min read

Lantern AI as a Quiz App Octane Alternative

Published on

November 16, 2025

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Stefania

Co-Founder

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If you’re exploring quiz apps to boost conversions and personalize shopping experiences on Shopify, you’ve likely come across Octane AI. It’s a popular Shopify quiz app with advanced features, but Lantern offers a more flexible, affordable, and brand-free alternative designed for Shopify merchants who want full creative control without hidden costs. It’s one of the best Shopify quiz apps for brands looking to create personalized shopping journeys with a product quiz.

What is Octane AI?

Octane AI is a quiz builder app known for AI-generated quizzes, customizable results pages, and built-in A/B testing on higher-tier plans. It integrates with tools like Klaviyo and includes pop-ups and shareable results pages. While powerful, Octane AI can become expensive even for medium-traffic stores, leading Shopify merchants to seek a quiz app alternative.

What is Lantern?

Lantern is a modern Shopify quiz app designed to help brands create personalized product recommendation quizzes that guide customers toward exactly what they need. It features AI-assisted quiz creation, content blocks across all quiz pages for extra images, videos, text, and more, Shopify metafield integration, skip/show logic for questions, more complex IF/OR quiz paths that customers can take, and flexible design tools for full creative freedom. Pricing starts at $39/month with a 21-day free trial, and it’s completely brand-free by default—no extra steps or costs to remove logos. As a Shopify quiz app alternative to Octane AI, Lantern focuses on ease of use, affordability, and visual control.

Feature Comparison: Lantern vs Octane AI

Feature	Lantern	Octane AI
AI Quiz Creation	✅ Lets you select up to 30 products to recommend; AI matches them with relevant answers. You can also skip this step and provide quiz goals, brand, and target audience details for tailored quiz generation.	✅ Offers Smart Products (AI auto-selects products), Dynamic Filtered Products (filter/points-based), Curated Product Selection (manual if/then), and Content Only block (no products).
Quiz Templates	✅ 10+ ready-made templates, fully editable	✅ 10+ ready-made templates, basic customization (visual layout limited; shape edits require CSS on higher plans)
Logic and Branching	✅ Skip/Show conditions plus advanced Logic Jumps (decision trees) for single-choice, multiple-choice, and other page types, including Exact / Open / Broad rules on paid plans	⚠️ Conditional logic only on Plus & Enterprise tiers
Metafields	✅ Supports dynamic metafields on results pages	⚠️ Available only on Plus & Enterprise plans; allows displaying product and variant metafields (like color swatches) on quiz results
Built for Shopify badge	✅ Yes — Lantern is Built for Shopify	❌ Built for Shopify badge not shown on listing
Results Page Customization	✅ Content blocks (images, video, HTML) usable across all quiz pages, results coming from top matches products to answers, routine matches based on answer paths, content-only blocks with information based on answer selection	✅ Offers four results page block types: Smart Products, Dynamic Filtered Products, Curated Product Selection, and Content Only Block
Custom CSS / Fonts / HTML	✅ Custom CSS and HTML editing available directly within the Lantern app on all plans; fonts manageable inside the quiz editor	⚠️ Only available on Plus & Enterprise tiers; CSS must be added through Shopify’s theme editor or embedded quiz block (no in-app CSS editing)
Publishing Options	✅ Four publishing methods: Standalone quiz page, Embed on any Shopify page, Pop-up (manual or auto-trigger), and In-store (dedicated page with store header/footer).	✅ Supports embedding via HTML, App Embed, or Block Section; Pop-ups via Shopping Assistant (widget) or Opt-in triggers (welcome, exit, add-to-cart). No dedicated in-store page option.
Integrations – Marketing	✅ Direct integration with Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Mailchimp	✅ Klaviyo and Zapier available on all plans; advanced segmentation and automated Klaviyo blocks limited to Plus & Enterprise tiers. Omnisend can connect indirectly through Alloy.
Integrations – Subscriptions	✅ 15+ apps (Recharge, Skio, Loop, Smartrr, etc.)	⚠️ Recharge, Loop, Skio, Stay AI, and Smartrr supported; all integrations available only on Plus & Enterprise tiers.
Integrations – Reviews	✅ Judge.me, Loox, Stamped, Yotpo, Okendo, Reviews.io	✅ Yotpo, Junip, Loox, Okendo, Stamped, Judge.me, Reviews.io
Integrations – Loyalty & Rewards	✅ Smile.io, Yotpo Loyalty, LoyaltyLion (via Zapier)	⚠️ Toki (direct), others via Zapier or Alloy on Plus & Enterprise tiers only.
Integrations – Automation	✅ Shopify Flow, Zapier (6,000+ apps)	✅ Zapier and Alloy (Shopify Flow alternative) available on all plans
Custom Webhooks / Data Export	✅ Supports up to 3 custom webhook endpoints so quiz completion data can be sent directly to any external system alongside app integrations	⚠️ Uses webhooks behind integrations like Zapier and Alloy (via API key + webhook secret), but does not expose generic, user-configurable webhook destination URLs inside the app
Cart Drawer Compatibility	✅ Direct integration with 15+ Shopify carts (e.g., AMP, Rebuy, Dawn, Refresh)	⚠️ Requires custom code or higher-tier plan
Discount Codes	✅ Supports automatic discount application on results pages, targeted or conditional rewards (like post-opt-in), and full visual customization via content blocks or dynamic variants.	⚠️ Discounts limited to static text in quizzes or Shopify Shop integration. Auto-apply and dynamic codes not supported. Opt-in pop-ups can include Shopify discount codes that redirect with auto-applied code (Plus tier).

