Givy: an alternative to Govalo
While most comparison pages only discuss the benefits of using one app, we will instead do our best to do a full unbiased comparison of Givy and Govalo. If anything on this page is inaccurate, please contact us and we’ll be happy to correct it.
General Features
These are overall features or settings which apply to the entire app.
Govalo
Givy
App Store Rating (March 2025)
3.5 / 5
5 / 5
Built for Shopify certified
Support for multiple storefront languages
Support for emails in multiple languages
Can send emails without connecting to a domain
Gift Cards
Both Givy and Govalo offer a comprehensive suite of gift card tools. Whether you want to sell gift cards on your online store, create thousands of cards for offline use, or want to create your own physical gift cards, both apps are suitable.
Govalo
Givy
Sell gift cards on the online store
Create gift cards from app admin
Create bulk gift cards from app admin
Sell gift cards in multiple currencies
Let customers check gift card balance
Built-in fraud detection & prevention
Allow customers to choose custom gift card amounts
Customize the “Start Shopping” URL on redemption page
Multiple gift card products
Offer a gift card for out-of-stock products
Gift Card Gifting
Both Givy and Govalo allow customers to send gift cards as gifts to others. The overall experience is similar with both apps, while Givy includes some options not available in Govalo.
Govalo
Givy
PDP button to initiate gifting flow
Customizable gift card redemption page
Send gifts via email
Send gifts via unique URL/Link
Send gifts via printable email
Include personal message with gift
Send gift email at a date in the future
Customize email sent to customers and recipients
Include recorded video with gift
Include animated GIF image with gift
Product Gifting
Only Givy makes it possible to purchase a digital or physical product as a gift without the use of gift cards. Customers can pay for potential shipping costs, and recipients can enter their shipping address, and decide when their gift will be shipped.
Govalo
Givy
Send any product as a gift
Send multiple products to multiple recipients in a single checkout
Choose specific products / collections / tags to offer as gifts
Allow recipients to swap variants on redemption
Offer fixed, free, or location-based shipping options for gifts
Allow gifter to pay for shipping costs
Allow recipient to pay for faster shipping
Customers don’t need to know recipient’s shipping address to send gift
Combine gifted products with other purchases
Subscription Gifting
Govalo does enable subscription gifting for Recharge and Bold Subscriptions, while Givy enables it for every subscription or membership app on Shopify. The two apps implement subscription gifting very differently. Govalo requires you to create duplicate products with fixed order quantities, and does not allow customers to pay for shipping. Overall, we feel that Givy’s subscription gifting functionality is better than Govalo’s
Govalo
Givy
Works with any subscription or membership app
Gifted subscription uses the existing subscription products (not duplicates)
Sell any subscription or membership as a gift without using prepaid subscriptions
Recipients have full control over their gifted subscription
Recipients can pause and skip orders
Recipients automatically become subscribers once the gift expires
Multiple subscriptions can be purchased in a single checkout
Customers don’t need to know recipient’s shipping address
Recipients decide when their first order is shipped
Risk of chargebacks and fraud detection reduced
Corporate / Bulk Gifting
Givy makes it possible to send hundreds or thousands of products as gifts. These gifts can be sent via email to recipients, or redemption links can be generated and sent to recipients via SMS, WhatsApp, or even printed physically. Govalo does not have this functionality.
Govalo
Givy
Send a free product to a recipient
Send a free subscription to a recipient
Send a free gift card to a recipient
Send hundreds or thousands of gifts at once
Send gifts where recipients must still pay for shipping
Seed influencers by sending them gifts without requiring a shipping address
Loyalty & Store Credits
Givy does not offer any specific loyalty features, while Govalo has some basic functionality like Store Credits and gift card rewards for purchase amounts.
Govalo
Givy
Give customers store credit rewards
Give customers gift cards when they purchase more than a specific amount
Pricing
Our apps charge merchants in a similar way. Govalo has a free monthly plan where they only charge a usage fee, while their enterprise plans charge a large monthly amount plus a usage fee.
Govalo
Givy
New store – not processing orders yet
Free
Free for 10 gifts, then $9/mth
200 orders/month ($200 in gifts)
$5.80
$9 + $4
200 orders/month ($1000 in gifts)
$29
$9 + $20
1,000 orders/month ($2,000 in gifts)
$58
$9 + $40
1,000 orders/month ($5,000 in gifts)
$145
$9 + $100
5,000 orders/month ($10,000 in gifts)
$290
$99 + $100
5,000 orders/month ($20,000 in gifts)
$529
$199
12,000 orders/month ($25,000 in gifts)
$641.50
$199
12,000 orders/month ($50,000 in gifts)
$1,149
$199
20,000 orders/month ($50,000 in gifts)
$1,149
$199
Summary
Both Givy and Govalo bring value to merchants. While Govalo offers good gift card gifting functionality, and basic subscription gifting functionality, we feel that Givy provides more functionality with greater value. Specifically, our gift card gifting features are more extensive, we’re the only app to provide product gifting, and our subscription gifting functionality is simply stronger.