Smart Variants vs Color Swatch King: Variants
Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Oct 14, 2026 for Smart Variants, Nov 8, 2026 for Color Swatch King.
The short answer
- Only Color Swatch King lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $9.99/month for Smart Variants and $5/month for Color Swatch King.
- Color Swatch King lists 12 features Smart Variants’s listing doesn’t mention, including Checkboxes, Custom CSS, Dropdowns.
Head to head
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
Momentum
New reviews each month
Review pace is the clearest public read on how fast an app is winning new merchants.
Pro Monthly
- · 7-day free trial
- · Custom typography & badges
- · Priority email support
- · Tag & product-type filters
- · Unlimited products & collections
- · Unlimited variant splits
Pro Annual (Save 2
- · 20% off vs monthly billing
- · 7-day free trial
- · Equivalent to $7.99/month
- · Everything in Pro Monthly
- · One yearly Shopify charge
Free
- · Merchant Trial Stores
- · Shopify Partner Stores
- · Shopify Staff Stores
PAY AS YOU GROW
- · Pause & Build: $5/month
- · Shopify Advanced: $49.9/month
- · Shopify Basic: $14.9/month
- · Shopify Grow & Custom: $29.9/month
- · Shopify Plus: $99.9/month
Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.
See every featureMost themes hide variants behind dropdowns - shoppers don't see your colors or sizes until they click into each product. Smart Variants renders every variant as its own card directly in your collection grid. Split by any product option, filter by stock or sale state, and apply different rules per collection. Variant cards inherit your theme's styling automatically, so it works without theme code or designer time.
Your variant picker doesn't have to be a plain dropdown. Show every variant option as a color swatch, variant swatch or variant selector for each product variant, on product & collection pages. Show every variation of your product variants as one clean, easy swatch. Add a New badge, Sale badge & Sold-out badges, grey out out-of-stock combos & link a size chart. Bulk upload color swatches by CSV. See live analytics.
- Split products by any option - Color, Size, Material - on collection pages
- Different split rules for different collections, no theme code required
- Filter variants by stock, sale state, tags, or product type
- Theme-aware cards that match your existing product card design
- Combined Product Variations Listings for a Higher Converting Customer Experience
- Extensive library: Color Swatch, Buttons, Variants with Price, Dropdowns & more
- Show Variants on Collections Page. Add Sizes, Color Swatches on Collections Page
- Hide Out of Stock, Confirm Size Selection, Add 100+ Variants, Low Stock Alert...
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 |  Smart Variants |  Color Swatch King |
|---|---|---|
| Detected stores | Not published | 5,274 |
| Net store change, 28 days | 0 | −181 |
| Stores added, 28 days | Not enough data | 37 |
| Big-brand share | Not enough data | 19% |
| Top store categories | Not published | Apparel & Accessories, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty |
| Top store countries | Not published | United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands |
Reviews
| Measure | Smart Variants | Color Swatch King |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | Not published | 5.0 ★ |
| App Store reviews | Not published | 3,220 |
| New reviews, 28 days | Not enough data | 2 |
| Reviewers a year or more in | Not enough data | 16% |
Pricing
| Measure | Smart Variants | Color Swatch King |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Not listed | Yes |
| Lowest paid monthly plan | $9.99/month | $5/month(ahead) |
| Longest free trial | 7 days | 30 days |
| Plans listed | 2 | 2 |
Listing
| Measure | Smart Variants | Color Swatch King |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify category rank | #228 | Not enough data |
| Shopify App Charts | Not on this week’s charts | Not on this week’s charts |
| Built for Shopify | No | Yes |
| Launched | May 12, 2026 | Jul 23, 2019 |
| Languages | 1 | 11 |
| Developer | Mudevel | StarApps |
FAQ
Smart Variants and Color Swatch King: common questions
- Is Smart Variants or Color Swatch King cheaper?
- Only Color Swatch King lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $9.99/month for Smart Variants and $5/month for Color Swatch King. 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?
- Color Swatch King lists 12 the others don’t mention, such as Checkboxes, Custom CSS, Dropdowns, Hide out-of-stock. 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 14, 2026 for Smart Variants, Nov 8, 2026 for Color Swatch King; 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 14, 2026 for Smart Variants, Nov 8, 2026 for Color Swatch King. 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.