Merchant Guard: GMC Risk vs ShieldKit: Google Merchant Fix
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 29, 2026 for ShieldKit.
The short answer
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Merchant Guard and $29/month for ShieldKit.
- Merchant Guard lists 3 features ShieldKit’s listing doesn’t mention, including Compliance reports, Policy management, Terms and conditions.
Head to head
Momentum
New reviews each month
Review pace is the clearest public read on how fast an app is winning new merchants.
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 store checks a month
- · Connect Google Merchant Center directly
- · See if Google can reach your store
- · See if Google may reject your prices
- · Step-by-step fixes for every issue
- · The exact page behind your worst problem
Monitoring
- · An email when a new problem appears
- · Everything in Free, unlimited checks
- · Find products Google may reject on price
- · See which products Google has flagged
- · Spot a mismatched name, address or phone
- · Your store checked every day
Recovery
- · Added to your store in one click
- · An appeal letter that lists your fixes
- · Everything in Monitoring
- · Missing policies written for you
- · The exact page behind every problem
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.
Google’s Misrepresentation notice rarely says which page is the problem. ShieldKit checks your policies, contact details, prices, fees and product pages, and shows how to fix each issue. Connect Merchant Center read-only to see Google’s own issues next to ours. Monitoring checks your store daily and emails you only when a problem is new or worse.
- 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
- Instantly scan your store for Google Merchant Center compliance issues.
- Get clear steps to fix Misrepresentation and Website Needs Improvement.
- Receive a policy template guide to secure your Google approvals.
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 |  ShieldKit |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ShieldKit |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | Not published | 3.5 ★ |
| App Store reviews | Not published | 2 |
| 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 | ShieldKit |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $29/month | $29/month |
| Longest free trial | 7 days | Not listed |
| Plans listed | 2 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | Merchant Guard | ShieldKit |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #170 | #130(ahead) |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | #10 on Pricing moves in Legal |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Jun 8, 2026 | Mar 26, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Wigley Studios LLC | Plucore |
FAQ
Merchant Guard and ShieldKit: common questions
- Is Merchant Guard or ShieldKit cheaper?
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Merchant Guard and $29/month for ShieldKit. 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?
- Merchant Guard lists 3 the others don’t mention, such as Compliance reports, Policy management, Terms and conditions. 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 29, 2026 for ShieldKit; 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 29, 2026 for ShieldKit. 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.