2023 Bonusly Review: Features, Pricing & Alternative
Bonusly is an employee recognition and rewards platform that helps build employee engagement using gamification features. It awards points for giving and receiving recognition, which can be redeemed for rewards—fostering competition, excitement, and, ultimately, engagement. This makes it an ideal platform for businesses that want an interactive employee engagement tool that fits their company’s culture and values.
Bonusly got an overall 4.31 rating out of 5 in our best employee engagement tools guide—and is our pick for businesses looking for gamified employee engagement. Though it got high marks in almost all criteria, it would have scored higher if it had a free version, a people directory, and a 1-on-1 meeting function. Bonusly’s plans start at $3/user/month.
Pros
- Redeemable points
- A wide variety of rewards to choose from
- Integration with other HR software
- Easy to use
- Affordable pricing
Cons
- Reward points expire after a month
- Cannot integrate feedback to the performance management system
What We Recommend Bonusly For
Bonusly Deciding Factors
Supported Business Types | SMBs, companies with remote teams |
Free Trial | Bonusly has a 14-day free trial |
Pricing |
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Standout Features |
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Ease of Use | Easy setup, easy-to-use UI, drag-and-drop functionality |
Customer Support | Chat, 24/7 phone support, email/help desk, knowledge base |
Bonusly & Top Alternatives Compared
Best for | Monthly fee starts at | Average user rating | Ease of use | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gamified recognition | $3/user/month | 4.8 out of 1,980+ reviews on G2 | 5/5 | |
Microbusinesses | $35/month for the first 30 users | 4.3 out of 39+ reviews on G2 | 5/5 | |
Goal tracking | $8/module/month | 4.8 out of 1,222+ reviews on G2 | 4.5/5 | |
Fast-scaling organizations | $4/user/month | 4.6 out of 1,460+ reviews on G2 | 4.5/5 | |
Bonusly received a rating of 4.63 out of 5 for its pricing. While it is affordable, it does not offer a free version. However, its pricing is straightforward, with two primary pricing plans: Core and Pro.
Core | Pro | Custom | |
---|---|---|---|
Price starts at | $3/user/month | $5/user/month | Have to talk to sales to get a quote |
Recognition and rewards | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Actionable analytics | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Detailed reporting | ✓ | ✓ | |
User permission | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Centralized incentives and rewards | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Dedicated support | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Manager resources and training | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Bonusly has a powerful employee recognition and rewards platform that can help businesses build high-performing, engaged teams. Its standout features include easy-to-use peer-to-peer recognition, company-wide leaderboards, personalized rewards, social recognition, and integrations with other HR software. It did not get a perfect score in this criterion, however, because it lacks a people directory feature and a 1-on-1 meeting function.
Bonusly makes it easy for employees to recognize each other for their work. Employees can give kudos, awards, and even cash bonuses to their peers with just a few clicks. This helps to create a culture of appreciation and recognition within the company.
With Bonuslly’s peer-to-peer recognition program, even remote team members can feel connected. (Source: Bonusly)
Bonusly keeps track of all the recognition and rewards that are given and displays it on company-wide leaderboards. This helps to create a sense of competition and motivation among employees. It also helps managers see which employee hasn’t been recognized or rewarded. In doing so, managers can identify if there are any problems or difficulties a particular employee is experiencing.
Leaderboards encourage healthy competition and also help managers get an overview of which employee might need help. (Source: Bonusly)
Bonusly offers a wide variety of rewards, including gift cards, charitable donations, and custom rewards. This allows businesses to tailor the rewards to the unique preferences of each employee. For example, an employee who loves to travel might appreciate a gift card to their favorite airline, while an employee who is passionate about social justice might prefer to have their reward donated to a charity of their choice.
Bonusly has partnered with a wide range of brands for its rewards program. (Source: Bonusly)
Bonusly’s reporting and analytics features provide valuable insights to drive informed decision-making. It offers comprehensive reporting on recognition trends, showcasing the most recognized employees, teams, and departments. It also provides data on the types of rewards being redeemed, helping businesses understand the preferences and motivations of their employees.
This weekly email provides managers with a quick and personal overview of their team’s engagement. It also includes information on bonus activity, top team hashtags, upcoming birthdays and work anniversaries, and more. This information can help managers stay connected with their team, identify areas where recognition is lacking, and track the impact of changes they make to their recognition program.
The Manager Digest is a valuable tool for managers who want to stay connected with their team and track the effectiveness of their employee recognition program. (Source: Bonusly)
This is the employee’s personal dashboard which gives managers a snapshot of an employee’s engagement with the platform. The profile page includes information on recognitions received, recognitions given, achievements, interactions, and top hashtags. It helps you track their progress, identify areas where they can improve, and connect managers with their team members.
