Essential Preorder & Presale vs Stok: Notify Me Restock Alertfor Shopify (2026)
Essential Preorder & Presale and Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert both address the challenge of managing out-of-stock products and capturing demand, but they cater to different needs and merchant profiles. Essential Preorder & Presale is a comprehensive solution focusing on pre-orders, presales, and back-in-stock management, offering features like partial payments, customizable widgets, and order fulfillment rules. Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert, on the other hand, is primarily focused on building waitlists and sending restock notifications via multiple channels (Email, SMS, WhatsApp). This difference in scope defines their respective strengths. Essential Preorder & Presale's strength lies in its robust feature set for merchants needing to manage complex preorder scenarios, including partial payments and inventory control. It targets merchants dealing with 'coming soon' or 'made-to-order' products, as well as those running B2B preorders. Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert excels in its simplicity and multi-channel notification capabilities. It's aimed at merchants who want a quick and easy way to notify customers about restocks and recover lost sales, while also building their mailing list. Stok also explicitly includes price drop alerts, which is absent from the feature list of Essential Preorder.
At a Glance
Essential Preorder & Presale
466 reviews
Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert
88 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
Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert
Create waiting lists and recover lost sales via automatic restock notifications.
Key Features
- Price Drop & Back In Stock send Automatic notification via Email, SMS & WhatsApp
- Price Drop Alerts: Send price drop alerts to customers when product is on-sale
- Customise the template message, widget, and frequency of the notification
- Out of Stock Waitlist: Product analytic to know most in-demand products.
- Grow Mailing List: Sync to Customer list automatically for email marketing.
Feature Comparison
| Rating | 4.9/5 | 4.8/5 |
Rating Essential Preorder & Presale4.9/5 Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert4.8/5 | ||
| Reviews | 466 | 88 |
Reviews Essential Preorder & Presale466 Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert88 | ||
| Primary Focus | Preorders, Presales, Backorders with payment options | Restock Notifications & Waitlists |
Primary Focus Essential Preorder & PresalePreorders, Presales, Backorders with payment options Stok: Notify Me Restock AlertRestock Notifications & Waitlists | ||
| Payment Options | Partial payments, split payment schedules | None listed |
Payment Options Essential Preorder & PresalePartial payments, split payment schedules Stok: Notify Me Restock AlertNone listed | ||
| Notification Channels | Email, SMS, WhatsApp | |
Notification Channels Essential Preorder & PresaleEmail Stok: Notify Me Restock AlertEmail, SMS, WhatsApp | ||
| Customization | Highly customizable widgets and emails | Customizable messages, widget, and frequency |
Customization Essential Preorder & PresaleHighly customizable widgets and emails Stok: Notify Me Restock AlertCustomizable messages, widget, and frequency | ||
| Target Merchant | DTC & B2B merchants with complex preorder needs | Merchants needing a simple restock notification solution |
Target Merchant Essential Preorder & PresaleDTC & B2B merchants with complex preorder needs Stok: Notify Me Restock AlertMerchants needing a simple restock notification solution | ||
| Price Drop Alerts | Not Included | Included |
Price Drop Alerts Essential Preorder & PresaleNot Included Stok: Notify Me Restock AlertIncluded | ||
Our Verdict
For merchants requiring comprehensive pre-order and presale management with flexible payment options and advanced customization, Essential Preorder & Presale is the better choice. Its extensive feature set allows for intricate control over the entire pre-order process, although this may come with a steeper learning curve. Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert is ideal for merchants prioritizing a quick and easy solution for restock notifications across multiple channels. Its simplicity and ease of use make it a great option for those needing a straightforward way to recapture lost sales and grow their mailing list. Merchants looking for SMS and WhatsApp notifications should choose Stok.
Common Questions
Which app is easier to set up and use?
Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert appears to be easier to set up and use, with its focus on simplicity and a no-code UI. Essential Preorder & Presale offers more features, implying a potentially more complex setup process.
Does Essential Preorder & Presale support partial payments?
Yes, Essential Preorder & Presale supports partial payments, including deposits, deferred payments, and split payment schedules.
Can Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert be used to send SMS notifications?
Yes, Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert can send notifications via Email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
Which app is better for managing inventory for pre-orders?
Essential Preorder & Presale explicitly mentions features for controlling preorder inventory. Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert does not mention inventory management.
Does either app offer price drop notifications?
Stok: Notify Me Restock Alert includes price drop notifications, whereas Essential Preorder & Presale does not list this feature.
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