Employee Engagement · head to head
Awardco vs Loop & Tie

Awardco
Employee Engagement
Employee recognition powered by Amazon Business
- From
- $2.5/month
- Rated
- -

Loop & Tie
Employee Engagement
Choice-based gifting on a flat annual subscription with a marketplace weighted toward small and independent makers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Loop & Tie has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Awardco tiers are defined by how many recognition programme types you may run, two on Standard and four on Scale, rather than by features or headcount; Loop & Tie the tier structure gates users tightly, so needing a fourth user pushes an organisation from five hundred to five thousand dollars a year, a tenfold platform cost increase for one seat.
- They diverge on capability: Awardco covers Peer recognition, Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Awardco and Loop & Tie actually diverge.
| Attribute | Awardco | Loop & Tie |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $2.5/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | Per year subscription plus gift spend |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Founded | 2015 | Unknown |
Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Employee Engagement).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Awardco
- Peer recognition
- Amazon reward catalog
- Service milestones
- Incentive programs
- Analytics
- Mobile app
- Social recognition wall
- Manager tools
Only in Loop & Tie
- Choice-based collections
- Curated marketplace
- Flat rate or free shipping
- Redemption analytics
- Post-redemption scheduling
- Branded merchandise and swag
- Salesforce and HRIS integrations
- Global warehousing
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Awardco
- Service award and milestone recognitionnot Loop & Tie
- Spot recognition and peer awardsnot Loop & Tie
- Rewards redeemable against a large cataloguenot Loop & Tie
- Running several recognition programmes under one systemnot Loop & Tie
Loop & Tie
- A marketing team that wants gifting spend to go to small and independent makers rather than mass-produced branded drinkwarenot Awardco
- A customer success team sending moderate volumes of thank you gifts and needing a meeting booked immediately after redemptionnot Awardco
- A property management company sending resident perks where a curated local-feeling catalogue matters more than catalogue sizenot Awardco
- A small business that wants to run gifting properly on a published five hundred dollar a year subscription rather than negotiating an enterprise contractnot Awardco
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Awardco
- Tiers are defined by how many recognition programme types you may run, two on Standard and four on Scale, rather than by features or headcount
- Small organisations under 100 employees start at $3,000, so there is a floor regardless of size
- The A-Pay card, Company Store and Awardco Engage are premium add-ons
- No per-employee price is published; larger organisations must go through sales
Loop & Tie
- The tier structure gates users tightly, so needing a fourth user pushes an organisation from five hundred to five thousand dollars a year, a tenfold platform cost increase for one seat.
- The curated marketplace is deliberately smaller than mass catalogues, so recipients who want a specific well known product will not find it and some will treat the choice as limited.
- Global warehousing and international fulfilment only appear on the Premium tier, so any organisation gifting outside its home market is effectively on the five thousand dollar plan whatever its volume.
- Native Salesforce and HRIS integration is a Premium feature or an Essentials add-on, so the automation that makes gifting scalable is not in the price most buyers first see.
- Free shipping starts at Essentials, meaning free plan users pay five dollars per gift in shipping, which on any real volume is more than the Essentials subscription would have cost.
Pricing, plan by plan
Awardco
$2.5/month- Core$2.5/month
- Recognition platform
- Amazon rewards
- Milestones
- Pro$undefined/month
- Advanced analytics
- Custom integrations
- Dedicated support
Loop & Tie
Free- FreeFree
- One user
- Full marketplace access
- Send gifts by email
- Essentials$500/year
- Three users and three teams
- Custom gift collections
- Free shipping
- Premium$5000/year
- Unlimited users and five teams
- Gift cards, print on demand and branded merchandise
- Global warehousing and fulfilment
- Build Your Own$undefined/year
- Custom team structures and permissions
- Exclusive inventory or private-label collections
- Custom logistics and compliance-driven fulfilment
Which should you pick?
Choose Loop & Tie if
- You need choice-based collections.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want curated marketplace.
Questions people ask
- Is Awardco or Loop & Tie better?
- Neither clearly leads. Awardco starts at $2.5/month and Loop & Tie at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Awardco or Loop & Tie?
- Loop & Tie has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2.5/month for Awardco and Free for Loop & Tie.
- Does Awardco or Loop & Tie run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Loop & Tie for free?
- Yes. Loop & Tie has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Awardco starts at $2.5/month.
- What is Awardco best used for?
- Awardco is most often used for service award and milestone recognition, spot recognition and peer awards, rewards redeemable against a large catalogue, running several recognition programmes under one system. Of those, service award and milestone recognition and spot recognition and peer awards are not what Loop & Tie is typically brought in for.
- What can Awardco do that Loop & Tie cannot?
- Awardco covers Peer recognition, Amazon reward catalog, Service milestones, Incentive programs. Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections, Curated marketplace, Flat rate or free shipping, Redemption analytics.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Awardco: What does Awardco cost for startups?
New startups and small businesses with 100 or fewer employees can reach out to the Awardco sales team for flexible packages starting at $3,000 annually.
SourceLoop & Tie: How much does the platform cost?
Free for one user, five hundred dollars a year for Essentials with three users, five thousand dollars a year for Premium with unlimited users, plus a quoted enterprise tier. Gift spend is separate.
Awardco: What plan tiers does Awardco offer?
Awardco offers Standard (two program types), Scale (four program types), and Enterprise (unlimited program types) plans. Exact pricing requires contacting sales.
SourceLoop & Tie: What is different about the catalogue?
It is curated toward small, independent, sustainable and diverse-owned brands rather than mass market products, which is the usual reason buyers choose it over larger competitors.
Awardco: Does Awardco offer add-on services?
Yes, premium add-ons include A-Pay (physical or digital payment card), Company Store (no-minimum swag solution), and Awardco Engage (comprehensive engagement solution).
SourceLoop & Tie: Do recipients choose their gift?
Yes, the sender sets a collection and price band and the recipient picks one item.
Loop & Tie: Can I gift internationally on the cheaper plans?
Not properly. Global warehousing and fulfilment are Premium features.
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