Reviews apps are one of the most over-paid categories in the Shopify ecosystem. Most stores need the same three things: automated review request emails, star ratings on product pages, and Google Shopping syndication. The price range for those three features spans from $0/month to $120+/month depending on which app you choose.
Judge.me, Stamped.io, and Loox are the three most widely installed. They cover different market positions and have very different cost structures. Here's exactly what you get at each tier.
Side-by-side pricing
Judge.me
Free or $15/mo
Judge.me has the most generous free tier in the category by a significant margin. The free plan includes unlimited review requests, photo reviews, Q&A, basic widgets, and the review import tool. For most stores under $500K GMV, the free plan is genuinely complete.
The paid plan ($15/month, called "Awesome") adds Google Shopping syndication, advanced theme customization, and priority review importing. The upgrade is worth it if you run Google Shopping ads — the structured review data improves PLA performance. If you don't run Google Shopping, the free plan is the right choice.
Strengths
Most generous free tier
Simple setup and UI
No review count limits
Best value under $500K GMV
Limitations
No loyalty module
Less visual than Loox
Fewer enterprise features than Stamped
SMS requests not available
Stamped.io
$19–$299/mo
Stamped positions itself as the premium option with loyalty, NPS surveys, and SMS review requests bundled or available as add-ons. The $49/month plan (their most popular) is where you unlock Google Shopping syndication, photo review widgets, and the loyalty starter module.
The Stamped overspend pattern is common: merchants pay $49–99/month for Stamped when they only use its review collection and display features — which Judge.me covers for free or $15. The loyalty module and NPS surveys only justify Stamped's premium if you actively use them.
The key question
Are you actively using Stamped's loyalty program and NPS surveys — or just its review collection and display widgets? If the answer is "just reviews," you're paying $30–80/month more than you need to.
Strengths
Loyalty + reviews in one tool
NPS surveys included
SMS review requests
Good for 6–7-figure stores
Limitations
Expensive if only using reviews
Steeper learning curve
Complex pricing tiers
Loyalty ROI needs active management
Loox
$9.99–$299.99/mo
Loox is built around photo and video reviews with a visually distinctive widget style. It's the most design-forward of the three, and it's popular in categories where social proof through visual UGC matters — apparel, beauty, home goods. The entry plan ($9.99/month) is lower than Judge.me's paid plan, but unlike Judge.me, there's no meaningful free tier.
Loox charges per review request sent on higher plans, which can get expensive for stores with high order volume. At 1,000+ orders/month, the cost-per-request model on Loox's $34.99 plan (500 request credits) means you're paying for additional credit bundles.
Strengths
Best visual UGC widgets
Strong in DTC / social brands
Clean review galleries
Referral integration
Limitations
No free plan
Per-request pricing at volume
No Q&A or loyalty
More expensive at scale
Which one should you use?
Under $500K GMV, no loyalty program
→ Judge.me freeThe free plan genuinely covers everything you need. Don't pay for a review app at this stage.
Running Google Shopping ads
→ Judge.me Awesome ($15/mo)Google Shopping review syndication is the one upgrade that pays for itself. At $15/month, Judge.me Awesome is the cheapest way to unlock it.
Need loyalty + reviews in one tool
→ Stamped ($49/mo)If you'll actively use the loyalty program, Stamped consolidates two tools into one. Only makes sense if you'd otherwise pay $30+/month for a separate loyalty app.
Visual DTC brand where photo UGC is core
→ Loox ($9.99–$34.99/mo)Loox's gallery widgets and photo-first UX stand out for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. Worth the cost if visual social proof is a central conversion lever.
If you're on Stamped or Loox but only using the review collection and display features — not loyalty, not NPS, not SMS — you're paying for features you don't use. Judge.me covers that use case for free.