14 Best Employee Recognition Vendors (We’ve Tested Over 40)

One of the first things we noticed when testing Bucketlist was how user-friendly the platform is. Whether on desktop or mobile, navigating the system felt intuitive for both administrator and employee users.

Employees could send recognition messages (or “shoutouts”) to peers, attaching tokens that could later be redeemed for rewards. We liked that companies could choose whether the recognitions required approval or not since this offers a nice balance between spontaneity and structured oversight.

The rewards marketplace was another strong selling point. Employees can redeem points for a wide variety of rewards, including digital gift cards, charitable donations, and experiential rewards. Moreover, the system allows administrators to add additional gift cards that align with company culture and employee preferences. We found this particularly helpful, as it gives organizations more control over their incentive programs.

Having a straightforward UI is great, but having a designated expert who walks you through the process and helps customize features takes it to another level. And we loved that Bucketlist offers just that. Every plan includes a dedicated onboarding manager and a dedicated account manager, a level of service that many recognition platforms lack. Whether it’s tailoring recognition settings, configuring approval workflows, or tweaking reward options, the extra support made the user experience feel smooth and stress-free.

While Bucketlist offers many strengths, we did encounter some challenges. More specifically, searching for GIFs when sending shoutouts was a bit frustrating, as there’s no way to go back to a previous option if you scroll past one you like. This might sound minor, but in practice, it slows down the experience and makes it feel a bit clunky.

Though Bucketlist’s cash-based incentives and gift cards were plentiful, we couldn’t help but feel the experiential rewards catalog is somewhat limited. Many companies are moving toward experience-based rewards, so it would be great to see Bucketlist expand its options in this area.

Lastly, pricing could be a barrier for smaller teams due to the system’s one-time setup fee and monthly per-employee charge. While the high level of customization and customer support helps justify the cost, businesses with fewer than 200 employees looking for a low-cost option might find Connecteam and Matter better alternatives.

500+ companies, including RBC, Chick-fil-A, and Danone.

Bucketlist plans cost around $2-4 per employee per month, plus a one-time setup fee and an annual fee.

Nectar offers a robust yet easy-to-use solution for peer-to-peer recognition that is aligned with company values. We like how its points-based system empowers all employees, not just managers, to reward coworkers' accomplishments and behaviors.

Peer-to-peer shoutouts are shared for everyone to see via a centralized feed. As for rewards, we’ve found Nectar’s catalog to be quite comprehensive, covering several options like Amazon purchases, gift cards, charitable donations, and company swag. Employees can quickly redeem their recognition points for rewards they value. Alongside peer bonuses, Nectar supports performance-based rewards and spot bonuses from managers.

The employee recognition platform company also offers wellness features and impactful new capabilities like network analysis, which provide HR teams with visibility into cross-team recognition patterns. As a distributed team ourselves, we found the newly added internal communication tool absolutely a delight to foster transparency and help everyone stay informed.

When looking at pricing models, however, we found Nectar’s $4,000 minimum annual commitment to be higher than some competitors like Awardco’s $2,500. Compared to our last review update, it no longer discloses its pricing. And unlike Guusto or Connecteam, Nectar doesn’t provide a free trial, which makes it even harder for smaller organizations to give them a go.

Nectar is used by many recognizable brands, including Redfin, Golden State Warriors, Major League Baseball, and SHRM.

Nectar offers three pricing plans with an annual commitment of $4,000. While the recognition program vendor continues to provide three options—Plus, Premium, and Custom—it no longer publicly shares its pricing information. However, based on our research, the starting price may range from $5 to $6 per monthly employee when billed annually.

Motivosity takes employee recognition to the next level with its innovative peer-to-peer platform. We’ve given it a try and liked how easy it is to send shout-outs. We also liked how all shout-outs are posted on a  customizable homepage, showing appreciation in real-time across the organization.

Motivosity's ThanksMatters digital cards empower employees to redeem their received recognition for Amazon gift cards, restaurant vouchers, or anything that appeals to them. The custom company store and integration with hundreds of vendors take care of all the logistics.

