Best loyalty and rewards software for Canadian retail and cafés

A Smithville café that already takes Interac does not need another till. It needs a stamp or points program that does not pretend Shopify Basic includes rewards. US loyalty blogs skip the part that changes the bill: USD app charges on a CAD Shopify invoice, and whether Square’s Canada Loyalty card is even the same product as a Shopify app.

This comparison is three products Canadians actually install, plus an honesty column for the Shopify App Store: Smile.io (Waterloo PO box; USD on Shopify), LoyaltyLion (London address; USD), and Square Loyalty (Canada visit bands). Loyalty-program prices checked against public vendor pages, 6 September 2026. Buttons are official marketing URLs, not affiliate trackers.

Who this page is for

• A Canadian retailer or café that wants points, not another card processor.
• A Shopify merchant who was told “loyalty is included” and needs the USD app line.
• A Square seller who wants a till-native program and a published visit-band price.
• Not a 40-location coalition program. Not GST advice on outstanding points liability.

Snapshot (public pages, 6 September 2026)

Smile.io — Waterloo PO box, USD on Shopify

Official smile.io/pricing (6 September 2026): Free — 200 monthly orders; points, referrals, discounts and free shipping, branding, multi-language, Shopify POS. Essential $15/month — 500 monthly orders; 1 integration; dedicated loyalty page, free-product rewards, nudges, Shopify Flow. Standard $79/month — 1,000 monthly orders; 2 integrations; 2x points events, product-page embed, subscription and gift-card rewards. Growth $199/month — 2,500 monthly orders then $20 per additional 100 orders; VIP, Loyalty Hub, checkout redeem on Shopify Plus, unlimited integrations. Plus $999/month, annual billing — 7,500 monthly orders then $5 per additional 100; API, priority support, migration plan. Enterprise: contact sales, annual billing, unlimited orders — positioned for retailers over $40M revenue smile.io/pricing prints $15 / $79 / $199 / $999 with no CAD prefix. Official Shopify App Store listing: “All charges are billed in USD.” Confirm GST/HST on the Shopify or Stripe invoice. Official help: Shopify billing puts Smile on the Shopify invoice; Stripe billing is a separate Smile card. 14-day trial on paid Shopify listing cards. Cancel paid plan returns you to Free (200-order cap). Sources: https://smile.io/pricing; https://apps.shopify.com/smile-io; https://help.smile.io/en/articles/10131412-manage-your-plan.

Official Shopify App Store developer address: PO Box 33042 Ira Needles, Waterloo, ON, N2T 2M9, CA. Smile’s blog says HQ moved from Kitchener to remote-first in 2020. Shopify’s listing chip also says “Based in United States” — that is marketplace metadata, not the Waterloo PO box. This is the usual cheap Shopify start. VIP and checkout redeem sit on Growth, not Free. Pair the widget with a CAD storefront from website builders — Shopify Basic still does not include Smile.

LoyaltyLion — $199 Classic, Advanced is a quote

Official loyaltylion.com/pricing (6 September 2026): Classic $199/month includes 500 orders. Official page: branded loyalty page, pre-built earn rules, Klaviyo flows, dedicated onboarding. Doing more than 500 orders: custom quote for Advanced or Plus. Advanced: custom. Official page adds VIP tiers, points on product pages, enhanced Shopify POS across multiple locations, 130+ languages, twice-yearly performance reviews. Plus: custom. Adds AI-recommended rewards, advanced Klaviyo events, LoyaltyLion Flows, quarterly strategy. Official FAQ and Shopify listing: free plan for stores processing 400 orders or fewer per month; 14-day trial via the App Store. Listing: points, £ and % discounts, analytics, 7 pre-written languages. loyaltylion.com/pricing prints $199/month on Classic with no CAD prefix. Official Shopify App Store listing: “All charges are billed in USD.” Confirm GST/HST on the Shopify invoice. FAQ: if you exceed the contracted monthly order threshold by more than 25% over three consecutive months, they call to discuss the plan. Existing-customer FAQ caps (Small Business 800 / Classic 2,000 / Advanced 4,000 / Plus 10,000+) are legacy — not the current public slider. Official feature table marks VIP tiers as an optional add-on on Classic and included on Advanced. The Shopify $199 card lists “VIP loyalty tiers.” Confirm which SKU you are buying. Official table: Shopify POS on Classic is single location; Advanced and Plus list multiple locations. Sources: https://loyaltylion.com/pricing; https://apps.shopify.com/loyaltylion.

