Looking for a Rez alternative? It depends on whether you actually need pre-order, not just restock alerts. REZ Preorder, Back In Stock (5.0, 1,359 reviews) covers pre-order, backorder, and deposit collection alongside restock alerts, features Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini (4.7, 36 reviews, Premium from $8.99/month) doesn’t offer. If pre-order isn’t the job, and you want a focused back-in-stock waitlist with Shopify Flow, CSV export, and a custom email domain, Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini is the lighter, purpose-built option.
Worth knowing either way: Rez’s free plan recently tightened. An August 2026 App Store review flagged new usage-based charges above its free thresholds, so check current limits on both apps’ listings before assuming “free” means the same thing on each.
In this post:
- Why merchants look for a Rez alternative
- Comparison table: Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini vs. REZ Preorder, Back In Stock
- Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini: a focused waitlist app
- REZ Preorder, Back In Stock: the pick if pre-order is the job
- What Rez’s recent free-plan pricing change means for you
- How to choose: restock alerts vs. restock plus pre-order
- FAQ
Disclosure: I’m the founder of Minimate Apps, and Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini is one of the two apps in this comparison. Our BFS badge is still in progress, unlike Rez, which already has it. Every rating, review count, and price below comes from each app’s public Shopify App Store listing, pulled the week this post was written, so verify them directly before you decide.
Why Merchants Look for a Rez Alternative
Rez started as a back-in-stock and notify-me app and has grown into a broader pre-order platform: coming soon, backorders, made-to-order, deposits, and partial payments, on top of restock alerts. That range is exactly why some merchants search for a Rez alternative: they installed it for one job, restock notifications, and found themselves paying for a plan priced around a much bigger feature set.
Say you run a small apparel store and only need to email customers when a sold-out size comes back. You don’t take deposits, you don’t run made-to-order drops, and you don’t need partial payments. A Rez alternative built specifically for that one job, rather than pre-order plus restock plus deposits, is a reasonable thing to want.
Comparison Table: Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini vs. REZ Preorder, Back In Stock
| App | Rating | Reviews | Pricing | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini (us) | 4.7 | 36 | Free (1 product, 250 restock emails/mo), Premium $8.99/mo | A focused back-in-stock waitlist: Shopify Flow, CSV export, custom email domain, no pre-order setup to configure |
| REZ Preorder, Back In Stock | 5.0 | 1,359 | Free (20 preorders/mo, 30 emails/mo), Basic $4.99/mo, Growth $14.99/mo, Scale $28.99/mo | The full-featured pick if you also need pre-order, backorder, or deposit collection, not just restock alerts |
Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini: A Focused Waitlist App
Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini does one job: collect emails on sold-out product pages and send restock notifications automatically, through AWS SES or your own custom email domain. It includes a block-based email editor, Shopify Flow support, and CSV export on the Premium plan ($8.99/month). There’s no pre-order setup to configure, no deposit collection, and no backorder logic, because we don’t build that.
“This app is an absolute game-changer for my online store! It’s incredibly user-friendly and seamlessly integrates with my website. The notifications feature works like a charm, ensuring my customers are instantly alerted when their desired products are back in stock. This has significantly reduced missed sales opportunities and improved customer satisfaction.”
Source: LEFEET, Hong Kong SAR (Shopify App Store review)
REZ Preorder, Back In Stock: The Pick If Pre-Order Is the Job
Rez is rated 5.0 across 1,359 reviews, a far larger review base than ours, and it covers considerably more ground: preorders, backorders, made-to-order, product drops, presales, deposits, partial payments, and conversion analytics, in addition to restock alerts. We don’t build pre-order or deposit tooling, so this comparison states that plainly instead of stretching our positioning to cover a use case we don’t support. If deposits and backorders are what you actually need, Rez does that and we don’t.
Why does Rez cover so much more ground than a typical restock app? Because “back in stock” and “pre-order” solve adjacent but different problems, missed a sale versus not-yet-available, and Rez decided to build both into one app rather than staying narrow. That’s a legitimate product decision. It also means you’re paying for pre-order infrastructure even in months you only use the restock-alert half.
What Rez’s Recent Free-Plan Pricing Change Means for You
Rez’s free plan currently allows 20 preorders and 30 emails per month. An August 2026 App Store review reported that free-plan usage above certain thresholds now triggers charges that didn’t apply before, and Rez’s developer replied publicly confirming the change, framing it as a fair-usage limit introduced to keep the app sustainable given email delivery costs. That’s a legitimate business reason, but it’s also a recent, checkable change worth knowing about before you assume Rez’s free plan works the same way it did a year ago.
Our free plan caps at 1 product and 250 restock emails per month, a narrower scope by design since we only handle restock alerts, not pre-order volume.
How to Choose: Restock Alerts vs. Restock Plus Pre-Order
The right Rez alternative pick comes down to one question: do you need pre-order, or just restock alerts?
- Only need back-in-stock email alerts, Shopify Flow, and CSV export, nothing else: Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini.
- Need pre-order, backorders, deposits, or partial payments alongside restock alerts: REZ Preorder, Back In Stock.
- Already on Rez’s free plan and unsure about the new usage limits: check your current preorder and email volume against its published thresholds before you hit them.
One limit worth stating plainly: we don’t offer pre-order, and we’re not planning to bolt it on as an afterthought. If pre-order is a core part of your sales strategy, Rez is built for that and we aren’t. Shopify’s own help docs on out-of-stock and back-in-stock notifications are a useful baseline before adding either app.
See our full Shopify back in stock apps comparison for a wider set of options, our Appikon alternative comparison for another named branded-switch, or our guide to creating a waitlist on Shopify for the setup steps. If low stock urgency is also part of your strategy, our Shopify low-stock app roundup covers that separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
- 1. Is there a free Rez alternative?
- Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini has a free plan (1 product, 250 restock emails/month). Rez also has a free plan (20 preorders, 30 emails/month), though a recent usage-limit change means it’s worth checking current thresholds before assuming “free” covers your volume.
- 2. Does Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini support pre-order like Rez does?
- No. We only handle back-in-stock restock alerts. Rez supports pre-order, backorders, made-to-order, deposits, and partial payments in addition to restock alerts.
- 3. Why did Rez start charging some free-plan users more?
- An August 2026 App Store review reported new usage-based charges above Rez’s free thresholds. Rez’s developer publicly confirmed the change, describing it as a fair-usage limit needed to cover ongoing email delivery costs.
- 4. What’s included in Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini’s free plan?
- One product and up to 250 restock emails per month. The Premium plan ($8.99/month) removes the email cap and adds Shopify Flow, CSV export, and a custom email domain.
- 5. Does Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini integrate with Shopify Flow?
- Yes, on the Premium plan. This lets you trigger custom workflows off restock events instead of relying only on the built-in email notifications.
- 6. Which is better for a waitlist-only store, Rez or Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini?
- If pre-order, deposits, or backorders aren’t part of your plans, Restock Alert & Waitlist ‑ Mini is the narrower, purpose-built pick. If you might need pre-order later, Rez covers both from one app.
