490 reviews)

2. Referral Candy & Affiliate

ReferralCandy is the premier referral marketing partner for growing brands. It is designed to help Shopify (and Shopify Plus) stores attract customers, increase sales, and grow through referral, affiliate marketing, and rewards. It enables stores to set up referral and affiliate programs to retain customers and reward them when they refer their friends. These programs work across various industries, including fashion, nutrition, electronics, home, pet, and more.

Highlight Features:

• Quick Setup: Set up a referral or affiliate program and get the first sales within 30 minutes.
• Customizable: Customize your referral program with your logo, images, and brand colors.
• Customer Enrollment: Enable post-purchase popups, emails, and pages to enroll customers in the program.
• Automated Rewards: Automate customer rewards with cash and coupons for one-off and subscription sales.
• Integration: Integrate seamlessly with Klaviyo, ReCharge, Skio, Awtomic, Bold, Loop, Appstle, Stay, and Seal.

Pros:

• Quick and easy setup
• Automated reward distribution
• High level of customization
• Broad industry applicability
• Extensive integration options

Cons:

• It may require ongoing management to optimize performance.
• It can be complex for tiny stores or those with niche requirements.

Pricing:

• Premium plan: $59/month
• Plus: $299/month
• Enterprise: $24,000/year

Rating: 4.9/5 (2,146 reviews)

3. Rivo Loyalty & Referrals

Rivo is a customizable loyalty and referral platform for fast-growing direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Created by Stuart, Rivo aims to address the shortcomings of existing loyalty solutions with frequent product updates and competitive pricing. The platform integrates seamlessly with various apps and offers extensive support to enhance customer retention metrics.

Highlight Features:

• Customizable Loyalty and Referral Programs: Tailor your loyalty and referral programs to fit your brand’s unique needs.
• Built for DTC Brands: Explicitly designed for fast-growing direct-to-consumer brands.
• 24/7 Live Chat Support: World-class customer support is available around the clock.
• Seamless Integration: Instantly integrates with your existing tech stack, including Klaviyo, Gorgias, Postscript, and more.
• Developer Toolkit: Unlock advanced customization options with the Rivo Developer Toolkit.

Pros:

• Highly customizable, allowing for tailored loyalty and referral programs.
• Frequent updates and improvements utilizing the newest Shopify technology.
• Exceptional 24/7 customer support.
• Easy integration with popular apps and services.
• Advanced customization options for developers.

Cons:

• Technical expertise may be required to utilize the Developer Toolkit fully.
• Some users might find the platform’s features more suited to larger enterprises than small businesses.

Pricing:

• Free
• Scale: $49/month
• Plus: $499/month

Rating: 4.9/5 (2,081 reviews)

4. BON: Loyalty Rewards Referrals

BON is a one-click loyalty and referral program that enhances customer retention and drives organic growth for Shopify stores. It incentivizes repeat purchases through a range of rewards, referrals, and discounts without charging for orders. The program seamlessly integrates with point-of-sale (POS) systems, making it easy for customers to earn and use in-store and online rewards.

Highlight Features:

• VIP Tiers: Maximize revenue per customer with points multipliers and custom referral rewards.
• Guest Point Earning: Encourage customer returns by allowing guests to earn points and make purchase referrals.
• Discount Stacking and Combination: Boost sales by allowing discount stacking and combinations for referral bonuses.
• Specific Item Discounts: Increase order value by offering discounts on specific items with a minimum spend requirement and reward referrals.
• Global Expansion: Support for 250+ languages and multi-currency discounts for international referrals.
• Promotional Tools: Effortlessly promote your loyalty and referral program with widgets, pop-ups, loyalty landing pages, and automated emails.
• Detailed Analytics: Optimize your loyalty and referral program with detailed analytics to maximize revenue.

Pros:

• Easy one-click setup and integration with Shopify.
• There are no charges on orders, making referral and loyalty programs cost-effective.
• Comprehensive promotional tools to boost program visibility and encourage referrals.
• Supports global expansion with multiple languages and currencies, facilitating international referrals.
• Detailed analytics for program optimization, including referral tracking.

