Joy vs. Toki: Which one is right for your store? [2026]

Joy and Toki take very different approaches to loyalty pricing. Joy gives you a free starting point, then lowers the cost of each additional 100 orders as you move up its plans. Toki gives you more upfront, including VIP tiers and Shopify POS on its free plan, then charges $0.15 for each order beyond its included volume.

That makes Toki especially attractive when you're starting out, while Joy becomes more compelling as order volume grows. The real comparison is not just what you pay, but what that cost gets you at each stage. This guide breaks down where each platform delivers the better value.

Joy vs. Toki in one minute

Joy is a strong fit for stores that expect order volume to keep growing. Its overage rate decreases as you move up the plans, while integrations have no usage cap, and API access has a published price.

Toki gives smaller stores more upfront. Its free plan includes VIP tiers and Shopify POS, so you can launch a more advanced loyalty program without adding a monthly cost. The trade-off is that its per-order overage can become more expensive as your volume increases.

Best for growing stores that want more predictable costs as volume scales: Joy.

Best for smaller stores that want VIP tiers and POS without a monthly fee: Toki.

Joy vs. Toki at a glance

Here’s what you actually get as your store grows.

What each platform does well

Both platforms have clear strengths. Joy stands out as you scale, while Toki offers more advanced loyalty features up upfront.

What we like about Joy

Joy's overage cost gets lower as you move up the plans. That means your loyalty costs do not rise as quickly as your order volume, giving you more room to grow without your software bill increasing at the same rate.

You also get 48 integrations with no cap on how many you can use at once. That gives you more flexibility to connect loyalty with the tools you already use. API access has a published $499 monthly price, too, making it easier to plan for custom integrations and technical work.

When you need more advanced loyalty controls, Joy gives you detailed options for VIP tiers, POS, and referral protection. You can set different VIP privileges and adjust referral limits by tier, giving you more control over how rewards work for different customer groups.

What we like about Toki

Toki gives you more advanced features upfront. VIP tiers and Shopify POS are included on its free plan, so you can reward high-value customers and connect loyalty to in-store purchases without paying for an upgrade.

Toki also offers 50+ ways to earn points, giving you more options to reward different customer actions. Wallet passes and paid membership are available for $49 a month, making it easier to extend loyalty beyond standard discounts.

Its referral protection is another practical strength. Toki can verify orders and delay rewards until an order is fulfilled and past the return window. That helps prevent you from giving away rewards for purchases that are later canceled or returned.

If you want to see how Joy's free plan compares, try Joy free on Shopify.

Feature-by-feature: how they actually work

The table gives you the overview. Now let's look at six areas where the differences can affect how useful each platform is for your store.

VIP tiers and POS

Toki offers VIP tiers and Shopify POS on the free plan. That lets you start rewarding high-value customers and connect loyalty with in-store purchases without waiting for a higher plan.

Joy takes a more customizable approach. You can decide what makes a customer valuable by using points, spending, or order count, then give each tier different perks. Rewards can apply automatically at checkout, while the POS extension keeps points, tiers, and rewards connected between your online and physical stores.

That flexibility matters when your best customers do not all behave the same way. You can reward the actions that matter most to your business, rather than forcing every customer into the same loyalty rules.

Verdict: Toki for getting started, Joy for control. Toki gives you the key features earlier, but Joy gives you more ways to shape the program around how you actually want customers to earn and use their rewards. If you need a simple VIP and POS setup, Toki has the advantage. If you want to build a more tailored loyalty experience as you grow, Joy is the stronger choice.

Wallet passes and paid membership

Both platforms let you take loyalty beyond the storefront. Toki gives your customers a digital loyalty card they can keep on their phone, while paid membership lets you offer exclusive benefits in exchange for recurring revenue.

Joy also supports wallet passes and paid membership, with the wallet experience tied closely to loyalty activity. Customers can use their wallet QR code to identify themselves, check their status, and redeem rewards in-store, while their balance stays synced with their online account. Paid membership works alongside points and VIP tiers, giving you more ways to keep loyal customers engaged.

Verdict: Joy for a more connected loyalty experience. Toki gives you the core tools to extend loyalty beyond your store, while Joy connects wallet use, rewards, VIP status, and membership more closely across the customer journey.

Referral fraud protection

Referral fraud can quickly turn a good acquisition channel into wasted reward spend. Both platforms give you tools to prevent that.

Joy gives you seven separate controls: email, browser, IP address, purchase history, paid order status, referral limits, and login requirements. The strongest part is the ability to set referral limits by VIP tier. You can give your most loyal customers more room to refer while keeping tighter limits on newer members.

Toki takes a different approach. It checks for self-referrals, limits rewards to first purchases, monitors IP addresses, and verifies orders before releasing rewards. Holding the reward until an order passes the return window helps protect you from paying for sales that do not stick.

Verdict: Joy for control. Both platforms can protect your referral budget, but Joy gives you more ways to balance fraud prevention with customer advocacy.

Earning activities

Toki publishes 50+ ways to earn, giving you a larger number on paper. Its options cover common actions such as purchases, sign-ups, reviews, and social engagement.

Joy publishes 30+ ways to earn, but the important difference is how deeply it treats social activity. You can reward customers for Instagram comments, Story replies, Story mentions, and Live comments, as well as more traditional actions such as purchases, referrals, and sign-ups. That lets you reward customers for actively engaging with your brand, not just for completing a transaction.

