An employee rewards app is the part of a recognition program that turns a thank-you into something you can spend. The word that matters is app: not a portal people log into twice a year, but something that lives inside Slack, inside Microsoft Teams, or on the phone in a warehouse worker's back pocket, and hands out a gift card without anyone opening a spreadsheet.
This guide covers the app-shaped slice of the market: what separates a rewards app from a recognition app, the two pricing models, which tools have a real free tier, and eight apps compared on where they run and how they pay out. For the heavier platform view (Workhuman, enterprise fulfilment, procurement), see our guide to the best employee rewards platforms. This one stays close to the chat window.
Disclosure before the table, not after: Propsly is ours. It's the Slack entry below, and we say plainly where something else is the better buy.
Rewards App vs. Recognition App: What's the Difference?
Every rewards app is a recognition app; the reverse isn't true. A recognition app lets people say "great work" in public, keeps score, and shows a leaderboard. A rewards app adds a fulfilment layer with three parts:
- A points-to-cash rule. Something converts recognition into money, whether "each point is worth a cent" or "the top person this month gets $50."
- A redemption catalog. Gift cards, charity donations, swag, sometimes an Amazon storefront. The recipient chooses; the app handles the order.
- Gift-card fulfilment. The unglamorous bit: the card arrives, the code works, someone can resend it when it lands in spam, and there's a record for payroll.
That third part is why rewards apps cost money and recognition apps often don't. Fulfilment is a real operation; catalogs, breakage, and delivery are covered in how employee reward redemption works. The practical question is simpler: do you need an app that pays out, or just one that notices? If you're not sure, our roundup of employee recognition apps is the lighter shortlist.
How Employee Rewards Apps Charge You
Two models; the difference compounds with headcount.
Per-seat subscription plus a funded budget
The common one. You pay a software fee per user per month, and separately fund the points your people give away. At the time of writing, published per-user rates in this category cluster around $3 to $5, with the reward budget on top. Fund $10 per employee per month at 200 people and the reward line alone is $24,000 a year, usually several times the software line. The subscription is the toll; the budget is the spend.
Per-reward, no seat fee
The alternative is to pay only when a reward goes out. Guusto, at the time of writing, is the best-known example: no per-seat charge for sending, and the cost is the gift cards themselves. Propsly's version is a flat $50 a month for the whole workspace, covering one automated gift card to the month's winner, so the price doesn't move when you hire. Per-reward models win for teams that want a few meaningful rewards rather than a daily points economy, and lose if everyone redeems every month.
Whichever model, ask one question in the demo: "If I fund $100, how much reaches the employee?" The answer tells you more than the pricing page.
8 Employee Rewards Apps Compared
All vendor details are as of the time of writing; vendors change plans without telling anyone. "Mobile" means a native app, or a chat integration that works in the Slack or Teams mobile app.
| App | Slack | Teams | Mobile | Free tier | Reward model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Propsly (ours) | Yes (native) | No | Via Slack app | Yes, unlimited users | Flat $50/mo Pro; automated monthly gift card to top recognized person |
| Bonusly | Yes | Yes | Native iOS/Android | Trial only | Per user (~$3 core) plus funded points; gift-card and donation catalog |
| Nectar | Yes | Yes | Native apps | Trial only | Per user, generally below Bonusly, plus funded points; catalog and swag store |
| HeyTaco | Yes | Yes | Via chat apps | 30-day trial | Per user (~$3–5), tacos redeemable from a rewards catalog you fund |
| Assembly | Yes | Yes | Web and chat apps | Capped freemium, historically | Per user above the cap; points redeemable for gift cards and swag |
| Matter | Yes | Yes | Via chat apps | Yes, capped | Per user (~$1–5); coins and rewards on paid tiers |
| Awardco | Integration | Integration | Mobile access | No | Quote-based; Amazon Business catalog is the headline feature |
| Motivosity | Integration | Integration | Native apps | No | Per seat plus funded giving budget; gift cards, swag, or charity |
Propsly (Slack only, and yes, it's ours)
Propsly is a Slack app first and a rewards app second. Everyone gets 200 props a month to give with /props +10 @teammate for the launch save #teamwork, every give lands in a feed channel, and the leaderboard is public. All free for unlimited users. Pro is $50 a month flat and adds analytics plus the reward layer: pick an award (most props received, most unique givers, most cross-team props, or a specific hashtag), set a gift-card amount, and on the first of the month the winner is paid and announced for you. Nothing to approve, no catalog to manage.
