Alpha: Sale & Discount Manager vs Margin Defender: Block Coupons
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Nov 9, 2026.
The short answer
- Only Alpha lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $9.99/month for Alpha and $5.99/month for Margin Defender.
- Alpha lists 23 features Margin Defender’s listing doesn’t mention, including Analytics, Automations, Banners.
Head to head
- United States
- Australia
- Italy
Momentum
New reviews each month
Review pace is the clearest public read on how fast an app is winning new merchants.
Free
- · 1 active campaign at a time
- · 10 unique products/month
- · Auto add & revert discounted prices
- · Manual product/variant selection
- · Unlimited variants
Basic
- · 100 unique products/month
- · Advanced customer & product targeting
- · Auto add & revert discounted prices
- · Coupons & volume discounts
- · Exclude sale items from discount codes
- · Unlimited discount campaigns
Pro
- · 500 unique products/month
- · Advanced customer & product targeting
- · Auto add & revert discounted prices
- · Coupons & volume discounts
- · Exclude sale items from discount codes
- · Unlimited discount campaigns
Ultimate
- · Advanced customer & product targeting
- · Auto add & revert discounted prices
- · Coupons & volume discounts
- · Discount code blocking rules
- · Exclude sale items from discount codes
- · Sale prices for fixed-price markets
Product Protection
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureOne app for sale prices, coupons, automatic discounts and volume discounts. Set discount prices in bulk, show compare-at prices crossed out at checkout. Run a flash sale, scheduled sale or recurring sale with start & end dates; regular prices are restored when it ends. Add quantity discounts with a tiered pricing table on product pages.
Ever run a 20% off Black Friday sale, only to realise a customer used it on a premium product with a 10% margin? Margin Defender is your failsafe! Margin Defender prevents you from accidentally discounting premium items that should never be on sale. Simply tag specific products as "protected," and this app will block checkout if any discount code is applied while those items are in the cart.
- Promote your sales with customizable announcement bars
- Show customers their savings in the cart
- Apply discounts for multiple products automatically and roll them back when need
- Set up a single launch or recurring discount schedule
- Exclude specific products from store-wide sales so you never sell at a loss
- Automatically block checkout if a protected item has a discount applied.
- Works seamlessly with both discount codes and automatic promotions.
- Failsafe design ensures checkout always works, even if validation times out.
All the numbers
Every figure, side by side
A green dot marks the app ahead on a measured figure. Estimates, gaps and apps that leave no storefront trace never take the lead.
Adoption
| Measure |  Alpha |  Margin Defender |
|---|---|---|
| Detected stores | 1,132 | Not published |
| Net store change, 28 days | −10 | 0 |
| Stores added, 28 days | 38 | Not enough data |
| Big-brand share | 14% | Not enough data |
| Top store categories | Apparel & Accessories, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty | Not published |
| Top store countries | United States, Australia, Italy | Not published |
Reviews
| Measure | Alpha | Margin Defender |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | 4.9 ★ | Not published |
| App Store reviews | 312 | Not published |
| New reviews, 28 days | 2 | Not enough data |
| Reviewers a year or more in | 31% | Not enough data |
Pricing
| Measure | Alpha | Margin Defender |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Not listed |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $9.99/month | $5.99/month(ahead) |
| Longest free trial | 3 days | 7 days |
| Plans listed | 4 | 1 |
Listing
| Measure | Alpha | Margin Defender |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #31(ahead) | #757 |
| Shopify App Charts | #17 in Discounts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | Yes | No |
| Launched | Nov 22, 2022 | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Languages | 4 | 1 |
| Developer | Alphalogic | CosModo |
FAQ
Alpha and Margin Defender: common questions
- Is Alpha or Margin Defender cheaper?
- Only Alpha lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $9.99/month for Alpha and $5.99/month for Margin Defender. Shoplist compares base prices only between monthly plans in the same currency; usage charges and annual plans vary, so check each plan’s limits.
- What features does each app list that the other doesn’t?
- Alpha lists 23 the others don’t mention, such as Analytics, Automations, Banners, Bulk editing. A feature missing from a listing may still be supported; this compares what each App Store listing says.
- Where does this comparison’s data come from?
- Shoplist crawls Shopify storefronts to detect which apps each store runs, and reads each app’s Shopify App Store listing for reviews, pricing, features and integrations. Store counts are as of Nov 9, 2026; estimated figures are labeled.
How Shoplist compares apps
Store counts come from Shoplist’s crawl of Shopify storefronts, which detects the apps each store runs; they are as of Nov 9, 2026. Reviews, ratings, plans, features and integrations come from each app’s Shopify App Store listing. 28-day figures are labeled when estimated, and a figure that is missing or estimated never decides who leads. Read the methodology.