Cheapest Loyalty Program Software 2026: Free Plans and Real Costs
At 1,000 orders a month, Smile.io's $79 Standard plan is the cheapest priced loyalty program. Free caps, overage fees and quote-only tiers for four vendors.
For a store that books 1,000 orders a month, Smile.io's Standard plan is the cheapest loyalty program with a published price, at $79 a month, verified in October 2026 on Smile.io's pricing page. That plan stops at exactly 1,000 orders. Past that line, budget for Smile.io's $199 Growth tier. Yotpo comes to about $299 a month at 1,000 orders.
Free plans cover less than the word suggests. Smile.io's free plan stops at 200 orders a month, and LoyaltyLion recommends its free plan only up to 400. Yotpo lists a free plan with no order cap, but its page does not say what that plan covers at volume. Rivo has no free plan at all. Our best loyalty program software guide ranks these vendors on features. This page ranks them on cost.
| Tool | Entry price | Cost at 1,000 orders a month | Free plan (limits) | Billing basis | Hidden costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smile.io | Essential $15/mo (500 orders) | Standard $79/mo, $948 a year | Yes, free up to 200 orders | Monthly on Standard | No overage rate for Standard; Growth adds $20 per 100 orders above 2,500 |
| Yotpo Loyalty | Pro from $199/mo (0 to 500 orders) | $299/mo, $3,588 a year (our arithmetic) | Yes, free, no order cap published | Monthly; no annual price shown | Per-order fees above 500: $0.20 (501 to 1,000), $0.10 (1,001 to 3,000) |
| LoyaltyLion | Classic $199/mo (500 orders) | Not priced: Classic's plan card lists 500 orders | Yes, free for 400 orders or fewer | Monthly; no annual price shown | Advanced and Plus are quote-only; a review call if orders run 25% over plan for three months |
| Rivo | Scale "$49+" per month | Not priced at 1,000 orders | No, 7-day trial only | Monthly | Scale covers 200 to 2,500 orders; the page does not say what moves the price |
How we priced the scenario
We read each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026 and used US dollar list prices on monthly billing. We have not run these apps, so every figure is a published price. Our analysis of those four pages is the only source for the numbers, and the arithmetic is ours. We chose 1,000 orders a month because each vendor on this list either publishes a price or price range that covers that volume, or sells quotes for it.
Twelve months of Smile.io Standard come to $948. Yotpo Pro's base plan covers 500 orders. The next 500 cost $0.20 each, or $100 on top, which makes $299 a month, or $3,588 a year. The page prices each band per order but does not spell out the method, so we read the band rate as applying to every order from 501 to 1,000.
The gap between the two is $220 a month, or $2,640 a year. Whether that gap matters depends on what the program earns back, and no pricing page can tell you that.
What the bill costs per order
Ecommerce operators think in margin per order, so divide the monthly bill by the 1,000 orders. Smile.io Standard works out to about 8 cents per order. Yotpo Pro works out to about 30 cents. Neither figure says whether a loyalty program pays off, but together they show how much of each order's margin goes to the loyalty tool before any reward is paid out.
Which plan costs least at each volume
The cheapest option moves with order count, so this table uses published prices only.
| Orders a month | Cheapest published option | Monthly cost | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 200 | Smile.io Free | Free | The cap is 200 orders |
| 201 to 400 | LoyaltyLion free plan | Free | Free for stores at 400 orders or fewer |
| 401 to 500 | Smile.io Essential | $15 | The cap is 500 orders |
| 501 to 1,000 | Smile.io Standard | $79 | The cap is 1,000, with no overage rate published |
| 1,001 to 2,500 | Smile.io Growth | $199 | Growth covers up to 2,500 orders |
| Above 2,500 | Smile.io Growth with overage, then Plus | Growth plus $20 per 100 orders | Plus is $999 a month billed annually, with a 7,500 cap |
Two lines matter most. Above 200 orders, Smile.io's free plan ends and the next step costs $15. Above 400 orders, LoyaltyLion's free plan ends. Its Classic plan costs more than Smile.io's Essential, which stays the cheapest published option up to 500 orders. Between 201 and 400 orders, LoyaltyLion's free plan is the cheapest published option.
