An employee recognition platform is a tool to create a workplace where employee’s efforts are seen and celebrated. These platforms turn the everyday moments of appreciation into a structured, visible, and impactful part of company culture, encouraging employees to feel valued and motivated.
Companies adopt employee recognition platforms to foster a culture of appreciation that goes beyond the basics of praise. By integrating peer recognitions, social recognition, and custom rewards like company swag or charitable donations, businesses can elevate the overall employee experience.
The result is a dynamic environment where employee sentiment thrives, and core company values come alive, fueling engagement, productivity, and long-term loyalty.
The Geekflare team has listed out some of the best employee recognition software based on unique specialization, customization and flexibility and integration with existing tools.
- Bonusly – Build High-performing Culture
- Guusto – Best for Experiences & Gifts
- Motivosity – Best to Boost Engagement
- Nectar – Best for Employee Experience + Rewards
- WorkTango – Best for Actionable Recognition Insights
- Awardco – Best for Large-Scale Rewards Programs
- Assembly – Best for Peer-to-Peer Social Recognition
- Empuls – AI-powered Recognition and Rewards
- Cooleaf – Automate Service Awards
- Kudoboard – Best for Personalized Group eCards
- Bravo – Best for Continuous Feedback
- Evergreen – Best for Environment-Friendly Recognition
- Giftogram – Send Gifts to Employees and Customers
- HeyTaco – To Celebrate on Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Kudos – Best for Core Values Recognition
- Terryberry – All-in-one to Engage and Reward
- Mo – Best for Habit-Building Recognition
- Qarrot – Best for Small to Medium Size Teams
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Reward Types
Monetary, non- monetary, spot bonuses
Integrations
Slack, Microsoft, HRIS
Social Features
Company-wide social feed, leaderboards, gamification
Bonusly is an employee recognition platform that brings people together by celebrating their achievements and fostering a culture of engagement and connection.
Trusted by over 3,250 companies and with more than 58 million recognitions shared, this platform makes it easy for teams to communicate, collaborate, and feel valued. It’s all about creating a workplace where every contribution is recognized, and everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging and pride.
Integrates recognition into daily workflows, allowing managers to celebrate achievements without the need for reminders or follow-up.
Provides clarity of purpose and incentives that align employee actions with real business goals.
Integrates structured 1:1 meeting agendas focused on project update.
Offers end-to-end customization, from rewards to 1:1 meeting frameworks.
Demonstrates program impact to stakeholders with detailed engagement statistics.
Displays team connections through an organization graph to visualize strength and frequency of interactions.
Reduces fairness and recency bias by leveraging past recognition data in performance reviews and feedback sessions.
Integrates with existing HRIS and SSO systems.
Promotes a sense of belonging by highlighting employee contributions and encouraging inclusive recognition practices.
Helps managers maintain fairness in performance reviews by providing historical recognition data.
Undervalues face-to-face recognition, which can be important in certain organizations.
HR teams need to spend additional time managing and monitoring the platform to ensure it is used effectively.
Reward Types
Customizable rewards, goal-based rewards
Integrations
BambooHR, Workday, ADP, Slack, Microsoft Teams
Social features
Leaderboard, LinkedIn, Custom Badges
Guusto gift card provided to employees for their outstanding contributions or milestones ensures a day of access to clean water for a person in need. This dual benefit approach creates a workplace culture of gratitude and recognition while supporting global initiatives for clean water, allowing companies to make a tangible difference both within and outside their organization.
By choosing Gusto, every gift sent becomes a gesture of appreciation that extends beyond the workplace.
Enables flexible reward delivery, offering options such as digital gift cards, experiences, or donations.
Facilitates impactful non-monetary recognition through the “Shoutouts” feature.
Encourages charitable giving by providing employees the option to donate rewards to any charity of their choice.
Supports a variety of employee rewards programs, from wellness initiatives to learning and development incentives.
Provides a leaderboard to recognize top performers and encourage healthy competition among teams.
Facilitates global employee gift card programs, supporting multiple currencies and locations without additional costs.
Allows employees to nominate peers for recognition, fostering a culture of appreciation.
Offers a free account with the flexibility to scale up by paying only for those who send recognition.
Includes a social impact component with each reward, donating one day of clean drinking water for every gift sent and pledging 1% of equity to mental health initiatives.
Provides a sustainable alternative to plastic gift cards, reducing environmental impact by eliminating single-use plastics.
The platform’s success depends heavily on consistent participation from all employees.
Printable rewards are available, but most other features require online access, which may not be ideal for all users.
Excessive or frequent recognition may lead to “recognition fatigue,” where employees become desensitized to rewards.
Less tech-savvy employees may not prefer this platform due to its digital nature.
Reward Types
Monetary & non-monetary recognition, nomination-based awards
Integrations
HRIS, API, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365
Social features
Digital shoutouts, Points, Videos
Motivosity offers a user-friendly platform that enables managers and team members to personalize these occasions through thoughtful messages, unique rewards, and automated reminders. It ensures that every employee feels truly valued and recognized for their contributions.
