What are the main alternatives to Kudos?

24 other hr tools are listed in this directory, led by BambooHR, Workday, Culture Amp, Freshteam. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.

What is the best free alternative to Kudos?

3 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Freshteam, Employment Hero, Bonusly.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Kudos?

Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Kudos's $5/month: Freshteam at Free, Nectar at $2.75/month.

Why do people look for an alternative to Kudos?

On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.

What would I give up by switching from Kudos?

Kudos is most often brought in for employee recognition, culture building, employee engagement, retention improvement, values reinforcement. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.

Is there an open-source alternative to Kudos?

None of the hr tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.

How were these Kudos alternatives chosen?

They are the tools filed in the same category, HR, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.

Where can I compare Kudos against one of these directly?

Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Kudos covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.

Does this list cover every hr tool?

No. It covers what this directory holds in the HR category, 24 tools beside Kudos. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.

HR · alternatives

Alternatives to Kudos

24 hr tools sit alongside Kudos in this directory. Below is what separates each from Kudos on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.

Alternatives listed: 24
With a free tier: 3
Cheaper to start: 2
Kudos starts at: $5/month

Why people look past Kudos

Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Kudos entry measured against the tools listed beside it.

There is no free tier

The record for Kudos carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 3 of the 24 alternatives below can be used without paying.

What each alternative does differently

Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

HR software with heart

Starts $5 a month per employee dearer, at $10/month per employee.

Kudos vs BambooHR BambooHR review

Workday

On request

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

Sold on a quote model rather than subscription.
3 tiers to Kudos's 2.

Kudos vs Workday Workday review

Culture Amp

On request

Build a better workplace with employee experience data

3 tiers to Kudos's 2.

Kudos vs Culture Amp Culture Amp review

Freshteam

Free

Smart HR software for growing businesses

Can be used without paying; Kudos cannot.
Starts $5 a month cheaper, at Free.
3 tiers to Kudos's 2.

Kudos vs Freshteam Freshteam review

Employment Hero

Free, then 199/month

Australian HR, payroll and recruitment platform for employment management

Can be used without paying; Kudos cannot.
Starts $194 a month dearer, at 199/month.
5 tiers to Kudos's 2.

Kudos vs Employment Hero Employment Hero review

Bonusly

Free, then $5/month

Employee recognition that builds culture

Can be used without paying; Kudos cannot.
Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
7 tiers to Kudos's 2.

Kudos vs Bonusly Bonusly review

Every Kudos alternative at a glance

A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.

HR alternatives to Kudos
Tool	Entry price	Model	Tiers	Head to head
Kudos (this page)	$5/month	Subscription	2
BambooHRHR software with heart	$10/month per employee	Subscription	-	vs Kudos
WorkdayEnterprise cloud applications for finance and HR	On request	Quote	3	vs Kudos
Culture AmpBuild a better workplace with employee experience data	On request	Subscription	3	vs Kudos
FreshteamSmart HR software for growing businesses	Free	Subscription	3	vs Kudos
Employment Hero	Free, then 199/month	Subscription	5	vs Kudos
Bonusly	Free, then $5/month	Freemium	7	vs Kudos
Talkspace for Business	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Spring Health	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Unmind	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Guild	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Humaans	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Sesame HR	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Cezanne HR	On request	Quote	1	vs Kudos
Insperity	On request	Quote	2	vs Kudos
Multiplier	$40/month	Subscription	2	vs Kudos
Officevibe	$4999/year	Subscription	3	vs Kudos
Motivosity	$3000/year	Quote	3	vs Kudos
Darwinbox	On request	Quote	-	vs Kudos
Nectar	$2.75/month	Subscription	3	vs Kudos
Oyster HR	On request	Subscription	3	vs Kudos
Achievers	On request	Subscription	3	vs Kudos
Breathe HR	£13/month	Subscription	2	vs Kudos
greytHR	2495/month	Subscription	2	vs Kudos
HiBob	On request	Subscription	1	vs Kudos

Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Kudos badges page.

Cheaper ways to solve the same problem

Free to start (3)

These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.

Freshteam , Free
Employment Hero , Free, then 199/month
Bonusly , Free, then $5/month

Cheaper than Kudos (2)

Entry price under Kudos's $5/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.

Freshteam , Free
Nectar , $2.75/month

What you would be giving up

Kudos is most often brought in for employee recognition, culture building, employee engagement, retention improvement, values reinforcement. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.

Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.

If Kudos is broadly right and the question is cost, the Kudos pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the HR category lists everything the directory holds, and best hr tools ranks them.

Kudos runs on web, ios, android, api. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.

Questions about Kudos alternatives

What are the main alternatives to Kudos?: 24 other hr tools are listed in this directory, led by BambooHR, Workday, Culture Amp, Freshteam. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
What is the best free alternative to Kudos?: 3 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Freshteam, Employment Hero, Bonusly.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Kudos?: Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Kudos's $5/month: Freshteam at Free, Nectar at $2.75/month.
Why do people look for an alternative to Kudos?: On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
What would I give up by switching from Kudos?: Kudos is most often brought in for employee recognition, culture building, employee engagement, retention improvement, values reinforcement. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
Is there an open-source alternative to Kudos?: None of the hr tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
How were these Kudos alternatives chosen?: They are the tools filed in the same category, HR, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
Where can I compare Kudos against one of these directly?: Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Kudos covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
Does this list cover every hr tool?: No. It covers what this directory holds in the HR category, 24 tools beside Kudos. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.