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D
Critical
Popular but Heavy

Privy

by Privy · email-marketing 4.5 (4.1k reviews)
Grade D driven by large download payload and high main-thread CPU cost. High conversion risk on mobile storefronts.
What this means for your store

Privy is a heavy app that will noticeably slow down your store, especially for mobile visitors where it adds nearly a full second of delay. Its main-thread impact of 223 milliseconds on desktop and 974 milliseconds on mobile is significantly higher than the typical email marketing app, which usually adds only about 5 milliseconds. This means your customers will experience longer loading times and a less responsive store.

📦 Network D 2952.99 KB
CPU C
223 ms desktop 974 ms mobile measured
⚠ ~10% conversion risk · Google/Deloitte benchmark
📐 Layout A Stable (CLS 0.0006)
🛡️ May run sandboxed via Shopify Web Pixels — analytics/marketing scripts in this category often execute off the main thread. Actual storefront impact may be lower than measured.
Trusted by 4,054+ merchants · 4.5 / 5 on Shopify App Store
💡 Performance Trade-off

Privy scores Grade D because it delivers a full-featured email marketing environment on every page load — introducing a 223 ms CPU overhead on desktop (~974 ms on mobile). This is the performance "tax" for deep email marketing functionality. If email marketing conversion is a priority for your store, this trade-off may be worth it.

Install Privy on Shopify → Grade D · High conversion risk on mobile
🚨 Replace this app to protect your conversion rate See full comparison ↓
Install Privy on Shopify →
🛠️ How to minimize Privy's speed impact

You don't have to choose between email marketing features and page speed. Pairing Privy with a dedicated script optimizer can defer its 223 ms CPU hit until after the page is interactive:

A
Booster Page Speed LAB VERIFIED ✓ 2.89 KB · 1 ms CPU · Grade A
View → Install →
→ View Booster Page Speed full lab report (71 apps tested) → Browse all 8 benchmarked page speed optimization apps
Privy is hurting your conversion rate — replace it:
ActiveCampaign — Grade A → Brevo — Grade A →

Privy — Performance Grade D

Critical — avoid on mobile stores

⚠️ Privy earns Grade D: Grade D driven by large download payload and high main-thread CPU cost. High conversion risk on mobile storefronts. At 2952.99 KB and 223 ms desktop CPU, this app adds measurable weight to your store's JavaScript budget — compounding with every other installed app. With 4.1k merchant reviews averaging 4.5★ on the Shopify App Store, Privy clearly delivers value — the performance cost is the trade-off.

Privy is a email marketing and automation app for Shopify that has been assigned Grade D by StackConflict’s independent performance lab — the lowest classification in our A–D grading scale. Our lab recorded an oversized JavaScript bundle that exceeds the entire third-party JS budget recommended by Google (2952.99 KB compressed) and a significant main-thread cost that can delay Time-to-Interactive on mid-range Android devices (223 ms desktop V8 execution). These figures place it in the D-tier for Shopify app performance.

On mobile devices, StackConflict’s 4× throttle pass measured Privy’s execution cost directly at 974 ms (1.0s) on mid-range Android hardware. This is within a manageable range, but stacks additively with every other third-party script on your store. Merchants adding multiple apps should monitor combined mobile CPU load using StackConflict’s Stack Builder. A Cumulative Layout Shift score of 0.0006 also registers as a moderate signal for Core Web Vitals.

Verdict (Grade D — Critical): If Shopify store speed and mobile conversion are priorities, merchants should evaluate lighter alternatives before committing to Privy. StackConflict has benchmarked Emarsys and Drip in the same email marketing category — both carry Grade A or B ratings with significantly lower payload and CPU profiles. The performance difference compounds on mobile-first stores where JavaScript parse, compile, and execution times are amplified by device limitations.

Lab Results

MetricValueGrade
JS Payload2952.99 KBD
CPU Execution (desktop)223 msC
CPU Execution (mobile)974 ms
Cumulative Layout Shift0.0006A
Overall GradeD
CategoryEmail Marketing
Last tested2026-05-30

Lab Verdict

Grade D driven by large download payload and high main-thread CPU cost. High conversion risk on mobile storefronts.

Grading Scale

Each app is graded across three independent dimensions. The final grade is the worst of the three — no dimension can be hidden by a good score elsewhere.

GradePayloadCPU (desktop)CLSRisk
A≤ 30 KB≤ 50 ms< 0.1Lightweight — zero friction
B≤ 150 KB≤ 150 ms< 0.25Acceptable — monitor on mobile
C≤ 500 KB≤ 500 ms< 0.5Heavy — high conversion risk
D> 500 KB> 500 ms≥ 0.5Critical — avoid on mobile stores

Faster Alternatives

These email marketing apps have earned a Grade A or B in our lab and are drop-in alternatives worth evaluating:

About This Test

StackConflict measures app performance in a clean-room environment. Each app’s JavaScript bundle is injected into an owned Shopify development store via a Playwright-controlled browser, with no other third-party apps installed. V8 CPU cost is the ScriptDuration delta measured before and after injection on the same live page. Mobile CPU estimate applies the 4× Lighthouse slowdown factor to approximate real-device impact.

Install Privy


Data sourced from the StackConflict Lab. Last updated 2026-05-30.

Verification & Methodology
runs 2 independent clean-room runs · latest result shown
baseline control storefront scanned without injection → V8 ScriptDuration delta isolates app cost
lighthouse not cross-validated (Lighthouse CLI not run)
fingerprint dd0c575af8fff3d2…
mobile CPU ✓ 974 ms — measured with 4× CDP throttle (mid-range Android)
raw trace HAR archive (public download coming Q3 2026)
tested 2026-05-30
Compare Privy with
vs Back in Stock Alerts (Grade C) → vs Dotdigital (Grade A) → vs Drip (Grade B) → vs Emarsys (Grade B) → vs Flashy (Grade B) → vs Flodesk (Grade C) →