Where it doesn't fit: Microsoft Teams (there's no Teams version), and any team that wants every employee redeeming points from a deep catalog. That's a points economy, and Bonusly or Nectar do it properly. Details on the pricing page.
Bonusly
The reference points economy: monthly allowance, public feed, a large gift-card and donation catalog, native mobile apps, Slack and Teams integrations. Priced per user with the reward pool funded on top. For companies that want real money attached to recognition for everyone, not just a monthly winner.
Nectar
A similar economy to Bonusly with more bundled around it: challenges, anniversaries, a branded swag store. It markets explicitly to deskless and frontline staff and has the native apps to back that up. Per-user pricing generally below Bonusly's; a trial, not a standing free plan.
HeyTaco
Five tacos a day, given by dropping an emoji in a message, with a leaderboard and a rewards catalog on top. The lightest ritual here, and the fun is genuine. Per-user pricing across three tiers, rewards funded by you; our HeyTaco pricing breakdown runs the numbers.
Assembly
A broader workplace platform with a rewards module inside: points redeemable for gift cards and swag. You're adopting a platform, not installing a bot, and the free cap has moved more than once.
Matter
Recognition tied to company values, a weekly "Feedback Friday" nudge, a free plan, and coins-to-rewards on paid tiers. A good middle path if you want rewards available but not central.
Awardco
The catalog is the product: an Amazon Business tie-in makes the redemption range enormous, with milestone awards, Slack and Teams integrations, and mobile access. Expect a demo and a quote, not a pricing page.
Motivosity
Peer appreciation backed by small amounts of real money, redeemable for gift cards, swag, or charity. Native mobile apps, plus Slack and Teams integrations that post into chat while the full experience lives on the platform. Per-seat fees plus a funded giving budget, commonly a few dollars per employee per month.
Picking by Where Your People Are
On Slack: Propsly for flat pricing and a single monthly reward; Bonusly or Nectar if everyone should redeem points; HeyTaco if the team is small and informal.
On Microsoft Teams: Propsly is out. Turn on Microsoft's built-in Praise first (free, no rewards) to prove the habit exists, then look at Bonusly, Nectar, or Matter. Our Teams recognition apps roundup goes app by app.
Mostly on phones: if staff already have Slack or Teams installed, any chat-native app is a mobile app. If they don't, you need a native app with sign-in that doesn't require a work email: Bonusly, Nectar, or Motivosity.
Setting an Employee Rewards Budget
Three lines; most people budget only the first.
- Software. Per-seat rate times headcount, or a flat fee. Usually the smallest line.
- The rewards themselves. A reasonable starting shape is a $50 monthly award with one winner per roughly 50 people, plus spot rewards of $10 to $25 for small wins and $25 to $100 for big ones. Our guide to employee recognition gift cards covers amounts and delivery.
- Tax. In the US, gift cards are taxable income at any amount; there's no small-gift exception for cash equivalents. Gross the award up so a $50 card is worth $50 after withholding, or tell people up front. Are employee recognition awards taxable? has the plain-English version.
Weigh that against doing nothing. Work Institute puts replacing an employee at roughly a third of salary; SHRM's estimates run 50 to 60 percent. A modest rewards budget is small next to one preventable resignation. The worksheet is in how to budget for an employee recognition program.
Common Questions About Employee Rewards Apps
What's the best employee rewards app for Slack?
Depends on the reward model. Flat price and one automated gift card a month: Propsly (ours). A full points economy where everyone redeems: Bonusly or Nectar. The lightest ritual: HeyTaco.
Is there a genuinely free employee rewards app?
Free recognition, yes. Free rewards, no, because someone pays for the gift cards. Propsly and Matter have standing free tiers for recognition; the rewards layer on every app here costs a subscription, a funded budget, or both.
Do I need a rewards app or just a recognition app?
Start with recognition. If people still give thanks unprompted after a quarter, you'll know what to fund. If they don't, a catalog won't fix that.
Can employees redeem rewards from their phone?
On Bonusly, Nectar, Motivosity, and Awardco, yes, through their apps. On chat-native tools the reward usually arrives as an emailed gift-card link, which works on any device.
The Short Version
A rewards app is a recognition app with a payout. Pick it by where your people already are (Slack, Teams, or a phone), then by pricing model: per seat plus a funded budget if everyone should redeem, per reward or flat if a few meaningful gift cards a month is the goal. Budget the rewards and the tax, not just the software, and let the habit prove itself before funding the catalog.