The short answer
Judge.me if you want the best value in Shopify reviews - unlimited reviews including photo and video for free, with a flat $15/month upgrade when you need more. Loox if you’re a design-led brand where premium, photo- and video-first reviews are central to conversion, and you’ll pay more for a more polished experience out of the box.
We’ve tested both on live Shopify stores. This comparison breaks down where each one wins and which fits your store better. You can also read our full Judge.me review for a deeper look at our top-rated pick.
Quick comparison
| Judge.me | Loox | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5.0/5 (42,000+ reviews) | 4.9/5 (8,800+ reviews) |
| Built for Shopify | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Unlimited reviews + photo & video, forever | Photo reviews only, no video |
| Paid from | $15/mo flat (Awesome) | $49.99/mo (Convert, 300 orders) |
| Photo reviews | Free | Free |
| Video reviews | Free | Paid (Convert plan) |
| Referrals & upsells | Referrals on paid ($15/mo) | Referrals & upsells on Convert |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly | Order-based (scales with volume) |
| Best for | Value and unlimited free reviews | Premium design, visual-first brands |
Pricing compared
This is the biggest practical difference between the two.
Judge.me keeps it simple. The Forever Free plan covers unlimited reviews - text, photo, and video - plus review request emails, widgets, star badges, carousels, and Google rich snippets. The paid Awesome plan is a flat $15/month and adds AI features, 130+ integrations, Q&A, coupons and referrals, and Google Shopping. There’s no order-based scaling, so your cost is predictable no matter how big you grow.
Loox uses order-based pricing. The free tier is limited to photo reviews. The first paid plan, Convert at $49.99/month, includes 300 orders and then charges $50 per additional 300 orders, unlocking video reviews, referrals, upsells, and AI smart sorting. The top Unlimited plan is $299.99/month. For a store doing real volume, Loox can cost several times what Judge.me does.
Verdict: Judge.me wins decisively on price. A flat $15/month (or $0) versus $49.99+/month scaling by orders isn’t close.
Photo and video reviews
Both apps are built around visual social proof, and both actively prompt customers to attach photos and videos to their reviews with post-purchase emails and discount incentives.
The difference is what’s free. Judge.me includes unlimited photo and video reviews on its free plan - genuinely unusual, since most apps gate video behind a paid tier. Loox only includes photo reviews for free; video requires the $49.99/month Convert plan.
Verdict: Tie on capability, Judge.me wins on access. If free video reviews matter, Judge.me is the only one that offers them.
Widgets and design
This is where Loox earns its price. Its review widgets, photo galleries, and carousels look premium straight out of the box with very little configuration, which is why Loox is a favorite among fashion, beauty, and home brands where visual polish drives conversion.
Judge.me’s widgets are clean, flexible, and fully customizable - they look excellent once you’ve set them up - but Loox tends to win on default aesthetics. With Judge.me you trade a little setup time for a lot of saved money.
Verdict: Loox for out-of-the-box polish. Judge.me for customizable design that looks great with a bit of effort.
Collecting reviews
Both apps automate review collection with scheduled request emails after delivery, and both let you offer a discount to encourage photo and video submissions. In our testing, response rates were similar when both were configured well - the volume of reviews you collect depends far more on your email timing and incentive than on which app you use.
Judge.me also stands out for imports: its one-click importer pulls existing reviews (with photos) from Loox, AliExpress, and other apps, which makes it the easier app to consolidate into.
Verdict: Roughly even on collection. Judge.me has the edge on importing existing reviews.
Referrals and upsells
Loox bundles referrals and upsell features into its Convert plan, so a single app handles reviews, a referral program, and post-review product recommendations. For a brand that wants those growth tools in one place, that’s convenient.
Judge.me includes coupons and referrals on the $15/month Awesome plan, but leans on its 130+ integrations for deeper upsell and marketing workflows rather than building everything in-house.
Verdict: Loox for an all-in-one reviews-plus-referrals-plus-upsells suite. Judge.me for lower cost plus a large integration ecosystem.
SEO and Google
Both apps output Google rich snippets, so your star ratings can appear in organic search results - a meaningful click-through boost on product pages. Both also support Google Shopping ratings, though on Judge.me that sits on the paid Awesome plan.
Verdict: Even. Both cover the SEO essentials that make reviews pay off in search.
