The best Shopify gift card apps in 2026 are Rise.ai, Gift Card Hero, Vify, GiftKart (Kash), Govalo, and Givy. Each solves a different problem — from store credit loyalty programs to multi-currency international cards — and all go beyond what Shopify's native gift card feature offers.

Why bother? Gift card recipients spend 20-40% more than the card's face value. That extra spend costs you nothing in acquisition — no ads, no discounts, no influencer fees. And roughly 6-10% of gift cards are never redeemed at all, which is pure margin sitting in your Shopify account.

Shopify includes a built-in gift card feature on every plan. But it's basic. You can't let customers enter custom amounts. You can't schedule delivery for a birthday two weeks from now. You can't send the card directly to a recipient with a personalized message. For any of that, you need an app. Here's how each one compares, based on actual App Store ratings, real merchant reviews, and verified features.

What Shopify's Native Gift Cards Can (and Can't) Do

Before spending on an app, know what you already have. Shopify's built-in gift cards let you create gift card products with preset denominations, sell them online and through POS, and track balances in your admin. Every plan gets this.

What's missing:

Customers can't type in a custom dollar amount — they pick from your preset options only
No scheduled delivery (send a card on someone's birthday, for example)
No way to send the card directly to the recipient with a personal message
Limited design customization — you're stuck with basic templates
No reloadable cards for repeat use
Maximum issued value of $2,000 USD per card

If your gift card sales are occasional and simple, the native feature works fine. If you're actively promoting gift cards as a revenue channel — and with 70-75% of gift card sales now happening digitally, you should be — an app fills the gaps. For a deeper look at building gift cards into your revenue strategy, see our gift card strategy guide.

Rise.ai — Best for Store Credit and Loyalty Integration

Rating: 4.8 stars (788+ reviews) · Pricing: From $19.99/month · Installs: 5,500+

Rise.ai isn't just a gift card app. It's a full store credit platform that treats gift cards as one piece of a larger retention system. You get gift cards, store credit wallets, cashback rewards, referral credits, and loyalty programs — all connected.

The gift card features are strong on their own: scheduled delivery, personalized messages, and the ability to bulk-issue cards for corporate gifting or migration from another platform. But where Rise.ai pulls ahead is automation. You can trigger store credit rewards based on customer actions — issue $10 in credit after a third purchase, for example, or convert refunds into store credit instead of cash.

Best for: Stores that want gift cards as part of a broader loyalty and retention strategy, not just a standalone product.

Watch out for: The $19.99/month starter plan covers 100 monthly orders, with $0.20 per additional order. Costs scale with volume.

Gift Card Hero — Best for Physical and Digital Cards Together

Rating: 4.9 stars (153 reviews) · Pricing: Free plan available, paid from $19.99/month

Gift Card Hero covers both digital and physical gift cards in one app. You can upload custom card designs, offer scheduled delivery, let customers add personal messages, and manage everything through Shopify POS for in-store sales too.

The standout feature is reloadable gift cards. Customers (or you) can top up an existing card balance, which turns one-time gift card buyers into repeat users. This is particularly useful for businesses with regular customers — coffee shops, salons, or any store with a subscription-like buying pattern.

Best for: Merchants who sell both online and in-store and want one app that handles digital eGift cards and physical card fulfillment.

Watch out for: Some merchants have noted that support response times can be slow outside US business hours.

Vify: Professional Gift Cards — Best Budget Option

Rating: 4.9 stars (126 reviews) · Pricing: Free plan available, paid from $9.99/month

Vify focuses on doing one thing well: letting you create professional-looking digital and physical gift cards with custom designs. No loyalty programs, no cashback, no store credit wallets. Just gift cards, done right.

The free plan includes email configuration, gift card management, custom product pages, and a redemption page where customers can check their balance. Paid plans add features like expiration reminders, bulk uploads, and more design options. There are no per-transaction fees on any plan — you pay a flat monthly rate and that's it.

Best for: Smaller stores that want better gift card designs and recipient delivery without paying for features they won't use.