By fostering a culture of celebration and acknowledgment, Motivosity helps build stronger bonds within teams, boosts morale, and nurtures an environment where people feel seen and appreciated every day.
Enables HR and managers to set and manage budgets for recognition programs, ensuring effective distribution of rewards.
Incorporates gamification features like leaderboards and points to make recognition more interactive.
Accommodates global teams with multilingual options.
Offers an intuitive interface that’s easy for everyone to use, from frontline workers to C-suite executives.
Ensures managers never miss an important occasion to recognize their team members, with automated reminders for birthdays and anniversaries.
Facilitates the process of nominating colleagues for special awards.
Empowers everyone to give kudos, not just top-down—hello.
Real-time analytics show what’s working and where to improve.
Automates tedious tasks, freeing up HR for strategic work.
Could lead to favoritism or biased recognition if not monitored properly.
Does not align well with more conservative or traditional workplace cultures.
Requires a minimum annual spend of $3,000, which is not feasible for smaller organizations
Managers need to actively monitor and engage with the platform to ensure its success.
Reward Types
Customizable points, gift cards
Integrations
HRIS, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Surveys
Social features
Reactions, leaderboards, digital shoutouts, employee spotlights
With Nectar, giving a shoutout is easy and meaningful, encouraging everyone—from peers to leaders—to celebrate each other’s contributions, big or small.
This platform is especially great for those who want to prioritize employee experience and genuine engagement. It helps build a culture where recognition is frequent, authentic, and inclusive, allowing everyone to participate.
Provides templates for recognition notifications, reminders, and announcements that can be customized to fit company tone.
Allow recognition to happen in real-time with shoutouts sent directly through Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Launch challenges tied to company goals to boost performance and engagement across teams.
Use frequent recognition to keep high-performing employees engaged and motivated to stay.
Monitors how often and which rewards are redeemed, providing insights into employee preferences.
Provides SSO integration with platforms like Google Workspace and Microsoft Azure to simplify secure login for employees.
Ensures compliance with GDPR requirements, including data access requests and employee consent management.
Integrate with Slack and Microsoft Teams to enable recognition directly from the tools your team already uses.
Supports integration with popular HR Information Systems like BambooHR or Workday.
Facilitates different types of recognition, including spot bonuses, long-term awards, and shoutouts.
Integrations are primarily available for popular HRIS and communication tools; less common systems are not supported.
API access is available, but documentation is too technical for smaller organizations without dedicated IT support.
Reward Types
Approval-based rewards, custom swag, result-based recognition
Integrations
HCM, API, Wellness Platforms, Slack, Teams, Google Workspace
Social features
Anonymous feedback, mood monitoring
WorkTango helps you see the full picture of recognition in your organization—who’s being recognized, how often, and for what reasons. It goes beyond just tracking these moments; it’s about uncovering the deeper insights that can spark real change and growth.
By simplifying things like anniversaries, creating spaces for public recognition, and offering flexible reward options, WorkTango ensures that every contribution is acknowledged and valued.
Monitors participation rates and recognition data by department, location, job role, or any field from your HCM/HRIS.
Offers customizable feedback templates like ‘Start, Stop, Continue’ and ‘Strengths and Opportunities’ to streamline meaningful feedback.
Visualizes open-text survey responses in a Sentiment Cloud to quickly identify common themes and areas for improvement.
Provides tools to create and manage incentive programs, promoting desired behaviors such as wellness participation or survey completion.
Allows employees to choose from a wide range of global and local rewards, from digital products to experiences.
Connects with fitness trackers like Google Fit and Apple Health to automatically reward employees for healthy behaviors.
Includes in-platform tools to calculate the budget impact of new incentives and set claim caps.
Allows HR and managers to respond to survey comments anonymously, fostering a safe environment for honest employee feedback.
Provides a marketplace with over 10 million reward options, including products from popular brands, with zero markup and free shipping.
Supports integrations with wellness apps and tools like Apple Health and Google Fit to incentivize healthy habits.
Allows for zero-cost rewards, such as mentoring hours or charitable contributions, making recognition accessible for all budget levels.
Enables employees to redeem reward points for donations to over 1.2 million charities worldwide.
Automatically celebrates milestones such as new hires, first-week anniversaries, and more, with customizable recognition settings.
The platform’s reliance on frequent updates for new features and integrations is resource-intensive for IT teams.
Some reward options have regional restrictions or limitations.
Frequent notifications and updates might overwhelm employees.
Managing GDPR compliance tools becomes complex, especially in organizations without dedicated data privacy resources.
Reward Types
Digital rewards, Flexible Point Redemption
Integrations
HRIS, Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, CRM
Social features
Emoji and GIF reactions, Recognition Wall
With a platform that’s flexible, customizable, and easy to use, Awardco is designed for organizations that need a robust solution to manage large-scale rewards programs.
Whether you’re looking to boost engagement, reduce turnover, or build a positive culture across multiple locations, Awardco provides the tools and insights needed to make recognition seamless and impactful.
Provides access to the largest global rewards network with millions of options, including experiences from popular brands like Amazon and Priceline.
Features a customizable swag store where companies can offer branded merchandise as part of their reward options.
