The best Now Back in Stock alternative for email-only restock alerts is Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini at $8.99/month, rated 4.7 from 39 reviews. The app many merchants still search for as Now Back in Stock is now listed as SC Back in Stock Notify Me by Shop Circle (4.5 from 175 reviews), with paid plans from $10 to $45 a month. Stay with SC if you need SMS alerts or Klaviyo list sync; switch if email alerts, Shopify Flow and a lower bill are what you need.
Disclosure: we build Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini, the alternative this post compares, so the setup details below come from running it every day, not from a feature sheet.
Last updated November 2026.
In this post
- What happened to Now Back in Stock?
- Now Back in Stock alternative compared
- What each option costs at three store sizes
- What Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini does
- How to switch without losing your waitlist
- How to choose
- Our honest take
- FAQ
What happened to Now Back in Stock?
Now Back in Stock is still on the Shopify App Store, but under a new name. The listing at the same address (apps.shopify.com/out-of-stock-1) is now called SC Back in Stock Notify Me, and the developer shown is Shop Circle. Older directory pages still list it as Now Back in Stock by Eastside Co, which is why the old name keeps showing up in searches.
We see that search on our own site. In the 90 days to November 8, 2026, the query “now back in stock shopify app” showed our pages 13 times in Google Search Console, up from 2 in the previous 90 days. Merchants are still typing the old name, and most pages they land on have not caught up with the rename or the current prices.
Now Back in Stock alternative compared
Here is how the renamed app and our Now Back in Stock alternative compare on paid plans.
| App | Rating | Reviews | Paid pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC Back in Stock Notify Me (formerly Now Back in Stock) | 4.5 | 175 | $10, $20 or $45/mo | Email plus SMS alerts |
| Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini | 4.7 | 39 | $8.99/mo or $83.88/yr | Email alerts with Shopify Flow |
Ratings, reviews and prices from each app’s Shopify App Store listing, as of November 2026.
SC Back in Stock Notify Me splits its paid plans by channel. Email Only is $10/month with unlimited emails, Klaviyo and Mailchimp sync, batch sends and multi-location. Starter is $20/month and adds 200 SMS. Pro is $45/month with 500 SMS and emails from a custom address. The listing shows 30 languages.
Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini has one paid plan. Premium is $8.99/month, or $83.88/year, with unlimited restock emails, Shopify Flow, CSV export, a custom sending domain and priority support. It sends email only.
What does each option cost at three store sizes?
For email-only alerts, the two apps cost almost the same per month; the gap opens with yearly billing and with SMS. Here is the math for three typical stores, using the listed prices as of November 2026.
| Store | SC Back in Stock | Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Email only, any volume | $10/mo ($120 over 12 months) | $8.99/mo or $83.88/yr |
| Email plus up to 200 SMS a month | $20/mo ($240 over 12 months) | Not available (email only) |
| Custom sending address | $45/mo (Pro) | $8.99/mo (included) |
Say you sell restocked sneakers and send about 800 restock emails a month. On Email Only you pay $120 a year. On our yearly plan you pay $83.88, a $36.12 difference, and you also get a sending address on your own domain, which SC lists only on its $45 Pro plan.
What does Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini do?
Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini adds a “Notify me” form to sold-out products and emails each shopper automatically when the variant they asked for is back. It also works for coming-soon and presale products.
- Variant-level signups: the shopper picks the size or color they want, and only that variant triggers the email.
- Customers saved to Shopify: each signup becomes a Shopify customer with a product and variant tag, so you can see demand in Shopify admin.
- Three email types: the restock alert, a waitlist confirmation to the shopper and a new-signup alert to you, each one on or off.
- Shopify Flow: trigger your own workflows from those customer tags on Premium.
- CSV import and export: bring an existing waitlist in, or take yours out at any time.
We build Shopify apps for a living, so we know the moment a restock alert app matters: the morning a popular size comes back and 300 people should hear about it before it sells out again. For more on that trade-off between channels, see our post on email vs SMS restock alerts.
“It is extremely easy to set up and use; activating the form in our online store took less than 3 minutes.”
Nylon Nest, Germany, September 11, 2026, Shopify App Store review
How to switch to a Now Back in Stock alternative without losing your waitlist
Moving to a Now Back in Stock alternative is mostly one job: carrying over the people already waiting. Do it in this order.
- Export your pending requests from SC Back in Stock Notify Me (its listing includes bulk export) as a CSV.
- Install Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini and turn on the app embed in your theme editor.
- Import the CSV in the app, so every shopper already waiting stays on the list for their variant.
- Choose which products get the form: specific variants, or every sold-out product automatically.
- Edit the restock email and send yourself a test.
- Disable the old app’s button in the theme so shoppers see only one form, then uninstall it.
Step 6 matters. Two “Notify me” buttons on one product page split signups between two lists, and the old list stops sending the day you uninstall. Shopify’s own guide to uninstalling apps explains what is removed and what stays in your theme. If you are still comparing options, our roundup of the best Shopify back in stock apps covers more choices.
How to choose
Pick by channel first, then by price. These checks settle it for most stores.
- You need SMS alerts: SC Back in Stock Notify Me lists SMS on its $20 and $45 plans.
- You sync restock signups into Klaviyo or Mailchimp: SC lists both integrations; we do not have a Klaviyo integration yet.
- You want email alerts on a lower bill: Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini at $8.99/month or $83.88/year.
- You want emails from your own domain without a $45 plan: Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini includes it on Premium.
- You build automations in Shopify Flow: Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini lists Flow; SC’s listing does not mention it.
Not sure your theme shows a notify button at all? Our guide to the notify me button on Shopify walks through the options.
Our honest take
I think most stores paying for a back-in-stock app only use email, and for them the deciding features are the ones on the $8.99 plan: variant-level signups, Shopify Flow and a sending address on your own domain, which SC puts on its $45 plan. Our listing is rated 4.7 against SC’s 4.5. The caveat: we do not send text messages, so a store that relies on SMS should not move.
FAQ
Is Now Back in Stock still available on Shopify?
Yes, under a new name. The listing at apps.shopify.com/out-of-stock-1 is now SC Back in Stock Notify Me by Shop Circle, rated 4.5 from 175 reviews as of November 2026.
What is the best Now Back in Stock alternative?
For email-only restock alerts, Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini at $8.99/month is a lower-cost Now Back in Stock alternative with Shopify Flow and a custom sending domain included.
How much does SC Back in Stock Notify Me cost?
Paid plans are $10/month (Email Only, unlimited emails), $20/month (Starter, 200 SMS) and $45/month (Pro, 500 SMS), according to its Shopify App Store listing as of November 2026.
Does Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini send SMS restock alerts?
No. It sends restock emails, waitlist confirmations and new-signup alerts by email. If text messages are a must, choose an app with SMS plans.
Can I move my existing waitlist to a new app?
Yes. Export your pending requests as a CSV from the old app, then import the file in Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini so each shopper stays on the list for the right variant.
Does a back in stock app work on specific variants?
Yes. Restock Alert & Waitlist – Mini collects signups per variant, so a shopper waiting for a size 9 is emailed only when size 9 is restocked, not when another size comes back.
Will uninstalling the old app delete my customers?
Customers already created in Shopify stay in Shopify admin, but requests stored inside the old app stop sending once it is uninstalled. Export them first.
