Shopwaive goes further (6)
- When points leave
- Staff and wholesale buyers
- Companies you sell to
- Expiry
- The shopper's currency
- Shopify Flow
Compare
Shopwaive vs Smile.io
Shopwaive runs loyalty on a balance customers spend like money, online and at the register, and the same balance gives your team Budgets and the companies you sell to their own wallets. Here is how it compares with Smile.io on what works today, with Smile.io's own words and the date we read them.
The short version
Where each one goes further.
Smile.io is ahead today
- A VIP program, points redeemed for free products and API access, on the plans its pricing page lists.
Side by side
Shopwaive and Smile.io, row by row.
Shopwaive cells say what works for merchants today, with its condition. Smile.io cells quote Smile.io's own pages, linked, with the date we read them.
| Capability | Shopwaive | Smile.io |
|---|---|---|
| Shopwaive goes further (6) | ||
| When points leave | Live Only when Shopify marks the order paid, online and at the register. An abandoned checkout takes nothing. | Points are taken when the discount code is created. “When a customer redeems points for a reward, their points are deducted as soon as the discount code is generated.” How customers redeem points - Smile Help Center, read 16 October 2026 |
| Staff and wholesale buyers | Live Switched on in your settings Staff get balances of their own, and Budgets: several named budgets per person, each with its own amount, expiry date and PO number, and a month-end file. | Suggests excluding wholesale and other customer groups by tag. “Exclude wholesale or other customer groups from your loyalty program using Shopify tags or BigCommerce customer groups.” Exclude customers by tag - Smile Help Center, read 16 October 2026 |
| Companies you sell to | Live Shopify Plus Feature charge A company wallet shared with the company's buyers through a customer segment, spent at B2B checkout. | Loyalty activity goes to the buyer who placed the order, not the company. “Points, rewards, and other loyalty activity are tied to the individual customer who placed the order, not their Company or Company Location.” Update order settings - Shopify - Smile Help Center, read 16 October 2026 |
| Expiry | Live Each deposit can carry its own expiry date. | The whole points balance expires at once, on its Growth, Plus and Enterprise plans. “A customer's entire points balance expires all-at-once” Understand points expiry - Smile Help Center, read 16 October 2026 |
| The shopper's currency | Live Feature charge The balance is converted to the checkout currency at Shopify's rates. | Earning rules and rewards in one currency, with no exchange rates. “Smile displays earning rules and rewards in a single currency only.” How Smile handles currency - Smile Help Center, read 16 October 2026 |
| Shopify Flow | Live 11 actions and 3 triggers, on any paid Shopwaive plan. | Two Flow actions: Send Smile activity and Adjust points balance. “Smile offers two actions in Shopify Flow.” Understand Shopify Flow and Smile - Smile Help Center, read 16 October 2026 |
Fair to both
Where Smile.io is ahead today.
We keep these on the page. Each line quotes Smile.io's own page, with the date we read it.
| Ahead today | Smile.io |
|---|---|
| A VIP program, points redeemed for free products and API access, on the plans its pricing page lists. | “VIP program” Smile.io Pricing and Plans, read 16 October 2026 |
Also in Shopwaive
One balance for loyalty, your team and your B2B buyers.
Live for merchants today, each with its condition.
- Budgets: several named budgets per person, each with its own amount, expiry date and PO number, and a month-end file by budget and PO. Switched on in your settings
- Company wallets shared with a company's buyers through a customer segment, spent at B2B checkout. Shopify Plus Feature charge
- A gift code that can pay the whole order, taxes and shipping included, with nothing to type. Shopify Plus
- Seven Shopify POS tiles: Account, Refund, Debit, Invoice, Admin, Redeem Gift Cards and Send Gift Cards. Live
- A REST API with several revocable keys, and an Order API that creates Shopify orders with the balance applied. Checkout plan
- The balance applied to draft orders taken by phone or in person. Live
Questions
Shopwaive or Smile.io: short answers.
Is Shopwaive an alternative to Smile.io?
Yes. Shopwaive runs a loyalty program on a balance shown as points or money, which customers spend in any amount at checkout and at the register. You build the earning rules in Shopify Flow. The same balance gives your team Budgets with PO numbers and gives the companies you sell to wallets of their own.
When do points leave a customer's balance?
On Shopwaive, when Shopify marks the order paid, so an abandoned checkout takes nothing. Smile.io's help center says points are deducted the moment the discount code is generated (read 16 October 2026).
Does Smile.io credit a B2B company?
Smile.io's help center says points, rewards and other loyalty activity are tied to the individual customer who placed the order, not their company (read 16 October 2026). Shopwaive gives a company a wallet its buyers spend at B2B checkout, on Shopify Plus with the feature charge.
Can I keep Smile.io and add Shopwaive?
Yes. Keep Smile.io for shopper points and use Shopwaive for staff Budgets, company wallets, returns paid to a balance and any amount at the register. Plan for three things. Your points app may award fewer points on the part of an order paid from a Shopwaive balance. Shoppers may see two balances, so name each by its purpose. If both apps pay into Shopify's native store credit, shoppers see one combined figure.
Where is Smile.io ahead today?
Smile.io's pricing page lists a VIP program, points redeemed for free products and API access on its plans (read 16 October 2026).
Sources
Smile.io's own pages, as we read them.
Every fact about Smile.io on this page comes from these pages, read on 16 October 2026. If a page changes, the row comes off until we read it again.
| Smile.io | Read on |
|---|---|
| How customers redeem points - Smile Help Center | 16 October 2026 |
| Exclude customers by tag - Smile Help Center | 16 October 2026 |
| Update order settings - Shopify - Smile Help Center | 16 October 2026 |
| Understand points expiry - Smile Help Center | 16 October 2026 |
| How Smile handles currency - Smile Help Center | 16 October 2026 |
| Understand Shopify Flow and Smile - Smile Help Center | 16 October 2026 |
| Smile.io Pricing and Plans | 16 October 2026 |
Put every reward on one wallet.
Install Shopwaive from the Shopify App Store and start a 7-day free trial, or book a demo and we will map your loyalty, Budgets and B2B needs to one wallet.