We maintain a hand-checked dataset of the Shopify apps we review, pulled from their live App Store listings — ratings, review counts, pricing and features. We ran the numbers across 87 apps in 25 categories to see what the data actually says about quality, pricing and where the strongest tools cluster. Here’s what we found.
Shopify apps are rated remarkably high — which makes ratings a weak filter
The average rating across our dataset is 4.73 (median 4.90), and 87% of rated apps sit at 4.5 stars or above. That sounds great, but it means a raw star rating barely separates the good from the great — almost everything looks excellent. The real signal is rating combined with review volume: a 5.0 from 11 reviews is far less reliable than a 4.8 from 2,000. That’s exactly why our rankings use a volume-weighted score rather than the headline star count.
Star ratings across all 63 rated apps in the dataset.
Most Shopify apps have a free plan — “free” is table stakes, not a differentiator
64% of the apps we analyzed offer a free plan or are free to install. Free entry is now the norm, not a perk — so the meaningful question isn’t “is there a free plan?” but “what do you give up on it, and what does it cost when you scale?” We flag that on every review.
Ratings and app counts by category
Where do the apps — and the quality — cluster? Here’s every category in the dataset by number of apps and average rating.
| Category | Apps | Avg rating |
|---|---|---|
| Shipping | 12 | 4.97 |
| Store management | 11 | 4.54 |
| Marketing | 7 | 4.48 |
| Upsell & cross-sell | 6 | 4.93 |
| Bundles | 5 | 4.72 |
| Events & tickets | 4 | 4.67 |
| Loyalty | 4 | 5.00 |
| Merchandising | 4 | 4.95 |
| SEO | 4 | 4.83 |
| Discounts | 3 | 4.70 |
| Order tracking | 3 | 4.83 |
| Pre-orders | 3 | 4.80 |
| Product options | 3 | 4.15 |
| Analytics | 2 | 4.85 |
| Bookings | 2 | 4.95 |
| Chargebacks | 2 | 4.55 |
| Pricing | 2 | — |
| Support | 2 | 4.60 |
| Wholesale | 2 | 4.70 |
| Cart Drawer | 1 | 4.90 |
| Payments | 1 | 4.60 |
| Reviews & UGC | 1 | 5.00 |
| Security | 1 | 4.50 |
| Size charts | 1 | 4.80 |
| Speed | 1 | 4.50 |
The 10 highest-rated apps (with credible review volume)
Top rated, filtered to apps with at least 50 reviews so a handful of 5-star ratings can’t game the list:
| App | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Tapita SEO Speed Optimizer | 5.0 | 2,523 |
| Essential Upsell & Cross Sell | 5.0 | 2,152 |
| Essent Preorder Back in Stock | 5.0 | 1,115 |
| BookX Appointment Booking App | 5.0 | 529 |
| Essential Loyalty Program Rewards | 5.0 | 430 |
| Froonze Loyalty & Wishlist | 5.0 | 254 |
| SupaEasy | 5.0 | 216 |
| Migrationpro | 5.0 | 171 |
| Add PayPal Tracking by Uptrack | 5.0 | 131 |
| Redeemly | 5.0 | 69 |
The 10 most-reviewed apps (proven at scale)
Review count is a rough proxy for adoption and longevity. The most-reviewed apps in our set:
| App | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Pumper Bundles Quantity Breaks | 4.9 | 2,930 |
| ReConvert Post Purchase Upsell | 4.8 | 2,842 |
| Tapita SEO Speed Optimizer | 5.0 | 2,523 |
| Upsell & Cross Sell | 4.9 | 2,349 |
| Essential Upsell & Cross Sell | 5.0 | 2,152 |
| Preorder | Notify Me Timesact | 4.9 | 1,860 |
| Track123 | 4.9 | 1,460 |
| Essent Preorder Back in Stock | 5.0 | 1,115 |
| Kiwi Sizing | 4.8 | 1,041 |
| PreOrder Now | 4.5 | 994 |
What this means if you’re choosing an app
Don’t shortlist on stars alone — nearly everything is rated 4.5+. Weight review volume, check what the free plan actually includes, and compare within a category rather than across the whole store. You can do exactly that with our Shopify App Finder, which sorts our full dataset by rating, reviews, price and free plans.
Methodology: figures computed from 87 apps in our reviewed dataset, sourced from live Shopify App Store listings and refreshed periodically. “Highest rated” applies a 50-review minimum. Ratings and pricing change — always confirm on the live listing.