Hosts a social feed for public recognitions, shoutouts, and digital awards.
Allows employees to redeem rewards in multiple currencies, making it suitable for global teams.
Creates personalized MemoryBooks for employees to commemorate important milestones.
Offers dedicated support for onboarding and platform training, including custom learning sessions and resources.
Supports nomination and approval workflows for awards, making it easy to recognize outstanding employee achievements.
Supports Single Sign-On (SSO) integration to simplify secure access for all employees across the platform.
Offers complete visibility into recognition program data with secure download options and automated report scheduling.
Supports both digital and physical reward options, including gift cards, custom experiences and company swag.
Supports a flexible points system that allows for bulk or on-demand point purchases.
Dependent on third-party vendors for reward fulfillment, which could be disrupted by external supply chain issues.
Advanced budget management features may be too complex for smaller organizations.
Depending on the vendor and location, some reward deliveries may face delays.
Restricts the number of thank you notes that can be sent per month or quarter.
Only managers can allocate points for recognition, limiting opportunities for staff to recognize their peers directly.
Reward Types
Nomination-based, Charity Donation, Digital Rewards
Integrations
Slack, Teams, Google Workspace, Asana, Trello, and Jira
Social features
Interactive social feed, peer-to-peer recognition channels
From simple nominations to automated celebrations for work anniversaries, the goal of Assembly is to keep recognition flowing naturally, right where your team is already collaborating—in Slack or Microsoft Teams.
By making peer-to-peer recognition easy and fun, this platform helps teams build stronger connections, enhance loyalty, and create a more engaged and positive workplace every day.
Provides a platform for all employees, both on-site and remote, to connect and share personal experiences, fostering a sense of community.
Enables a structured nomination and voting process, allowing employees to participate in recognizing their peers.
Serves as a Digital HQ to support hybrid work environments, enhancing remote and in-office employee experiences.
Encourages employee engagement through recognition and fun activities or contests, both during holidays and on regular days.
Allows employees to send points that can be converted into real rewards.
Promotes ongoing recognition and the use of monthly credits to reward peers, sustaining a culture of appreciation.
Includes over 40 workflow templates to streamline and optimize various HR and recognition processes.
Provides tools specifically designed to support the transition to hybrid work.
Offers customizable flows for standup meetings.
Introduces elements of fun, like random games and recognition reminders, to keep the team engaged and energized.
Enables the creation of seasonal or holiday-themed surveys that help employees share personal insights, strengthening bonds across different departments.
Frequent changes to the names of rewards (carrots, gold coins, trophies) in the recent past have created confusion and diminished the novelty of the recognition concept.
Minimum character count for recognition posts can be restrictive when a brief message would suffice.
Lacks a dedicated mobile app, making it less accessible for employees who need quick, on-the-go access to the platform.
Current notification settings are not customizable, resulting in either too many or too few notifications.
Reward Types
AI-powered, Personal Recognition Assistant (Em), Outcome-based awards
Integrations
LMS platforms, Wellness platforms, Asana, Jira, Trello
Social features
Recognition stories, Highlights
By using smart AI tools like the Personal Recognition Assistant, “Em”, Empuls prompts timely recognition of achievements, ensuring that no contribution goes unnoticed.
This platform brings recognition to life by amplifying achievements through social intranets, automating awards, and fostering team celebrations. It’s more than just recognizing efforts—it’s an AI-driven approach to creating a culture where every employee feels inspired to perform at their best.
Uses “Em,” an AI assistant, to prompt employees to log achievements weekly and suggest timely recognition.
Incentivizes continuous learning by offering rewards for skill development and training completion.
Includes features like VAPT, code reviews, firewalls, IDS, data encryption, and MFA to protect employee data.
Utilizes a global cloud infrastructure, providing flexibility in data storage and execution locations.
Provides localized rewards through a global rewards store, catering to the needs of international teams.
Allows organizations to create a custom rewards catalog tailored to their unique company culture and values.
Encourages employee referrals with dedicated rewards, enhancing recruitment efforts.
Automatically creates and distributes awards based on predefined criteria, reducing the administrative burden on HR teams.
Meets global compliance standards such as WCAG, SOC II, ISO 27001, CCPA, HIPAA, and GDPR.
Offers digital wish boards for employees to express their aspirations, creating more personalized recognition opportunities.
Makes rewarding employees for their good work easy by offering a variety of categories and hundreds of voucher options for quick redemption.
Allows employees to engage with the platform without needing administrator involvement.
Creates a virtual “town square” or “break room” where employees can chat openly and recognize each other, fostering engagement even in siloed environments.
Includes robust HR analytics and communication features, supporting both employee recognition and HR management.
Not ideal for small teams without an existing engagement foundation; better suited for larger teams with established practices.
The platform sometimes removes vouchers from the store without prior notice.
Manual updates are needed when colleagues are moved out of a team, which is time-consuming.
Ordering gift vouchers for employees in other countries results in long wait times.
