Giftnote vs Govalo
Both send native Shopify gift cards straight to the recipient. Govalo takes a percentage of each gift card sale. Giftnote charges a flat $1, whatever the card is worth.
Govalo is a focused gift card app with custom designs and giftable subscriptions, and it suits brands that mainly need a gift card storefront. Giftnote suits brands that want gifting across the whole store: a flat fee per gift instead of a share of gift card revenue, delivery by SMS as well as email, gift messages on physical orders timed to delivery, and every recipient captured into Klaviyo and Attentive.
What merchants say
Brands running their gifting on Giftnote
“On the digital gift card side, Giftnote is a clear step up from what Shopify offers out of the box. The recipient experience is more polished, the messaging is customizable, and it just feels more intentional, like the gift was thought through rather than auto-generated.”
Grill Masters Club
Shopify App Store review
“Great app and amazing support! We've struggled a lot with finding a gift card app that integrates with our email platform and this was a huge win to find Giftnote!”
Three Bird Nest
Shopify App Store review
“Giftnote has been a fantastic addition to our Shopify store. Not only has our customer experience improved, but our gift card sales have increased as well.”
Faithfull the Brand
Shopify App Store review
What brands get with Giftnote gift cards
Gift cards with a flat fee per gift, and the rest of your gifting in the same app.
Email and SMS delivery- Send now or schedule for a date
- Multi-currency cards for Shopify Markets
Gift cards that go straight to the recipient
Gifters choose a design, write a message and pick a date. The gift card lands in the recipient's inbox or on their phone by SMS, branded to your store. On average, gift card recipients spend 30% more than the card value.
Native Shopify gift cards
Every card Giftnote issues is a real Shopify gift card, so it works in your Shopify checkout and stays valid even if you stop using the app. Cards are disabled automatically when an order is cancelled for fraud.
More than gift cards
The same app issues store credit in bulk, runs Gift Back cashback offers, sends gift messages on physical orders when they ship or arrive, and adds every recipient to Klaviyo or Attentive. On the Corporate Gifting plan, Multi Gift sends to up to 1,000 recipients in one checkout.
At a glance
How Giftnote and Govalo approach gifting on Shopify
Giftnote
$19/mo
- Native Shopify gift cards
- Scheduled delivery to the recipient
- SMS delivery
- Bulk issuing from a CSV
- Store credit
- Multi-currency gift cards for Shopify Markets
- Unused-balance reminder emails
- Gift card export and liability report
- Gift messages on physical product orders
- Message sent when the carrier confirms delivery (1,500+ carriers)
- Corporate multi-address orders
- Gift Back cashback offers
Govalo
$79/mo
- Native Shopify gift cards
- Scheduled delivery to the recipient
- SMS deliveryEmail only per App Store listing
- Bulk issuing from a CSV
- Store creditPremium plan and above
- Multi-currency gift cards for Shopify MarketsNot documented
- Unused-balance reminder emailsNot documented
- Gift card export and liability reportNot documented
- Gift messages on physical product ordersGiftable products; recipient enters address
- Message sent when the carrier confirms delivery (1,500+ carriers)Not documented
- Corporate multi-address ordersBulk gift cards only
- Gift Back cashback offersSpend-threshold gift card rewards
Simple pricing, a flat $1 per gift
Giftnote's Core Gifting plan compared with Govalo's Premium plan
Giftnote
Core Gifting
Govalo
Premium
Save $60/month with Giftnote
Works with the tools you already use
Giftnote connects with your Shopify stack, from email and SMS platforms to returns, reviews and fulfilment.
Sync every gift order and recipient into Klaviyo, then trigger branded email and SMS flows the moment a gift is placed, delivered, received or redeemed.
Giftnote's Yotpo Email integration has been retired. Send gift messages through Giftnote's own email builder, or through Klaviyo, Attentive, Iterable, Dotdigital or Ometria.
Embed Giftnote directly in your Rebuy Smart Cart experience. Offer gift options at checkout and drive additional revenue through personalized recommendations.
Let customers gift subscriptions and send personalised messages with every recurring order powered by Recharge.
Empower your support team with full Giftnote order context inside Gorgias so every gift-related ticket is resolved faster.
Power your SMS marketing with gift-related triggers. Send timely notifications when gifts are purchased, shipped, or delivered to recipients.
Collect reviews from gift recipients through Okendo after a Giftnote experience to build authentic social proof.
Handle gift returns cleanly through Loop — allow recipients to directly handle refunds, exchanges, and store credit flow to the right person.
Moving from Govalo to Giftnote
Onboarding is founder-led and free. You can keep your current setup running until Giftnote is tested and live.
Install Giftnote
Install from the Shopify App Store. The free Gift Audit plan shows what share of your orders are gifts. Upgrade to a paid plan when you're ready to send.
Set up with our team
Our team helps move your existing gift cards across, sets up branded Klaviyo emails and places the gift card form on your store.
Test and go live
Place a test order, check the gift message and recipient flows, then switch over when you're ready.
Frequently asked questions
Automated giftingPaperless & brandedNew revenue streamSee Giftnote with your own products
Book a demo and we'll walk through gifting and Multi Gift on your store. Or install Giftnote free and run a Gift Audit to see what share of your orders are already gifts.