Above 2,500 orders the answer turns on Growth's overage. At 6,500 orders, the $20 per 100 orders above the 2,500 cap adds up to $800, which makes Growth $999 a month, the same as Plus. From about 6,500 orders, Plus is the cheaper tier, as long as the store stays under its 7,500 cap.
Two vendors stay off the ranking for different reasons. Yotpo's free plan has no published cap, so it would be the lowest number in every row if its features cover your volume. Its page does not say what that plan covers at volume, so we do not rank it. Rivo's Scale plan is printed as "$49+" for 200 to 2,500 orders, and the page does not price a specific volume, so it stays off the list until a written quote arrives.
Free plans and their real limits
| Vendor | Free plan | Cap and what it includes | Upgrade trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smile.io | Yes | Up to 200 orders a month. Points and referrals, plus discount and free-shipping rewards | Order 201 moves you to Essential, for 500 orders |
| LoyaltyLion | Yes | Stores processing 400 orders or fewer a month, according to its pricing page | Classic, listed for 500 orders |
| Yotpo Loyalty | Yes | No order or customer cap stated. A basic points campaign, referrals and tools to build awareness | Pro, covering 0 to 500 orders, plus per-order fees |
| Rivo | No | No free plan. A 7-day free trial | Scale, for 200 to 2,500 orders |
Yotpo's free plan needs a written answer before you count it as free. Its page sets no cap, and the features it lists are basic. Ask Yotpo whether that plan can run a store at 1,000 orders a month, and what it leaves out, before you rely on it. Free tools beyond loyalty are covered in our best free Shopify apps guide.
What each Smile.io tier includes
Feature gating matters as much as price, so here is what Smile.io's pricing page says each tier adds beyond its order cap. Essential adds free product rewards and Shopify Flow triggers. Standard adds subscription and gift card rewards, plus double points on weekends. Growth adds a VIP program and the Loyalty Hub.
The free tier already covers points, referrals and discounts. A store that only needs points can stay on the free plan up to 200 orders. Subscription and gift card rewards start at Standard, so a store that wants them cannot stay on Essential.
Hidden costs to price in
Smile.io Standard has a cap and no published overage. The page shows no overage rate or upgrade rule for the Standard tier. A store that passes 1,000 orders in a month should ask Smile.io what it will bill before assuming the price holds. The next published step, Growth, adds $20 per 100 orders above its own 2,500 cap.
Yotpo bills per order past its base. Pro's base covers 500 orders. Beyond that it charges $0.20 per order from 501 to 1,000, $0.10 from 1,001 to 3,000 and $0.05 from 3,001 to 10,000. A store that grows from 1,000 to 3,000 orders pays $200 more a month in per-order fees, for $499 in total.
LoyaltyLion has no per-order fee but a review trigger. The page says it will call you when orders run more than 25% over your contracted threshold, on average, for three consecutive months. That call is a plan change, so budget for a higher tier rather than for a bill line.
Trials are short and show features, not cost. Rivo offers 7 days. LoyaltyLion offers 14 days through the Shopify App Store. A trial shows what the tool does, not what the bill becomes at your volume.
None of the four pages shows an annual discount for these tiers. Smile.io's Plus is billed annually, and it is $999 a month on that basis, so the monthly figures in this page are the ones to compare.
Three mistakes that inflate the bill
Picking the entry price and ignoring the cap. Essential at $15 looks like the answer until the 501st order moves you to Standard. Price the cap you will hit in twelve months, not the one you have today.
Assuming the free plan scales. Smile.io's free plan ends at 200 orders. A store at 250 orders a month is on a paid plan the moment its orders pass 200, so the free plan is a trial of the program, not a permanent home for it.
