Refund Requests & Approvals vs ReturnGuard AI
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 $9/month for ReturnGuard AI.
- ReturnGuard AI lists 6 features Refund Requests & Approvals’s listing doesn’t mention, including Analytics, Automated refunds, Manual refunds.
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
starter
- · Larger queue, returns/mo, email supp
growth
- · Playbooks, audit log, bulk actions, 30-d
scale
- · analytics, priority support, cust
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 AI helps merchants control refund risk before it hurts margin. Return requests from Shopify appear in one embedded queue with a clear risk score and plain-language reasons based on order value, payment status, fulfillment, and customer history. Your team can approve, send to review, or hold refunds in one click. Decisions are saved for audit and coaching. Optional playbooks automate repeat patterns.
- 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
- 1. Returns queue with risk scores tied to live Shopify Return records
- 2. One-click approve, review, or hold decisions with saved history
- 3. Explainable risk factors from order, payment, and customer signals
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 AI |
|---|---|---|
| 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 AI |
|---|---|---|
| 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 AI |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Not listed |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $29/month | $9/month(ahead) |
| Longest free trial | Not listed | 21 days |
| Plans listed | 2 | 3 |
Listing
| Measure | Refund Requests & Approvals | ReturnGuard AI |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | Not enough data | #230 |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | No |
| Launched | May 5, 2026 | May 22, 2026 |
| Languages | 1 | 9 |
| Developer | Elevixa | DevFlow Solutions |
FAQ
Refund Requests & Approvals and ReturnGuard AI: common questions
- Is Refund Requests & Approvals or ReturnGuard AI cheaper?
- Only Refund Requests & Approvals lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $29/month for Refund Requests & Approvals and $9/month for ReturnGuard AI. 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 AI lists 6 the others don’t mention, such as Analytics, Automated refunds, Manual refunds, Multi-language. 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.