Thanks to their Amazon Business integration, Awardco is unique in basically putting Amazon’s product catalog at your disposal for employee rewards. They also have a points system for hotels, tickets, charitable donations and more.
Ratings
Ease of Use
Best For
Key Differentiator
Price
Free Trial
PROS
- Amazon Business integration, huge reward catalog for a multitude of countries.
- The platform is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese.
CONS
- Actual pricing is not publicly available, so getting started won’t be a quick and self-service process like with other companies in the space.
- With Awardco, digital and physical gift cards are ineligible for refunds.
- Only Amazon-delivered products are available from Awardco. Goods sold by third-party vendors on Amazon are not available.
- The Awardco mobile app is only available as a Progressive Web Application, not from the App Store or Google Play, which might be less intuitive for some users.
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Although they stand out mainly for their Amazon integration and reward catalog, Awardco is also interesting because of its many modules. Within a single platform, they have the tools you’d expect for rewards and recognition, like a social media feed, shout outs, and a points system. But they also have the Celebrate, Earn, and Manage modules.
Celebrate is for recognizing employees when reaching a certain milestone in their career or other meaningful moments. The folks at Awardsco felt that the usual rewards, like a gift-card or company swag or even a plaque, could feel bland compared to the meaning of say, reaching a certain tenure within the company or getting a promotion.
So, they devised this module with reward offerings like trips, experiences, and digital memory books. As with most of the platform, you can set up automated reminders for dates like birthdays and service anniversaries. This also saves you the legwork of getting managers to sign off on an initiative or colleagues to sign a card for instance, thanks to the automated emails feature.
Then we have Earn, of which we already explained a bit in the features section of this review. This basically grabs their entire catalog and makes it available to tie certain rewards to an individual or team objective. It can be used to incentivize performance or participation within an internal program. For example, an employee can get a certain amount of points if they reach 90% of their KPIs for the month, or get a gift card for attending a seminar and then sharing notes with the rest of the team.
Finally, ‘Manage’ is the part of the portal where you keep track of everything going on with your rewards and recognition activity. It’s where you’ll set a budget, handle taxes related to the rewards and recognition expenses, manage HRMS and other integrations, and get reports which can be exported to .csv.
I use Awardco regularly, with increased usage during key recognition periods and company initiatives. On a weekly basis, I review recognition activity and respond to questions from leaders and employees.
Monthly and quarterly, I use Awardco to support programs such as service anniversaries and performance-based recognition, as well as to review reporting. I also assist employees with redemption issues, particularly our international workforce.
During annual promotions, we use the tool to recognize promoted employees through the recognition news feed, highlighting the reasons for their promotions.
- It works well for a global workforce, as employees across different countries have a consistent experience.
- I have had a very positive experience with customer support, which has been responsive and helpful when assistance is needed.
- The platform is easy to use and visually clean, making navigation simple for employees and administration straightforward for HR.
My current organization purchased Awardco to address several challenges with our previous employee recognition and rewards process, particularly as a growing global organization.
Before Awardco, we struggled to ship physical awards to international employees, especially in India, which often resulted in delays, high costs, customs issues, or awards not arriving at all.
We also lacked a centralized platform that could support consistent recognition across regions while still allowing employees to choose rewards that were meaningful locally. The platform improved visibility and tracking of recognition activity, which helped leadership better understand engagement trends and participation across teams.
I have personally used Awardco as an administrator for approximately three years, supporting program setup, rollout, and employee inquiries.
- Reporting could be more robust, as pulling certain reports can require additional effort.
- Pricing and contract details are not always fully transparent upfront, which can make planning more difficult.
- The integration process required additional coordination with our previous system to complete setup correctly.
Awardco stands out because of how effectively it supports a global organization. Other tools we evaluated were more U.S.-centric and relied heavily on physical rewards, which created challenges for international teams.
Awardco’s localized redemption options make recognition more accessible and consistent across regions. Day-to-day HR workflows are also stronger than with previous tools.
When evaluating an employee recognition and rewards platform, organizations should consider how well it supports their workforce and whether rewards are meaningful across different countries.
Ease of administration is critical, as HR teams need an intuitive system that does not require significant manual effort. Strong customer support and responsiveness are also important, particularly during implementation and when issues arise.
The platform has improved usability through mobile capabilities and enhanced navigation, making daily administration easier. It has also added better visibility into engagement activity to support recognition programs at scale. We continue to see practical system upgrades.