You can also use Motivosity to incentivize company-wide initiatives. We’ve found it easy to create custom badges and awards. It also does not forget about service milestones and birthdays. Individual gifts and peer celebrations through comments make employees feel valued on their special days.

With its modern, peer-driven recognition and seamless administration, Motivosity offers the complete package. It empowers employees, reinforces company values, and fosters a positive culture. If you’re looking to drive engagement and show appreciation, we think Motivosity is a great bet.

A&W, Bosch, KPMG, Chick-fil-A, and Toyota are some of the companies that use Motivosity.

Motivosity offers its Recognition and Rewards package at $4 per employee per month. This plan encompasses a variety of tools for internal communication, rewards, awards, milestones, social connection features, and more. For a detailed breakdown of features available with each pricing tier, please visit Motivosity's pricing page.

Awardco makes it easy to recognize anyone in your organization for living your values, achieving goals, or simply for being awesome employees. In our testing, it was easy to choose who to recognize, for what, and why.

We’ve also liked the social component, featuring all given recognition on a public feed for everyone to see. Awardco also facilitates remote employee recognition through integrations with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. This boosts engagement further, bringing recognition to platforms your employees already use.

We appreciate Awardco's inclusive approach to recognition. Their newly released feature, AwardCodes, makes it possible to give recognition offline to employees without regular computer access so they aren’t left out of any appreciation efforts.

Managers provide customized award codes, which employees later scan to receive their rewards. The codes work for any employee, anywhere, anytime while still enabling tracking and security.

Another thing that caught our attention is Awardco’s service anniversary features. Its level of gift creativity and personalization is something we’ve not seen on other platforms. Employees can create Digital MemoryBooks which collect teammate contributions into a cherished keepsake for coworkers celebrating milestones.

The employee recognition vendor also has curated gift packages called Bonus Boxes that staff can put together and ship right to the doors of their coworkers to make their day.

Awardco has over 3 million users including staff at companies like Percepta, Paramount, Hertz, Pacific Life, and Aptive.

Awardco offers two main plans for small and medium businesses.

• Lite provides basic automation for things like service awards, birthdays, and reporting. It establishes a foundation for employee recognition and costs $2,500 per year.
• Go includes everything in Lite plus additional features like peer-to-peer recognition, manager recognition, value-driven rewards, and budget oversight. It is more robust for employee appreciation and costs $4,000 annually.
• Custom for enterprises with more complex requirements.

Terryberry offers one of the most comprehensive employee recognition solutions available today. Their platform covers all aspects of recognition, including service awards automation, peer-to-peer recognition, and a global rewards catalog. With the recent addition of advanced analytics, the platform now measures the impact of recognition on employee sentiment, offering valuable insights that help companies enhance engagement strategies.

During a recent 2024 demo, we noticed that Terryberry’s "Be Recognized" platform effectively supports recognition automation while preserving a personal touch through customizable communications, social features, and symbolic awards. The platform’s value-tagging capabilities reinforce company culture by tying recognition moments to organizational values. This feature particularly stood out during our tests, as it allows organizations to ensure that recognition aligns with their core mission.

We had a conversation with their product team, which highlighted the platform’s flexibility in accommodating various workflows. The manager dashboard provides visibility into recognition participation, allowing leaders to identify employees who may need more engagement. We found that managers can also use AI-driven recommendations to enhance the quality of recognition messages, a feature that HR leaders we consulted appreciated for its practicality and ease of use.

During our demo, we observed how the platform integrates wellness programs and survey tools. The "Be Heard" surveys allow organizations to measure employee engagement and sentiment, providing actionable insights. This integration helps companies address potential burnout among key contributors, a feature that stood out in our evaluation of the platform’s holistic approach to engagement.

For companies with hybrid or deskless workforces, we found Terryberry’s mobile-friendly features and options for printable certificates and offline recognition displays particularly useful. This ensures that recognition can reach employees regardless of their work environment, maintaining a consistent culture of appreciation.