Official Shopify App Store developer address: 26 Hatton Garden, London, ENG, EC1N 8BR, GB. Listing chip: “Based in United States.” Classic matches Smile Growth’s sticker ($199) with a much lower included-order count (500 vs 2,500). Run the order slider before you assume they are the same bill. Klaviyo-heavy brands should still budget email marketing as a second line.

Square Loyalty — Canada visit bands, $60 start

Official squareup.com/ca/en/software/loyalty (6 September 2026): 0–500 loyalty visits: $60 per calendar month, per location. 501–1,500 loyalty visits: $100 per calendar month, per location. 1,501+ loyalty visits: $140 per calendar month, per location. Monthly cost is locations × loyalty visits that calendar month. A loyalty visit is an enrolment, an earn, or a redeem. No long-term contract. 30-day free trial. squareup.com/ca/en/software/loyalty prints $60 / $100 / $140 per location with no CAD prefix, on the same Canada host as Square’s Interac fee tables. Treat as the Canada Loyalty list; confirm GST/HST at checkout. Do not paste a US $45 blog as the Canadian card. Earn from Square Point of Sale, Square Invoices, or Square Online — including cash. Redeem in-store or online. Apple Wallet digital pass is marketed. Integrates with Square Marketing for email campaigns. Source: https://squareup.com/ca/en/software/loyalty.

This is the café pick when the till is already Square. It is not Smile on Shopify, and it is not Square for Restaurants Plus. Hardware and Interac stay on POS systems.

Shopify apps — no first-party loyalty SKU

shopify.com/ca/pricing does not sell a Shopify Loyalty plan. Points programs are third-party apps. A Shopify Basic or Grow sticker is not Smile or LoyaltyLion. Official Shopify App Store listings for Smile and LoyaltyLion print “All charges are billed in USD.” Official Shopify help (local currency billing): Canada can receive Shopify bills in CAD; app charges are converted from USD and include a 1.5% currency exchange fee. Shopify plan subscription charges are priced in CAD and are not converted from USD. Official Shopify help: if Shopify must charge tax on account charges, those taxes appear on the invoice and can include app charges. That is tax on SaaS, not GST/HST you charge a customer on a latte. Official Shopify app-charges help: subscription and usage charges land on the regular Shopify bill; the app has its own 30-day cycle. Official Smile help matches that for Shopify billing. Sources: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/your-invoice/local-currency; https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/your-invoice/apps; https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/billing-charges/types-of-charges/taxes/billing-taxes-general-us-canada.

A Canadian Shopify plan can still be CAD. The loyalty app on that invoice is still a USD line plus FX. Confirm the live conversion on the bill — this page does not invent a CAD Smile SKU. Storefront context: website builders for Canadian small businesses.

A practical pick

1. Shopify, under 200 orders a month: Smile Free. Budget the jump to Essential ($15 USD) at 201 orders.
2. Shopify, need VIP and can live with 2,500 included orders: Smile Growth at $199 USD — plus Klaviyo if you want the email half.
3. Shopify, want a built page and Klaviyo flows on a $199 card and will take a quote above 500 orders: LoyaltyLion Classic.
4. Already on a Square till, café or counter: Square Loyalty at $60 / location for 0–500 visits. Do not paste a US $45 blog.
5. The till and Interac: POS systems for Canadian small businesses.
6. The storefront: website builders.
7. The points email: email marketing.