Cons:

• It might necessitate some initial setup and configuration to fully leverage all functions.
• Some users may find the extensive range of functions overwhelming if they only require referral functions and basic loyalty.

Pricing:

• Free
• Basic: $25/month
• Growth: $99/month
• Professional: $349/month

Rating: 4.9/5 (1,552 reviews)

5. Dadao Product Reviews&Referral

Dadao Product Reviews&Referral enhances trust and credibility for your Shopify store by integrating reviews from multiple platforms such as Amazon, AliExpress, Etsy, Walmart, and Mercado, or via CSV import. This tool helps you collect and display customer reviews in various formats, including video and photo reviews, and offers advanced AI-driven review analysis to identify product issues. The app also supports submitting reviews to Google Shopping and Google Search and includes features for sending post-sale coupon codes to boost referrals and sales.

Highlight Features:

• Automatic Review Requests and Referral Coupons: Automatically send post-purchase review request emails, along with referral coupons, to motivate customers to leave reviews and refer others, thereby increasing your sales.
• Multi-Platform Review Import: Easily import reviews from Amazon, AliExpress, Etsy, Walmart, Mercado, or via CSV, consolidating reviews into your Shopify store with just one link.
• AI Review Analysis: Utilize AI to analyze customer reviews and identify potential product problems, helping you address issues proactively and improve your offerings.
• Google Reviews Submission: Submit collected reviews to Google Shopping Ads and Google Search results to enhance your store’s visibility and credibility in search engines.
• Versatile Review Display Options: Showcase reviews in various engaging formats, including Grid, List, Carousel, Popup, and Sidebar, allowing you to choose the most effective display for your store’s design.

Pros:

• Integrates seamlessly with multiple review platforms and supports CSV import, simplifying the review collection process.
• Advanced AI analysis helps identify product issues and improve product quality based on customer feedback.
• Automated review requests and referral coupons can drive customer engagement and increase sales through referrals.
• Enhanced visibility and credibility with Google Shopping and Google Search review submissions.
• Multiple display options for reviews enhance your store's visual appeal and functionality.

Cons:

• Initial setup may require configuration to connect with all desired review platforms and import formats.
• Advanced features like AI analysis and Google reviews submission may be limited in lower-tier plans or require additional configuration.

Pricing: Free

Rating: 4.7/5 (1,265 reviews)

6. LL: Loyalty Referrals Rewards

LL, powered by Channelwill, is designed to increase customer loyalty from "Like" to "Love." It offers an easy-to-customize loyalty program with points, rewards, referrals, VIP tiers, and limited-time offers. These features work seamlessly together to build strong customer loyalty. Loloyal allows shoppers to earn points and redeem custom rewards such as discounts, coupons, free shipping, giveaways, and store credits, driving conversion and increasing lifetime value (LTV). It also supports data import from other loyalty apps like Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Rivo, Growave, Yotpo (Swell), Joy, and BON.

Highlight Features:

• Referral Program: Expand your customer base by rewarding customers for referring friends and sharing on social media.
• Points and Rewards: Boost repeat purchases and engagement through points and rewards for actions like reviews and social sharing.
• VIP Tiers: Manage valuable customer memberships and build a community with diverse VIP tiers.
• Engagement Reminders: Remind customers of their interactions with pop-ups, emails, and expiration notifications.
• POS Integration: Connect and synchronize data between online and offline stores with analytics and multi-language support.

Pros:

• Comprehensive loyalty and referral features in one platform.
• Supports integration with multiple other loyalty apps for easy data import.
• Highly customizable to match brand aesthetics and customer engagement strategies.
• Effective in boosting customer engagement and lifetime value.
• Seamless POS integration for both online and offline stores.

Cons:

• Initial setup and customization may require time.
• Advanced functions could present a learning curve for new users.

