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The Best Advertising Apps on Shopify
Shopify advertising splits into two halves: ads you buy and affiliate programs where partners earn only when they sell. Here are the best apps for both, with current App Store ratings.
Published on July 11, 2026
by Fawaz
The Best Advertising Shopify Apps
Introduction
The cheapest advertising you can run is the kind you only pay for when it works.
Most guides stop at paid ads, but Shopify itself splits advertising into two halves: ads you buy and affiliate programs where partners earn a cut only when they sell.
This guide covers the best apps for both, with current ratings pulled straight from the Shopify App Store.
By the end you will know which channels to spend on and which partners to let sell for you.
The two halves of Shopify advertising
Advertising on Shopify is not one job. It is two.
The first is paid ads, where you buy attention on Google, social feeds, and beyond.
The second is affiliate programs, where creators and customers promote your products and you pay only on results.
Most stores need a mix, because paid ads deliver reach fast while affiliates deliver efficiency over time.
We will start with the ad channels, then move to the partner side.
Google and YouTube
Google and YouTube is the first ad app most stores should install, because it reaches shoppers who are actively searching.
It syncs your catalog to Google, runs Performance Max campaigns across Search, Shopping, and YouTube, and reports back through Google Analytics.
It carries a 4.5 star rating across more than 4,600 reviews and is free to install, with spend billed to your Google Ads account.
Best for stores selling products people already search for by name.
TikTok
TikTok is the highest volume ad app in the category, and it rewards a steady stream of fresh creative.
You build ads from your own images and videos, install the pixel in one click, and sync products so campaigns and catalog stay aligned.
It holds a 4.8 star rating across more than 12,800 reviews and is free to install, with spend billed to your TikTok account.
Best for brands that can produce new video angles every week.
Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram, run by Meta, still offers some of the largest paid reach anywhere.
It syncs your catalog to your Meta shop and lets you run shoppable ads and posts from one inventory.
Its App Store rating sits at just 3.5 stars across more than 3,800 reviews, with recurring complaints about setup, account issues, and support.
The reach is real, but so is the friction. It is free to install, with spend billed to your Meta account.
Best for stores where paid social is already a proven driver and you can manage the platform's quirks. Shopify runs a free beginner course on Facebook and Instagram ads if you are starting out.
Snapchat Ads
Snapchat Ads reaches a younger, highly engaged audience that the bigger platforms often miss.
It syncs your catalog, builds full screen immersive ads, and supports dynamic shopping ads aimed at your ideal buyers.
It carries a 4.7 star rating across more than 600 reviews and is free to install.
Best for brands whose customers skew Gen Z and younger millennials.
Pinterest works best for visual, plan ahead purchases in categories like home, fashion, and decor.
It publishes Product Pins, refreshes your catalog automatically, and lets you run campaigns from inside Shopify.
Buyers here save, compare, then purchase later, so give it a longer runway before judging results.
It holds a 4.2 star rating across more than 1,500 reviews and is free to install.
Best for visual categories where shoppers research before they buy.
AdRoll, for retargeting
AdRoll is the app to reach the shoppers who visited but did not buy.
It runs retargeting and prospecting campaigns across web, social, and connected TV, then reports cross channel attribution so you can see what actually drove the sale.
Retargeting tends to be the highest return form of paid advertising, since you are reaching people who already showed interest.
It carries a 4.3 star rating across more than 320 reviews and is free to install, with pay as you go pricing based on spend.
Best for stores with steady traffic that want to recover lost visitors.
A note on tracking
Ad apps are only as good as the data behind them.
After recent privacy changes, browser pixels miss a large share of conversions, which quietly wastes ad spend.
Server side tracking tools like Elevar Conversion Tracking (4.7 stars) and pixel apps like Omega Facebook Pixel Meta Feed (4.8 stars) close that gap so your platforms optimize on accurate data.
Install one before you scale spend, not after.
The affiliate half: pay only when you sell
Here is the shift worth paying attention to.
As paid ad costs rise and tracking gets harder, more brands are leaning on affiliate programs, where partners promote your products and earn only when a sale closes.
Shopify even highlights this with merchants like Country Life Foods, which manages 17,000 affiliates through a single app.
The three apps below are the strongest starting points for building that channel.
Affilitrak
Affilitrak Affiliate Marketing is a newer entrant focused on clean tracking and a simple setup, and full disclosure, it is our app.
It runs affiliate and referral programs with reliable link and cookie tracking, a branded affiliate portal, and commission controls, with a core plan that is free.
It currently holds a 5.0 star rating across its first 190 reviews on the App Store.
We would rather you judge it against the options above than take our word for it, so the honest pitch is simple: try it alongside one competitor and keep whichever fits your store.
Best for merchants who want a straightforward, no cost way to start an affiliate program.
UpPromote
UpPromote Affiliate Marketing is the most established affiliate app in the category by a wide margin.
It handles affiliate and influencer recruitment, custom commissions, tracking, and payouts, all inside Shopify.
It holds a 4.9 star rating across more than 3,200 reviews, is free to install, and carries the Built for Shopify badge.
Best for stores that want a proven, feature deep platform with a large user base.
BixGrow
BixGrow Affiliate Marketing is a strong, lighter weight alternative that many smaller stores prefer.
It combines affiliate and referral programs, with flexible commissions and a generous free tier.
It carries a 4.9 star rating across more than 1,200 reviews, offers a free plan, and is also Built for Shopify.
Best for stores that want an easy, affordable way to launch affiliates.
Honorable mentions
Shopify Collabs is the native option for influencer partnerships, though its rating is more mixed at 3.9 stars.
impact.com Affiliate Marketing suits larger brands that need an enterprise affiliate network.
Snowball is a premium pick starting at $249 per month, aimed at high volume programs.
How to choose without wasting budget
Start with one paid channel that matches your product, not five.
Add server side tracking before you scale, so your spend optimizes on real conversions.
Then layer in one affiliate app, because it lowers your blended cost of acquisition over time. Shopify's Help Center documents how each of these connects.
Prove each app earns its place before adding the next.
Conclusion
The best advertising stack balances two things: paid ads that buy reach now, and affiliate programs that buy efficiency later.
Start with Google and YouTube or TikTok for reach, add AdRoll to recover lost visitors, protect it all with proper tracking, then build an affiliate channel with UpPromote, BixGrow, or Affilitrak so partners sell for you on commission.
The brands winning in 2026 are not the ones spending the most on ads.
They are the ones who pay for reach when they must and pay for results when they can.
So where is your next dollar going: toward attention you rent, or toward partners who only get paid when you do?