OngoingAI

Shopify app comparison · updated Sep 5, 2026

Growave vs Smile

Compare Growave and Smile for Shopify using current ratings, review activity, pricing, features, and OngoingAI-observed adoption.

Growave

Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist

The only retention stack that bundles Loyalty + Wishlist + Reviews + Referrals + VIP

Rating
4.80
Reviews
1,292
Review growth · 30d
+120 · +10.2%
Pricing
Free plan available
Years on Shopify
12
Stores observed
870

ShopPad Inc.

Smile

An original and effective way to get reviews on your products

Rating
4.70
Reviews
12
Review growth · 30d
+3 · +33.3%
Pricing
Free trial available
Years on Shopify
9
Stores observed
2,487

Our read

Smile has the stronger observed market footprint in OngoingAI's data — it appears on 2.9× more tracked stores. Ratings and recent review growth are closer.

Rating
Growave leads slightly4.8 vs 4.7
Review growth
Smile faster+33.3% vs +10.2%
Review depth
Growave99.5× more reviews
Observed adoption
Smile2.9× more tracked stores

Review trajectory

How each app's Shopify reviews are moving.

Daily App Store review counts since we began tracking — who's gaining reviews fastest, who holds the larger base, and how the race is developing.

Growave leads total reviews and is adding them fastest over the tracked window.

Growave Smile

Reviews each app has gained since the start of this tracking window. · Tracking window · Aug 10 – Sep 5, 2026

Growave
+120
Smile
+3
Net new
Growave leads by +117

Head-to-head

The signals, side by side.

Each row reads straight from the live App Store listing and OngoingAI’s census. The Difference column states the gap — not a buyer recommendation.

DimensionGrowaveSmileDifference
Rating4.804.70Growave +0.10
Reviews1,29212Growave 99.5×
Review growth · 30d+120 · +10.2%+3 · +33.3%Smile faster
Listed pricingFree plan availableFree trial availableNot directly comparable
Years on Shopify129Growave +3y
Stores observed8702,487Smile leads

Which fits your requirements?

Choose by what you actually need.

Choose Growave if…

  • You need loyalty and rewards
  • You need reward programs
  • You need memberships
  • A higher App Store rating is a priority

Choose Smile if…

  • You need product reviews
  • You need voting
  • You need surveys
  • Recent review-growth signals matter to you

Tied to observable requirements only — listed capabilities, ratings, review growth, adoption and price. It doesn’t assert usability or support quality.

Feature differences

What Growave and Smile each do that the other doesn’t.

They cover largely the same ground — 0% of listed capabilities overlap. The decision material is the rest: what each lists that the other doesn’t.

40only0shared3onlyGrowaveSmile
0% overlap

Growave only

40

  • Loyalty and rewards
  • Reward programs
  • Memberships
  • VIP tiers
  • Affiliate programs
  • Referrals
  • Wishlists
  • Stamp or punch cards
  • Gift card programs
  • Cash back programs
  • Digital wallets
  • Custom programs
  • Points
  • Discounts
  • Coupons
  • Gifts
  • Gift cards
  • Cash back
  • Store credit
  • POS rewards
  • Free shipping
  • Free products
  • Early access
  • Membership perks

Smile only

3

  • Product reviews
  • Voting
  • Surveys

Observed adoption

Who actually runs each, on real stores.

The stores OngoingAI’s weekly census observes running each app, and the platform each skews toward — observed presence, not vendor-reported install totals.

Scope

What this comparison measures.

What it measures

Shopify App Store ratings and review counts, rating distribution, developer reply rates, reviewer tenure and geography, listed pricing and capabilities, category data, and OngoingAI-observed storefront adoption for Growave and Smile.

What it doesn’t

Hands-on usability, customer-support quality, deliverability, merchant sentiment from review text, or revenue impact. We draw a sharp line around what we can observe.

Methodology

Where the numbers come from.

Ratings, review counts, pricing, and categories come from the live Shopify App Store listing, refreshed daily. Review growth compares the observed snapshots across the trailing 30-day window. “Stores observed” and the platform split come from OngoingAI’s weekly storefront census — the real stores running each app, not the listing’s claimed totals. Comparison generated Sep 5, 2026.

See who’s switching — as it happens.

Track app adoption on live ecommerce stores. Find merchants running Growave or Smile, follow stack changes, and see when a store installs, removes, or replaces an app.