Rivo alternative with free VIP tiers

Rivo is a well-built loyalty platform used by over 11,000 brands. It covers points, referrals, VIP tiers, bonus campaigns, store credit, and an extensive integration library. At scale, with 50+ integrations and advanced analytics, it offers more than any other Shopify loyalty app.

The challenge is what Rivo offers on the free plan versus what you actually need to pay for. VIP tiers require the Scale plan at $49/month. Birthday points require Essentials at $15/month. Analytics require a paid plan. Klaviyo requires Essentials at $15/month and only gives you two integrations. The free plan covers the basics: sign-up and purchase points, a floating widget, and a product page display. The features that make a loyalty program useful, such as VIP tiers, birthday points, analytics, and integrations, are all behind paid plans.

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards includes VIP tiers, birthday points, analytics, and Klaviyo on the free plan. For merchants who want a complete loyalty program from day one without paying $15-49/month to unlock the core features, it’s worth a close look.

Quick Verdict

• Best for a complete loyalty program without unlocking features behind paid plans: Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards

• Best for high-volume brands needing 50+ integrations and advanced campaigns at scale: Rivo

• Best for stores testing loyalty before committing to a subscription: Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards

Rivo has a stronger feature set at the $49/month tier and above. Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards gives merchants more at the free level, including the features that matter most when starting out: VIP tiers, birthday points, analytics, and Klaviyo. The right choice depends on where your store is now and how much you want to pay before the loyalty program earns its keep.

👉 Install Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards and test it on your storeAvailable on the Shopify App Store as “Essent Loyalty Program Rewards”

Essential Loyalty vs Rivo: Loyalty Rewards Referrals

Both apps help Shopify merchants:

• run a points-based loyalty program with ways to earn and redeem

• set up a referral program

• reward customers for sign-ups, purchases, and social actions

• display loyalty widgets on the storefront

• send automated loyalty emails

• support multi-language storefronts

The gap between them is in what’s included at no cost and what requires upgrading.

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards offers:

• VIP tiers with 5 levels and configurable perks: included on free plan

• birthday points: included on free plan

• analytics dashboard with revenue and engagement tracking: included on free plan

• Klaviyo, Omnisend, Judge.me integrations: included on free plan

• 30-day money back guarantee on paid plans

• 5.0 rating, 448 reviews, Built for Shopify

Rivo: Loyalty Rewards Referrals offers:

• 50+ integrations across email, reviews, subscriptions, customer service, and more: Scale plan ($49/month)

• bonus campaigns and point drops: Scale plan ($49/month)

• store credit programs: Scale plan ($49/month)

• advanced Klaviyo and Postscript integration: Plus plan ($499/month)

• checkout touchpoints for Shopify Plus: Plus plan ($499/month)

• used by 11,000+ brands, 4.8 rating, Built for Shopify

Essential Loyalty gives merchants more at the free level. Rivo gives merchants more at scale. The question is which side of that line your store is on today.

Feature Comparison

Key Differences

1. What’s actually included on the free plan

Rivo’s free plan covers the absolute basics: sign-up points, place-an-order points, a floating widget, and a product page points display. Birthday points require an Essentials upgrade. VIP tiers require Scale. Analytics are locked. Integrations are locked. The free plan is functional enough to test, but it doesn’t represent what the app can actually do.

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards takes a different approach. The free plan includes VIP tiers with five levels, birthday points, an analytics dashboard with revenue and engagement tracking, and integrations including Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Judge.me. Merchants can run a complete loyalty program with segmentation data flowing to Klaviyo without spending anything.

2. VIP tiers: free vs $49/month

Rivo’s VIP program is one of the features merchants most commonly look for when evaluating loyalty apps. It’s also the one that requires the biggest jump: Scale at $49/month. That’s a significant commitment before a loyalty program has proven its revenue impact.

Essential Loyalty includes VIP tiers on the free plan. Five configurable levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond) with points thresholds, multipliers, and custom perks. Merchants can build a tiered program and test whether customers respond before paying anything.

3. Pricing structure

Rivo’s pricing has three main tiers: Essentials at $15/month (500 orders, 2 integrations, birthday points, POS, analytics), Scale at $49/month (2,500 orders, VIP tiers, 50+ integrations, bonus campaigns, store credit), and Plus at $499/month (checkout touchpoints, custom email domain, advanced integrations). The jump from Essentials to Scale more than triples the cost and unlocks a significant portion of what makes the app worth using.

Essential Loyalty scales more gradually: free up to 250 orders with full features, Starter at $10/month up to 500 orders, Essential at $24/month up to 1,500 orders, Growth at $79/month with unlimited orders. A merchant can run a loyalty program with VIP tiers, Klaviyo, and analytics at no cost, and upgrade only when order volume justifies it.

4. Integrations

Rivo’s integration library is one of its genuine strengths. Over 50 integrations across email (Klaviyo, Postscript, Attentive, Omnisend, Mailchimp, Drip, Braze, and more), reviews (Judge.me, Loox, Stamped, REVIEWS.io, Okendo, Yotpo), subscriptions (Recharge, Skio, Awtomic, Stay AI), customer service (Gorgias, Gladly), and others. At the Scale plan, most of these are available. For high-volume stores that rely on multiple tools working together, Rivo’s breadth is a real advantage.