Additionally, Terryberry’s legacy in custom symbolic awards remains a unique differentiator. We explored their ability to create bespoke awards, such as pins, rings, and trophies, which add a meaningful and personal touch to recognition programs.

Terryberry serves over 40,000 clients worldwide, including notable names like Tesco, Epsilon, General Motors, and Trilogy Health.

Terryberry offers flexible pricing models tailored to each company’s needs. Their basic subscription plans start at approximately $3 per employee receiving an award. To get an accurate quote, it's best to contact their sales team directly.

Pricing factors include:

• Subscription costs are based on the selected features.
• One-time setup fees.
• Annual administration fees are calculated by total employee headcount and reward redemptions.

Guusto’s innovative and easy-to-use platform supports recognition programs for employees at all levels, whether they work on the front lines, at the office, or at home. 

Many recognition platforms rely heavily on points-based systems that don't resonate with hourly or field employees. But Guusto allows companies to send printable rewards or gift cards that provide tangible value. We’ve given it a shot ourselves and can confirm that there's no learning curve to it: If an employee receives a $5 gift card, they get $5.

The recognition platform also makes it simple to set up peer-to-peer recognition programs, performance goal tracking, anniversary/birthday awards, and more. Managers receive budgets to send spot bonuses or non-monetary "shoutouts" to motivate their direct reports. Everything is configurable based on each company's unique needs and work culture.

Beyond its features, we admire and commend Guusto for its commitment to social impact. The company donates clean drinking water and supports a host of mental health organizations.

We took a look at Guusto's pricing structure, and honestly, we find it a bit limiting for teams that are in a growth phase. The jump from a single-user Lite plan at $40 per month to the Essential plan, which starts at 30 seats for $120 per month, feels like a big leap without enough flexibility in between. If you're a small team of, say, 5-10 people, you're either stuck paying for more seats than you need or trying to make do with a plan meant for solo users.

It would be great if there were more scalable, intermediate options to accommodate the unique needs of growing teams without forcing them to overpay for unnecessary seats.

Guusto is used by many known organizations including Staples, Compass One Healthcare, The Body Shop, Fairmont, and Rexall Pharmacies.

Guusto offers tiered pricing plans to accommodate different business needs:

• Free is free for a single user to send rewards.
• Lite costs $40 per month for one user to send and schedule bulk rewards.
• Essential costs $120 per month for 30 user seats. Additional seats are $4 per user per month.
• Premium costs $400 per month and includes 80 user seats. Additional seats are $5 per user per month.
• Available volume discounts for enterprise customers.

Note: The recognition vendor does not limit the number of recognition receipts, only the senders need user seats.

With its robust set of features, Cooleaf enables companies to make appreciation frequent and meaningful.

We’ve put the platform to the test and found it particularly excellent at tying recognition to core values. Managers can send real-time recognitions that highlight how an employee's actions embodied a certain value, such as collaboration or integrity.

This not only motivates the recipient but also reinforces behaviors your company cares about. Cooleaf also provides manager dashboards to track recognitions and see how well values are being integrated.

Celebrating big milestones is easy too. Features like automatic anniversary rewards ensure no career achievement goes unnoticed.

Milestones can be personalized for each level, from an employee's first year to their 10th anniversary. Rewards go beyond the typical gift card - managers can create a catalog of merchandise, experiences, donation gifts, and more that fit their culture.

Whether it's recognizing day-to-day wins or momentous occasions, we love how Cooleaf empowers managers to show appreciation in personalized ways. Its user-friendly interface, customization options, and focus on values make Cooleaf a great choice for companies looking to delight their teams while aligning them to important principles and goals.

Mountain Seed, Shipt, Orangetheory Fitness, SalesLoft, and Toyota are some of the companies that use Cooleaf.

Cooleaf’s pricing depends on the number of employees and the scope of your recognition efforts.

Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub packs impressive rewards and recognition features that make it easy to celebrate employees' achievements and milestones, no matter where they are.

We like how recognition is fully customizable. Managers can personalize badges for any occasion, add heartfelt messages, and share the appreciation privately or with the entire team.