Reading past the per-order fee. Yotpo's headline base price covers only the first 500 orders. A quote built on that headline understates the bill at 1,000 orders by about a third, because the per-order fees add $100 a month on top of the base.
Where Smile.io could lose this ranking
Smile.io wins at 1,000 orders because of one tier, Standard, which is capped at exactly 1,000 orders. Two things could change the answer.
LoyaltyLion's plan card says Classic covers 500 orders, but its FAQ lists larger base order limits for existing customers, including 2,000 on Classic. Ask LoyaltyLion to confirm the limit in writing. If Classic does cover 1,000 orders at its listed price, it still costs more than Smile.io's Standard tier.
Rivo's Scale plan starts at a printed "$49+" for 200 to 2,500 orders. If a written quote at 1,000 orders comes in near that floor, Rivo undercuts Smile.io Standard and this ranking changes. Until then, the published numbers favour Smile.io.
What to check before you switch
- Count orders, not members. Every vendor on this list prices or caps by orders a month, not by customers.
- Get the overage rule in writing. Smile.io Standard publishes none, and LoyaltyLion's threshold rule depends on your order history.
- Confirm the free plan covers your volume. Smile.io's free plan stops at 200 orders, LoyaltyLion's at 400, and Yotpo's page gives no cap.
- Price email and SMS separately. A loyalty program runs on messages too, so check the cost of your sending tool, for example Klaviyo pricing, or our best email marketing tools for Shopify and best SMS marketing apps for Shopify, beside the loyalty bill.
- Re-check the prices every 60 days. Loyalty pricing changes often, and the figures here are dated October 2026.
How we built this page
- Sources: each vendor's own pricing page, read in October 2026 in US dollars on monthly billing unless noted: Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Rivo and Yotpo Loyalty.
- Tool profiles: Smile.io, LoyaltyLion, Rivo and Yotpo on Toolradar.
- Scenario: 1,000 orders a month. The arithmetic is shown in the text and is ours.
- Scope: the loyalty product only. Reviews or SMS bundles from the same vendors are not included, and reviews tools are a separate purchase, covered in our best customer review platforms guide. Our best Shopify apps guide covers the wider app set.
- Not included: Shopify's own plan fees and card processing, which do not depend on the loyalty app. For a full store cost, see cheaper Shopify alternatives.
- Next check: prices are re-read every 60 days. The next check is due in December 2026.
Cite this: Retailpresso, "Cheapest Loyalty Program Software 2026: Free Plans and Real Costs", October 2026.
FAQ
What is the cheapest loyalty program software in 2026?
At 1,000 orders a month, Smile.io's Standard plan is the cheapest tier with a published price, at $948 a year on monthly billing. Up to 200 orders a month, Smile.io's free plan costs nothing. Yotpo and LoyaltyLion start their paid plans higher, as the table shows.
Is there a free loyalty program software?
Yes, but every free plan has a cap or a catch. Smile.io's free plan covers 200 orders a month, LoyaltyLion's covers stores at 400 orders or fewer, and Yotpo lists a free plan with no order cap and only basic features. Rivo has no free plan, only a 7-day trial.
How much does Smile.io cost at 1,000 orders a month?
$79 a month on the Standard plan, which caps at 1,000 orders. Standard publishes no overage rate, so ask Smile.io what happens in a month when a store passes 1,000 orders.
How much does Yotpo Loyalty cost?
Pro's base price covers 0 to 500 orders. Beyond that, it charges $0.20 per order from 501 to 1,000 and $0.10 per order from 1,001 to 3,000. At 1,000 orders that is $299 a month by our arithmetic. Premium and Enterprise are quote-only.
Does LoyaltyLion have a free plan?
Yes, for stores that process 400 orders or fewer a month, according to its pricing page. Its Classic plan card lists 500 orders. Advanced and Plus are priced by order volume and need a quote at higher volume.
Does Rivo have a free plan?
No. Rivo's pricing page offers a 7-day free trial. Its Scale plan is printed as "$49+" a month for 200 to 2,500 orders, and its Plus plan is $499 a month.
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