The operator data in this guide: 1,600 first-hand reviews of 563 Shopify apps from 380 operators in the app store research network. Use it to check what the people running an app actually think, once you've found it.

You've landed on a competitor's store and something on it works. The reviews look great, the upsell in the cart is smart, the popup actually got your email. The obvious question is which app is doing that.

There are three ways to find out, from a one-click extension to reading the page yourself. None of them sees everything, so this guide also covers what detectors miss and how to tell whether an app you've spotted is worth copying.

Quick answers

How do I see what apps a Shopify store is using? Install a free Shopify app detector extension such as Koala Inspector, open the store, and click the extension. To check by hand, open the page source and search for app names like "klaviyo", "judgeme" or "rebuy".

Is there a free Shopify app detector? Yes. Koala Inspector's app and theme detection is free, with no sign-up. General technology profilers like Wappalyzer and BuiltWith also identify Shopify apps, alongside the rest of a site's stack.

How do I find out which theme a Shopify store uses? Open the page source and search for "Shopify.theme". The schema_name shows the theme name and theme_store_id identifies it in the Shopify Theme Store.

Can a detector see every app a store has installed? No. Apps that run only in the admin, the warehouse or the checkout leave no trace on the storefront. Detectors can also flag apps that were uninstalled but left code behind.

Method 1: Use a Shopify app detector extension

The fastest route is a browser extension that reads the store's code for you. Open the store, click the extension, and it lists the apps and theme it recognizes.

• Koala Inspector is built for Shopify. Its store analysis, app detection and theme detection are free, with no sign-up. A $22-a-month Premium plan adds store tracking and more credits for ad research.

• Wappalyzer and BuiltWith are general technology profilers. They identify Shopify apps along with payment providers, analytics and hosting, and BuiltWith keeps history on how a site's stack has changed.

• Store Leads is aimed at sales teams. It tracks app install and uninstall history across stores, with a limited free tier and paid plans from $75 a month.

Two things to know before you trust the list. Detectors recognize only apps in their own database, so newer or niche apps can be missing. And because they read code, they can list apps a store has already removed. Run the store through two tools and treat what both agree on as the reliable answer.

Method 2: Check the page source yourself

You don't need an extension to do this, and checking by hand catches apps that detectors don't recognize. It takes about five minutes.

1. Open the right pages. Check the homepage, a product page and the cart. Review widgets and upsells often load only on product pages, and cart apps only in the cart.

2. View the source. Press Ctrl+U on Windows or Cmd+Option+U on a Mac in Chrome.

3. Search for app names. Press Ctrl+F or Cmd+F and try the names of apps you suspect, such as "klaviyo", "judgeme", "loox", "yotpo", "okendo", "gorgias", "rebuy" or "recharge". App names usually show up in script addresses, file names and HTML classes.

4. Check what loads afterwards. Some apps load after the page does. Open your browser's developer tools (F12), go to the Network tab, reload the page, and scan the list for app names.

5. Find the theme. In the page source, search for "Shopify.theme". The schema_name is the theme name. If theme_store_id is empty, it's likely a custom theme.

One change to expect: Shopify is phasing out the old script tags apps used to inject code, and they stop running on March 1, 2027. More apps now load through Shopify's app embed blocks instead of injecting scripts from their own domains. App names usually still appear in file names and classes, but searching by domain alone will miss more over time.

Method 3: Look for visible clues

Some apps announce themselves if you know where to look. This works on your phone too.

• Reviews: star widgets and review carousels often carry a "Powered by" credit or the app's styling.

• Chat: the chat bubble usually shows the provider's name in its footer.

• Loyalty: a floating rewards launcher in a corner of the page is often a loyalty app.

• Subscriptions: a "subscribe and save" option on product pages, and the customer portal it leads to.

• Email and SMS: sign up for the newsletter, then check the email's footer and sending details. Many email platforms leave a trace there.