Rewarding employees is also easy on Connecteam. Managers can brighten their employees' day by granting them digital tokens on the spot or by configuring the platform to automatically award tokens based on system usage and special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.

These tokens can be redeemed for gift cards from several well-known vendors, including sportswear brands, tech giants, and restaurants.

The recognition platform's analytics dashboard provides a clear overview of how tokens are being used, including who is sending tokens, who is receiving them, and how employees are spending their rewards.

Having this level of insight isn’t just good for tracking purposes but also for managers to constantly improve their rewards and recognition strategies.

Connecteam’s customer list boasts many recognizable brands, including Foot Locker, EY, Mango, and Caremark.

Connecteam’s pricing ranges from $29 to $99 per month, depending on the features you need. Note that this range is for 30 user seats and free plans for companies with under 10 employees are available. For more details on all plans, please visit Connecteam's Pricing page.

What really won us over after testing Matter was the way this peer-to-peer recognition software has streamlined membership management.

Once you sync it with your Slack or Teams, you can automate the whole process of adding or removing team members directly through the settings of these two communication apps.

Giving kudos turned out to be very straightforward both when we were on our computers or using the Slack app on our phones.

We liked that we could select one or more people to recognize at once, choose from one of the nine kudos templates to type our message of praise, or even create our own personalized card. Plus, the ability to add Slack emojis did bring an extra layer of fun to the whole experience.

Another aspect we found pretty cool was the coin system. This feature allows team members to attach coins to their kudos, which the recipient can then redeem for gift cards, charitable donations, prepaid cards, and more to treat themselves.

And Matter’s pricing—it’s highly accessible with a free plan that supports unlimited users, customizable notifications, and kudos.

It's worth mentioning, though, that the free plan allows for just 5 kudos sent per channel per week and only retains 30 days of historical analytics data, so any older data won’t be recorded.

Another thing to bear in mind is that any unused coin allowance, except for Kudos coins, doesn’t carry over. Depending on how you view it, this could either be an engagement booster or a potential waste of money.

4,700+ organizations, including SIEMENS, Bolt, and JiffyLube.

Matter provides four pricing options, ranging from no cost to $5 monthly. You can also access all features the tool has to offer via its 30-day free trial period.

C.A. Short Company's employee recognition software offers a unique, high-touch experience that stands out in an industry dominated by sleek, self-service platforms. While the product itself has a somewhat dated look and lacks some modern bells and whistles, the company's deep commitment to personalized service makes it an excellent fit for organizations that prefer a more hands-on approach.

Another highlight of our experience was the peer-to-peer recognition tool. C.A. Short integrates both non-monetary and monetary recognition. It also supports eCards and social recognition in the “Rec Room” (their version of a social feed). Interestingly, unlike many recognition systems that rely entirely on digital shoutouts, this platform even allows for physical “on-the-spot” recognition cards that employees can hand out in person. We can imagine how companies seeking a system that feels more intentional rather than transactional would value this feature.

We also appreciate the vendor’s approach to customization—they take the time to code each platform to a client's specifications. This includes everything from designing personalized career milestone programs to configuring reward structures based on a company's values. It’s quite manual and, therefore, requires more back-and-forth with their support team, but it also removes much of the administrative burden from HR teams and makes the system work so well for organizations that want a guided, concierge-style implementation rather than a DIY software experience.

In terms of reporting and analytics, the platform provides good visibility into how employees interact with recognition programs over time. During testing, we were able to track how frequently employees were being recognized and compare engagement levels across departments and locations. One drawback, though, is that reporting is currently powered by Power BI and requires users to leave the platform to access these insights. C.A. Short has assured us that full integration is on their roadmap, but for now, this extra step may be a hurdle for those looking for real-time, in-app analytics.

One limitation we noticed is the lack of direct connections with major HRIS vendors like Workday and BambooHR. While C.A. Short does offer automated secure sFTP folders for data integration, which eliminates manual data imports, this approach may not be as familiar to most HR professionals as a self-service native integration option.

