Best Shopify returns apps: 7 compared, and what Shopify does for free

At a glance

What is the best returns app for Shopify?

Start from the problem you have.

Then compare how each one charges.

Shopify's own returns

What do Shopify's own returns do before you add an app?

A shopper emails you a photo of the wrong size, and you rebuild the order by hand. Shopify's self-serve returns let the shopper request a return from their customer account, and you approve or decline each request.

"Return and cancellation rules", the section under Settings, then Policies, decides which orders can come back. The window can be 14, 30 or 90 days, unlimited or a number you choose, counted from the delivery of each item or of the last one in the order. Return shipping can be free, a flat rate or left to the shopper, and a restocking fee is set as a percentage. Shopify doesn't take those fees off the refund on its own, so you deduct them yourself. Final sale items get their own section, and shoppers can't ask to return them. Rules cover only items bought after you turn them on or change them.

When you approve, you can add an exchange item, but the shopper can't ask for one in the request. Shoppers sign in with a code from their email, not a password. Self-serve returns don't work with legacy customer accounts, the older password sign-in. Shopify's own return labels cover only parcels sent inside the US or inside Canada, and each one is billed when the carrier scans it.

Set it up step by step with how to handle ecommerce returns on Shopify.

How they charge

How do ecommerce returns solutions charge on Shopify?

Five of the seven sell plans with a set number of returns, then charge $0.45 to $1.25 for each one past it. Three of the seven can bill your shoppers instead. AfterShip's Return Care, Redo's return coverage and Loop's Checkout+ add an optional fee at checkout that pays for free returns later.

Shopify's App Store rules say an app can't add that charge to a shopper's cart on its own, or tick it in advance. Check what your checkout shows before you launch.

1 · Return Prime

Return Prime: who pays the difference on an exchange?

A shopper swaps a $40 shirt for a $55 one, and someone has to settle the $15. Return Prime lets you choose which exchanges charge the shopper that difference and which waive it.

The free Start plan takes 5 requests a month, swaps sizes and colors, and includes a button for the EU right of withdrawal. Each request past those 5 costs $0.49.

Rules that approve a return on their own start on the paid Grow plan, along with refunds to store credit and instant exchanges. Fraud controls come on the Thrive AI plan.

Best for: a small store that wants exchanges and the EU withdrawal button from the free plan.

2 · CWILL Returns & Exchanges

CWILL: can a free plan send return labels?

Six returns a month don't justify a subscription, and each shopper still needs a label. CWILL's free plan covers 6 returns a month with a branded return page and return labels.

CWILL was formerly ParcelPanel, and its listing carries the Built for Shopify badge. Labels go out through carriers such as USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, DPD and Evri.

Essential costs $29 a month for 50 returns, then $0.45 each. It adds return shipping and restocking fees, a return option inside the shopper's account and a return page in more than one language. Exchanges for a different item and refunds to store credit or a gift card start there too.

Best for: up to 6 returns a month.

3 · AfterShip Returns & Exchanges

AfterShip: can shoppers pay for their own free returns?

You want to offer free returns, and every label you buy comes out of the margin. On AfterShip's Return Care plan, shoppers who want free returns pay a fee at checkout, and you pay no subscription.

A shopper who buys Return Care pays no return costs on that order, labels and restocking fees included. Shoppers can also choose to check out without it. AfterShip keeps a share of the Return Care revenue, and the plan comes with every Premium feature.

Essentials costs $1 for the first month, then $19 a month, with 20 returns included and $0.50 for each one after. Premium costs $119 for 100 returns, then $1 each, and adds fraud prevention and a warranty portal. It works with USPS, UPS, FedEx and Canada Post.

AfterShip's order tracking is a separate app, covered in the best Shopify apps for a growing store.

Best for: free returns paid for by the shoppers who choose them.

4 · Redo

Redo: who pays the label when the software is free?

Return labels cost you on every parcel that comes back. Redo's returns software is free, and Redo pays the label when the order carries return coverage, added by the shopper at checkout or provided by your store.

Its return flow offers an exchange before a refund, through what Redo calls an AI exchange agent. Redo also reports returns by size and color, with a monthly summary.

A return without coverage may carry label or handling costs, and Redo's pricing page doesn't list what coverage costs. Redo sells email and text messages and fulfillment as separate products, each with its own price.

Best for: an exchange offered before a refund, with no software bill.

5 · Rich Returns & Exchanges

Rich Returns: can shoppers return without signing in?

Shopify's own return requests start with a sign-in code sent to the shopper's email. Rich Returns' return page asks for no login.

Prepaid labels come through 50+ carriers and label services, among them UPS, USPS, Canada Post, Shippo and ShipStation. A rule builder decides who can return, what gets approved, how the refund works and which fees apply.

There is no free plan, and every plan starts with a 30-day free trial. Standard costs $19 a month for 10 returns, then $1 each. Pro, at $39 for 50, adds exchanges for another size or color. International labels and a custom domain come only on Enterprise Plus, at $199 a month.

Best for: a return page that asks for no login.

6 · ReturnGO Returns & Exchanges

ReturnGO: can a return request ask for a photo?

A return request says damaged, with no photo, and you chase the shopper by email. ReturnGO's return form can ask follow-up questions and take a photo or video with the request.

Rules can approve a return on their own. ReturnGO's pricing page lists its other return automations and automated exchanges as add-ons on Premium. Shoppers can also return a gift or cancel an order.

Premium costs $147 a month for 110 returns, then $1.25 each. It covers exchanges for another size or another product, labels through Ship by ReturnGO, and refunds to store credit or a gift card. ReturnGO's pricing page marks photo and video upload as partly supported on Premium and fully on Pro, at $297 for 300 returns. Pro also adds unlimited languages and packing slips. ReturnGO has no free plan, and Premium starts with a 14-day free trial.

Best for: requests that need a photo or video before you approve.

7 · Loop Returns & Exchanges

Loop: what does an exchange-first store pay?

Hundreds of returns come back each month, and most shoppers want another item, not a refund. Loop's Returns plan costs from $340 a month for up to 1,000 returns, with Shop Now, Instant Exchanges and Bonus Credit.

Shop Now lets a shopper exchange for any product in your catalog. Bonus Credit adds extra store credit when the shopper picks an exchange. With Instant Exchanges, the new order is approved before the return arrives.

Checkout+ is free for stores with 5,000 or more orders a year, if Loop accepts yours. Shoppers who want free returns pay a fee at checkout, and the plan includes package protection.

Custom rules and blocklists guard against return fraud, and Loop can also pick returns up from the shopper's home. Both plans on Loop's pricing page lead to a Book a demo button.

Best for: high return volume, mostly exchanges.

The bill

What do 50 returns a month cost on each app?

Say 50 returns come back in a month. This is the software bill on each, with labels extra unless the row says so.

Count a busy month too, because five of the seven charge for each return past the allowance.

Where to start

Which Shopify returns app should you start with?

With a few returns a month, start with Shopify's own returns. Add Return Prime when shoppers need to pick their own exchange, or CWILL when each return needs a label. To give shoppers free returns, compare AfterShip's Return Care and Redo. Past 100 returns a month, ReturnGO and Loop are priced for it.

For a clothing store, where exchanges for another size are the usual case, see the best Shopify apps for a clothing store.