Refund Requests & Approvals vs ReturnGuard: Fraud Protection
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 13, 2026.
The short answer
- Only Refund Requests & Approvals lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Refund Requests & Approvals and $49/month for ReturnGuard.
- ReturnGuard lists 4 features Refund Requests & Approvals’s listing doesn’t mention, including Analytics, Customer blocklists, Email notifications.
Head to head
Review
- · Basic approval workflow
- · Central inbox for manual refund review
- · Manually create refund review requests
- · Per-case audit trail
- · Record decisions and notes
Starter
- · Automatic refund event detection
- · Incident inbox for refund activity
- · Monitor and alert guard modes
- · Slack and email notifications
- · Staff refund activity visibility
- · Threshold-based refund policy detection
ESSENTIAL
- · Automated order tagging
- · Prior bank dispute alerts
- · Real-time risk scoring
- · Standard email support
- · Up to 1,000 orders/month
SCALE
- · All Essential features
- · High-volume order processing
- · Priority technical support
- · Up to 5,000 orders/month
PLUS
- · All Scale features
- · Concierge setup & onboarding
- · Custom risk threshold adjustments
- · Up to 10,000 orders/month
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureRefund Guard helps you control risky refunds before money leaves so money does not quietly leave your business. It lets you set rules such as requiring manager approval over a chosen threshold, and routes staff requests to an approvals queue. Get instant Slack or email alerts, review exceptions in an incidents inbox, and keep an audit trail of who requested, approved, and executed each refund.
ReturnGuard helps merchants prevent chargebacks and friendly fraud by analyzing orders before fulfillment. Instead of blind IP blocks, our system evaluates historical return behavior and past disputes to identify high-risk buyers. We automatically tag toxic orders and serial returners in your dashboard and send instant email alerts.
- Approve refunds over a threshold (request → approve → execute)
- Incidents inbox for refunds that violate your policy
- Instant Slack/email alerts with staff + order context
- Audit log: requester, approver, timestamps, notes
- Real-time risk scoring for every order based on historical return behavior.
- Automated detection of past bank disputes to prevent "friendly fraud" patterns.
- Instant order tagging in Shopify Admin for visual risk identification.
- Priority email alerts for risky orders to stop losses before shipment.
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 |  Refund Requests & Approvals |  ReturnGuard |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Refund Requests & Approvals | ReturnGuard |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Refund Requests & Approvals | ReturnGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Not listed |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $29/month(ahead) | $49/month |
| Longest free trial | Not listed | 14 days |
| Plans listed | 2 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | Refund Requests & Approvals | ReturnGuard |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | May 5, 2026 | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 1 |
| Developer | Elevixa | ReturnGuard Labs |
FAQ
Refund Requests & Approvals and ReturnGuard: common questions
- Is Refund Requests & Approvals or ReturnGuard cheaper?
- Only Refund Requests & Approvals lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Refund Requests & Approvals and $49/month for ReturnGuard. 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?
- ReturnGuard lists 4 the others don’t mention, such as Analytics, Customer blocklists, Email notifications, Non-returnable items. 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; 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. 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.