Shopware returns plugins compared: a return is not a warranty claim

Search the Shopware Store for "returns" and you get shipping-label plugins, withdrawal buttons, two SaaS platforms and, since June 2026, exactly one plugin that advertises the right to repair. What none of them tells you: a return and a warranty claim are two different processes with two different sets of obligations. A plugin that is great at one usually does nothing for the other.

On November 7, 2026 we went through every returns, RMA and claims extension currently listed for Shopware 6, plus Shopware's own Returns Management from the Rise plan. Here is what they do, what they cost, and where each one has a gap.

The usual disclaimer first: we're software engineers, not lawyers. The legal framing here is our practical summary, not legal advice. And yes, we have a plugin in this race. That's why every third-party claim comes with a source and a date, and our own plugin only appears in the table where it actually belongs.

Return or warranty claim? That distinction decides the plugin

In everyday language customers say "I'm sending this back" for both. Legally they are two different processes – with different duties, different deadlines and different evidence.

Every returns plugin in this comparison is built for the left column. A defect shows up there at most as a return reason – with digitvision, for example, as "Product defective" with mandatory photos and a free replacement delivery. Nothing in the right column is covered. Why that matters since July 31, 2026 is explained in our article on the right to repair for online sellers.

Seven solutions side by side

The table sums up what the store pages and the Shopware documentation showed on November 7, 2026. "Not verified" means the vendor doesn't advertise it – it may still exist. Two further store hits are deliberately left out: Gurtmann.digital's returns portal (€14.99/month) is only compatible up to Shopware 6.5 according to the store, and goodday's "Returns Manager" (€4/month) so far only redirects after a CMS form; its RMA module is announced.

Worth noting: all seven are rentals. Over three years the store price adds up to roughly €1,500 for digitvision and roughly €885 for Dreischild. What that means compared with building your own we worked out in Shopware plugin instead of subscription.

The solutions one by one

digitvision – Return shipments incl. DHL/UPS label. The heavyweight in the store: listed since 2020, version 9, last updated November 6, 2026. Customers create returns in their account or as guests, pick quantity, reason and procedure, upload up to three photos and get a DHL or UPS label right away. You approve always or by rule, inspect each product's condition, refund with a document or as a credit note, and create a replacement order at €0 if needed. Dashboard, seven statistics tabs, CSV export and return rate per product round it off. Self-hosted only, not for Shopware Cloud; a separate app exists for that.

Dreischild – DHL Returns. Does one thing: labels from the customer account via the DHL Returns API, optionally as a QR code, with an optional PDF return slip. Limits by days since order, maximum weight, order status and customer group. You change the status in the admin, customers see it in their account. No refund logic, no statistics – but only €29 a month and cleared for 6.7 since May 2025.

Returnless and Sendcloud. Both plugins are free, both move the actual process into an external platform. Returnless specializes in returns: digital portal, rules against avoidable returns, labels with QR code, coupons instead of refunds, analytics. Sendcloud is first a shipping tool with a branded returns portal on top. What the platform costs you is only on the vendor's site in both cases. Sendcloud's 3.5 stars from 17 reviews come from a mix of five-star and one-star votes; the criticism centers on the delivery-status logic.

Axoline – Withdrawal Button & Cancellation Portal. The name promises more than the plugin wants to be: it's a compliant withdrawal button with a form, deadline check, five statuses, timestamped history and two email templates. No label, no refund, no goods flow. If you only need to satisfy Directive (EU) 2023/2673, this is the right €9.90 a month.

Kommora – Right to Repair. In the store since June 15, 2026, version 1.0.0, no rating yet and fewer than ten installs. It's the only store plugin with Directive (EU) 2024/1799 in its name. More on it below – it belongs in the second table, not this one.

Shopware's own Returns Management: what the Rise plan gives you

Since Shopware 6.5 the Commercial extension includes a Returns Management, available from the Rise plan – from €600 a month according to Shopware's pricing page, so also in Evolve and Beyond. If you're on one of those plans anyway, know it before you rent a plugin. What else the plans include is in our article on Shopware pricing and editions.