Essential Loyalty integrates with Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Judge.me on the free plan. For merchants who primarily use Klaviyo for email and Judge.me for reviews, this covers the core workflow. For merchants running more complex stacks with subscriptions, SMS platforms, and multiple review tools, Rivo has the stronger integration story.

5. Support

Both apps offer 24/7 chat support and have strong review scores. Rivo’s reviews consistently mention responsive support across a larger user base. The 4.8 rating across 2,400+ reviews shows sustained quality as the app has scaled.

Essential Loyalty holds a 5.0 rating across 448 reviews since launching in November 2024. Reviews specifically mention fast response times and hands-on help from named team members. The app includes a 30-day money back guarantee on paid plans and a visible support contact directly in the app dashboard.

Set up Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards on your store

Pricing & Plans

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards

Free: up to 250 loyalty program orders/month

• Points program with VIP tiers (5 levels)

• Referral program

• Birthday points

• Analytics dashboard

• Klaviyo, Omnisend, Judge.me integrations

• Product page and cart placement

• Floating loyalty widget

• Multi-language support

Starter: $10/month (up to 500 orders)

• Everything in Free

• POS support

• Dedicated loyalty page

• Full access to all features

• 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 all paid plans, no questions asked.

Rivo: Loyalty Rewards Referrals

Rivo’s pricing is structured around order volume and feature tiers. The free plan covers basic point earning and a floating widget. Most meaningful features require a paid plan.

Free: basics only

• Sign-up and purchase points

• Floating widget

• Product page points display

• No VIP tiers, no birthday points, no analytics, no integrations

Essentials: $15/month (up to 500 orders)

• Dedicated loyalty and referrals page

• Embedded account page widget

• Shopify POS integration

• Birthday rewards

• 2 integrations (e.g. Klaviyo)

• Analytics and reporting

• Email branding

• 24/7 chat support

• 14-day free trial

Scale: $49/month (200-2,500 orders, pay-as-you-go)

• VIP tiers

• Points expiration

• Bonus campaigns

• Point drops campaigns

• Store credit programs

• Shopify Flow and 50+ integrations

• Unlimited integrations

• Pay-as-you-go pricing

• 14-day free trial

Plus: $499/month (up to 2,500 orders)

• 6+ loyalty checkout touchpoints

• Page builder with custom CSS

• Custom email sending domain

• Developer Toolkit access

• Advanced Klaviyo and Postscript integration

• 150+ loyalty and retention features

• Priority 24/7 chat support

• 14-day free trial

Key pricing difference:

Essential Loyalty includes VIP tiers, birthday points, analytics, and Klaviyo on the free plan. Rivo requires $15/month for birthday points and Klaviyo, and $49/month for VIP tiers. For stores wanting a complete loyalty program before proving ROI, Essential Loyalty is significantly more accessible at every comparable tier.

Which App Is Better for Different Use Cases?

See how Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards fits your store

When to Choose Each App

Choose Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards if:

• you want VIP tiers and birthday points included on the free plan

• you use Klaviyo and want integration included from day one

• you want analytics without paying for a plan upgrade

• you’re testing loyalty before committing to a monthly subscription

• you want predictable pricing that scales gradually with order volume

• you want a 30-day money back guarantee on paid plans

Choose Rivo if:

• you need 50+ integrations across email, reviews, subscriptions, and customer service

• bonus campaigns (2x points events) and point drops are important to your strategy

• you need store credit as a redemption option

• you’re on Shopify Plus and want native checkout loyalty touchpoints

• you’re a high-volume brand that has already validated loyalty ROI and needs advanced tooling

Switching from Rivo to Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards

Your Shopify data stays untouched. Products, orders, and customer records are not affected by switching loyalty apps.

1. Export your customer points balances from Rivo’s customer export

2. Install Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards from the Shopify App Store

3. Import customer balances using the CSV import in Settings

4. Configure your points program, VIP tiers, and referral program

5. Connect Klaviyo and any other integrations from the Settings panel

6. Enable placements (widget, product page, cart) and test before going live

7. Disable Rivo on your storefront once Essential is confirmed working

Both apps use Shopify’s native customer accounts, so member data migrates cleanly. The main task is recreating your program configuration and importing points balances.

Final Verdict

Rivo is a capable loyalty platform with a strong integration library and a clear path for scaling. At $49/month on Scale or $499/month on Plus, it offers features that Essential Loyalty doesn’t match: 50+ integrations, bonus campaigns, store credit, and checkout touchpoints for Shopify Plus stores. For high-volume brands that have validated loyalty ROI and need advanced tooling, it’s a serious option.

Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards is the stronger choice for merchants who want a complete program without paying $49/month before VIP tiers are unlocked. Five VIP levels, birthday points, Klaviyo integration, and a full analytics dashboard are all included on the free plan. The pricing scales gradually, the 5.0 rating is built on fast support, and a 30-day money back guarantee removes the risk from trying a paid plan.

For stores starting a loyalty program or looking to move away from Rivo’s gated feature structure, Essential Loyalty Program & Rewards gives you more to work with from day one.

Install Essential Loyalty and launch your first loyalty program in minutes

Switching from Rivo? We move it with you

Switching help is free on every plan: your current program keeps running while we set up alongside it, your customers' balances, lifetime points and VIP tiers come across, and for most stores the move is an afternoon, not a project. Book a migration call and we'll plan it with you, or see how a switch works.