Reward Types
Social good, Points-based, Custom branded
Integrations
HRIS, Survey tools, LMS, Rewards Marketplaces
Social features
Pulse surveys, Custom emojis, GIFs, Reactions
Cooleaf is an employee engagement platform that has the ability to add a personal touch to every celebration. Whether it’s the first year or the fifteenth, the platform lets you customize awards to truly reflect the unique journey of each employee.
By putting service awards on autopilot, this platform turns what could be a routine recognition into an opportunity to build deeper connections and celebrate commitment across the organization.
Offers tools to create incentive-based engagement strategies that align with business goals.
Automates recognition based on core values, ensuring consistent reinforcement of the company’s mission and values.
Enables instant recognition of exceptional work through peer and manager shoutouts.
Empowers HR teams and managers with a dedicated gifting budget for rewarding employees as they see fit.
Allows all team members, not just managers, to recognize and appreciate each other in real time.
It has a Chrome extension for quick and easy recognition within existing workflows.
Includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager to assist with programming and aligning initiatives with core values.
Supports recognition through multiple channels, including web, mobile app, Slack, and email.
Allows points earned from recognition to be converted into money.
Offers an easy-to-use platform that is particularly effective for recognizing and engaging remote team members.
Includes standout wellness programs promoting physical and mental well-being, along with valuable health and wellness content.
Promotes webinars, educational materials, goal tracking, and personal development milestones.
Has an email preview feature that allows users to see the content of recognition posts without fully logging into the platform.
Lacks additional ways to recognize groups and create private challenges with custom rewards, particularly for managers.
Issues with timely distribution of points; users may need to contact management to resolve missing reward points, which can be inconvenient.
Lacks an easily accessible tab for users to see who has recognized them, making it cumbersome to find and view comments or acknowledgments.
Reward Types
Gratitude boards, Win-walls, Employee appreciation week
Integrations
Slack, Teams, Social Media, Zapier
Social features
Personalized Recognition Journeys, Digital Signage Display
When your team comes together to celebrate a milestone, give a shoutout, or share appreciation, Kudoboard turns these moments into something memorable. With features like customizable messages, videos, images, and GIFs, every board becomes a unique expression of gratitude that employees can look back on and cherish.
From ongoing shoutouts to end-of-year celebrations, Kudoboard makes it easy to create a keepsake that employees will hold on to. It’s the ideal way to ensure that every act of recognition feels personalized, building stronger connections.
Allows team members to tag each other publicly, promoting a culture of recognition and shared celebration.
Generates QR codes for recognition boards to be easily shared during events or meetings.
Provides tools for setting up quarterly win-walls to celebrate team achievements and milestones.
Offers features for running monthly recognition campaigns.
Enables multiple users to collaborate on recognition boards simultaneously.
Permits for company branding on recognition boards with logos, color schemes, and custom themes.
Give employees the ability to bookmark their Kudoboards for easy access and sharing.
Allows creation of boards specifically for events like retirements, project completions, and new hires.
Generates printable certificates from recognition boards to give employees a tangible token of appreciation.
Ensures secure data management and compliance with privacy standards.
Integrates with calendar systems to automatically populate important dates for recognition.
Features leaderboards to display top contributors to recognition.
Supports bulk recognition, allowing managers to recognize entire teams or departments simultaneously.
The free version of Kudoboard has limited features and caps the number of boards that can be created, pushing users toward the premium version.
Some users have experienced issues where images selected by others do not display properly.
The pricing model, which charges per board, will add up over time and become expensive for small businesses.
Users find it inconvenient to have to log in just to write a message.
Reward Types
Custom rewards, Leaderboards
Integrations
Slack, Microsoft Teams, HRIS, Zapier
Social features
Gamification, Reactions, Interactive events
With Bravo, feedback becomes a daily practice rather than an occasional event. The platform uses AI-based suggestions to highlight moments when recognition is due, whether it’s for a job well done or a work anniversary.
The ability to see who’s thriving and who might need extra support through this platform’s daily actionable reports ensures no one gets left behind. Feedback becomes a powerful tool for growth, and every recognition moment helps drive productivity, retention, and a healthy work environment.
Uses AI to analyze the sentiment behind recognition messages, providing insights into employee morale.
Automates birthday and work anniversary celebrations, rewarding employees with points or other incentives.
Tracks productivity levels through recognition patterns, helping managers identify high performers and areas for improvement.
Monitors the overall health of the company culture by analyzing team dynamics and recognition trends.
Boosts productivity by encouraging recognition of efforts, which in turn motivates employees to perform better.
Integrates employee feedback into the recognition process, ensuring that rewards are aligned with employee expectations.
Provides a system where employees can earn praise points and bonus points by inviting team members to the platform, encouraging participation and engagement.
Automatically converts customer responses into tickets, helping teams manage every query effectively and improving overall customer service.
Ensures all team members are aware of results and understand what contributes to profit flows, enhancing transparency and customer experience.
Lacks support for custom integration, making it difficult for companies to seamlessly use their own software with Bravo.
The bonus redemption network is limited, and the selection of GIFs is outdated, reducing the fun and engagement for team members.
The tool is currently only web-based, with no desktop version available for easy installation on computers.