Mid-sized to large organizations with a global or distributed workforce that want consistent recognition across regions are a strong fit for Awardco. It is especially helpful for companies that have struggled with international shipping of physical rewards or managing multiple recognition systems.
Organizations with very limited recognition budgets may not realize the full value of Awardco. Strong leadership support is also necessary for the program to succeed.
We used Awardco primarily to manage our service anniversary programs. I logged in regularly to launch and monitor milestone recognitions across multiple business units. The catalog was a major part of how we used the platform.
Employees enjoyed browsing different reward options, and we relied on the system to automate notifications so no milestone was missed. Most of my time in Awardco was spent confirming eligibility and verifying that the correct awards triggered at the right time, especially around service anniversaries.
We checked reporting periodically to confirm that each location stayed aligned with our recognition budget and program guidelines.
- The reward catalog is extensive and easy for employees to navigate, which made recognition feel more personalized and meaningful.
- Automated milestone triggers meant we never missed a service anniversary, which removed a significant administrative burden from HR.
- The platform interface is intuitive, making it easy to launch and manage recognition programs across multiple business units.
We purchased Awardco to streamline recognition across 15+ business units that were all using different, inconsistent methods for service anniversaries and spot awards. Our pain point was that everything was manual, and employees were not getting the same experience from one branch to the next.
Awardco appeared to centralize the process, automate milestone reminders, and offer a strong rewards catalog that employees would enjoy. We used the platform for about a year, and I personally used it throughout the entire implementation and rollout.
It solved the consistency issue, but we realized over time that the system was more robust than what we needed and harder to integrate with JD Edwards, our payroll system.
- The platform was more robust than our needs, making it harder to justify the cost for a mid-sized organization.
- Integration options were limited for us, and Awardco could not connect with our JD Edwards payroll system, which created extra manual work.
- Some reporting features felt less flexible than needed, especially when reconciling budgets across multiple business units.
Awardco is more customizable than many simpler recognition platforms we have used, with a broader rewards catalog and more automated milestone capabilities.
Compared to tools like Snappy, Awardco offered deeper structure and more options for configuring recognition workflows, which worked well for organizations with traditional HRIS systems, but felt heavier to manage for our needs.
I appreciated Awardco’s comprehensive approach and automation potential, but preferred the simplicity and stronger value of a lighter tool like Snappy for day-to-day usage and budget alignment.
Awardco stands out for organizations that want a full-featured recognition ecosystem and have the technical connectivity to support it.
Integration should be a primary consideration; if a tool does not connect cleanly with your payroll or HRIS, manual work can quickly offset automation benefits.
Ease of use matters for both administrators and employees, since a strong catalog loses value if managers struggle to launch awards or employees struggle to redeem them.
Cost should align with company size and growth plans, as features that seem optional can add up quickly.
Reporting capabilities should support budget reconciliation, trend analysis, and program evaluation so engagement impact can be measured accurately.
Awardco expanded its catalog options and continued building integrations and automation features, which reflected responsiveness to user feedback. The platform interface and recognition workflows became more intuitive over time, making reward redemption easier for employees and program management easier for HR.
Even with these improvements, integration with systems like JD Edwards remained a limitation for us, keeping full automation out of reach. Continued progress in integration support and reporting flexibility would improve its fit for organizations with complex or legacy payroll systems.
Awardco works well for mid-to-large organizations with traditional HRIS or payroll systems and the internal resources to support integrations. It fits companies seeking a customizable recognition ecosystem with a broad rewards catalog and automated milestone workflows.
Awardco is not a strong fit for small organizations that do not need a full-scale recognition platform or lack the budget for a robust system.
Companies using older or highly customized payroll or HRIS systems, such as JD Edwards, may face challenges since integrations may not fully support legacy environments.
I use Awardco as a user about three times per year to purchase something that feels like a personal gift—something I wouldn’t typically splurge on with my own money. As an admin, I log in monthly to review spending and usage. Otherwise, it is very simple to manage internally. The platform requires very little capacity from the team.
We appreciate Awardco’s integration with Amazon Shopping. The user interface is simple and visually appealing. The wide range of available products and the ease of adding funds to user accounts are strong advantages.
We evaluated our rewards and recognition platform a few years ago. The system we had was tied to a site where users could spend their points on swag, gifts, and items from an online catalog.
The problems we faced were the limited selection of items and the unclear points-to-dollar conversion. It was not easy to understand, and we were not seeing much engagement.
We have now used Awardco for three years, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly regarding the simple user interface and seamless integration with Amazon.
