BON Loyalty alternative with free VIP tiers

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards is one of the larger loyalty apps on Shopify, with 5.0 stars across 1,948 reviews and a "Built for Shopify" badge. It covers points, referrals, VIP tiers, and a B2B tier program for wholesale stores, and it works with headless and Hydrogen storefronts, which most loyalty apps don't support. Merchants consistently cite fast, hands-on support in reviews.

Look at what's actually included on each plan, though, and BON gates more than most competitors. VIP tiers require the $129/month Growth plan, the highest standard tier. Klaviyo integration, a dedicated loyalty page, and any kind of multi-language display all sit behind paid plans, and product-page points don't show up until Growth either. Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards includes VIP tiers, Klaviyo, product-page points, and a 250-order free plan (BON's is capped at 150) without a subscription.

If you're evaluating Shopify loyalty apps for the first time, or comparing what you get for the price you're already paying BON, it's worth a close look.

Essential Loyalty vs BON Loyalty & Rewards

Both apps help merchants run a points-based loyalty program, reward purchases/referrals/sign-ups, offer VIP tiers, run a referral program, customize the loyalty widget, and support Shopify POS. The difference is which of those you can access without paying, and how far your money goes once you do.

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards offers:

• VIP tiers with 5 levels, configurable thresholds and per-tier point multipliers: included on the free plan

• Klaviyo integration, syncing points balance, tier, referral URL and birthday: included on the free plan

• Points on product pages and in the cart: included on the free plan

• A store-credit reward that auto-applies at Shopify checkout on any plan, no Shopify Plus required (beta, Essential plan and above)

• Referral protections against obvious abuse: the referred friend must be a new email, entry requires being logged out, and the referrer's reward only pays out after the friend's first paid order

• 250 orders/month on the free plan, 1,500 orders/month at $24/month

• 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, refunded via Shopify billing on request

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards offers:

• An established app with 1,948 reviews and a large install base

• A named "Anti-Cheat" referral program on the free plan

• B2B loyalty tiers for wholesale stores (Growth plan, $129/month)

• Headless and Hydrogen storefront support

• Gamification: daily check-in points, streak-purchase rewards, and anniversary rewards (Growth plan)

• VIP tiers, once you reach the $129/month Growth plan

BON has the bigger review count and a few features Essential Loyalty doesn't try to match — B2B tiers and headless support chief among them. Essential Loyalty gives most Shopify stores more at the free and mid-tier level, including the features merchants usually reach for first.

Key Differences

VIP tiers: free vs. $129/month

BON's VIP program is a real feature — tiered perks, presumably point multipliers — but it only exists on the $129/month Growth plan, the highest of BON's four standard tiers. Free, Starter ($15) and Basic ($29) don't include it.

Essential Loyalty includes VIP tiers on the free plan: five levels (Bronze through Diamond), configurable point thresholds, and a real multiplier applied on every points-earning action, not just a badge.

Klaviyo and integrations: free vs. gated

BON's Klaviyo integration requires the $15/month Starter plan. Multi-language display, a separate feature, needs Basic at $29/month, and BON ships in 5 languages against Essential's 20.

Essential Loyalty's Klaviyo integration is on the free plan, syncing points balance, loyalty status, tier, referral URL and date of birth, enough to build segmented flows without a plan upgrade.

Pricing structure: who pays more for the same volume

BON's tiers scale by monthly orders: free up to 150, Starter ($15) up to 300, Basic ($29) up to 500, Growth ($129) unlimited.

Essential Loyalty's tiers: free up to 250, Starter ($10) up to 500, Essential ($24) up to 1,500, Growth ($79) unlimited. At the 500-order mark, Essential's Starter plan is $10 for 500 orders; BON's Basic plan is $29 for the same 500. At 1,500 orders, Essential's $24/month Essential plan covers it; BON needs the $129/month Growth plan to go past 500. At unlimited volume, Essential's Growth plan is $79/month against BON's $129.

