Merchant Guard: GMC Risk vs Payout Guard: Suspension Risk
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 13, 2026 for Merchant Guard, Oct 14, 2026 for Payout Guard.
The short answer
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Merchant Guard and $29/month for Payout Guard.
- Payout Guard lists 2 features Merchant Guard’s listing doesn’t mention, including Analytics dashboard, Product warnings.
Head to head
Free
- · 0–100 score, grade and 4 pillars
- · 3 full risk scans every 30 days
- · Monthly auto re-check, email on change
- · Prioritized fix list
- · Read-only — no customer data
- · Reconsideration outline if suspended
Pro
- · AI flags misleading product claims
- · AI rewrites thin product descriptions
- · Email alert on new risks or score drops
- · Everything in the Free plan
- · Monitoring auto-on when you subscribe
- · Never touches customer data
Free
- · 3 full checks every 30 days
- · Chargeback rate and risk grade
- · Chargeback time-to-threshold forecast
- · Prioritized fixes and appeal outline
- · Prohibited-product (AUP) rule scan
- · Real Shopify Payments health checks
Pro
- · AI flags claims a keyword list misses
- · Automatic weekly re-checks
- · Everything in the Free plan
- · Unlimited health checks
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureGoogle can suspend your Merchant Center account — killing your Shopping ads and free listings — over a vague "Misrepresentation" flag. Merchant Guard scans your store the way Google's reviewers do and scores your risk across four pillars: prohibited products, product data, store policies and trust signals. You get a 0–100 score, what Google flags and the exact fix, plus a reconsideration outline if suspended.
Shopify can hold your payouts or close your store with little warning, and it never warns you first. Payout Guard scores your account-health risk: your chargeback rate versus the threshold that triggers holds, your refund rate, and your catalog checked against Shopify's prohibited and restricted product rules.
- Get a 0–100 Merchant Center compliance score across four risk pillars
- Catch prohibited products before they get your Google account suspended
- Find product-data, price and availability gaps that get items disapproved
- Check contact info and policies — top "Misrepresentation" triggers
- Get a 0-100 account-health score across the signals Shopify watches
- Track your chargeback rate against the threshold that triggers holds
- Scan your catalog against Shopify's prohibited and restricted rules
- Get prioritized fixes, plus appeal guidance if you're already flagged
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 |  Merchant Guard |  Payout Guard |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Merchant Guard | Payout Guard |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Merchant Guard | Payout Guard |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $29/month | $29/month |
| Longest free trial | 7 days | 7 days |
| Plans listed | 2 | 2 |
Listing
| Measure | Merchant Guard | Payout Guard |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #170(ahead) | #342 |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Jun 8, 2026 | May 28, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Wigley Studios LLC | Wigley Studios LLC |
FAQ
Merchant Guard and Payout Guard: common questions
- Is Merchant Guard or Payout Guard cheaper?
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Merchant Guard and $29/month for Payout Guard. 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?
- Payout Guard lists 2 the others don’t mention, such as Analytics dashboard, Product warnings. 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 13, 2026 for Merchant Guard, Oct 14, 2026 for Payout Guard; 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 13, 2026 for Merchant Guard, Oct 14, 2026 for Payout Guard. 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.