tiergain
Also Bought Cross Sell vs Tiergain in 2026: suggestions or real bundles?
Also Bought shows "customers also bought" carousels. Tiergain lets customers build their own bundles step by step. One hopes they add more. The other guides them to it.
Quick Verdict
Also Bought shows AI-driven product recommendations. Tiergain builds guided bundles with 10 architectures and combined rewards. Recommendations suggest. Bundles convert. The AOV difference is 2-3x.
What is Also Bought Cross Sell?
Also Bought Cross Sell by Code Black Belt is a Shopify recommendation app that displays "customers who bought this also bought" product carousels. It uses an AI algorithm trained on billions of products and orders to generate automatic cross-sell recommendations. The app shows suggestion widgets on product pages and cart pages. It holds a 4.8-star rating with 352 reviews and costs $19.99/month flat rate with unlimited products, orders, and traffic. A 30-day free trial is available.
Where Also Bought Cross Sell Falls Short
Passive recommendations, not active building
Also Bought shows product suggestions. Customers glance at them and occasionally click. There is no guided flow, no step-by-step kit assembly, no motivation beyond "other people bought this." Passive suggestions convert at a fraction of guided bundle experiences.
No discount or reward incentives
Also Bought displays products. It does not offer discounts, free shipping, or free gifts for adding recommended items. There is zero financial motivation. Customers add recommendations only if they already wanted the product. That leaves money on the table.
AI picks, not merchant curation
The algorithm decides which products to recommend. Merchants have limited control. If the AI pairs a premium item with a low-margin accessory, you cannot override it easily. Bundle builders let you control exactly which products appear in which step.
No tiered or progressive incentives
There are no tiers. No "add 3 items for 10% off, add 5 for 15% off." Every recommendation stands alone with no escalating motivation. Customers add one extra item at most because there is no reward for adding more.
Single-widget placement limits exposure
Also Bought primarily places carousels on product and cart pages. There is no dedicated bundle page, no embedded builder in collections, no multi-step experience. The widget is easily scrolled past, especially on mobile.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | Also Bought Cross Sell | Tiergain |
|---|---|---|
| Bundle Type Variety | Recommendation carousel | 10+ architectures, fully customizable |
| AI-Powered Recommendations | Yes, trained on store order history | Manual curation |
| Automatic Product Pairing | Yes, zero-config after install | Merchant selects products per bundle |
| Hands-Off Operation | Fully automatic, no maintenance | Requires bundle setup and curation |
| Cart Page Widget | Yes, product and cart page | Bundle on product/collection pages |
| Setup Speed | Install and auto-generates | 15 minutes to first bundle |
| Theme Customization | Widget styling | 20+ controls, live preview |
| Mobile-First Design | Responsive carousel | Mobile-first |
| Works With All Themes | Yes | All themes, no code |
| Cross-Category Bundling | AI-selected products | Merchant-curated categories |
| Guided Kit Builder | No | Yes, multi-step |
| Multi-Language Support | 9 languages built-in | Multi-language via Shopify translations |
Why Merchants Switch to Tiergain
Items per order jumped from 1.6 to 3.4 with guided bundles
A home fragrance brand relied on Also Bought for cross-selling. Customers occasionally added a suggested candle. With Tiergain's "complete the set" builder - pick a candle, then a diffuser, then wax melts - items per order more than doubled. The guided flow did what passive suggestions could not.
Bundle conversion 38% higher than recommendation click-through
A kitchenware store tracked Also Bought widget clicks at 4.2%. When they added Tiergain bundles with "Buy 3 kitchen tools, save 12%", bundle page conversion hit 5.8%. The financial incentive turned browsers into bundle buyers at a 38% higher rate.
AOV up $17 per order by replacing suggestions with structured bundles
An outdoor gear merchant averaged $72 AOV with Also Bought recommendations. After building anchor product bundles in Tiergain - pick a tent, then sleeping bag, then accessories with tiered discounts - AOV hit $89. That $17 lift across 1,400 monthly orders added $23,800/month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I migrate from Also Bought to Tiergain?
These are different tools. Also Bought auto-generates recommendations. Tiergain requires you to build bundle architectures. There is nothing to migrate. Install Tiergain, create your first bundle in 15 minutes, and decide if you want to keep Also Bought running alongside it.
Is Tiergain more expensive than Also Bought?
Also Bought costs $19.99/month flat rate. Tiergain pricing starts free, then $15 / $50 / $150 per month. The free and Starter plans cost less than Also Bought. The Pro plan at $50/month costs more, but the AOV lift from guided bundles with tiered rewards typically covers the difference within the first week.
How long does Tiergain take to set up?
First bundle goes live in about 15 minutes. Install the app, choose an architecture, select products for each step, set reward tiers, and publish. Theme App Extension means no code editing. Also Bought is faster to start since it auto-generates, but Tiergain's setup gives you full control over the bundle experience.
Should I use Also Bought or Tiergain for cross-selling?
Also Bought is passive. It shows suggestions and hopes customers click. Tiergain is active. It guides customers through a bundle-building experience with financial incentives. If you want hands-off recommendations, use Also Bought. If you want structured cross-selling that lifts AOV 20-30%, use Tiergain.
Can I run Also Bought and Tiergain together?
Yes. They complement each other. Also Bought handles automatic product recommendations on product and cart pages. Tiergain handles structured bundle experiences on dedicated pages. Many merchants run both - Also Bought for impulse suggestions, Tiergain for intentional bundle building.
Does Tiergain have AI product recommendations?
No. Tiergain uses merchant-curated product selection. You choose exactly which products go in each bundle step. This gives you full control over which items get bundled and protects your margins. Also Bought wins on hands-off convenience. Tiergain wins on precision and revenue per bundle.
Does Tiergain work with my Shopify theme?
Yes. Tiergain uses Shopify Theme App Extensions. Works with every Shopify theme, including Online Store 2.0 and custom themes. No code edits. Removing the app leaves zero code in your theme files.
Ready to switch from Also Bought Cross Sell?
Free plan available. No credit card required.