If you're running a Shopify store, you already know how important product presentation is. One of the key pieces of that puzzle? How you display your product variants - whether that’s colors, sizes, styles, or materials. When done right, variant displays can elevate your customer experience and help boost conversions.
To save you time, we’ve rounded up the best Shopify apps that can help you display product variants beautifully and functionally on your storefront.
Let’s dive in.
Why use a third-party app to display product variants?
Shopify offers a native way to add product variants, but it has limitations, especially when your store grows or when you want more advanced functionality and design.
Here’s why a third-party app might be worth it:
- More control over design: Want to show color swatches instead of a dropdown? Or show only the relevant variant images when a customer clicks “blue”? Most third-party apps make this easy - no coding required.
- Better UX = better conversions: The easier it is for customers to choose the right size, color, or type, the more likely they’ll check out with confidence.
- Support for complex product options: Native Shopify variants are capped at 3 options and 100 combinations. Product variant apps help you go beyond that - think engraving options, upload fields, or bundles.
- Improve mobile shopping: A clean, responsive variant display on mobile can seriously reduce friction and abandonment.
In short: a third-party app helps you turn a basic product page into a conversion-optimized experience.
Top 7 best product variants and swatches you cannot miss out
1. NS Color Swatch Variant Images
Rating: ⭐ 4.9 (150+ reviews)
Free plan available | Paid plans from $6.99/month
If you’re looking for an intuitive app to upgrade how your variants look on both product and collection pages, this app is a go-to. You can create color swatches, display specific images for each variant, and even group similar products as one.
Top features:
- Show image, text, or color swatches on both product & collection page
- Group separated products into variants
- Customize swatch shape, borders, tooltips
- Translate variants for international stores
- 1-on-1 support for theme integration
Great for merchants who want full control over how their variants appear - no coding required.
Try NS Color Swatch & Variant Image
2. GLO Color Swatch, Variant Image
Rating: ⭐ 4.9 (1,700+ reviews)
Free plan available | Paid plans from $9.90/month
GLO lets you show color swatches, pattern thumbnails, and variant images that update in real time. You can bulk upload color palettes and assign images for each variant effortlessly.
Top features:
- Custom swatch options (image, color, text)
- Collection page swatches
- Hide out of stock; low stock alert
- Advanced styling options
A good choice if you want flexibility in customizing how your swatches look and behave.
3. Variant Option Product Options
Rating: ⭐ 4.6 (1,000+ reviews)
Free plan available | Paid plans from $8.99/month
This app is perfect for stores that need more than just color or size options. You can create unlimited product options and display them as dropdowns, buttons, color swatches, and more.
Top features:
- Unlimited product options
- Add-on pricing for each variant
- Custom product options, including color swatches, variants, text fields
- Conditional logic (show/hide options)
Ideal for customizable products or those with lots of personalization options.
4. Color Swatch King - Variants
Rating: ⭐ 5.0 (2000+ reviews)
Free trial available | Paid plans from $5/month & price increase as you grow
Swatch King is built for scale. It supports Shopify Markets, helps with color grouping across multiple products, and loads fast - even on large stores.
Top features:
- Link and group variants from multiple products
- Custom swatches on product and collection pages
- Works with Shopify Markets, B2B, Size charts, Filter & Search, Recommendations
Highly recommended for merchants managing a large catalog with grouped color variants.
5. StarApps Variant Image
Rating: ⭐ 4.8 (500+ reviews)
Free plan available | Paid plans from $9.90/month
Want to only show images for the selected variant? StarApps makes that super easy. It keeps things clean and reduces visual clutter by hiding images that don’t match the chosen variant.
Top features:
- Show images based on selected variant
- No duplicate images
- Variant Image Automator shows multiple images per variant
- Supports all themes
This is especially helpful for fashion and accessories stores that rely on visuals.
6. Zepto Product Personalizer
Rating: ⭐ 4.8 (1,200+ reviews)
Free trial available | Paid plans from $9.99/month
Although primarily a product personalization app, Zepto also excels in displaying variant choices in engaging formats. Great for stores that offer monograms, engravings, or custom prints.
Top features:
- Live preview for personalization
- Conditional display of variants
- Image swatch support
Perfect for merchants selling customizable gifts or apparel.
7. Avis Product Options, Variants
Rating: ⭐ 4.9 (1500+ reviews)
Free plan available | Paid plans from $12/month
Avis is a lightweight, beginner-friendly app that still offers deep customization. You can create color swatches, dropdowns, and buttons, all styled to match your theme.
Top features:
- Swatches for color/image/text
- Overcome product variant limit from Shopify
- Easy drag-and-drop UI
- Supports product bundles
It’s a great pick for new merchants looking for simplicity without sacrificing quality.
What to look for in a product variant display app?
Not all apps are created equal. When choosing the best one for your store, here are some criteria to keep in mind:
- Customizability: Look for an app that lets you match the design to your store’s theme - whether it’s swatch shape, tooltip style, or button size. You want the variant display to look like a natural part of your site.
- Ease of use: A good app should be easy to install and set up — ideally without needing to touch code. Bonus points for drag-and-drop interfaces.
- Image & color swatch support: This is key if you’re selling products with visual differences (like clothing, accessories, or home decor).
- Speed and performance: Avoid apps that slow down your site. A fast-loading variant display keeps your bounce rate low.
- Compatibility with collection pages: Want to show variant swatches directly on collection pages? Not every app supports this, so check before installing.
- Mobile responsiveness: Most shopping happens on mobile — make sure your app’s displays look great on smaller screens.
- Good customer support: If something breaks or you need theme integration help, responsive support can save the day.
Final thoughts
How you display your product variants can be the difference between a bounce and a conversion. The good news? You don’t have to build it from scratch. These Shopify apps can give your store the polish it needs to help customers find exactly what they want and click “Buy.”
Beyond web variant optimization, consider how building a mobile app using a Shopify mobile app builder could further enhance your product browsing experience. At Appbrew, we help Shopify brands launch an e-commerce apps that showcase product variants beautifully while delivering impressive results.
Shopify merchants typically see 3X higher conversion rates, 5X higher customer LTV, and mobile apps accounting for around 30% of DTC revenue. The combination of well-designed product variant displays and a dedicated mobile shopping experience creates a powerful strategy for merchants looking to maximize their conversion potential across all channels.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to optimize, try out a few of these variant apps and consider how a mobile app might complement your web experience.