Since many people already use Amazon regularly, having work-related funds to spend on the platform feels meaningful. The straightforward dollar-to-point ratio also helps employees easily understand their available balance.
This is difficult, as the platform is very effective. One challenge is viewing tracking information—it is not as straightforward as with the Amazon platform. The overall cost is high, especially considering we fund the purchases in addition to paying for the platform itself.
It feels expensive for what the platform is responsible for. Lastly, it would be helpful if users could combine points with personal Amazon purchases—for example, using 50 points and paying $50 out of pocket for a $100 item.
I feel that Awardco occupies a strong niche, with an aesthetic and functionality that mirrors Amazon. Its integration with Amazon is a major benefit, given Amazon’s global familiarity. I also like the clear 1 dollar = 1 point setup and the ability to convert points to Amazon or other gift cards.
Buyers should carefully evaluate the cost of the platform. It’s important to have a tool that is easy to use and requires minimal administrative effort. They should also think about their workforce and what kind of rewards and recognition style will resonate most with that group.
Awardco offers customizable reporting. We asked them to build a user report that integrates with our AP system, and they delivered it seamlessly.
This tool is a great fit for users who are familiar with and regularly use Amazon. It can work well for both small and large businesses, provided the cost is manageable.
Due to the platform cost, this may not be a good option for smaller organizations with limited budgets or low margins.
Assembly
Assembly
Motivosity
Motivosity
Nectar
Nectar
Awardco
Awardco
Achievers
Achievers
Awardco has plans that could be suitable for small businesses (1-100 employees), mid-market (100-1000) or enterprise (>1000). They do cater to businesses in several parts of the world and, as you can see from their client list, a variety of industries.
As far as rewards and features go, Awardco is one of the most complete tools we’ve seen. Hence, if you’re looking for a quick and simple solution to get started with rewards and recognition, for instance, a platform to send out gift cards and send shout outs, Awardco would definitely be more than what you need.
Amazon, Ford, Pinterest, Cornell, Chick-fil-A, Paramount, Pacific Life, and Hertz.
- Employee Recognition: From the same platform, you can recognize an individual or multiple team members at a time, tag a specific type of action, program, or network you’re recognizing them for, and then write a small text explaining why. Recognitions can be points or a simple “thank you”.
- Employee Incentives: Awardco also stands out for having the “Earn” module, where you can incentivize employees to reach specific goals or be part of internal initiatives (for example, a safety training) in exchange for points. The remarkable thing about this module is that it lets employees take ownership of their rewards.
- Zero Markup Rewards: Awardco’s partnership with Amazon Business means you pay the same price for products as if you purchase them yourself. You also save on shipping thanks to the eCommerce giant’s infrastructure, and avoid imports. For instance, do you have an employee in Amsterdam? Amazon Netherlands will send their product from a local warehouse.
Awardco also has capabilities for:
- Spot Recognition
- Social Feed
- Budget Manager
- Reporting & Dashboards
- Bulk Recognition
- Birthday Automation
- Onboarding Programs
- Branded rewards and UX
- Okta
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Compatible with all sorts of HRIS systems, mostly through an API or SFTP method
- Only supports SAML 2
- SSO is an option
Awardco has a $5,000 minimum annual fee. The final pricing structure would vary according to your company size and reward needs.
According to their sales page, implementing Awardco will take 4-12 weeks. Times will vary depending on the state of your recognition program and how many people it’s going to serve. With any implementation, there's a dedicated team to help with technical configurations and overall strategy.
As an Awardco client, you get a Client Success Manager that’s available by phone or email should you need any assistance. As part of their Customer Success efforts, Awardco also offers a User Support FAQ, they constantly publish content on best practices to increase the internal adoption of recognition programs. Also, their personal support is handled through Zendesk.
Although their LinkedIn lists their founding year as 2015, Awardco actually traces its origins back to 2012. Then, the company was a couple of people working on a picnic table. They started as a basic reward and recognition software platform, which we can say was a fairly novel idea at the time. The idea spread, the company kept growing and they were able to land their deal with Amazon Business a couple of years later. In turn, this enabled them to get other partnerships and keep growing their reward offering. For instance, now they can offer holiday packages or in-town experiences as rewards. Awardco are now able to cater to over 3 million users globally, in over 140 countries.
Company HQ
Provo, Utah
Number of Employees
370+
Year Founded
2015
Amount Raised
Last round was $65M in Series A funding in the fall of 2021.
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