Essential Upsell & Cross Sell vs MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsfor Shopify (2026)
Essential Upsell & Cross Sell positions itself as a comprehensive solution for boosting Average Order Value (AOV) through a variety of upsell and cross-sell techniques, focusing on ease of use and direct integration with product pages and the cart drawer. It heavily emphasizes frequently bought together (FBT) suggestions, related products, and post-purchase upsells. Its strength lies in its established user base and broad feature set aimed at quickly implementing common upsell strategies. MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons, on the other hand, concentrates primarily on advanced bundling strategies like "Build a Box" and "Mix & Match" options, empowering customers to create customized product combinations. It offers strong customization features, including volume discounts, free gifts based on spending, and visual cues like progress bars and badges to incentivize larger purchases. The primary difference lies in their core focus. Essential Upsell & Cross Sell excels at providing readily available upsell and cross-sell options that can be implemented with minimal configuration, targeting merchants seeking quick wins. MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons, conversely, targets merchants who want to offer sophisticated bundling experiences that give customers more control and are willing to invest in setting up complex rules and incentives. MW offers no-code setup for fast launch, while Essential Upsell uses automatic promotions.
At a Glance
Essential Upsell & Cross Sell
1,004 reviews
MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons
81 reviews
Detailed Overview
Essential Upsell & Cross Sell
One click upsell and cross sell. Show frequently bought together product upsell & related products.
Key Features
- Show frequently bought products (FBT), related products, product recommendations
- Post purchase upsell & cross sell: Product addons, bought together bundles
- Automatic discount promotions: Add discounts to upsell & "also bought" products
- Product page upsell: Add one click upsell & cross-sell products & BOGO bundles
- Cart upsell: Add upsell cart app, cross-sell & product add-ons to cart drawer
MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons
10+ bundle types: Mix and Match bundle builder, Build your own bundle (BYOB), Build a box, Add-ons.
Key Features
- Build a Box & Build your own bundle (BYOB) that shoppers love to buy
- Volume discounts by quantity or spend amount to grow AOV
- Free gifts by box size or by spend and quantity goals to encourage bigger carts
- Badges, progress bar, "unlock next" and low-stock messages to boos AOV
- 10+ bundle types: fixed bundles, BOGO/Buy X Get Y, quantity breaks, add‑ons
Feature Comparison
| Rating | 5/5 | 5/5 |
Rating Essential Upsell & Cross Sell5/5 MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons5/5 | ||
| Reviews | 1004 | 81 |
Reviews Essential Upsell & Cross Sell1004 MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons81 | ||
| Focus | General Upsell/Cross-sell | Advanced Bundling |
Focus Essential Upsell & Cross SellGeneral Upsell/Cross-sell MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsAdvanced Bundling | ||
| Key Upsell Strategy | Frequently Bought Together, Related Products | Build-a-Box, Mix & Match Bundles |
Key Upsell Strategy Essential Upsell & Cross SellFrequently Bought Together, Related Products MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsBuild-a-Box, Mix & Match Bundles | ||
| Customization Level | Moderate | High (Bundling Configuration) |
Customization Level Essential Upsell & Cross SellModerate MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsHigh (Bundling Configuration) | ||
| Target Merchant Type | Merchants seeking quick & easy upsell implementations | Merchants prioritizing advanced bundling experiences |
Target Merchant Type Essential Upsell & Cross SellMerchants seeking quick & easy upsell implementations MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsMerchants prioritizing advanced bundling experiences | ||
| Ease of Use | Likely Easier (Focus on FBT & related products) | Potentially More Complex (Bundling Logic) |
Ease of Use Essential Upsell & Cross SellLikely Easier (Focus on FBT & related products) MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsPotentially More Complex (Bundling Logic) | ||
| Value Proposition | Increase AOV with quick and easy upsell and cross-sell offers | Increase AOV by offering highly customizable bundle offers and volume discounts. |
Value Proposition Essential Upsell & Cross SellIncrease AOV with quick and easy upsell and cross-sell offers MW Product Bundles & Add‑onsIncrease AOV by offering highly customizable bundle offers and volume discounts. | ||
Our Verdict
For merchants prioritizing a simple and fast approach to increasing AOV through basic upsells like "frequently bought together" items and related product recommendations, Essential Upsell & Cross Sell is the clear choice. Its higher review count also suggests a more proven track record with a wider range of merchants. However, if a merchant wants to offer sophisticated and highly customizable bundling options, empowering customers to create their own product combinations with tiered discounts and incentives, MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons is the better option. It allows for advanced bundle types.
In scenarios where the primary goal is to quickly implement widely used upsell techniques, Essential Upsell & Cross Sell is preferable. Conversely, for merchants seeking a more strategic, customer-centric, and customizable bundling solution that gives shoppers more control over their purchases, MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons is the stronger recommendation, especially if they don't mind a potentially steeper learning curve.
Common Questions
Which app is easier to set up and use?
Based on the descriptions, Essential Upsell & Cross Sell likely offers a simpler setup due to its focus on standard upsell and cross-sell techniques. MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons may require more configuration to define the complex bundling rules and incentives.
Which app is better for showing 'Frequently Bought Together' items?
Essential Upsell & Cross Sell explicitly highlights 'Frequently Bought Together' (FBT) functionality as a core feature. While MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons includes FBT as one of its 10+ bundle types, Essential Upsell & Cross Sell seems to give more prominence to this functionality.
Which app is best for merchants with a diverse product catalog?
Both apps can support diverse product catalogs. However, MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons may offer a more flexible solution, since the merchant can offer product addons. Product addons can be used to help merchants create product options.
Which app is more suitable for offering volume discounts and incentives?
MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons is explicitly designed for offering volume discounts, free gifts, and progress bars to incentivize larger purchases. Essential Upsell & Cross Sell, while it offers discounts, doesn't focus as heavily on these volume-based incentives.
Can both apps handle post-purchase upsells?
Essential Upsell & Cross Sell specifically mentions 'post purchase upsell & cross sell' as a key feature, while MW Product Bundles & Add‑ons does not explicitly mention it. Therefore, if post-purchase upsells are critical, Essential Upsell & Cross Sell is the better choice.
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