Watch out for: No loyalty or store credit features. If you want gift cards tied to a rewards program, look at Rise.ai or GiftKart instead.

GiftKart (Kash) — Best for Cashback and Gift Card Campaigns

Rating: 5.0 stars (134 reviews) · Pricing: From $39/month

GiftKart (recently rebranded to Kash) combines gift cards with cashback rewards and bulk campaign tools. You can create branded digital gift cards with video messages, run automated bulk gift card campaigns, and offer cashback rewards that deposit into customer wallets.

The campaign tools are what set it apart. You can send bulk discounted gift cards to a customer segment — "Buy a $50 card for $40" during the holidays, for example — and track redemption rates. It integrates with Klaviyo and Omnisend, so you can trigger gift card campaigns from your existing email flows.

Best for: Stores that want to use gift cards as an active marketing tool, not just a passive product on the site.

Watch out for: Starting at $39/month with no free plan, it's the most expensive option on this list. Worth it if you'll use the campaign features; overkill if you just need basic gift cards.

Govalo — Best for Shopify Plus Stores

Rating: 3.3 stars (22 reviews) · Pricing: Free to install + 2.9% of gift card sales (Essential plan)

Govalo is a Shopify Plus Certified app built for larger brands. It supports customizable gift card designs, scheduled delivery, direct-to-recipient sending, corporate gifting, giftable subscriptions, and out-of-stock integration (show a "Gift this instead" option when a product is unavailable).

The pricing model is different from other apps — instead of a flat monthly fee, you pay a percentage of each gift card sale. The Essential plan charges 2.9%, the Premium plan ($50/month) drops to 2.6%, and Enterprise ($500/month) charges 2.4%.

Best for: Shopify Plus stores with high gift card volume that want advanced features like giftable subscriptions and corporate gifting.

Watch out for: The 3.3-star rating reflects real support issues. Several merchants reported slow or no responses from customer support. The app recently changed ownership, and the new team appears to be improving things — but check recent reviews before committing.

Givy — Best for Multi-Currency Gift Cards

Rating: 4.9 stars · Pricing: Free plan available

Givy solves a specific problem: selling gift cards that work across multiple currencies. If your store sells internationally using Shopify Markets, native gift cards can create friction when a card purchased in USD needs to be redeemed by someone shopping in EUR. Givy handles the conversion automatically.

Beyond multi-currency support, Givy lets customers buy any product as a gift (not just gift cards), sell gift cards in bulk for corporate orders, and create gift vouchers with custom designs.

Best for: International stores selling across multiple currencies that need gift cards to work across markets without manual conversion headaches.

Watch out for: Newer app with fewer reviews than established options. The feature set is growing but not as deep as Rise.ai or Gift Card Hero yet.

Which Shopify Gift Card App Should You Pick?

Skip the feature-by-feature comparison and start with your actual use case:

You just want prettier gift cards with recipient delivery: Vify. Cheapest option, does the basics well.
You want gift cards plus loyalty and store credit: Rise.ai. Most complete platform, proven at scale.
You sell online and in physical stores: Gift Card Hero. Best POS integration with reloadable cards.
You want to run gift card marketing campaigns: GiftKart. Bulk campaigns, cashback, Klaviyo integration.
You're on Shopify Plus and need corporate gifting: Govalo. Built for enterprise, but verify support quality first.
You sell internationally in multiple currencies: Givy. Solves the cross-currency redemption problem.

Gift card buyers have roughly 28% higher lifetime value than non-gift-card customers. Every gift card sold brings in a new customer who didn't choose your store — someone else chose it for them. That's a fundamentally different acquisition channel than ads or SEO, and it's one most Shopify merchants underinvest in.

Whichever app you pick, the bigger win is making gift cards visible and easy to buy — not buried three clicks deep in your navigation. Add a "Gift Cards" link to your main menu, feature them on your homepage during gifting seasons, and set up an automated email flow for birthdays. The app is the tool. The strategy is what makes it pay off.