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Key Differentiators

Lantern stands out as a Shopify quiz app alternative to Octane AI for merchants who value personalization and flexibility across every stage of the quiz experience. With Lantern, quizzes feel conversational and adaptive thanks to skip/show logic and dynamic content callout, allowing questions to adjust naturally based on each shopper’s input or answer selection. This creates an engaging experience that keeps customers moving smoothly toward the results.Another standout is how Lantern handles product recommendations. Each answer can be tied to products that contribute to a scoring system, ensuring the most relevant products appear first. Combined with dynamic content blocks, this approach allows every result page to automatically tailor its content, product mix, or text based on customer paths. Metafields can also enrich results pages with personalized product details or descriptions.

Lantern’s design flexibility extends beyond the results page. Content blocks can be added anywhere—welcome screens, question pages, or final recommendations—giving complete creative freedom. Merchants can use images, text, videos, opt-ins, or HTML to build fully branded, conversion-optimized experiences. In contrast, Octane limits branding removal, metafields, CSS customization, and advanced logic to Plus or Enterprise plans, while its base plan only supports basic visual edits and results page customization.

Lantern also supports direct integration with multiple Shopify cart drawers and built-in theme carts, allowing a seamless add-to-cart experience without custom code. Octane requires developer intervention or a higher-tier plan to achieve similar functionality. Additionally, with native Shopify Flow integration, merchants can automate workflows, post-quiz actions, and marketing triggers—something Octane does not support natively. Beyond pre-built integrations, Lantern also lets you configure up to three custom webhooks, so quiz completion data can be sent directly to any internal system or third-party tool your team uses. Octane exposes API and webhook credentials primarily for use through middleware tools like Zapier or Alloy which can be sometimes easy to use but it requires an extra cost.

Pricing is where the difference becomes most apparent. Octane AI’s engagement-based model scales sharply with traffic—plans range from $50/month for just 200 engagements to $500/month for 4,500, with additional fees per engagement. Lantern uses a usage-based model that adjusts fairly to actual activity, meaning stores pay only for what they use. All features, including branding control, metafields, and integrations, are accessible in the base plan without additional upgrade requirements.

Pricing Comparison: Lantern vs Octane AI

Plan / Aspect	Lantern (Grow Plan)	Octane AI
Free Trial	21 days	14 days
Pricing Model Tiers	Usage-based — adjusts automatically by monthly quiz takers	Engagement-based — fixed tiers with overage fees
Pricing tiers	$39 for 500 quiz takers	$50 for 200 engagements
	$59 for 750 quiz takers	$200 for 1,500 engagements
	$79 for 1,000 quiz takers	$350 for 3,000 engagements
	$99 for 1,500 quiz takers	$500 for 4,500 engagements
	$139 for 2,500 quiz takers	$750 for 7,000 engagements
	$199 for 4,000 quiz takers	$1,000 for 15,000 engagements
	$299 for 7,000 quiz takers	$1,500 for 25,000 engagements
	$500 for 15,000 quiz takers	$2,000 for 40,000 engagements
	$750 for 25,000 quiz takers	$3,000 for 60,000 engagements
		$4,000 for 100,000 engagements
		$5,000 for 200,000 engagements
Feature Access	All features unlocked on all plans	Advanced logic, metafields, and CSS gated behind Plus & Enterprise tiers
Upgrade Scalability	Automatic tier adjustment	Manual upgrade required when engagement cap is reached
Custom Plan Option	Available via consultation	Enterprise-only

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Octane AI’s engagement-based plans often scale sharply with traffic—meaning brands with growing audiences can quickly face higher monthly bills. Lantern’s pricing, by contrast, adjusts proportionally: if you have fewer engagements one month, you pay less. This transparent, usage-based approach ensures predictable costs for Shopify merchants of any size.

What Lantern’s Users Tell Us

Lantern’s impact comes to life with brands like Cloudpillo, a European sleep company using a product recommendation quiz to guide shoppers to their ideal pillow and mattress. The quiz has generated over €1.19 million in revenue, acting as a high‑intent entry point that reduces confusion and returns while increasing average order value. You can dive deeper into their setup and results in the dedicated Cloudpillo quiz case study.

Mini FAQ

Is there a plan that includes more than the maximum number of monthly engagements?

Yes. Lantern’s Enterprise plan offers unlimited quiz engagements and advanced support. You can book a demo to learn more about tailored enterprise options.

Is Lantern a direct alternative to Octane AI?

Yes. Lantern supports conditional logic, dynamic content, advanced design control, and seamless integrations similar to Octane — all accessible on every plan.

Can I pay to get a custom built quiz for my brand?

Yes. Enterprise plans include a fully built‑for‑you quiz, but every user can customize freely using templates, AI guidance, and full CSS/HTML access.

How much more affordable is Lantern?

Octane’s pricing can scale to thousands per month depending on engagement volume. Lantern offers full‑feature access starting at $39/month, scaling automatically by quiz takers.

Is Lantern free on development stores?

Yes. Agencies and developers can build fully functional quizzes for free on dev stores until launch, with a 21‑day free trial once the store goes live.

Final Thoughts

Lantern with its 4.9 rating and Built for Shopify badge combines enterprise‑level customization, affordable, usage‑based pricing, and native Shopify integrations—including Flow, cart drawers, and extensive subscription app support—without locking features behind premium tiers.

If you want that same level of depth with a more visual, layout‑first approach, Lantern is a smart alternative. Native Shopify integrations (including Flow, cart drawers, subscriptions, and reviews) help turn quiz results into automated journeys without extra apps or custom logic.

Ready to see how Lantern can power results like Cloudpillo? Start your 21‑day free trial or explore Lantern free on your Shopify dev store today.