Pricing: 

• Free
• Starter: $29/month
• Growth: $69/month
• Plus: $299/month

Rating: 4.9/5 (999 reviews)

7. ReferrLy Affiliate Marketing

This tool simplifies affiliate and referral marketing for Shopify stores, allowing social media influencers and other brand ambassadors to drive revenue through referral partnerships. It provides an all-in-one solution for managing affiliate programs, tracking sales, and engaging with affiliates through a dedicated dashboard and marketing assets.

Highlight Features:

• Automatic Referral Links & Coupon Codes: Automatically generates referral links and coupon codes for affiliates to track sales.
• Seamless Affiliate Onboarding: Customizable signup domain and form fields for smooth affiliate registration.
• Commission Rules: Set specific commission rules based on affiliates, products, collections, achievements, etc.
• Post-Purchase Pop-Ups: Promotes affiliate sign-ups on order confirmation pages to encourage loyal customers to become affiliates.
• Sales Tracking: Monitors referral sales through both referral links and coupon codes.

Pros:

• Easy setup and integration with Shopify.
• Customizable commission structures.
• Automatic generation of referral links and coupon codes.
• Effective post-purchase pop-up for affiliate recruitment.
• Comprehensive tracking of sales through various methods.

Cons:

• May require initial setup and configuration to customize features fully.
• Some users may find the number of features overwhelming if they only need basic functionality.

Pricing:

• Free
• Starter: $5/month
• Pro: $9/month
• Premium: $15/month

Rating: 5/5 (803 reviews)

8. LoyaltyLion Rewards & Referral

LoyaltyLion is designed to turn one-time buyers into returning customers by creating your customized loyalty program. It enhances customer experiences with a fully integrated loyalty page on your site and throughout the shopper journey. LoyaltyLion helps drive enrollment, increase returning customer rates, and reduce acquisition costs by leveraging loyalty points and rewards. It also incentivizes referrals, reviews, and social media engagement. The app integrates seamlessly with various Shopify tools and offers a free loyalty page build for Classic plans and more.

Highlight Features:

• Customizable Loyalty and Referral Page: Easily integrate a fully customizable loyalty and referral page into your site, increasing the visibility and effectiveness of your referral program.
• Points-Based Loyalty and Referral System: Implement a points system that rewards repeat purchases and incentivizes customers to refer friends and family, boosting new customer acquisition through referrals.
• Referral Incentives: Create and manage referral rewards to motivate your existing customers to participate in your referral program and refer new customers to your store.
• Automated Referral Emails and Notifications: Send targeted referral emails and notifications to remind customers about their referral links and rewards and encourage them to refer more friends.
• Analytics and Insights: Access detailed analytics to track the performance of your referral program, understand which referral strategies are most effective, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your referral efforts.
• Referral Rewards Customization: To ensure that your referral program is compelling and effective, customize the rewards for successful referrals, including discounts, points, and special offers.

Pros:

• Seamless integration with your site for a smooth customer experience.
• Effective use of loyalty points to encourage repeat purchases and program enrollment.
• Customizable rewards and targeted communications to drive engagement.
• Insights and segmentation tools to help reduce customer churn and improve retention.
• Free loyalty page build available for Classic plans and above.

Cons:

• Advanced customization and setup may require some initial effort.
• Some features might be limited on lower-tier plans.

Pricing:

• Free
• Paid plans from: $199/month

Rating: 4.6/5 (597 reviews)

9. SC Conjured Referrals

SC Conjured Referrals transforms loyal customers into brand ambassadors through trusted referrals and tailored rewards. This platform leverages the trust of your existing clientele to bridge the gap between your brand and potential customers. It simplifies the referral process with auto-coupons, post-purchase popups, and newsletter rewards. Additionally, it ensures authentic referrals with advanced fraud detection and offers extensive customization options.

Highlight Features:

• Unlimited Referral Links: Generate unlimited referral links and automatically create coupons for easy sharing.
• Post-Purchase Popups: Use post-purchase popups to immediately prompt customers to share their referral links.
• Newsletter Incentives: Offer rewards to newsletter subscribers to enhance engagement and expand your audience.
• Advanced Fraud Detection: Ensure all referrals are genuine with advanced fraud detection mechanisms.
• Tailored Rewards: Reward successful referrals with gifts and gift cards, tailored to your brand's needs.
• Customization: Tailor the referral experience with freestyling and extensive customizations.