Checkout redemption without Shopify Plus

BON's checkout-code redemption is gated to Shopify Plus and its own top Enterprise plan (around $499/month, custom pricing). That mirrors the limitation most loyalty apps have: real checkout-extension redemption is a Shopify Plus feature.

Essential Loyalty's store-credit reward works differently: a customer redeems points for native Shopify store credit, which auto-applies at checkout with no code and no apply step, because store credit is a native Shopify checkout feature available on every plan. It requires the Essential plan ($24/month) and is currently in beta. This doesn't replace full discount-code redemption at checkout, which still needs Essential Loyalty's Growth plan and Shopify Plus, same as BON — but it's a real way for non-Plus stores to get a reward applied automatically at checkout today.

Where BON leads

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards has real advantages Essential Loyalty doesn't match today. It ships a dedicated B2B tiers program for wholesale stores running alongside a retail loyalty program, a feature Essential Loyalty doesn't offer. It supports headless and Hydrogen storefronts, which many loyalty apps, Essential Loyalty included, don't document support for. Its Growth plan adds gamification, daily check-in points, purchase streaks, and anniversary rewards, that Essential Loyalty's earn-action list doesn't currently have equivalents for. And with 1,948 reviews against Essential Loyalty's 490, BON has the far larger track record.

Pricing & Plans

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards

Usage-based pricing. Start free and scale as your loyalty program grows.

Free: up to 250 loyalty program orders/month; Points program with VIP tiers, Referral program, Product page and cart placement, Floating loyalty widget, Klaviyo/Omnisend/Judge.me integrations, Multi-language support, Customer account page.

Starter: $10/month (up to 500 orders); Everything in Free, POS support, Dedicated loyalty page, Full feature access, 14-day free trial.

Essential: $24/month (up to 1,500 orders); Everything in Starter, Personal support, 14-day free trial.

Growth: $79/month (unlimited orders); Everything in Essential, Personal support, 14-day free trial.

30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans: request a refund within your first 30 days and it's returned through Shopify billing, no questions asked.

BON Loyalty Program & Rewards

Usage-based pricing scaled by monthly orders. Several key features are locked behind paid tiers.

Free Forever: up to 150 monthly orders; Points & rewards program, Anti-Cheat referral program, Automated point/referral emails, Money-off and percentage-off discounts, Free shipping rewards, Collection/product exclusions.

Starter: $15/month (up to 300 orders); Everything in Free, Dedicated loyalty page, Free product rewards, Birthday rewards, Reward and points expiration with reminders, Klaviyo and review-app integration.

Basic: $29/month (up to 500 orders); Everything in Starter, Shopify POS (earn and redeem), Limited-time point offers, Advanced on-site nudges, Multi-language display (5 languages), Performance analytics, Unlimited Shopify Flow integration.

Growth: $129/month (unlimited orders); Everything in Basic, VIP tiers and B2B tier program, Streak-purchase and daily check-in points, Anniversary rewards, Points on the product page.

Plus (Enterprise): custom pricing, around $499/month; API access, SDK, Advanced custom development, Priority support, Checkout redemption (Shopify Plus).

Key pricing difference: Essential Loyalty includes VIP tiers, Klaviyo, and product-page points on the free plan. BON requires $129/month for all three. At every comparable order volume, Essential Loyalty is the cheaper option, and its unlimited-orders tier is $50/month less than BON's.

Switching from BON Loyalty to Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards

Switching loyalty apps on Shopify takes some planning, but your customer data, purchase history, email addresses, and order records, stays in Shopify and isn't affected.

• Export your existing member data from BON Loyalty (customer list and points balances)

• Install Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards from the Shopify App Store

• Import customer points balances using the CSV import feature in Settings

• Configure your points program, VIP tiers, and referral program

• Set up your Klaviyo integration and connect your other tools

• Enable placements (widget, product page, cart) and test on a product

• Disable BON Loyalty on your storefront once Essential Loyalty is confirmed working

Last checked: October 1, 2026