More apps can mean more hidden complexity
Shopify's app ecosystem is powerful. It is also easy to install your way into a store that is slower, harder to debug, and full of overlapping features. The problem usually is not one bad app. It is the accumulated weight of decisions nobody revisits.
A useful app audit looks at business value, performance impact, data ownership, support quality, and whether the app is still responsible for a workflow the team actually needs.
Start with overlap and ownership
Look for apps doing similar jobs: reviews, popups, discounts, subscriptions, upsells, bundles, analytics, and email capture are common overlap zones. Then ask who owns each workflow and what breaks if the app is removed.
If nobody can explain why an app exists, what revenue or time it protects, or who uses its data, it probably deserves closer inspection.
Do not remove blindly
Uninstalling an app can leave theme code, scripts, snippets, metafields, or broken UI behind. Audit first, document dependencies, test in a controlled way, and clean up the residue.
The goal is not to have the fewest apps. The goal is to have a stack where every tool has a clear job and does not make the store harder to operate.