Advanced Collections vs ST: Product & Collection Sortfor Shopify (2026)
In 2026, Advanced Collections and ST: Product & Collection Sort offer Shopify merchants enhanced control over their product collections, but cater to distinct needs and technical skill levels. Advanced Collections focuses on granular control over collection creation and sorting based on readily available product attributes like tags, price, and inventory. It's positioned as a solution for merchants needing precise, rules-based manipulation of collections, enabling features such as excluding products with specific tags or creating collections based on discount percentages. ST: Product & Collection Sort, on the other hand, adopts a data-driven merchandising approach. It leverages analytics, including past order data and GA4 metrics, to automate collection management and sorting. This app is designed for merchants who prioritize data-driven merchandising strategies to increase revenue and reduce manual effort. Features like A/B testing, product demotion, shuffle and stack sorting offer advanced optimization capabilities not found in Advanced Collections, but with a higher reliance on data analysis and potentially a steeper learning curve.
At a Glance
Advanced Collections
14 reviews
ST: Product & Collection Sort
179 reviews
Detailed Overview
Advanced Collections
More ways to create and sort collections beyond default conditions e.g. excluding products by tags
Key Features
- Create collections by including or excluding product tags
- Include/exclude products with Price < Compared At for sale/non-sale collections
- Use other advanced conditions e.g. inventory elevels, discount percentages
- Sort existing collections by publish or updated date or discount percentages
- Push products with certain tags or 0 inventory to the front/back of a collection
ST: Product & Collection Sort
Automate merchandising decisions on collection pages to increase revenue and reduce manual work
Key Features
- Pin “Featured” products at the top using a drag-and-drop collection manager
- Sort by Views, Add to cart, Revenue, Inventory, New launch, Variant Availability
- Create New Arrivals, Trending, Size specific, Sale, Metafield based collections
- Use multi-segment sorting to group & sort daily deals, discounted & new products
- Automatically push sold-out items to the bottom or remove them from collections
Feature Comparison
| Rating | 2.7/5 | 5/5 |
Rating Advanced Collections2.7/5 ST: Product & Collection Sort5/5 | ||
| Reviews | 14 | 179 |
Reviews Advanced Collections14 ST: Product & Collection Sort179 | ||
| Focus | Rules-based Collection Creation & Sorting | Data-driven Merchandising & Automation |
Focus Advanced CollectionsRules-based Collection Creation & Sorting ST: Product & Collection SortData-driven Merchandising & Automation | ||
| Data Reliance | Low | High (Past Orders, GA4) |
Data Reliance Advanced CollectionsLow ST: Product & Collection SortHigh (Past Orders, GA4) | ||
| Sorting Options | Tags, Price, Inventory, Dates, Discount % | Revenue, Views, Add to Cart, New Launch, Size, Variant Availability |
Sorting Options Advanced CollectionsTags, Price, Inventory, Dates, Discount % ST: Product & Collection SortRevenue, Views, Add to Cart, New Launch, Size, Variant Availability | ||
| Target Merchant | Merchants needing precise manual control & tag management | Merchants prioritizing data-driven strategies for increased revenue |
Target Merchant Advanced CollectionsMerchants needing precise manual control & tag management ST: Product & Collection SortMerchants prioritizing data-driven strategies for increased revenue | ||
| Ease of Use (estimated) | Moderate - simpler rule creation | Potentially complex - due to data analysis |
Ease of Use (estimated) Advanced CollectionsModerate - simpler rule creation ST: Product & Collection SortPotentially complex - due to data analysis | ||
| Value Proposition | Granular control over collection content based on readily available product data | Automated collection optimization based on customer behavior and sales data |
Value Proposition Advanced CollectionsGranular control over collection content based on readily available product data ST: Product & Collection SortAutomated collection optimization based on customer behavior and sales data | ||
Our Verdict
For Shopify merchants requiring very specific, rules-based control over their collections using product attributes like tags or price, Advanced Collections might be sufficient, despite its lower rating and fewer reviews. However, merchants with a strong focus on data-driven merchandising and a desire to automate their collection management based on customer behavior and sales data will find ST: Product & Collection Sort a much more powerful and valuable tool. The significantly higher rating and larger number of reviews strongly suggest a more positive user experience and better results with the latter.
Common Questions
Which app is easier to use?
Advanced Collections is likely easier to use due to its focus on simple, rule-based creation and sorting using readily available product attributes. ST: Product & Collection Sort, with its data analytics and automated features, may require a steeper learning curve and more technical expertise.
Which app is better for a new Shopify store?
Advanced Collections might be a better starting point for a new store. It allows you to easily create foundational collections without needing significant sales data. As the store grows and accumulates data, transitioning to ST: Product & Collection Sort could optimize collection performance.
Does Advanced Collections support A/B testing of collections?
Based on the provided information, Advanced Collections does not offer A/B testing capabilities. ST: Product & Collection Sort is not explicitly mentioned to support A/B testing, but its data-driven approach makes it more suitable for such functionality, although not stated explicitly.
Which app is better for managing flash sales or promotions?
While both apps can manage sales, Advanced Collections' focus on price-based rules makes it easier to isolate discounted products. ST: Product & Collection Sort's multi-segment sorting seems geared to handle daily deals and sales well, using data to optimize the best placement of sales products.
Which app better integrates with Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?
ST: Product & Collection Sort specifically mentions integration with GA4, allowing merchants to sort collections based on metrics like Views, Add to Carts, and Cart-to-View ratio. Advanced Collections does not mention any GA4 integration.
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