Pros:

• Simplifies the referral process with automatic coupon generation and easy sharing options.
• Effective in growing the audience and engaging customers through multiple touchpoints like newsletters and post-purchase popups.
• Advanced fraud detection ensures the integrity of the referral program.
• Highly customizable to match brand aesthetics and customer engagement strategies.
• Offers attractive rewards, such as free gifts and gift cards, to motivate referrals.

Cons:

• Initial setup and customization might take time.
• Monitoring a large number of referrals could become complex without proper management.

Pricing:

• Free
• Starter: $19/month
• Growth: $79/month
• Pro: $149/month

Rating: 5/5 (239 reviews)

10. BLOOP Referral Program, Reward

BSS: BLOOP Referral offers a cost-effective method to drive new sales by creating an automated referral program. This tool enhances word-of-mouth marketing by providing a referral program that supports various platforms such as emails, social media, and unique URLs. By utilizing your existing customers' networks, you can quickly acquire new customers and boost sales with higher conversion rates. The app also includes a well-arranged dashboard for easy tracking and monitoring of referral program performance.

Highlight Features:

• Multi-Platform Sharing: Share referral links via email, social media, or unique URLs, and automatically create discount codes.
• Branding Customization: Customize the referral page or popup with your brand's font, color, content, and more.
• Language Translation: Translate the referral page to match the store's primary language.
• Customizable Referral Rewards: Set up specific and attractive conditions for referral rewards.
• Comprehensive Management: Manage referrer and referee information and track the performance of your referral program.

Pros:

• Effective word-of-mouth marketing method.
• Supports sharing across multiple platforms.
• The high degree of branding customization.
• The language translation feature for international customers.
• Easy management and performance tracking with a well-arranged dashboard.

Cons:

• Initial setup might require time to configure all customization options.
• Monitoring a large number of referrals may become complex.

Pricing: Free

Rating: 5/5 (98 reviews)

11. Referral Program ‑ Shopjar

The Shopjar app is an all-in-one solution designed to drive sales through word-of-mouth marketing. This app allows Shopify store owners to effortlessly set up and automate referral, affiliate, and refer-a-friend programs. By leveraging the power of influencer marketing, store owners can offer unique referral links and reward successful referrals with discounts, free products, or shipping perks. The app also supports tiered commission structures for affiliate programs and provides tools for managing affiliates and payouts.

Highlight Features:

• Easy Setup of Referral Programs: Create referral programs with unique referral links and reward coupons in minutes, encouraging customers to refer friends and family.
• Landing Page and Post-Purchase Popups: Publish dedicated landing pages and post-purchase popups to effectively promote your referral programs and maximize participation.
• Comprehensive Affiliate Program Management: Launch and manage affiliate programs with ease, including tracking affiliates, setting commission rules, and automating or manually handling payouts.
• Customizable Affiliate Signup Forms and Portal: Use ready-made, customizable forms for affiliate signups and provide affiliates with a dedicated portal to track their performance.
• Brand Customization Options: You can customize your referral program with your logo, images, and brand colors to maintain brand consistency across all referral marketing efforts.
• Flexible Commission Options: To incentivize high performance, offer affiliates a variety of commission options, including fixed amounts, percentage-based rewards, and tiered commission structures.

Pros:

• Simplifies the creation and management of referral and affiliate programs, saving time and effort.
• Promotes word-of-mouth sales through effective referral links and automated reward systems.
• Customizable branding options ensure the referral program aligns with the store's visual identity.
• Comprehensive tools for managing affiliates, commissions, and payouts streamline the affiliate marketing process.
• Supports various reward options, including discounts, free products, and shipping perks, offering flexibility in incentives.

