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Employee Engagement · head to head

Awardco vs Viral Loops

Awardco logo

Awardco

Employee Engagement

Employee recognition powered by Amazon Business

From
$2.5/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Viral Loops logo

Viral Loops

Affiliate Marketing

Viral and referral marketing made simple

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Viral Loops 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; Viral Loops pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • They diverge on capability: Awardco covers Peer recognition, Viral Loops covers Campaign templates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Awardco and Viral Loops actually diverge.

Attributes where Awardco and Viral Loops differ
AttributeAwardcoViral Loops
Starting price$2.5/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
CategoryEmployee EngagementAffiliate Marketing
Founded20152016

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Viral Loops

  • Campaign templates
  • Milestone rewards
  • Leaderboards
  • Referral widgets
  • Viral analytics
  • Shopify
  • Mailchimp
  • Klaviyo

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Awardco

  • Service award and milestone recognitionnot Viral Loops
  • Spot recognition and peer awardsnot Viral Loops
  • Rewards redeemable against a large cataloguenot Viral Loops
  • Running several recognition programmes under one systemnot Viral Loops

Viral Loops

  • affiliate marketing managementnot Awardco
  • Workflow automationnot Awardco
  • Reportingnot 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

Viral Loops

  • Pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • Advanced features are only available on higher-tier plans, limiting smaller businesses
  • Limited customization without technical development for highly branded campaigns
  • Customer support response times may vary by region and time zone

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

Viral Loops

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 participants
    • All templates
    • Basic features

Which should you pick?

Choose Awardco if

  • You need peer recognition.
  • You also want amazon reward catalog.
Awardco review

Choose Viral Loops if

  • You need campaign templates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want milestone rewards.
Viral Loops review

Questions people ask

Is Awardco or Viral Loops better?
Neither clearly leads. Awardco starts at $2.5/month and Viral Loops at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Awardco or Viral Loops?
Viral Loops has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2.5/month for Awardco and Free for Viral Loops.
Does Awardco or Viral Loops run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Viral Loops for free?
Yes. Viral Loops 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 Viral Loops is typically brought in for.
What can Awardco do that Viral Loops cannot?
Awardco covers Peer recognition, Amazon reward catalog, Service milestones, Incentive programs. Viral Loops covers Campaign templates, Milestone rewards, Leaderboards, Referral widgets.

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.

Source
Viral Loops: What does Viral Loops pricing start at?

Viral Loops pricing starts at $35/month and ranges up to $208/month depending on the plan. The platform offers a 14-day free trial, flat-rate pricing (no per-campaign charges), and 30% discount for annual billing.

Source
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.

Source
Viral Loops: What types of campaigns can Viral Loops create?

Viral Loops allows creation of referral programs, giveaways, waiting lists, and sweepstakes/competitions. Campaigns can be integrated into websites or mobile apps within minutes using pre-built templates.

Source
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).

Source
Viral Loops: Does Viral Loops offer custom pricing?

Yes. Beyond the standard $35-208/month plans, Viral Loops offers custom pricing for larger teams and enterprises with specific feature requirements.

Source
Viral Loops: What happens to campaigns after I cancel Viral Loops?

Users can export large files of mailing lists in several data formats, allowing campaign data to be migrated to another platform if needed after cancellation.

Source
Viral Loops: How quickly can I launch a campaign with Viral Loops?

Campaigns can be launched within minutes using Viral Loops' template-based, intuitive interface that requires no technical expertise or coding knowledge.

Source
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