Beacon Smart Banner vs Smart+ Announcement Bar
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 14, 2026 for Beacon Smart Banner, Oct 6, 2026 for Smart+ Announcement Bar.
The short answer
- Only Beacon Smart Banner lists a free plan.
- Beacon Smart Banner lists 7 features Smart+ Announcement Bar’s listing doesn’t mention, including Backgrounds, Behavior targeting, Campaign targeting.
Head to head
Free
- · 2 Active Banners limit at a time
- · Manual publish controls
- · Store-wide & Page-specific targeting
- · Text, button, emojis & countdown timers
Pro
- · Advanced Rules (Cart, Device, Location)
- · Customer History (Spend, Order)
- · Dynamic Text Variables (Cart, Location)
- · Everything included in Free, plus:
- · Only $19 for first 3 months
- · Smart Scheduling (Start/End dates)
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureBeacon helps you capture customer attention with highly customizable announcement banners. Without any coding, you can create smart banners that target specific products, cart contents, or customer tags. Highlight your sales events using live countdown timers and automated scheduling.
Smart Announcement Bar helps Shopify merchants share store promotions without editing theme code. Create simple, running, or rotating announcement bars with coupon codes, buttons, or text links. Place messages site-wide, on the cart page, or in the cart drawer to reach shoppers at checkout.
- Target banners by cart contents, specific products, or customer tags.
- Display live countdown timers to highlight your limited-time special offers.
- Automate your campaigns by scheduling specific start and end dates.
- Experience a premium, frictionless dashboard with drag-and-drop reordering.
- Global, cart page, and cart drawer announcement bars
- Simple, running, and rotating announcement bar styles
- Schedule bars and target pages or mobile devices
- Add coupon codes, buttons, and links to each bar
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 |  Beacon Smart Banner |  Smart+ Announcement Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Detected stores | Not published | Not published |
| Net store change, 28 days | 0 | 0 |
| Stores added, 28 days | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Big-brand share | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Top store categories | Not published | Not published |
| Top store countries | Not published | Not published |
Reviews
| Measure | Beacon Smart Banner | Smart+ Announcement Bar |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | Not published | Not published |
| App Store reviews | Not published | Not published |
| New reviews, 28 days | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Reviewers a year or more in | Not enough data | Not enough data |
Pricing
| Measure | Beacon Smart Banner | Smart+ Announcement Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Not listed |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $29/month | No monthly plan listed |
| Longest free trial | 30 days | Not listed |
| Plans listed | 2 | Not published |
Listing
| Measure | Beacon Smart Banner | Smart+ Announcement Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #296 | #227(ahead) |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Jun 10, 2026 | Jul 1, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Appublic | EcomEdge Partners |
FAQ
Beacon Smart Banner and Smart+ Announcement Bar: common questions
- Is Beacon Smart Banner or Smart+ Announcement Bar cheaper?
- Only Beacon Smart Banner lists a free plan. 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?
- Beacon Smart Banner lists 7 the others don’t mention, such as Backgrounds, Behavior targeting, Campaign targeting, Emojis. Smart+ Announcement Bar lists 6 the others don’t mention, such as Animations, Custom CSS, Free shipping, Multi-announcement. 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 Oct 14, 2026 for Beacon Smart Banner, Oct 6, 2026 for Smart+ Announcement Bar; 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 Oct 14, 2026 for Beacon Smart Banner, Oct 6, 2026 for Smart+ Announcement Bar. 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.