For a brand that relies on Instagram to build community, this can make loyalty much more useful. A customer can interact with your content, earn points for that interaction, and have a reason to keep engaging even when they are not ready to buy.

Verdict: Toki for the bigger published number, Joy for social engagement. If you simply want the widest list of earning options, Toki has the edge. If social activity is an important part of your customer strategy, Joy's more specific Instagram rewards can create more meaningful engagement.

Integrations

Joy connects with 48 named integrations across six categories, giving you more ways to connect loyalty with the rest of your store. There is also no cap on how many integrations you can use at once.

Toki lists 25+ Shopify tools, covering the main apps and services you may already use.

The difference matters as your stack grows. More integrations give you more freedom to connect loyalty with your email, marketing, customer service, and ecommerce tools instead of keeping loyalty data in a separate system.

Verdict: Joy for flexibility. Toki covers the core Shopify ecosystem, but Joy gives you more integration options and fewer limits on how you connect them.

API access

Joy provides API, webhooks, and Hydrogen support, giving you more control when standard integrations are not enough. You can connect loyalty data to custom systems, automate workflows, or build loyalty into a headless Shopify experience.

Toki also supports webhooks and API-style event calls, which can help you connect loyalty activity with other systems. However, its public pricing information does not clearly show which level includes full API access.

Verdict: Joy for custom development. Both platforms offer ways to integrate loyalty with your own technology, but Joy provides a clearer path to deeper customization.

What it costs at each stage of growth

The pricing story changes as your order volume grows. Toki offers more loyalty features at no monthly cost when you're starting out, while Joy becomes more cost-effective as your order volume increases.

Under 1,000 orders a month

Toki has the clear advantage at this stage. It's free plan includes VIP tiers and POS, so you can build a more advanced loyalty program without adding a monthly software cost.

Joy's free Starter plan covers up to 250 orders, but VIP tiers and POS require moving to a paid plan.

Verdict: Toki. If you're under 1,000 orders and want VIP tiers and POS without a monthly fee, Toki gives you more upfront value.

Around 3,000 orders a month

At 3,000 orders, Joy's Advanced plan plus overage comes to roughly $229 a month. Toki's Growth plan costs $299.

The difference is not just about saving $70. As your order volume grows, keeping your loyalty costs lower leaves more budget for customer acquisition, retention, and other tools.

Verdict: Joy. You get a lower monthly cost at this volume, with the gap becoming more meaningful as you scale.

Around 5,000 orders a month

Joy comes to roughly $429 a month at 5,000 orders, compared with $599 for Toki.

At this stage, the pricing model starts to matter more. A growing store can generate thousands of additional orders without seeing loyalty costs rise at the same rate.

Verdict: Joy. The lower cost gives you more room to invest the savings back into growth.

7,000 orders a month and beyond

Joy's Ultimate plan is $499 a month at 7,000 orders. Toki's Power plan plus its per-order overage comes to roughly $899 at the same volume.

The gap is now large enough to materially affect your monthly operating costs. Joy also provides a published price at this level, making it easier to forecast the cost of loyalty as you grow.

Verdict: Joy. Toki is more generous when you're starting out, but Joy becomes the stronger value once your order volume reaches higher levels.

The full price ladder

Joy pricing:

• Starter: Free (250 orders/mo)
• Essential: $29/month (500 orders/mo)
• Advanced: $129/month (2,000 orders/mo)
• Ultimate: $499/month (7,000 orders/mo)

Toki pricing:

• Free: $0/month (1,000 orders/mo, then $0.15/order)
• Pay as You Go: $49/month (1,000 orders/mo included, then $0.15/order)
• Growth: $299/month (3,000 orders/mo, then $0.15/order)
• Power: $599/month (5,000 orders/mo, then $0.15/order)
• Enterprise: custom pricing

Which one fits where you're headed

The best choice depends on where your store is today and what you need as it grows. Toki gives you more advanced features upfront, while Joy becomes more attractive when you need more room to scale.

Choose Joy if you're:

• Growing beyond the early stage and want loyalty costs to become more efficient as your order volume rises
• Want more ways to connect loyalty with your existing tools and customer journey
• Need deeper control over referrals, VIP tiers, social engagement, or custom integrations

Choose Toki if you're:

• Still at a lower order volume and want VIP tiers and POS without adding a monthly loyalty cost
• Want the largest published selection of earning activities
• Prefer getting more advanced loyalty features upfront, even if costs rise faster as your store scales

Joy vs. Toki: Which fits your store?

Toki gives you more upfront, with VIP tiers and POS included for free. But as your order volume grows, Joy offers better value with lower overage costs, more integrations, and deeper loyalty controls.

If you're planning for long-term growth, try Joy free on Shopify and see if it gives you more value for your store.

Switching from Toki to Joy

Switching from Toki does not mean you have to rebuild your loyalty program on your own. Joy's migration team can help map your existing points, tiers, and referral data and migrate the program to Joy.

Joy does not currently have a dedicated Toki migration guide, but its team provides personalized support for Shopify apps without an existing guide.

You can learn more about the process on Joy's migration page or contact Joy's support team to discuss your Toki setup.

Frequently asked questions