Ease of use and support
Both are Built for Shopify certified, install cleanly via theme app extensions, and carry excellent ratings - Judge.me at 5.0 across 42,000+ reviews (the most-reviewed reviews app on Shopify) and Loox at 4.9 across 8,800+. Both offer 24/7 support, and both are well regarded for responsiveness.
Loox is marginally faster to a polished result thanks to its design-first defaults; Judge.me asks for a bit more configuration but nothing a typical merchant can’t handle in an afternoon.
Verdict: Even. Both are easy to set up and well supported.
Who should pick Judge.me
- You’re a new or budget-conscious store and want serious review functionality for free
- You want free video reviews, not just photos
- You’d rather pay a flat, predictable $15/month than order-based pricing as you scale
- You value a large integration ecosystem (Klaviyo, Gorgias, and 130+ more)
- You’re migrating reviews from another app and want a clean one-click import
Who should pick Loox
- You’re a design-led brand (fashion, beauty, home) where premium visual reviews drive conversion
- You want the most polished widgets and galleries out of the box with minimal setup
- You want reviews, referrals, and upsells bundled into one app
- Your margins support order-based pricing that starts at $49.99/month
- Default aesthetics matter more to you than cost
Our recommendation
For most Shopify stores, Judge.me is the better pick - and it’s our top-rated reviews app overall. It gives you unlimited reviews, including video, for free, upgrades to a flat $15/month, and matches Loox on the fundamentals that actually move conversion: photo and video social proof, Google rich snippets, and automated collection. The value is hard to argue with.
Loox is the right call for a specific kind of store: a design-forward brand where the polish of your review widgets is part of your identity and worth paying a premium for, ideally one that also wants referrals and upsells bundled in. If that’s you, Loox’s out-of-the-box aesthetics justify the higher, order-based price.
Start with Judge.me unless premium visual design is a core part of how you sell - then Loox becomes worth the cost. See how both stack up against the rest in our best Shopify review apps guide, or read the full Judge.me review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Loox or Judge.me better for a small Shopify store?
Judge.me is the better fit for most small and new stores, mainly because of price. Its free plan is genuinely complete - unlimited reviews, including photo and video, review request emails, and Google rich snippets - so a new store can collect real social proof without paying anything. Loox has a free tier too, but it's limited to photo reviews, and video reviews and referrals only unlock on the Convert plan at $49.99/month. If budget is tight, start with Judge.me. If you're a design-led brand where polished visual reviews are core to your conversion, Loox may be worth the cost even early on.
Which is cheaper, Loox or Judge.me?
Judge.me is significantly cheaper. Its paid Awesome plan is a flat $15/month regardless of your order volume, and the free plan covers most stores indefinitely. Loox uses order-based pricing: the free tier is limited, and the first paid plan (Convert) starts at $49.99/month for 300 orders, then adds $50 per additional 300 orders. For a store doing meaningful volume, Loox can cost several times more than Judge.me for a broadly similar core feature - collecting and displaying reviews.
Does Judge.me include video reviews for free?
Yes. Judge.me's Forever Free plan includes unlimited photo and video reviews at no cost, which is unusual - most competitors put video behind a paid tier. Loox, by contrast, only includes photo reviews on its free plan; video reviews require the Convert plan at $49.99/month. If displaying customer video is important to you and you don't want to pay for it, Judge.me is the clear choice.
Which has better-looking review widgets, Loox or Judge.me?
Loox is generally considered the more polished of the two out of the box. Its widgets, photo galleries, and carousels are designed to look premium with minimal setup, which is why it's popular with visually-driven brands in fashion, beauty, and home. Judge.me's widgets are clean and fully customizable, and they look great once configured, but Loox tends to win on default aesthetics. If design is your top priority and you'll pay for it, Loox has the edge; if you're happy to spend a little time customizing, Judge.me closes most of the gap for free.
Can I switch from Loox to Judge.me (or vice versa)?
Yes. Both apps support importing existing reviews via CSV, and Judge.me offers a one-click importer that pulls reviews directly from Loox and other review apps, including photos. Moving in either direction preserves your review content, star ratings, and in most cases the attached media. The main thing to plan for is re-adding the review widgets to your theme and reconnecting any integrations after you switch. Most stores complete the migration in an afternoon.
