Shopify stores collect apps the way coats collect lint. By the time we audit a store, we typically find $300–$800 a month of app fees, half of which doesn’t measurably help.
Here are the apps we consistently see earning their cost, and the ones we consistently uninstall.
The 6 that earn their seat
1. Klaviyo
The default email/SMS choice. Generates 25–35% of revenue for stores that use it well. The free tier covers small lists; paid tiers scale with volume.
When it doesn’t earn: if you’re using it as a glorified Mailchimp (broadcasts, no flows, no segmentation), you’re overpaying. Use it properly or downgrade to a cheaper tool.
2. Judge.me / Yotpo / Loox (reviews)
Reviews lift conversion and create UGC for ads. Judge.me is the cheap effective option ($15/mo); Yotpo and Loox are pricier with more features. Pick based on whether you need photo/video reviews and ad UGC export.
When it doesn’t earn: if you have under 30 reviews total, you’re paying for infrastructure with nothing to show. Get the reviews first via outreach, then tool up.
3. Recharge / Bold Subscriptions / Skio (subscriptions)
For subscription businesses, this is non-optional. Skio is the modern default. Recharge is the legacy mass-market choice.
When it doesn’t earn: if you have a “subscribe and save” option enabled but nobody actually subscribes (under 5% of orders), the app cost outweighs the revenue. Either invest in subscription marketing or remove it.
4. Gorgias (helpdesk)
Not the cheapest, but it integrates Shopify customer history into the support inbox. Saves real time once you have meaningful ticket volume.
When it doesn’t earn: if you have under 30 tickets/week, you don’t need Gorgias. Use Shopify’s built-in inbox or basic Gmail.
5. PageFly / Shogun (page builders)
Useful for landing pages, especially for paid traffic where speed of iteration matters. PageFly is cheaper. Shogun is more polished.
When it doesn’t earn: if you’re using it to redesign your homepage instead of working with a developer, you’re solving the wrong problem. Page builders are for landing pages, not the main store.
6. Shopify Email or Postscript (SMS)
For SMS specifically, Postscript is the Klaviyo-grade option. Shopify Email is fine for occasional broadcasts but lacks the depth.
When it doesn’t earn: if your SMS list is under 1,000 subscribers, you’re paying for infrastructure. Build the list first.
The 6 we uninstall on sight
1. “Sticky add-to-cart” apps
These add $9–$29/mo for something you can build in 30 lines of CSS. The default Dawn theme handles this; a developer can add it to any theme. Save the money.
2. Pop-up / discount apps with overlapping features
Privy + Optinmonster + Sumo all installed simultaneously. Pick one. Most stores use Klaviyo’s pop-up tool, which is included.
3. “Free shipping bar” apps
Most themes can render this natively. If yours can’t, it’s $0 of dev work to add.
4. Currency converter apps (when Shopify Markets is enabled)
Markets handles this. Third-party currency converters create double-conversion bugs. Uninstall.
5. Loyalty apps that nobody uses
Smile.io, Loyalty Lion, etc. are great when active. They’re dead weight when:
- You enabled it once, customers don’t engage with it
- You’re paying $200+/mo for under 5% of orders touched
If your loyalty program isn’t being used, fix the program (better incentive, better promotion) or remove the app.
6. “AI” anything that hasn’t proven ROI in 30 days
AI product description writers, AI personalisation engines, AI chatbots. Some are genuinely good; many are vapourware billed monthly. If it hasn’t measurably helped in 30 days, remove it.
How to audit your stack
- List every app with its monthly cost.
- Add a column: “what would we lose if we uninstalled this?”
- If you can’t write a sentence, uninstall.
- Total saved per month is real.
We’ve done this exercise with clients and found $400–$600/month savings without losing anything functional.
The real cost of an app
App fees are the visible cost. The hidden costs:
- Performance — every app injects scripts; ten apps add 1–2 seconds to LCP.
- Maintenance — every theme upgrade has to test against every app.
- Risk — every app is a potential vulnerability surface.
A lean stack is faster, cheaper, and safer. Five apps doing the right things beats twenty apps doing miscellaneous things.