Essential Preorder & Presale vs EZ PreOrder: Presale Managerfor Shopify (2026)
Essential Preorder & Presale and EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager are both Shopify apps designed to facilitate pre-orders, presales, and back-in-stock notifications. Essential Preorder & Presale positions itself as a more robust and customizable solution, geared towards both DTC and B2B businesses, with a focus on detailed control over inventory, fulfillment, and extensive customization options for widgets and email notifications. It boasts a significantly higher rating (4.9/5) and a much larger number of reviews (466) compared to EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager. EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager, on the other hand, appears to be a simpler, more streamlined solution that emphasizes ease of use and focuses primarily on core functionalities such as accepting pre-orders, offering partial payments and discounts, and enabling back-in-stock notifications. While it offers similar core features, the lower rating (4.1/5) and fewer reviews (81) suggest potential areas for improvement in user satisfaction or feature depth compared to its competitor. Both apps allow for partial payments and back-in-stock notifications, but Essential Preorder & Presale mentions more granular control over payment schedules and offers 24/7 human support. Essential Preorder & Presale explicitly highlights its suitability for made-to-order products and integrates with quick buy pages, suggesting a broader range of use cases and a deeper integration into the storefront experience. EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager focuses more on initial product launches and gauging demand, leaning towards merchants primarily seeking to validate new product ideas or manage initial inventory levels.
At a Glance
Essential Preorder & Presale
466 reviews
EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager
81 reviews
Detailed Overview
Essential Preorder & Presale
Run pre-orders, presale with partial payments. Capture out-of-stock demand with back in stock alerts
Key Features
- Run preorders, backorders on out of stock, coming soon, made to order products
- Fully customise Preorder Now button: product, collections, search, Quick Buy
- Partial payments: deposits, deferred payment, due date & split payment schedules
- Show a Notify me button and out of stock alert form to capture restock demand
- Send automatic back in stock email notifications when items are restocked
EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager
Start accepting preorders now on any product! Or enable notify me when back in stock restock alerts.
Key Features
- Keep selling when out of stock or accept presales for future unreleased products
- Preorder email notifications sent to all customers that buy a preorder product
- Give a discount or a free gift with preorder products to attract more buyers
- Accept partial payments or a deposit for preorder products to get more presales
- Enable notify me when back in stock restock alerts for out of stock products
Feature Comparison
| Rating | 4.9/5 | 4.1/5 |
Rating Essential Preorder & Presale4.9/5 EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager4.1/5 | ||
| Reviews | 466 | 81 |
Reviews Essential Preorder & Presale466 EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager81 | ||
| Customization | Highly Customizable widgets & Emails | Basic Customization (implicit) |
Customization Essential Preorder & PresaleHighly Customizable widgets & Emails EZ PreOrder: Presale ManagerBasic Customization (implicit) | ||
| Payment Options | Full, Partial, Split Payment, Deposit with Schedule | Partial Payments & Deposit |
Payment Options Essential Preorder & PresaleFull, Partial, Split Payment, Deposit with Schedule EZ PreOrder: Presale ManagerPartial Payments & Deposit | ||
| Support | 24/7 Human Support | Not Specified |
Support Essential Preorder & Presale24/7 Human Support EZ PreOrder: Presale ManagerNot Specified | ||
| Target Merchant | DTC & B2B | General Shopify Merchants |
Target Merchant Essential Preorder & PresaleDTC & B2B EZ PreOrder: Presale ManagerGeneral Shopify Merchants | ||
| Inventory Control | Preorder Inventory Control | Not Specified |
Inventory Control Essential Preorder & PresalePreorder Inventory Control EZ PreOrder: Presale ManagerNot Specified | ||
| Integration | Product, Collections, Search, Quick Buy Pages | Any Product |
Integration Essential Preorder & PresaleProduct, Collections, Search, Quick Buy Pages EZ PreOrder: Presale ManagerAny Product | ||
Our Verdict
For merchants seeking a robust, highly customizable, and well-supported pre-order and back-in-stock solution, particularly those operating in B2B or managing made-to-order products, Essential Preorder & Presale is the superior choice. Its higher rating, extensive feature set, and dedicated support team justify a potentially higher price point.
However, if a merchant needs a simple, easy-to-use solution for basic pre-order and back-in-stock functionality, especially for product launches and gauging demand, and is less concerned with extensive customization or advanced features, EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager could be a more cost-effective option. The lower rating should be considered, but if the core functionalities meet the merchant's needs, it can serve as a viable entry-level solution.
Common Questions
Which app offers more granular control over payment schedules?
Essential Preorder & Presale offers more granular control over payment schedules, explicitly mentioning split payments and due dates.
Which app is better for B2B preorders?
Essential Preorder & Presale explicitly targets B2B businesses, making it a more suitable option for B2B preorders.
Does either app offer free gifts with preorders?
EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager explicitly mentions the option to give a free gift with preorder products.
Which app has better customer support?
Essential Preorder & Presale offers 24/7 human support, while EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager does not explicitly specify its support options.
Is one app easier to use than the other?
EZ PreOrder: Presale Manager positions itself as easier to use, suggesting a simpler interface and fewer features than Essential Preorder & Presale.
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