Although the software itself is functional, as briefly mentioned at the beginning, its interface doesn’t feel as modern or intuitive as some competitors such as Nectar or Guusto. That said, C.A. Short makes up for these shortcomings with a strong customer service team that is deeply involved in onboarding, ongoing support, and program adjustments.

C.A. Short Company's client list includes Dollar General, Penske, Sysco, Tractor Supply, Old Dominion Freight Line, and Sunbelt Rentals.

C.A. Short Company does not offer a free trial and has custom pricing.

WorkTango’s employee recognition software is easy to use, amplifies core values, and reinforces positive actions.

What stood out the most for us was how flexible the platform is: Employees can give public or private recognition to their colleagues anytime, anywhere through the desktop or mobile app. This peer-to-peer, bottom-up, and top-down recognition helps enhance the employee experience by making appreciation visible across the organization.

Another thing we like about WorkTango is its focus on community building. Features like social news feeds and the ability to react to and comment on recognitions foster connections company-wide.

Employees gain visibility into recognitions across departments, roles, and locations. Adding customizable emojis, GIFs, and images further humanizes peer appreciation and makes them personal.

Integrations with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams eliminate barriers by enabling recognition directly within employees' daily workflows. WorkTango also integrates with most HRISs to sync employee data seamlessly and without errors.

For any organization seeking to improve employee experience and retention through a culture of recognition, we think WorkTango is a worthy investment. Its thoughtful features, flexible tools, and user-friendly design enable impactful recognition while bringing teams together.

Over 1,000 companies use WorkTango, including Kia Motors, HUB International, Rexall, and Accruent.

WorkTango's pricing is tailored to each customer's unique needs.

Bonusly's 360-degree recognition capabilities make it easy to boost employee morale.

We’ve tested their five-step recognition process and can confirm that it is as simple as it sounds: Each employee receives a monthly allotment of points (typically 100-200, valued at $10-$20) to recognize fellow team members. The process then is as simple as naming the recipient, choosing the points amount, sharing the reason, and adding hashtags or GIFs if desired.

We liked Bonusly’s public feed, showcasing all the recognitions given around, which motivates more action from coworkers. Managers also benefit from visibility into the recognitions occurring within their teams. They can amplify the recognition by praising both the giver and receiver.

In addition to recognizing achievements, managers, and teammates can send timely messages for birthdays, work anniversaries, and other special occasions thanks to Bonusly's automated reminders. The system neatly integrates with most HRIS platforms to automatically sync employee data, eliminating manual date entry.

Overall, Bonusly provides the essential features to boost employee engagement and build a more positive culture. It empowers employees at all levels to celebrate both major accomplishments and small wins, fostering a workplace where people feel recognized, connected, and invested in the company's success.

Over 3,250 companies use Bonusly, including Workday, Baxter, Headspace, and Qualtrics.

Bonusly has 3 subscription plans for users to choose from:

• Core: $2.70 per user per month (billed annually) for up to 50 users.
• Pro: $4.50 per user per month (billed annually) and has more flexibility in reporting, permissions, and integrations for growing teams.
• Custom: Custom pricing for businesses that need premium support and implementation.

Mo aims to help companies boost employee morale and retention through meaningful recognition.

We like its Moments and Boosts features, which empower managers to highlight individual and team achievements, big or small. Boosts can also be used to prompt team members to recognize one another for everyday wins and milestones. Employees can easily post public or private appreciative Moments and react with comments, emojis, and GIFs, spreading a spirit of gratitude.

Another thing we like about this employee recognition vendor is its automated Assistant, which reminds managers of upcoming celebrations so they can show employees they are valued. The Assistant even nudges managers if they haven't recognized someone in a while which is pretty neat. Mo also makes it easy to reward top performers. Managers to instantly grant credits redeemable for rewards from major stores like Amazon, Nordstrom, and Tesco.

We bet you’ve got to also love the straightforward pricing that’s both flexible and budget-friendly for most companies with this recognition platform. Plus, Mo doesn’t raise the prices at all, which is a nice gesture that compensates for the missing free plan.