Cons:

• Initial setup may require some configuration to align with specific store needs and branding.
• Advanced features and customization options might be restricted in lower-tier plans or require extra configuration.

Pricing:

• Essential: $5/month
• Starter: $9/month
• Growth: $29/month

Rating: 4.8/5 (30 reviews)

12. Influence ‑ Loyalty & Referral

Influence is a comprehensive loyalty, rewards, and referral program solution designed to maximize your customer's lifetime value (LTV) and reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC). This app allows eCommerce brands to transform one-time buyers into lifelong customers by offering personalized loyalty programs. Customers can collect points and use them for exclusive perks, while VIP tiers reward the most loyal customers. The app also features referral programs to attract new customers and tools to identify and manage affiliates for enhanced customer retention.

Highlight Features:

• Referrals: Encourage your loyal customers to become brand advocates by referring friends and family, increasing your customer base through word-of-mouth marketing.
• Earn & Redeem: Set up a point rewards system where customers can accrue points for purchases, social shares, and other actions, which they can then redeem for discounts, exclusive perks, or free products.
• Loyalty Tiers: Fully customizable loyalty tiers allow you to reward customers according to their engagement and spending. You can also import existing tier levels to maintain consistency.
• Affiliates: Streamline the process of establishing and managing affiliates, providing them with the tools and support they need to promote your brand and drive sales.
• StampCard: Implement a digital StampCard feature, where customers can collect 'stamps' via digital wallets, encouraging repeat purchases and boosting sales.

Pros:

• Offers a comprehensive and customizable loyalty and referral program that enhances customer retention and acquisition.
• The point rewards system is flexible and can be tailored to various customer actions, increasing engagement.
• VIP tiers incentivize higher spending and repeat purchases by offering exclusive rewards to top customers.
• Referral programs effectively leverage word-of-mouth marketing to attract new customers.
• The StampCard feature adds a gamified element to the shopping experience, driving repeat purchases.

Cons:

• Initial setup and customization might require some time and effort, especially for stores with complex loyalty structures.
• Some advanced features and integrations may only be available in higher-tier plans, potentially increasing costs.

Pricing:

• Free
• Starter: $49/month
• Plus: $499/month
• Enterprise: $799/month

Rating: 4.5/5 (22 reviews)

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How to choose a Shopify Referral Apps for your store

Choosing the right referral app for your Shopify store can significantly impact customer acquisition and retention. There are key considerations to ensure you select the best app for your business needs:

• Quick Implementation: Look for apps that allow you to set up and start seeing results within minutes. Apps like ReferralCandy promise to get your first sales within 30 minutes.
• Post-Purchase Enrollment: Choose apps that enable post-purchase popups, emails, and pages to seamlessly enroll customers into the referral program right after they complete a purchase.
• Automated Customer Rewards: The app should automatically handle reward distribution, offering options such as cash rewards or discount coupons for both one-off and subscription sales.
• Branding: Opt for apps that allow extensive customization with your logo, images, and brand colors to ensure the referral program aligns with your brand identity.
• Marketing Tools: Ensure the referral app integrates smoothly with your existing marketing stack, such as Klaviyo for email marketing, ReCharge for subscription management, and other essential tools like Bold, Loop, and Appstle.
• Availability: Choose apps with reliable customer support, preferably 24/7, to aid with any problems.
• Support Channels: Multiple support options, including live chat, email, and phone support, can be very beneficial.

By concerning these factors, you can select a Shopify referral app that effectively drives customer acquisition and retention, leveraging the power of word-of-mouth marketing to grow your business.

Conclusion

Choosing the right referral app for your Shopify store is a crucial step in leveraging the power of word-of-mouth marketing to boost your customer acquisition and retention. With the myriad of options available, it’s important to consider aspects like ease of setup, customer engagement features, customization options, integration capabilities, analytics, customer support, pricing, scalability, and user reviews.

Take the time to evaluate your options, considering the specific needs of your business and your target audience. With the right referral app, you’ll be well-equipped to unlock the full prospect of referral marketing, turning satisfied customers into your best brand advocates.

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