Introduction

We spend hundreds of hours researching the best HR and recruiting software so you don’t have to. We never take money from vendors during our research phase and rely heavily on practitioners and experts to help us recommend the right software. However we may earn a small fee if you click on vendor links on this page.

Learn More

Bonusly Versus the Competition

Bonusly is an employee recognition and rewards platform that specializes in gift cards. Available in dozens of countries, their international rewards catalog is impressive.

If you're ready to get a Bonusly demo, we suggest getting in touch for a look at the product and quote. Otherwise, read on!

Ratings

4.7

Ease of Use

Best For

Key Differentiator

Price

Starts at $2.70/user/month

Free Trial

Yes

PROS

  • Intuitive user interface.
  • Available in German, English, French, and Spanish.
  • Supports Android and iOS.
  • Discounts for nonprofit and education organizations.
  • 14-day, full-featured free trial.

CONS

  • The starter plan is for small businesses that cap out at 50 users.
  • Analytics and reporting features are relatively underdeveloped.
  • The reward catalog lacks in-person experience and physical goods, and options and focuses on gift cards, cash, or donations.
  • Unused bonus funds don’t roll over: users use it or lose it.
Phil Strazzulla
HR Tech Expert, Harvard MBA, Software Enthusiast

Need Help? Get Custom Recommendations for Best Employee Rewards Programs

Talk to An Advisor
Over 3 million HR leaders trust our advice

Bonusly Review

Bonusly’s global offering makes it easy for multicultural teams to send gift cards to recognize excellence and reward their peers.

Users choose a reward, select the country from the drop-down menu, and pick gift cards from available partners. Options also include local establishments. Recipients can "cash out" and spend the money on services (housekeeping, for example) or donate their bonus.

In addition to streamlining the process for rewards, Bonusly also lets users recognize employee accomplishments by broadcasting to the entire company or with selected teams. When someone is singled out for doing good work, Bonusly will help users shout it from the rooftops (safely within the confines of the platform, of course).

Bonusly can make building rewards into the manager’s daily routine easier. Impromptu team-wide or individual rewards are easy to give, and users can set up goodies for "delivery" for recurring events like birthdays and work anniversaries. Additionally, each employee is provided with a monthly allowance for peer-to-peer recognition.

Along with all the revelry, Bonusly has also created a swag integration, namely AXOMO. Users choose the swag, connect to the AXOMO store to the Bonusly Reward catalog, and employees can directly redeem their points for company swag in addition to the usual reward choices.

Who shouldn't buy Bonusly

  • Those looking for a wide variety of reward types, including in-person experiences or physical goods, should look elsewhere.
  • A team with slumping morale, high attrition, bad reviews, or other widespread company culture problems should not use Bonusly. No single tool can "fix" a team with deep systemic issues.

Bonusly Customers

The software has over 3,100 companies from 100+ countries. Some of them are ZipRecruiter, TOAST, SurveyMonkey, and Chobani.

Bonusly: Best Platform for Peer to Peer Recognition
visit Bonusly

Bonusly Key Features

  • Peer-to-peer recognition: Employees can easily acknowledge each others’ contributions.
  • Automated milestones: Automation of gifts for important dates (birthdays, work anniversaries).
  • Incentive programs: Foster a positive culture with incentives.
  • Rewards options: Employees can choose from gift cards, charitable donations, cash, or company swag.
  • Integrations: Built-in integrations with numerous collaboration tools.
  • Social media style interface: Add gifs, images, links, and emojis to recognition.
  • Accessibility: Open API, web-based, and iOS/Android friendly.
  • Recognition Analytics: Identify trends, monitor changes, and monitor the employee recognition program’s efficiency.

Bonusly Key Integrations

  • Chat & Collaboration Software: MS Teams, Google Chat, and Slack integrations.
  • Human Resource Information System (HRIS): BambooHR, Workday, Namely, Zenefits, Paycom, ADP, Gusto, and more.
  • Custom Tools: Open API & Widget.

Bonusly Pricing

If billed annually, users can expect to pay:

  • Core plan starts at $2.70 per user per month
  • Pro plan costs $4.50 per user per month
  • Custom plan has custom pricing.

Bonusly is Best For

Small and large teams (50 to 5,000), and those who want to shape company culture with employee recognition. Also an excellent choice for peer-to-peer recognition in remote and hybrid work modes.

How has Bonusly Changed Over Time?

Bonusly Implementation

Bonusly is cloud-based, so companies can sign up and use it almost immediately. However, as the employee recognition program gets more complex, it can help with a launch strategy, manager resources, and training, resulting in streamlining the implementation process.

Bonusly Customer Success

  • Help Center.
  • System status site.
  • Typical response under 24 hours.
  • Contact support is done through an online form.
  • Customer support teams are based in Seattle, Boulder (HQ), and New York.

About Bonusly

Headquartered in Colorado with teams in Seattle and NYC, Bonusly has been around since 2012, which, along with their client list and track record, makes them one of the first names in the employee rewards and recognition software space.

Current CEO Raphael Crawford-Marks founded the company in. Speaking to Crunchbase, Crawford-Marks said that his previous work experience at several startups made him realize that employee experience would become integral to business success. The software was likely the way to measure and improve the said experience.

Interestingly, ​​Crawford-Marks was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras and an instructor for Year Up. He dropped out of High School to work as a software engineer in the mid-nineties. He eventually returned to school, getting a BA in Cognitive Science at Hampshire College.

Bonusly was named one of the most successful companies in America by Inc. Magazine and one of the top 50 places to work in the US by Outside Magazine in 2019.

Company HQ

Boulder, Colorado

Number of Employees

11-50

Year Founded

2012

Amount Raised

12.5M

FAQ

Does Bonusly have a free trial?

Yes, it gives access to all the features and their customer success team and doesn’t require users to provide any payment information to start.

Who uses Bonusly?

While most Bonusly customers are midsize and large corporates, such as Hulu, ZipRecruiter, and SurveyMonkey,  their pricing plans make them very accessible to small teams.

Bonusly Alternatives

Bucketlist

Rewards platform with a massive catalog

Popularity score
4.9 / 5
user score
4.8 / 5
Product score
4.4 / 5
Awardco

Gift cards, curated memory books and keepsakes

Popularity score
4.6 / 5
user score
4.7 / 5
Product score
4.4 / 5
WorkTango

Rewards and incentives to boost experience and performance

Popularity score
4.8 / 5
user score
4.5 / 5
Product score
4.4 / 5
Motivosity

Rewards platform focused on community building

Popularity score
4.7 / 5
user score
4.7 / 5
Product score
4.6 / 5
Kudos

Rewards platform for companies with 500+ employees

Popularity score
4.6 / 5
user score
4.8 / 5
Product score
4.2 / 5
Cooleaf

Manager empowerment and team building rewards platform

Popularity score
4.9 / 5
user score
4.9 / 5
Product score
4.2 / 5
Guusto

Rewards platform for frontline employees

Popularity score
4.9 / 5
user score
4.9 / 5
Product score
4.2 / 5
Vantage Circle

Rewards platform in over 100 countries

Popularity score
/ 5
user score
4.4 / 5
Product score
4.1 / 5
Workstars

Affordable rewards platform for US and UK businesses

Popularity score
4.8 / 5
user score
4.7 / 5
Product score
4.1 / 5

Review Methodology

We take our research process seriously and want to make sure we are presenting our readers with the very best solutions in a given software category. Check out this guide to learn how we evaluate vendors before featuring them in our buyer guides.

Learn More