TL;DR
- Start with Shopify’s own free apps: Shopify Flow for automation and Shopify Inbox for chat.
- For reviews, Judge.me has a free-forever plan with unlimited reviews.
- For email, Klaviyo and Omnisend both have free plans for up to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month.
- Shopify lists installed apps among the biggest factors in store speed, so install only what solves a real problem.
Why this list is different
Many “best Shopify apps” lists are published by companies that make Shopify apps, such as Omnisend, PageFly and TinySEO. TinySEO’s list, for example, ranks its own app second and says it may earn commissions from links. That doesn’t make these lists wrong, but it’s worth knowing.
For every app, we checked the price, free plan and rating on its official Shopify App Store listing on November 8, 2026, and link to that listing next to each fact. Prices are in US dollars, as shown on the listings. Prices and ratings change often, so check the listing before you install.
We picked one or two apps for the jobs most new stores need: automation, chat, reviews, email, landing pages, bundles, subscriptions, loyalty, order tracking and SEO.
Quick picks
Prices and ratings from each app’s Shopify App Store listing, checked November 8, 2026.
| App | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Flow | Automating store tasks | Free app | — | 4.7 (15,315 reviews) |
| Shopify Inbox | Chat and an AI shopping assistant | Free app | — | 4.5 (5,820) |
| Judge.me | Product reviews | Yes, unlimited reviews | $15/month | 5.0 (49,778) |
| Klaviyo | Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing | Yes, 250 profiles, 500 emails/month | $15/month (SMS), $20/month (email) | 4.7 (3,431) |
| Omnisend | Email marketing on a budget | Yes, 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | $16/month | 4.7 (3,202) |
| PageFly | Landing pages without code | Yes, 1 published page or section | $24/month | 4.9 (5,926) |
| Kaching Bundles | Bundles and volume discounts | Development stores only | $14.99/month | 5.0 (6,566) |
| Appstle Subscriptions | Subscriptions | Yes, up to $500/month subscription revenue | $10/month | 5.0 (9,220) |
| BON Loyalty | Points, rewards and referrals | Yes, up to 150 orders/month | $15/month | 5.0 (1,983) |
| CWILL Order Tracking | Branded tracking pages | Yes, 20 orders/month | $11/month | 5.0 (3,217) |
| Tiny SEO | SEO audits and image compression | Yes, 50 images/month | $14/month | 5.0 (2,577) |
The apps, by job
Free apps from Shopify
Shopify Flow is Shopify’s own automation tool, which it describes as “your automation and integration platform for ecommerce.” You build custom workflows for tasks such as marketing, order fulfillment and inventory management. It’s free (Shopify App Store).
Shopify Inbox adds chat to your store, now with an AI assistant that answers shopper questions from your catalog, policies and store content. You set its tone and rules, or turn the AI off. It’s free. Some reviewers want more features, such as an API and email replies (Shopify App Store).
One free Shopify app we’re not putting on this list is Shopify Search & Discovery. It’s rated 2.6 out of 5 from 514 reviews, and recent reviews complain about unrelated search results (Shopify App Store). Test it on your own store before relying on it.
Product reviews: Judge.me
Judge.me sends review requests by email, SMS and push, and shows star ratings on your store. Its free plan is “Forever Free” and includes unlimited product and store reviews and Google reviews sync. The paid Awesome plan, $15 a month, adds AI replies and summaries, 130+ integrations and Google Shopping (Shopify App Store). With 49,778 reviews at a 5.0 rating, it’s the most-reviewed app on our list.
Email and SMS: Klaviyo or Omnisend
Klaviyo handles email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns. The free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month. Paid plans start at $15 a month for SMS and $20 a month for email (251–500 contacts) (Shopify App Store).
Omnisend covers email, SMS, popups and automations. Its free plan includes up to 250 people, 500 emails a month, popups, abandoned cart and welcome emails. The Standard plan starts at $16 a month for up to 500 contacts and 6,000 emails (Shopify App Store).
Both free plans are about the same size. Klaviyo adds WhatsApp; Omnisend includes popups on its free plan and web push on its paid plan. (To manage your own inbox with AI, see our guide to AI agents for email and calendar.)
Landing pages: PageFly
PageFly lets you build landing, product and custom pages without code, with 320+ templates. The free plan allows one published page or section. The Builder plan costs $24 a month for at least five pages, and A/B testing starts on the $99-a-month Accelerate plan (Shopify App Store).
Bundles: Kaching Bundles
Kaching Bundles adds quantity breaks, bundles, free gifts and upsells. Note that its listing offers free use only on development stores, not live stores. Paid plans start at $14.99 a month for up to $1,000 of additional revenue, with a 7-day free trial (Shopify App Store).
Subscriptions: Appstle
Appstle Subscriptions supports recurring orders, subscription boxes and bundles. It’s free up to $500 a month in subscription revenue, and the Starter plan costs $10 a month for up to $5,000 (Shopify App Store).
Loyalty: BON Loyalty
BON Loyalty adds points, rewards and referral programs. The free-forever plan covers up to 150 orders a month and includes referrals and automated emails. Starter costs $15 a month for up to 300 orders and adds a loyalty page and birthday rewards (Shopify App Store).
Order tracking: CWILL Order Tracking
This app, formerly called Parcel Panel, gives you branded tracking pages and shipping notifications across 1,600+ carriers. The free plan covers 20 orders a month, and Essential costs $11 a month for 200 orders (Shopify App Store). Some lists still call it ParcelWILL (TinySEO).
SEO and images: Tiny SEO
Tiny SEO audits your store for speed and SEO issues and compresses images. The free plan includes 50 image optimizations a month plus ALT text and file name optimization. Beginner costs $14 a month for 1,500 images (Shopify App Store). It’s made by TinySEO, the company behind the list we mentioned above.
How to choose apps without slowing your store
Shopify’s own help centre lists “the apps you’ve installed” among the biggest factors in store speed, and warns that “too many apps loading assets on your storefront can slow performance” (Shopify Help Center). So:
- Start with one problem. Install an app because you need it, such as collecting reviews, not because it’s on a list.
- Check the limits, not just “free”. Free plans on this list are capped by contacts, orders, images or revenue. For example, BON Loyalty’s free plan covers 150 orders a month (BON Loyalty) and CWILL’s covers 20 (CWILL).
- Watch for revenue-based pricing. Some apps charge more as you sell more. Kaching’s plans are tied to additional revenue, and Appstle’s to subscription revenue (Kaching, Appstle).
- Review your apps regularly. Shopify recommends you “review your installed apps and remove any that aren’t essential for sales” (Shopify Help Center).
- Clean up after uninstalling. “Uninstalling an app doesn’t automatically remove its code from your theme,” Shopify notes, so ask the developer how to remove it fully (Shopify Help Center).
FAQ
What are the best free Shopify apps? Shopify Flow and Shopify Inbox are free apps from Shopify. Judge.me also has a free-forever plan with unlimited reviews.
What’s the best Shopify app for product reviews? Judge.me is the most-reviewed app on our list, rated 5.0 from 49,778 reviews, and its free plan includes unlimited reviews.
Klaviyo or Omnisend for a new store? Both have free plans for up to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. Klaviyo’s email plan starts at $20 a month; Omnisend’s Standard plan starts at $16.
Do Shopify apps slow down my store? They can. Shopify says installed apps are among the biggest factors in web performance, and that uninstalling an app doesn’t automatically remove its code from your theme.