Smile.io is the best pick for Shopify stores building a loyalty program directly into their ecommerce checkout — points, referrals, and VIP tiers, free for small stores under 200 orders a month. Fivestars is the best pick for local, in-person businesses — restaurants, salons, retail storefronts — driving repeat visits through automated rewards and win-back campaigns rather than an ecommerce-first loyalty widget. Both replace the paper punch card with a system that tracks visits or purchases automatically and prompts the next one.
The two, in one line each
Smile.io is a loyalty rewards program builder for Shopify stores with points, referrals, and VIP tiers, free for small stores under 200 orders a month.
Fivestars is a loyalty and marketing platform for local businesses that drives repeat visits through automated rewards and win-back campaigns.
Where each one actually wins
Smile.io wins for ecommerce specifically — its deep Shopify integration and generous free tier for smaller stores make it the natural choice for an online store's first loyalty program. Fivestars wins for local, brick-and-mortar businesses whose customer relationship happens in person — its automated win-back campaigns are built around driving a customer's next visit rather than their next online checkout.
If you're running a Shopify store and want a loyalty program with points, referrals, and VIP tiers built into your checkout flow, Smile.io's free tier and Shopify-native design are the more direct fit. If you're a local business — a restaurant, salon, or retail storefront — trying to turn one-time visitors into repeat customers, Fivestars' automated win-back approach targets that specific problem.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Starting price | Core job | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smile.io | Free under 200 orders/mo, paid from $15/mo | Points, referrals, VIP tiers | Shopify ecommerce stores |
| Fivestars | Custom pricing | Automated rewards + win-back campaigns | Local, in-person businesses |
Which one should you use?
Choose Smile.io if you run a Shopify store and want a loyalty program with points, referrals, and VIP tiers built into checkout. Choose Fivestars if you're a local business trying to automatically bring past customers back for another visit.
FAQ
Does a loyalty program actually increase repeat purchases, or is it just a discount by another name? Loyalty programs work best when they reward behavior you actually want more of — repeat purchases, referrals, reviews — rather than functioning as a blanket discount, which is why program structure matters more than the specific reward amount.
Can Smile.io work with ecommerce platforms other than Shopify? Smile.io is built primarily around Shopify integration; if you're on a different ecommerce platform, confirm current integration support directly, since its deepest features are designed around the Shopify checkout experience.
How does Fivestars know when to send a win-back campaign? It tracks customer visit or purchase frequency and automatically triggers a win-back offer when a customer's typical visit interval has passed, aiming to catch them before they've fully drifted to a competitor.
Is 200 orders a month a hard cutoff for Smile.io's free plan? Order volume thresholds for free tiers can change, so confirm the current free-plan limits directly on Smile.io before assuming your store qualifies, especially if you're near that volume.
Do these tools integrate with existing point-of-sale systems for in-person businesses? Fivestars is built specifically for in-person business integration with POS systems to track visits automatically; confirm compatibility with your specific POS setup, since integration depth varies by POS provider.
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*Ratings and pricing reviewed monthly. Last updated September 2026.*
Bogdex · Founder & editor, woska
Bogdex builds and curates woska, testing AI tools against real workflows to judge which ones actually save time rather than which have the longest feature list.