It’s equally nice to see that Mo has worked on the integration limitations we mentioned in our previous review of the tool. Now the HRIS integrations are offered across all its plans, and Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations no longer come with an extra cost.

Unfortunately, the customer support hours haven’t changed since our last review update. You can only reach Mo’s support on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm GMT. For distributed teams working across different time zones like ourselves, this honestly isn’t ideal.

To date, Mo has over 100,000 users from companies like SGN, The O2, NHS, Aspen, William Hill, and SHL.

Mo's pricing is a monthly subscription based on the number of employees. Contact sales for a quote.

Kudos offers a robust employee recognition platform that can help you build a positive, engaged workforce.

We like its peer-to-peer recognition abilities which empower employees to recognize one another for great work and achievements. Employees can also give kudos for actions or behaviors tied to company values like collaboration or innovation.

Not only does this reinforce those values but giving specific recognition provides valuable people analytics for managers to track what behaviors are being role-modeled.

All of this peer recognition activity is collected and displayed on the Kudos Wall. This broadcast of appreciation helps employees feel valued and reminds them that they are part of something bigger. It also cultivates an inspiring sense of community.

Rewards can also be given through the system. It’s all gamified, which we’re big fans of. Employees can collect points from giving and receiving kudos, which they can then redeem from an online catalog that covers anything from company-branded swag to gift cards, Amazon products, and charity donations.

The employee recognition and rewards platform also integrates seamlessly with existing HR systems to pull employee data like birthdays, work anniversaries, and more, so you won’t have to remember or input any of this info manually.

Kudos is used by thousands of growing businesses and enterprises including MTN, Russel, ATCO, Bulgari, and DHL.

Kudos’ pricing starts at $3.25 per user per month for organizations with at least 500 employees. However, its actual pricing is flexible, based on the number of user seats needed and the length of the contract.

We picked AdvantageClub.ai as one of the best employee recognition solutions because the platform impressed us with how much it helps employees show appreciation to their peers. During our testing, we discovered many appealing features, including Milestone Awards, Peer-to-Peer Recognition, Spot Awards, and Long Service Awards.

AdvantageClub.ai makes it incredibly easy to recognize achievements: Users can send kudos or awards through the built-in recognition feed, and thanks to AI-generated message assistance, employees who struggle with wording can send appreciation messages with just a few clicks. We tested this feature by selecting a peer (Ben), writing a message, and using the AI assistant ADVA to refine our words, which resulted in a warm and professional recognition post.

The platform also excels with its Buzz Feed feature, which allows employees to publicly celebrate achievements, anniversaries, and birthdays in a social media-like interface. The kudos we gave Ben earlier were visible to colleagues in the feed, who could not only view them but also react with customizable emojis and comments—just like they would on platforms like LinkedIn.

We also love the ability to share recognition on external communication apps like Slack and Teams. Being a remote team that relies on these tools daily for team syncs, this sharing feature adds a layer of convenience, making it easier for employees to give and receive peer recognition.

Another major strength of AdvantageClub.ai is its global rewards marketplace. With over 10,000 brands in 100+ countries, it’s an easy choice for multinational organizations looking for a recognition platform with diverse reward options.

If you’re looking for a tool that actively drives engagement in your recognition program, ADVA, the AI-driven assistant, is worth checking out. This feature encourages participation with gentle nudges—for example, without feeling intrusive, it reminded us that we hadn’t given a kudo to a colleague in a while or that we hadn’t redeemed our wellness points for a health check-up.

That said, AdvantageClub.ai has some drawbacks. One major downside is its lack of pricing transparency—costs vary based on your team's location and the features you need, so you’ll have to speak with sales to get an accurate quote. Also, unlike some competitors like Guusto and Workstars, the platform doesn’t offer a free trial, which makes it even harder for extra cautious companies who like to try before buying.

And for those particularly interested in the platform’s analytics and dashboard, bear in mind that fully leveraging these tools often requires some extra support from the vendor side.

1,000+ companies, including TARGET, EY, Concentrix, and BCG.

AdvantageClub.ai has custom pricing only, and no free trial is offered.