The profile page is a valuable tool for tracking progress and identifying areas of improvement. (Source: caption)
This is a helpful tool for performance management because it gives you a detailed overview of your team’s activity on the platform. It provides a comprehensive understanding of an employee’s work, going beyond just the most recent activity. By examining the entire picture of an employee’s work, you can give a fair and accurate evaluation, ensuring that past achievements and consistent performance are duly recognized.
The user activity page includes information on bonuses given, bonuses received, achievements earned, interaction data, and more. (Source: Bonusly)
Bonusly integrates with other HR software, making it easy to track employee recognition and rewards within the company’s existing HR ecosystem. For example, if an employee is recognized for their work in Slack, the recognition will automatically be logged in Bonusly. This helps ensure that all of the company’s employee recognition and rewards are tracked in a single place.
Below are some of the software that integrates with Bonusly:
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Rippling
- Gusto
- Zapier
- BambooHR
- LinkedIn for Business
- Workday HCM
- Okta
- Paylocity
- TriNet Zenefits
- Yammer
- WebHR
- UKG Pro
- ScreenCloud
- Namely
- Shift
- isolved
- OneLogin
- Jostle
- intelliHR
- Ping Identity
- Igloo
- Zluri
- Ascentis
- miniOrange
- Bitium
- BetterCloud
- Built.io Flow
Bonusly is designed to be easy to use for both employees and managers. The platform is intuitive and straightforward. Employees can quickly and easily give and receive recognition. Managers, on the other hand, can track the effectiveness of their employee recognition program.
Here are some of the features that make Bonusly easy to use:
- Simple interface: Bonusly has a clean and easy-to-navigate interface. Employees can find what they need quickly and easily, without having to search through a complex menu system.
- Drag-and-drop functionality: Employees can easily give recognition by dragging and dropping a bonus onto a colleague’s profile. This makes the process of giving recognition quick and easy.
- Pre-set reasons: Bonusly comes with a list of preset reasons for giving recognition. This makes it easy for employees to find the right reason for giving recognition, without having to type it out themselves.
- Commenting feature: Provide more context and feedback to the bonuses you give by adding comments. This can be helpful for both the giver and the receiver of the recognition.
- Leaderboards: Bonusly tracks employee recognition activity and displays it on leaderboards. Being able to see how their colleagues are performing can motivate the team and encourage friendly competition.
We looked at third-party review websites to see what real-world users are saying about their experience with the platform. Those that left positive Bonusly reviews praise its easy-to-use interface and the wide range of rewards available to users. One review even mentioned how it helps the engagement of their multi-generational team. Some reviewers also liked how it gave them the opportunity to donate to their favorite charity.
Aside from that, some of the negative reviews include users having difficulty locating the rewards page after Bonusly’s beta upgrade, while others say that they cannot integrate the feedback into their performance management system.
- G2 Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 from 1,985+ reviews
- Capterra Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 from 1,565+ reviews
How We Evaluated
In our guide to the best employee engagement tool, we picked those with features that can help businesses improve their employee engagement. These features include social recognition, rewards and incentives, feedback, analytics, and more. We did not include the tools that only focused on one aspect of employee engagement, are too complicated to use, and not affordable for most businesses.
For our full criteria, click through the tabs below:
25% of Overall Score
We assessed the cost and value proposition of different employee engagement tools, considering their pricing structure and affordability in relation to their features and benefits.
30% of Overall Score
We evaluated the range and effectiveness of the features dedicated to fostering employee engagement, such as performance reviews, feedback tools, goal management, and learning and development capabilities.
20% of Overall Score
We looked at their ability to generate comprehensive reports, visualize data, and provide valuable insights on performance, engagement, and other relevant metrics.
5% of Overall Score
We looked at the star ratings and user reviews on popular third-party review websites, also taking into account its reputation and user base.
10% of Overall Score
We assessed the ease and compatibility of integrating the tools with other existing systems within an organization’s tech stack, such as HRIS, communication tools, or learning management systems.
10% of Overall Score
We evaluated the user experience and interface design, considering its intuitiveness, ease of navigation, and overall user-friendliness to ensure a positive and efficient user experience.
Bottom Line
Bonusly can help you improve employee morale, productivity, and retention. It allows you and your team to give and receive recognition to each other, which can help to create a more positive and supportive work environment.
Bonusly’s platform is also easy to use, and setting it up does not require any technical expertise. Additionally, it has robust reporting and analytics features that can help make performance management much easier.
Sign up for a free trial today.
Bonusly allows employees to publicly recognize each other. This helps to build a sense of community and appreciation within the company. When an employee is recognized for their work, their peers can see the recognition on their public profile. This helps to boost the employee’s morale and motivation, and makes them feel appreciated by their team.