Free, Basic or Advanced? How to Pick the Right AC – Reviews & Ratings Plan for Your Shopify Store
Demo store, reviews and figures shown for illustration.
Install AC ‑ Reviews & Ratings Now
Reviews Build Trust. The Right Plan Keeps Them Working.
Most Shopify merchants choose a reviews app by features, then discover the real question later: how much of it will I actually use?
That matters more now that AC – Reviews & Ratings does more than collect stars. It can reply to new reviews automatically with AI, summarize them so shoppers can decide at a glance, translate them into each shopper's language and help customers turn a few quick notes into a complete review. Those AI features come with monthly allowances that grow with each plan.
This guide skips the feature tour (our AI features announcement covers that) and answers a practical question: which plan fits the volume of reviews your store really gets?
What You Get on Every Plan
Whatever plan you choose, the foundation is the same: real feedback from real customers, shown where shoppers make decisions.
- Authentic reviews and star ratings collected from customers and displayed on your store
- Photo reviews, voting, top reviews, review highlights and review summaries as display options
- Pop-ups, forms and import/export for collecting and moving reviews
- A customizable review display so the widget matches your store
- Support for 10 languages: Dutch, English, Italian, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), French, Spanish, German and Polish
Social proof is the reason to have a reviews app at all, so none of the plans lock you out of the basics.
Collect and Manage Reviews Without the Busywork
The merchant-side dashboard is where review volume turns into either a quick routine or a growing to-do list. You can see pending and published reviews, import or export reviews and respond from one place.
Demo store, reviews and figures shown for illustration.
On the Free plan, new reviews go through manual approval. On Basic and Advanced you can auto-publish reviews, which is what saves time once the volume picks up.
The Plans Side by Side
We checked the Shopify App Store listing for the current plans. Billing is in USD, with recurring charges every 30 days.
| Free | Basic | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $1.99/month or $19.99/year | $4.99/month or $49.99/year |
| Free trial | None listed | 7 days | 7 days |
| Reviews & ratings | 25 per month | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| AI auto-replies | 25 total | 100 per month | 500 per month |
| AI review writer | 25 total | 100 per month | 500 per month |
| AI review summaries | 50 total | 150 per month | 500 per month |
| AI review translation | 100 total | 500 per month | 5,000 per month |
| Review approval | Manual | Auto-publish option | Auto-publish option |
| Extras | Email updates for new reviews, import/export | Buyer verification, logged-in-customer-only reviews | Customizable review form fields, like/dislike/report button, customizable email templates |
Annual billing works out around 16% cheaper on Basic and 17% cheaper on Advanced than paying monthly.
One detail worth noticing: the Free plan's AI limits are listed as totals, while Basic and Advanced are monthly allowances. In practice that makes Free a good way to try each AI feature, and the paid plans the right home for ongoing use.
Three Store Profiles, Three Answers
The numbers below are simple examples to show how to think about it, not predictions for your store. They assume you reply to every review and that each review translated into one language counts as one translation. Check how usage is counted in the app to confirm for your own setup.
The just-launched store: about 20 reviews a month. That fits within the Free plan's 25 reviews per month and 20 replies is within the 25 total auto-replies. It is a good place to start and see what AI replies and summaries feel like. Because the AI limits are totals rather than monthly, plan to move up once you have used them.
The growing store: about 60 reviews a month, shown in 3 languages. This store has already outgrown Free's 25 reviews a month. On Basic, there are unlimited reviews, 100 AI replies a month covers all 60, and 60 reviews in 3 languages is 180 translations, well inside the 500 allowance. Auto-publish and buyer verification help keep the workflow light.
The busy international store: about 300 reviews a month, shown in 4 languages. Replying to all 300 reviews is more than Basic's 100 replies and 300 reviews in 4 languages is 1,200 translations, more than Basic's 500. Advanced's 500 replies and 5,000 translations fit comfortably and the custom form fields, email templates and like/dislike/report button give more control at scale.
If you are between two profiles, start on the lower plan. Both paid plans include a 7-day free trial, so you can check your real usage before committing.
Show Reviews the Way Your Store Looks
Whatever plan you are on, the review widget can be customized to match your store, from the layout to how ratings, photos, highlights and summaries appear.
Demo store, reviews and figures shown for illustration.
A good display setup does most of the persuading before a shopper reads a single review: a clear average rating, an AI summary for people in a hurry, a few top reviews with photos and translated feedback for visitors who read another language.
A Simple 20-Minute Setup Plan
- Install the app and start on Free or a trial. There is no need to decide the plan first.
- Set up how you collect reviews: pop-ups, forms or importing reviews you already have.
- Choose your display options: star ratings, photo reviews, highlights, summaries and voting.
- Turn on the AI features you want: replies, summaries and translation.
- Check the dashboard after a week and compare your real usage with the table above.
- Move up a plan only when you need to, because upgrades are driven by volume, not by guesswork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free plan? Yes. The Free plan includes 25 reviews and ratings per month plus limited AI usage so you can try the features.
Do the paid plans have a free trial? Yes. Basic and Advanced both list a 7-day free trial.
What happens to AI features on the Free plan? They are included with usage limits (listed as totals rather than monthly), so you can see how replies, summaries, translation and the AI review writer work.
Can reviews be translated for international shoppers? Yes. AI translation shows reviews in each shopper's language and the app supports 10 languages.
Does the AI write fake reviews? No. The AI review writer helps a customer turn a few quick notes into a complete review. The reviews on your store still come from your customers.
Can I customize how reviews look? Yes. You can customize the review display to match your store and the Advanced plan adds customizable review form fields and email templates.
Final Thoughts
The best reviews plan is the one that matches how many reviews your store really gets. Start small, watch your usage and let the numbers tell you when to upgrade.
Note: Plans and limits can change, so check the Shopify App Store listing for the latest details.
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