Hivebee AI vs MCPChats ‑ AI Spotlight Search
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Nov 8, 2026 for Hivebee AI, Oct 14, 2026 for MCPChats.
The short answer
- Only MCPChats lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $49/month for Hivebee AI and $19.99/month for MCPChats.
- Hivebee AI lists 8 features MCPChats’s listing doesn’t mention, including Autocomplete, Behavior insights, Conversion tracking.
Head to head
Momentum
New reviews each month
Review pace is the clearest public read on how fast an app is winning new merchants.
Freemium
- · 100 AI searches per month
- · Answers in English & German
- · Realtime search refinement
- · Standard AI — solid search results
- · Understands typos & vague queries
- · Widget & search bar integration
Premium
- · 300 AI searches per month
- · Advanced AI — smarter, more accurate
- · Advanced analytics & revenue insights
- · All languages supported
- · Everything in Freemium, plus:
- · Faster search responses
Business
- · 1000 AI searches per month
- · Custom widget and search bar
- · Dedicated Account Manager
- · Everything in Premium, plus:
Basic Search
- · AI-powered smart filters
- · Natural language product search
- · Real-time catalog search
- · Spotlight-style search overlay
- · Upto 100 searches
- · Zero setup — no indexing needed
Pro Search
- · Basic analytics dashboard
- · Everything in Free
- · Standard support
- · Upto 2250 searches
Enterprise Search
- · Custom branding options
- · Everything in Pro
- · Full analytics & search insights
- · Priority support
- · Priority support
- · Upto 10000 searches
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureHiveBee adds AI understanding to your store’s search. Shoppers type full sentences or partial details in any language, ask follow-up questions and get matching products, even with no exact match. Use it as a chat assistant, as an upgrade to your existing search bar, or both – installed via theme app extension, no code.
Your bad search is costing you sales. MCPChats replaces it with a floating Spotlight-style overlay where customers type what they want in plain language — "red dress under XX" — and see results instantly without leaving the page. AI based Smart filters refine results in one click. No catalog sync. No indexing. No setup.
- Conversational product discovery with follow-up queries.
- Context-aware sessions within a single search flow with fallback search.
- Automatic language detection and multilingual support!
- Intelligent AI based Spotlight-style floating search overlay
- Natural language queries — customers type what they want, not keywords
- Zero setup — no catalog sync, no indexing, works instantly on install
- AI based Smart filters like price, color, size, and availability within results
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 |  Hivebee AI |  MCPChats |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Hivebee AI | MCPChats |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | 5.0 ★ | Not published |
| App Store reviews | 12 | 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 | Hivebee AI | MCPChats |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Not listed | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $49/month | $19.99/month(ahead) |
| Longest free trial | Not listed | 3 days |
| Plans listed | 3 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | Hivebee AI | MCPChats |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #24(ahead) | #211 |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Feb 3, 2026 | May 1, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Rankskipper | MCPChats |
FAQ
Hivebee AI and MCPChats: common questions
- Is Hivebee AI or MCPChats cheaper?
- Only MCPChats lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $49/month for Hivebee AI and $19.99/month for MCPChats. 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?
- Hivebee AI lists 8 the others don’t mention, such as Autocomplete, Behavior insights, Conversion tracking, Custom CSS. MCPChats lists 4 the others don’t mention, such as Multi-filter, Real-time analytics, Search bar, Synonym groups. 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 8, 2026 for Hivebee AI, Oct 14, 2026 for MCPChats; 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 8, 2026 for Hivebee AI, Oct 14, 2026 for MCPChats. 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.