The short answer
If Shopify Inbox already answers your shoppers well, keep it. It is free, it is made by Shopify, its AI agent can look up orders for signed in customers today, and your team can reply from its desktop and phone apps. Consider Catchly if you want more control over what the AI may say: a promise guard, corrections that become store rules, a test chat that shows the source of every answer, and an email captured from any shopper without asking them to sign in.
At a glance
| Catchly | Shopify Inbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan with 50 AI conversations a month. Paid plans at $19, $49 and $129 a month, with no overage | Free. Its Shopify App Store listing shows no paid plans |
| Made by | Canuckt Synergy Solutions Inc., an independent developer | Shopify |
| AI answers from | Your products, collections, pages and policies, plus questions and answers you add. It does not search the web | Your catalog, inventory, policies, store content and knowledge base facts and files. Shopify says it may use cited web search for reviews and ratings of a product in your catalog |
| When the AI answers | On or off with one click, with handoff rules and business hours you set | All conversations, only when your staff is unavailable, or never |
| Shopper sign in | Never needed. Order status lookups once Shopify approves order access, using the order number and email | Shoppers who sign in with Shop get personalized replies. Order information is shared only after the shopper signs in |
| Shopper's email | You choose when the chat asks for one: after hours, at handoff or for a follow up. Leads go to your Shopify customers | Replies reach the shopper by email if they gave one or signed in. With no staff available, the agent shares your store's email address |
| Correcting the AI | Fix this answer turns one correction into a store rule. Blocked topics and a promise guard | Tone and service style settings, and rating chats to train the agent |
| Team apps | A web admin inside Shopify, with email and in admin alerts. No mobile app | A desktop app and phone apps for iOS and Android |
| Admin languages | English. The chat replies in the language the shopper writes in | Its listing shows many languages, French included. The agent replies in the language the customer uses |
Shopify's help center says the Inbox agent needs a store on the Basic, Grow, Advanced or Shopify Plus plan and new customer accounts. Stores on legacy customer accounts keep their chats with staff until they upgrade.
Where Shopify Inbox is the better choice
- It costs nothing. If budget is the deciding factor, start with Inbox. Catchly has a free plan too, but its AI conversations are capped at 50 a month.
- It is made by Shopify. Inbox connects to your catalog, inventory and policies without setup, and it can use what Shop knows about a signed in shopper to personalize replies.
- Order questions work today. Inbox shares order information with signed in customers. Catchly's order lookup waits for Shopify to approve its access to order details.
- Your team works from phones. Inbox has apps for desktop, iOS and Android. Catchly has a web admin and email alerts only.
- Proof from other merchants. Inbox has thousands of reviews on the Shopify App Store. Catchly is new and has no reviews yet.
- Your team prefers another language. The Inbox listing shows many admin languages. Catchly's admin is in English.
Where Catchly is different
- No sign in for anything. Any shopper can ask, and you choose when the chat asks for an email, so a question asked at midnight can still get a reply from you in the morning. Leads go to your Shopify customers, and marketing consent is an unticked box.
- Built to answer only from your store. When the answer is not in your products, pages or policies, Catchly says it is not sure and offers a person or takes an email. It does not search the web.
- A promise guard. Designed to stop the AI offering refunds, discounts or delivery dates your policies do not state, and to send those chats to you.
- Corrections that stick. Fix this answer turns one correction into a rule the chat follows from then on, and blocked topics keep it away from subjects you choose.
- A test chat with sources. Before you go live, every answer shows the store pages it came from.
- An AI visibility check. It lists the product details shoppers ask about that your product data is missing, so you know what to add in Shopify.
How to choose
Try Inbox first if you have not. It is free, and a week of real chats will show you what your shoppers ask. Then read those chats. If the answers are right and your shoppers are happy to sign in for order questions, you may not need anything else. If you find answers you wanted to correct, promises you would not have made, or shoppers who left without a way for you to reach them, those are the gaps Catchly is built to close. Compare both on your own store with the same ten hard questions before you decide.
If you are switching
- Install Catchly and let it read your products, pages and policies.
- Add the answers you rely on in Inbox to Catchly as questions and answers, or import a CSV file.
- Test the chat in your admin and check the sources under each reply.
- Turn off Online store chat in your theme's app embeds, then turn on Catchly, so shoppers see one chat. You can keep Inbox installed for its other uses.
Catchly is live on the Shopify App Store. Install Catchly or try the live demo.
Sources
Facts about Shopify Inbox come from these public Shopify pages, read on 19 October 2026. Features and plans may have changed since.
- Shopify Inbox on the Shopify App Store
- Shopify Inbox in the Shopify Help Center
- Assigning your Inbox agent to conversations
- Training your Inbox agent
- Configuring your Inbox agent persona
- Managing customer conversations
- Installing and accessing Shopify Inbox
Shopify and Shopify Inbox are trademarks of Shopify Inc. Catchly is an independent app and is not made or endorsed by Shopify.