7 Best Shopify App Detectors
Knowing what apps a store runs tells you how they handle reviews, upsells, email, subscriptions, and more. We tested the best tools for detecting Shopify apps and ranked them by accuracy, depth, and value.
Detecting what apps a Shopify store uses is one of the fastest ways to understand their strategy. A store running Klaviyo, ReCharge, and Judge.me tells a very different story than one with no apps at all. For competitive research, this data reveals what tools are working in your niche. For prospecting, it helps you find stores that are missing a specific tool you sell, or stores that already use a complementary product. The challenge: most detection tools only check one store at a time, and accuracy varies wildly. We tested 7 tools to find which ones actually deliver. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see our guide on how to see what apps a Shopify store uses.
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7 Tools Compared
Pricing, features, and best use cases at a glance.
| # | Tool | Pricing | Best For | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | StoreInspectUS | Free tier, Pro from $49/mo | Teams needing to find stores by their app stack at scale | StoreInspect flips the typical app detection workflow. |
| 2 | Koala Inspector | Free plan, Pro from $17/mo | Quick individual store checks when browsing a Shopify site | Koala Inspector is the best Chrome extension for checking what apps a single Shopify store uses. |
| 3 | BuiltWith | Free lookups, paid from $295/mo | Enterprise tech research across all platforms, not just Shopify | BuiltWith is the granddaddy of technology detection. |
| 4 | Wappalyzer | Free extension, paid from $99/mo | Quick tech stack overview on any website, not just Shopify | Wappalyzer is a solid general-purpose technology detector. |
| 5 | WhatRuns | Free | Free quick checks when you need a fast answer | WhatRuns is the tool you install when you just need a quick, free answer about what technology a website uses. |
| 6 | NerdyData | From $50/mo | Developers searching for specific code patterns and script signatures | NerdyData is a power tool for a specific use case: finding websites by their source code. |
| 7 | PageFly Shopify App Detector | Free | One-off app lookups when you need a quick answer | PageFly's app detector is a handy free tool for one-off lookups. |
Each Tool Reviewed
Pros, cons, pricing, and who each tool is best for.
StoreInspect
OUR PICKSearchable database of 144K+ Shopify stores with 400+ detected apps
- 144K+ Shopify stores in a searchable database with 400+ apps detected per scan
- Search by app to find every store using a specific tool (e.g., find all stores running Klaviyo)
- Filter by app combinations: find stores using ReCharge but not Klaviyo, or any mix of apps
- Detects apps, themes, pixels, and traffic tiers together, giving full tech stack context
- 206K+ verified contacts attached to stores, so you can act on what you find immediately
- Free tier with 10 reveals/month to test data quality before paying
- Shopify only. No WooCommerce, Wix, or other platforms.
- No Chrome extension for on-page inspection of individual stores
- Database updates on a crawl cycle, so very recently installed apps may not appear instantly
- No product-level data or revenue estimates
Our verdict: StoreInspect flips the typical app detection workflow. Instead of visiting stores one by one and checking their apps, you search a database of 144K+ stores by app stack. Want every store running Bold Subscriptions but not ReCharge? That query takes seconds. Each store comes with verified contacts. For prospecting and competitive research at scale, this is the fastest path from question to answer.
Koala Inspector
The most popular Shopify Chrome extension with reliable app detection
- 250K+ users and the most battle-tested Shopify inspection extension available
- Solid app detection accuracy on individual stores with clear categorization
- Also detects themes, pixels, and best-selling products in the same scan
- Free plan covers core app detection features without time limits
- Fast, clean UI that loads results in seconds after clicking the extension
- One store at a time. No way to search for stores by app or do bulk lookups.
- Cannot reverse-search (e.g., find all stores using a specific app)
- No contact data for store owners
- CSV export and store tracking locked behind paid plans
- App detection limited to what's visible on the current page load
Our verdict: Koala Inspector is the best Chrome extension for checking what apps a single Shopify store uses. Click the icon, get results in seconds. The free plan genuinely works for core app detection. The limitation is that it only works one store at a time. If you need to find all stores using a specific app, or compare app stacks across hundreds of stores, you need a database tool alongside it.
BuiltWith
Enterprise technology profiling across millions of websites
- Tracks technology usage across the entire web, not just Shopify stores
- Historical data showing when technologies were added or removed
- Reverse lookups: find all sites using a specific technology
- Trusted by enterprise teams with years of data history
- Free individual lookups available for quick checks
- Not Shopify-specific. App detection lumps Shopify apps in with general web technologies.