Reward Types
Seed-based rewards, Carbon offset tracking
Integrations
Slack, Teams, HRIS, Sustainability platforms
Social features
Green impact dashboard, Leaderboards, Reactions
Evergreen offers a fresh approach for teams that want to align their work culture with their values. You can track how your recognitions translate into real-world impact, like carbon offset contributions and reforestation efforts. It’s not just about counting trees, though—it’s about seeing which values shine through and how your team is living them day-to-day.
This is recognition with a twist: a blend of genuine appreciation and environmental action. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to foster a culture of gratitude while making a tangible difference.
Utilizes a unique “seed” system where employees can award seeds to peers, which can be planted as trees, linking recognition to tangible environmental contributions.
Plans to support Mattermost integration, expanding the platform’s accessibility for diverse communication tools.
Tracks personal and company-wide carbon offsets, providing insights into the environmental impact of recognition activities.
Awards visual badges for milestones, such as planting 20,000 trees, to showcase the company’s environmental efforts.
Features a dashboard that visualizes the company’s overall environmental impact, including trees planted and carbon offset.
Offers customizable templates for recognition messages, allowing personalization to fit company culture.
Allows scheduling of recognition messages to ensure consistent and timely appreciation.
Sends automated welcome messages to new hires, making them feel appreciated from day one.
Ensures regular updates with new features and enhancements to improve user experience.
Supports companies in meeting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and net-zero commitments through its tree planting initiatives.
Implements a pay-per-active user model, ensuring a cost-effective solution that adjusts with actual usage.
Provides a flexible subscription model that organizations can cancel at any time to suit their needs.
Enables anonymous recognition, allowing employees to discreetly show appreciation to their peers.
The focus on tree planting as a form of recognition may not align with all company cultures or employee preferences.
Does not offer cash or traditional rewards, which may be preferred by some employees over non-cash incentives like planting trees.
Gamification elements such as leaderboards and badges are limited and might not be sufficient to fully engage all employees.
The 14-day free trial does not include real tree planting, which limits the perceived value during the trial period.
Reward Types
Digital gift cards, Physical cards, Non-monetary recognition
Integrations
CRM, Email, Slack, Teams
Social features
Milestone tracker, Leaderboards, Interactive surveys
No matter where your team is located, you can send a Giftogram with just a few clicks and have it delivered digitally on the same day. This flexibility makes it perfect for recognizing achievements without any delays.
Plus, there are no hidden fees, minimum orders, or setup costs—you simply pay for the value of the gift cards, keeping things straightforward.
Integrates with platforms like Workday, HubSpot, and Salesforce, streamlining the gifting process within existing workflows.
Allows recipients to redeem their Giftogram gift card for thousands of popular brands worldwide, giving maximum flexibility and choice.
Supports both digital and high-quality physical gift cards, offering flexibility in how gifts are delivered.
Eliminates concerns about stock shortages or inventory limits, ensuring that gifts are always available.
Enables companies to send gift cards without any minimum order requirements, providing flexibility for small and large teams alike.
Promotes eco-friendly digital delivery, reducing the environmental impact of physical gifts.
Supports same-day digital delivery of gift cards, ensuring recipients receive their gifts promptly.
No setup fees or commitments are required to create a Giftogram account, making it easy to get started.
Provides access to a wide range of over 200 gift card brands, catering to diverse recipient preferences.
It does not require long-term contracts, offering flexibility to businesses of all sizes.
Ideal for B2B holiday gift cards, allowing companies to send festive appreciation to employees and clients.
Only charges for the face value of the gift cards, with no upfront costs or hidden fees.
The platform only offers gift cards, which is not suitable for companies looking for a broader range of rewards or tangible gifts.
Lacks advanced gamification elements such as point systems, badges, or leaderboards to further engage employees.
Does not support a points-based system for continuous employee engagement and motivation.
Reward Types
Virtual Tacos as Currency, Recognition tags, Custom rewards
Integrations
Slack, Teams, API
Social features
Leaderboards, Public shoutouts, Engagement polls
HeyTaco helps create a workplace where recognition isn’t a formal process, but an everyday habit fueled by something as simple—and delicious—as tacos! Every day, you get five virtual tacos to pass around, recognizing the small wins, the big achievements, and everything in between.
But it’s not just about tossing around tacos—it’s about creating a culture where recognition is second nature. Plus, the leaderboards and Taco TV keep the excitement going, showing off who’s spreading the most love and keeping everyone engaged.
Uses a unique “taco” currency to encourage peer recognition, making appreciation fun and engaging.
Allocates five virtual tacos to each user daily, providing frequent opportunities for recognition.
Includes a Giver Mode that focuses on the spirit of generosity by displaying only the taco-giving leaderboard.
Supports integration with Microsoft Teams, enabling taco-giving and recognition directly in the Teams environment.
Offers a customizable Taco Shop where companies can create and tailor rewards that employees love.
Sends quick surveys via Slack or Microsoft Teams to gather real-time feedback from employees.
Broadcasts recognition events across the company, increasing visibility and boosting morale.
Incorporates advanced security features to protect user data and ensure safe interactions.
