MerchLight: Store Health Check vs Surge Store Audit
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Nov 3, 2026 for MerchLight, Nov 4, 2026 for Surge Store Audit.
The short answer
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $17.99/month for MerchLight and $29/month for Surge Store Audit.
- MerchLight lists 3 features Surge Store Audit’s listing doesn’t mention, including Data export, Historical analysis, ROAS.
Head to head
Free
Basic
Pro
Free
- · Health score out of 100
- · Monthly store scan
- · Top 3 fixes
Growth
- · Email alerts when something breaks
- · Every fix, ranked
- · Scan again once an hour
- · Weekly store scans
Pro
- · Daily store scans
- · Email alerts when something breaks
- · Every fix, ranked
- · Scan again every 5 minutes
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureMerchLight checks your products, stock, orders, store speed, trust pages, Google Merchant Center and ads, and turns it all into one health score from 0 to 100. It flags sold-out best-sellers, missing sizes, thin descriptions, products with no measurements, weak photos, slow pages and what slows them, missing size guides, reviews or express checkout, Google disapprovals and ads below break-even.
Surge scans your storefront the way a shopper sees it and tells you what to fix first. You get a health score out of 100 and a ranked list of issues covering page speed, product pages, messaging, trust signals and navigation. Each issue comes with a plain-English explanation and clear steps to fix it. Surge keeps watching on a schedule and emails you when something important changes.
- One health score for your store, Google Shopping and your ads
- Issues ranked by sales at risk, each with step-by-step fixes
- Phone speed for 3 pages, with what slows each one down
- Trust pages, size guide and conversion boosters you're missing
- Health score out of 100 with fixes ranked by priority
- Plain-English how-to-fix steps for every issue
- Scheduled rescans and email alerts when something breaks
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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | 5.0 ★ | Not published |
| App Store reviews | 1 | 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $17.99/month(ahead) | $29/month |
| Longest free trial | 7 days | Not listed |
| Plans listed | 3 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | Oct 27, 2026 | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Languages | 6 | 1 |
| Developer | MerchLight | Surge Store Audit |
FAQ
MerchLight and Surge Store Audit: common questions
- Is MerchLight or Surge Store Audit cheaper?
- Both list a free plan. Paid plans start at $17.99/month for MerchLight and $29/month for Surge Store Audit. 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?
- MerchLight lists 3 the others don’t mention, such as Data export, Historical analysis, ROAS. Surge Store Audit lists 1 the others don’t mention, such as AI insights. 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 3, 2026 for MerchLight, Nov 4, 2026 for Surge Store Audit; 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 3, 2026 for MerchLight, Nov 4, 2026 for Surge Store Audit. 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.