- Paid plans start at $295/mo, making it expensive for Shopify-focused research
- Interface feels dated compared to modern tools
- Misses many Shopify-specific apps that only inject scripts in certain contexts
- No contact data included in standard plans
Our verdict: BuiltWith is the granddaddy of technology detection. It covers the entire web and has deep historical data. For Shopify app detection specifically, it's overkill and underprecise: it catches major technologies but misses many Shopify-native apps. At $295/mo for paid plans, it only makes sense if you need cross-platform technology research beyond Shopify.
Wappalyzer
Technology profiler detecting 1,000+ technologies on any website
- Detects 1,000+ technologies across all website platforms
- Free Chrome extension that works instantly on any page
- Clean, well-organized results grouped by category (analytics, marketing, CMS, etc.)
- API access available for programmatic lookups at scale
- Good at detecting general marketing and analytics tools (GA4, Hotjar, Segment)
- Not built for Shopify. Misses many Shopify-specific apps like Judge.me, ReCharge, or Bold.
- Categorization is generic (groups everything as 'web technologies' rather than Shopify app categories)
- Paid plans required for bulk lookups, API access, and lead lists
- No reverse search to find stores by specific Shopify apps
- Detection relies on client-side signatures, missing apps that load asynchronously
Our verdict: Wappalyzer is a solid general-purpose technology detector. Its free Chrome extension is genuinely useful for a quick check of any website's tech stack. For Shopify app detection specifically, it falls short: it catches platforms and analytics tools but misses most Shopify-native apps. Use it as a complement to a Shopify-focused tool, not a replacement.
WhatRuns
Free browser extension for quick technology detection on any site
- Completely free with no usage limits or sign-up required
- Simple one-click interface that shows results immediately
- Detects CMS, frameworks, analytics, fonts, and CDN providers
- Available for Chrome and Firefox
- Lightweight extension that doesn't slow down browsing
- Very limited Shopify app detection. Catches the platform but misses most individual apps.
- No database, no bulk lookups, no API access
- Results are shallow compared to Shopify-specific tools
- No historical data or change tracking
- No contact data or export features
Our verdict: WhatRuns is the tool you install when you just need a quick, free answer about what technology a website uses. It detects Shopify as a platform and catches major scripts, but don't expect it to identify specific Shopify apps. It's a good starting point for casual checks, but serious app detection requires a dedicated tool.
NerdyData
Source code search engine for finding websites by their code
- Search the source code of millions of websites by script URLs, code snippets, or HTML patterns
- Find every site loading a specific JavaScript file (useful for tracking app adoption)
- Unique approach that catches apps other tools miss by searching raw source code
- Can identify custom integrations and niche tools that standard detectors overlook
- Useful for market sizing: how many sites use a specific technology?
- Requires technical knowledge. You need to know what code patterns to search for.
- Not user-friendly for non-developers or quick store-by-store checks
- No pre-built Shopify app categories or organized detection results
- Index may not be fully up to date for all sites
- No contact data, no store profiles, no tech stack summaries
Our verdict: NerdyData is a power tool for a specific use case: finding websites by their source code. If you know the exact script URL that a Shopify app injects, you can find every store using it. This is great for market research and competitive analysis at a technical level. For day-to-day app detection, it's too manual. Best suited for developers and technical researchers.
PageFly Shopify App Detector
Free web-based Shopify app detection tool from the PageFly team
- Completely free with no account required
- Web-based: no extension to install, works in any browser
- Built specifically for Shopify stores (not a general tech detector)
- Simple interface: paste a URL, get results
- Made by PageFly, a well-known Shopify app developer
- Limited detection depth compared to dedicated tools
- No bulk lookups, no database, no search-by-app capability
- No historical data or change tracking
- Results are basic: app names without detailed categorization or context
- No contact data or export options
Our verdict: PageFly's app detector is a handy free tool for one-off lookups. Paste a Shopify store URL, get a list of detected apps. It does what it says with zero friction. The trade-off is depth: it catches common apps but may miss niche ones, and there's no way to search across stores or track changes. Good for a quick check, not for systematic research.
How We Tested and Ranked These Tools
We ran each tool against 40 Shopify stores where we already knew the exact app installations. We compared detection accuracy (did the tool find the apps we confirmed were installed?), coverage (how many apps can it detect?), and usability (how fast and easy is it to get results?). We also checked whether each tool supports bulk lookups or only works one store at a time. Tools are ranked by overall value for Shopify app detection.
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