Offers a free 30-day trial with no credit card required, allowing companies to test the platform risk-free.
Enables exporting of recognition data for further analysis and reporting outside the platform.
Sends real-time notifications when tacos are given or received, keeping employees informed and engaged.
Simplifies onboarding with no credit card needed to start using the platform.
Currently, it only offers tacos as the recognition currency, which may not appeal to all employees or fit all company cultures.
Does not support the ability to send other virtual items (like cakes for birthdays), limiting the personalization of recognition.
Lacks support for platforms beyond Slack and Teams, which is limiting for a diverse or non-standard tech environments.
Reward Types
Service awards, Customizable eCards, Group recognition
Integrations
Microsoft Teams, Slack, HRIS, API
Social features
Social recognition widgets, Virtual celebration rooms
Kudos provides valuable insights into how your core values are being lived out by your team. By tracking patterns of recognition, you can see which values are being celebrated the most and where there might be gaps. This data helps you nurture a culture where your values aren’t just words on a wall, but actions everyone can see and appreciate.
Each recognition given in this platform is tied directly to what your company believes in, making it visible and relevant across the entire organization.
Integrates recognition with continuous feedback tools, creating a holistic approach to performance management and employee development.
Allows for dynamic customization of dashboards to focus on key metrics that matter most to the organization.
Includes advanced filters for sorting and analyzing recognition data by different criteria, such as time period or employee level.
Visualizes engagement levels across different teams or departments using heatmaps to identify areas of strength and concern.
Supports multiple levels of recognition, from small thank-you notes to large-scale awards.
Measures and reports on cultural metrics, such as inclusion and belonging, to help HR leaders strengthen workplace culture.
Offers customizable survey tools to create tailored employee feedback forms.
Provides dashboards specifically for managers to monitor team engagement, morale, and recognition trends.
Supports recognition distribution across multiple channels, including email, internal networks, and even social media.
Tracks levels of discretionary effort, providing data on how recognition impacts employee productivity and motivation.
Includes built-in pulse surveys to regularly gauge employee satisfaction, engagement, and morale.
Lacks a free trial option, which could deter potential customers from trying the platform before committing financially.
Considered costly in the market, potentially making it less accessible for smaller businesses or those with limited budgets.
Creates the perception among employees that they should be rewarded for performing basic job tasks.
If not properly monitored, the platform leads to duplication of recognition content, reducing the impact of genuine acknowledgments.
Reward Types
Service awards, Custom awards, Jewelry
Integrations
HRIS, eCommerce, Survey tools, Teams, Slack
Social features
Gamification, Recognition challenges and contests, Customizable news feed
Terryberry lets you recognize people in multiple ways—through peer-to-peer shoutouts, manager-led accolades, or social recognition—keeping appreciation flowing from all directions. With a robust points system, you can reward great work on the spot, track progress, and motivate your team with goals that make sense for your organization.
If you’re looking for something more personal, Terryberry also offers custom awards, from jewelry to bespoke gifts.
Offers an all-in-one platform for peer-to-peer, social, and manager-led recognition, streamlining the entire recognition process.
It has customizable presentation kits for service awards, enhancing the employee recognition experience.
Includes the DreamTracker tool that allows employees to set goals for specific rewards and track their progress toward achieving them.
Integrates with all of Terryberry’s other recognition programs, including milestone awards, incentive rewards, and wellness incentives.
Features a highly customizable reward catalog with merchandise from thousands of top brands, experiences, travel options, and charitable gifts.
Incorporates wellness incentives into the platform to encourage healthy behaviors and improve employee well-being.
Provides a wide range of customizable awards, including jewelry, desktop items, and presentation kits, tailored to celebrate service milestones.
Offers global fulfillment, ensuring that rewards can be delivered to employees in over 150 countries.
Operates on a cloud-based platform, ensuring scalability and reliability for organizations of all sizes.
Provides offline access options for remote teams or employees with limited internet connectivity.
Users frequently experience login problems, including site crashes that require reloading, disrupting the user experience.
Lacks a buy-up option for points, preventing employees who are short on points from obtaining desired rewards.
The platform occasionally suffers from technical difficulties that can take multiple attempts and a significant amount of time to resolve.
Reward Types
Automated celebrations, Emojis, Comments, and GIFs
Integrations
HRIS, Teams, Slack, Calendar
Social features
Highlights, Employee recognition stories
By turning recognition into a habit, Mo helps build a culture where appreciation is constant, engagement is high, and everyone feels connected, regardless of where they are.
The secret is in Mo’s “Boosts”—automated, friendly nudges that prompt you to recognize great work regularly. These reminders help even the busiest teams pause for a moment to appreciate a job well done, celebrate achievements, or simply acknowledge a colleague’s positive impact.
Facilitates employee award nominations, letting employees submit nominees and messages to celebrate their peers.
Offers the ability to post Moments of appreciation both publicly and privately, depending on the preference and nature of the recognition.
Empowers leaders with easy-to-use budget controls for issuing and redeeming rewards, ensuring financial oversight.