• After purchase: if you order anyway, the tracking page and returns portal often run on the app's own domain.

Visible clues tell you what's on the page, but not always which app is behind it. Use them to decide what to search for in Method 2.

You're researching other stores' apps. App teams want to research yours. The tools you pick, keep or drop are exactly what Shopify app companies need to understand. They pay operators like you $50 to $500 per call for that view. Turn your stack decisions into paid conversations. Get paid to share your operator view →

What can't an app detector see?

More than most people expect. Detectors read what loads in a shopper's browser, so anything that runs elsewhere is invisible.

• Admin and back-office apps. Inventory, ERP, accounting, automation and shipping apps usually leave no storefront trace. Three of the 15 most-reviewed apps in our database, Matrixify, ShipStation and Shopify Flow, fall in this group. No detector will find them.

• Checkout-only apps. Customizations that run inside Shopify's checkout don't show up on the storefront pages you can inspect.

• Sandboxed pixels. Tracking pixels added through Shopify's customer events run in a separate sandbox, so they're easy to miss in the page source.

• Leftover code. Uninstalled apps often leave code in the theme, so a detector can list an app the store no longer uses.

• Installed but unused. A detected app may be switched on but barely used. The code can't tell you how much the team relies on it.

So treat a detector's list as a starting point. It shows part of a store's front end, not the whole stack.

Found the app. Is it any good?

Spotting an app tells you it's installed. It doesn't tell you whether the team running it is happy. In our data, plenty of widely used apps have operators who are lukewarm but haven't switched.

Here are the storefront apps operators in our network review most, how to spot each one, and what the people running them say. The ASR rating shows the share very satisfied, the number of reviews, and the share still using the app.

Look at Smile: every operator in our sample still uses it, but only about half are very satisfied. Or Tidio, where four of the ten operators who reviewed it have stopped using it. The app on your competitor's store might be one its team is quietly planning to replace.

For head-to-heads in the busiest categories, see Judge.me vs Loox vs Yotpo, Klaviyo vs Omnisend vs Mailchimp and Gorgias vs Zendesk. Or browse every app in our Shopify App Reviews hub.

Should you copy a competitor's app stack?

Use it as a shortlist, not a shopping list. A store's stack reflects its size, its team and the problems it had when it chose each tool. An app that suits a brand with a dedicated retention team can be overkill for a two-person store.

The better question is whether the app solved the same problem for stores like yours. That's what operator reviews are for. Before you install anything you found this way, check what operators running it say, and check what it would add to your monthly bill. Our Shopify app stack audit walks through that second part.

Building lead lists from app detector data? Talk to the operators instead. Detectors tell you who installed a competitor's app. They don't tell you why, or whether the team is about to switch. App teams use app store research for competitive research and switching analysis and sales discovery and pipeline creation, with vetted Shopify operators who fit their ICP. Talk to qualified merchants →

FAQ

Is it okay to check which apps another store uses? Yes. Detectors and the page source only read code the store already sends to every visitor's browser. Nothing here involves access to the store's admin.

How accurate are Shopify app detectors? Reasonably good for popular storefront apps, weaker for new or niche ones. They can also list apps a store has uninstalled. Cross-check two tools, or confirm in the page source.

Can a store hide which apps it uses? Partly. Custom code, removed branding and apps that load in sandboxes are harder to spot. But most storefront apps have to load code in the shopper's browser, so they're rarely fully hidden.

Can I see which apps a store uses on mobile? Visible clues work on any device. Extensions and the page source are much easier on a desktop browser.

Can I see a store's sales or traffic too? Some tools offer estimates, and Koala Inspector labels its traffic and sales figures as modeled estimates. Treat them as rough signals, not real numbers.

Operator ratings are from verified reviews collected inside the app store research network, January 2024 to July 2026. Tool features and pricing are from each vendor's site or published listings, retrieved October 2026, and change often. The script tag deadline is from Shopify's developer changelog.