The documentation is refreshingly honest about the limits. You create the return from an existing order, maintain items, quantity and comment, adjust shipping costs and return amount, and generate a partial cancellation document. Customers see the return and its status in their account – they can't request one there. Further limits per the docs: only one return per order, no automatic stock calculation, and creating a return doesn't change the order status.

In short: an admin workflow for merchants who take returns by phone or email. It doesn't replace a self-service portal with labels.

Right to repair: what a returns plugin can't do

Since July 31, 2026 the default transposition date of Directive (EU) 2024/1799 has passed. For you as a seller that means with every defect inside the warranty period: you have to tell the customer they can choose between repair and replacement, and after a repair the warranty is extended once by twelve months. How the extension is calculated and why evidence is the real sticking point are covered in two separate articles.

On top of that, since September 27, 2026 the EmpCo Directive requires pre-contractual information – repairability, spare parts, guarantees – on the product page. We put the store solutions and our own plugin against those requirements:

Two more notes on Kommora, since it's the only direct neighbor. First: according to the store text, the "repair chosen" toggle automatically extends the warranty by twelve months, and the end date can be viewed and adjusted – that's more than any returns plugin offers. Second: the merchant makes the choice in the admin. Whether and when the customer was informed of their right to choose isn't advertised as a timestamp. That timestamp is exactly the piece of evidence that counts in a dispute.

Our solution: Right to Repair & EmpCo for Shopware 6.7

Our plugin Right to Repair & EmpCo: claims and repairability isn't a returns plugin and doesn't want to be. It models the remedy workflow: reported → notice given → remedy chosen → closed. Every step sets its timestamp, the notice timestamp even if the email doesn't go out.

Customers report defects in their account, see status and deadlines, and in the "notice given" status choose between repair and replacement themselves – equal to the choice in the admin, with the same log entry. The +12 months are calculated once and only if repair was chosen, the case is eligible and hasn't been extended yet; the basis is the warranty period per sales channel, country-specific periods take precedence. For the EmpCo side it shows the "Repair & warranty" block on the product page – only from the cut-off date and only for products with maintained data.

What it deliberately doesn't do: print return labels, manage withdrawals or decide legal questions. If you need both, combine it with one of the returns plugins above – the processes are separate anyway. The plugin is headed for the Shopware Store; until then you can get it on request. How we build Shopware plugins in general is on our services page.

Four questions to decide

1. Withdrawal or defects? Withdrawal → returns plugin. Defects inside the warranty → claims workflow with evidence. Both → two tools, no compromise.
2. How many carriers and countries? DHL in Germany only → Dreischild or digitvision. Several carriers and countries → Sendcloud or Returnless, with an external process.
3. Already on the Rise plan? Try Shopware's Returns Management first – and check whether the missing customer portal hurts.
4. Do you need evidence in a dispute? Then look for timestamps per step, a log and deletion periods – not just a status that happens to be set today.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All product data comes from the store detail pages and the Shopware documentation, retrieved November 7, 2026. Prices and features change – check them yourself before deciding.

• digitvision: Return shipments incl. DHL/UPS label
• Dreischild: DHL Returns – label creation in the customer account
• Returnless Integration
• Sendcloud: Shipping & Returns Automation
• Axoline: Withdrawal Button & Cancellation Portal
• Kommora: Right to Repair – Repairability Score & Portal
• Shopware documentation: Returns Management and Shopware pricing
• Directive (EU) 2024/1799 (right to repair) and Directive (EU) 2023/2673 (withdrawal function)

Bottom line

The Shopware Store is well stocked for returns and almost empty for warranty claims. If you want to automate returns with labels, digitvision and Dreischild are two mature plugins and Sendcloud and Returnless two platforms to choose from. If you want to handle warranty claims so that you can prove the choice notice and the extended period in a dispute, the store so far offers only a first attempt.

Take your last ten "returns" and sort them: how many were withdrawals, how many defects? That ratio tells you which tool is due first – and whether the second part is worth a free initial call with us.