Creates a personal highlight reel for employees, where they can pin special moments and recognitions on their profile.
Includes leaderboards that display top givers and receivers of recognition, fostering healthy competition.
Features pre-built templates for recognition messages, making it easier for employees to express appreciation.
Generates custom reports tailored to the needs of different stakeholders, such as HR, managers, or executives.
Features a visual analytics dashboard to easily track key metrics related to employee engagement and recognition.
Automates the process of determining award winners based on employee nominations.
Includes automatic backup and data recovery features to ensure no loss of data during technical issues.
Allows organizations to set up custom company awards and criteria, such as ‘Most Inspirational’ or ‘Best Team Player.’
Helps manage reward expiry, ensuring employees redeem their rewards within the set timeframe.
Supports flexible reward structures that can be tailored to specific organizational needs or events.
Designed to scale from small businesses to large enterprises, accommodating different organizational sizes.
New users may struggle to understand how to use features like e-gift cards or navigation, indicating a need for better onboarding or guided tutorials.
The platform feels overwhelming due to the high volume of posts visible to all users, making it difficult to filter relevant content.
Users cannot see a history of whom they have rewarded in the past, leading to repeated rewards for the same people.
There is no guided view or onboarding session to help new users understand the platform’s features, leading to confusion.
Users need to go through multiple steps to tag and allocate rewards, which could be more straightforward.
Reward Types
Monetary & non-monetary rewards, Objective-driven campaigns
Integrations
Teams, Slack, HRIS, API
Social features
Gamification, Leaderboards
Qarrot got just the right balance of features to boost performance with gamified goals and award points without the heavy lift of a big, corporate program.
This platform is like the secret ingredient for teams looking to create a vibrant, connected workplace culture without getting bogged down in complexity. Think of it as the little engine that could—simple, straightforward, and packed with all the essentials to help your team feel recognized, motivated, and ready to tackle whatever comes their way.
Uses a centralized dashboard to manage recognition programs, monitor performance, and adjust strategies accordingly.
Gives the chance to design recognition programs tailored to each organization’s unique structure, goals, and culture.
Broadcasts important updates and announcements across the organization.
Sends automated email and push notifications to keep employees informed about new recognitions or rewards.
Organizes quarterly or annual awards to recognize top performers and long-term contributors.
Collects employee feedback through surveys to assess program effectiveness.
Displays recognition analytics on a detailed dashboard to inform data-driven decisions.
Encourages social media sharing of recognitions to promote company culture externally.
Regulates recognition frequency to maintain program balance and fairness.
Offers comprehensive training resources to help employees maximize their use of the platform.
Designs event-specific recognition programs for product launches or company milestones.
Centralizes all recognition data in one repository for easy access and management.
Campaigns have a “hard close” feature, which limits flexibility in managing deadlines.
Limited reward options, such as the lack of a bank transfer or Walmart gift card, may not meet all employees’ preferences.
Lack of customization options for the types of rewards that can be offered.
Best Employee Recognition Software — Comparison
Below is a comparison table of the employee recognition software to help you decide the best one for your company.
Software | Pricing | Reward types | Integrations | Social features | Explore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bonusly | $2 per user per month | Monetary, non- monetary, spot bonuses. | Slack, Microsoft, HRIS | Company-wide social feed, leaderboards and gamification | |
 Guusto | $40 per month | Customizable rewards catalog, printable rewards, goal-based rewards | BambooHR, Workday, ADP, Slack, Microsoft Teams | Leaderboard, LinkedIn, custom badges | |
 Motivosity | Custom pricing | Monetary rewards, non-monetary recognition, nomination-based awards | HRIS, API access, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365 | Digital shoutouts, points, video recognition | |
 Nectar | $5 per user per month | Customizable points system, manager-driven recognition, gift card rewards | HRIS, Single Sign-On (SSO), Slack, Microsoft Teams, survey integrations | Commenting, reactions, leaderboards, digital shoutouts, employee spotlights | |
 WorkTango | Custom pricing | Approval-based rewards, custom swag, result-based recognition | HRIS and HCM System, custom API access, Apple Health, Google Fit, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace | Anonymous feedback conversations, recognition sentiment cloud, sentiment analysis and mood monitoring | |
 Awardco | Custom pricing | Experience-based rewards, on-demand digital rewards, flexible point redemption | HRIS, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, CRM | Emoji and GIF reactions, recognition wall, multi-channel notifications | |
 Assembly | $2 per user per month | Nomination-based awards, charity and donation rewards, tangible and digital Rewards | Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Asana, Trello, and Jira | Interactive social feed, peer-to-peer recognition channels, cross-department recognition events | |
 Empuls | $3 per user per month | AI-powered recognition, personal recognition assistant (Em), outcome-based awards | LMS platforms, wellness platform integration, Asana, Jira, and Trello | Recognition stories, highlights, integration with social media | |
 Cooleaf | Custom pricing | Social good rewards, points-based reward system, custom branded rewards | HRIS, survey tool integration, LMS platforms, rewards marketplace integration | Pulse surveys, custom emojis, GIFs, and reactions | |
 Kudoboard | $25 per month | Gratitude boards, quarterly win-walls, employee appreciation week tools | Slack, Microsoft Teams, social media integrations, Zapier | Customizable backgrounds and themes, personalized recognition journeys, digital signage display | |
 Bravo | $39 per month | Custom rewards creation, leaderboards, customizable recognition messages | Slack, Microsoft Teams, HRIS, Zapier, calendar integration | Gamification, reactions, interactive events | |
 Evergreen | $3.99 per user per month | Seed-based rewards, monthly seed allocation, carbon offset tracking, customizable seed distribution | Slack, Microsoft Teams, HRIS, sustainability platforms integration | Green impact dashboard, leaderboards, reactions, sustainability goals sharing | |
 Giftogram | Starting at $5 | Digital gift cards, physical giftogram cards, non-monetary recognition | CRM, direct email integration, Slack, Microsoft Teams | Recognition milestone tracker, leaderboards, interactive surveys | |
 HeyTaco | $3 per user per month | Virtual tacos as currency, recognition tags, custom rewards options | Slack, Microsoft Teams, API integration | Leaderboards, public shoutouts, taco-based achievements, engagement polls and surveys | |
 Kudos | Custom pricing | Service awards, customizable eCards, group recognition capabilities | Microsoft Teams, Slack, HRIS, API support | Social recognition widgets, social media-like notifications, virtual celebration rooms, employee profiles with recognition history | |
 Terryberry | Custom pricing | Service awards program, custom awards and jewelry | HRIS, eCommerce integration, survey tools integration, Microsoft Teams, Slack | Gamification, recognition challenges and contests, customizable news feed filters | |
 Mo | Custom pricing | Automated celebrations, emojis, comments, and GIFs | HRIS, Microsoft Teams, Slack, calendar integration | Highlights, user-generated content features, employee recognition stories | |
 Qarrot | $4 per user per month | Monetary and non-monetary rewards, objective-driven campaigns | Microsoft Teams, Slack, HRIS, API cccess | Gamification, user-generated content features, leaderboards |
What are the main benefits of an Employee Recognition Software?
Employee recognition software offer the below 6 benefits.
- Elevates your workplace culture by fostering a sense of appreciation and engagement among employees.
- Promotes regular acknowledgment through peer recognitions, custom rewards, and social recognition, ensuring employees feel seen and valued.
- Provides instant feedback features to keep employees motivated and aligned with company goals.
- Includes a diverse rewards catalog, from company merchandise to charitable donations, catering to different employee preferences.
- Improves overall employee satisfaction and morale by recognizing their efforts and contributions consistently.
- Reinforces your organization’s core values throughout the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to long-term engagement.
How to choose an Employee Recognition Software?
Below are the steps in choosing the right employee recognition software for your organization.
- Confirm it integrates with your existing tech stack.
- Look for support for a variety of employee recognition programs to meet diverse needs.
- Prioritize features like a social feed, customizable recognition programs, and tangible rewards.
- Make sure it fits your budget but still offers a wide range of reward options, from celebrating service anniversaries to daily contributions.
- Opt for platforms that include engagement surveys and weekly suggestions to keep the recognition process fresh and engaging.
What is the difference between Employee Recognition Platform and Employee Engagement Platform?
An Employee Recognition Platform is all about celebrating wins—big or small. It focuses on recognizing employee achievement, fostering a culture of recognition, and keeping the positive vibes flowing through frequent recognition and peer appreciation.
Think of it as the company’s cheerleading squad, equipped with tools like social Recognition, custom awards, and a diverse rewards Catalog offering everything from company-branded swag to charitable donations. It’s designed to make employees feel seen, valued, and appreciated, aligning with the company’s core values.
On the other hand, an Employee Engagement Platform digs deep into the employee experience, tracking employee sentiment and helping companies adapt to their team’s needs at every stage of the employee lifecycle. It’s less about handing out tangible rewards and more about fostering a strong, motivated workforce by listening, learning, and responding.
So, while an Employee Recognition Platform is your go-to for creating a positive, high-energy environment with a focus on meaningful recognition and rewards, an Employee Engagement Platform helps ensure that employees remain connected, heard, and invested in the company’s success. Together, they’re the perfect duo for driving a positive company culture.
Why use Employee Recognition Software over rewarding employees manually?
Using Employee Recognition Software over manual methods offers a streamlined and engaging way to increase employee morale. It simplifies the entire recognition process by providing real-time, data-driven insights and automating the delivery of rewards, from peer recognitions to custom awards.
This software ensures recognition happens regularly, reaching all employees and reinforcing a positive company culture. Plus, it allows for a variety of reward options, from company swag to charitable donations, catering to diverse employee preferences.
What are the challenges businesses can face using Employee Recognition Software?
Businesses face the below challenges when using employee recognition software.
- Managing initial costs and subscription fees, which can impact tight budgets.
- Sorting through a wide range of features to identify what’s most relevant for your team.
- Adapting to a new user experience that might require some time and training.
- Keeping employee engagement levels high if the software isn’t used effectively.
- Ensuring recognition remains genuine and doesn’t feel automated or forced.
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