Softwr

Employee Engagement · head to head

Cooleaf vs Homebase

Cooleaf logo

Cooleaf

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement and recognition made easy

From
$4/month
Rated
-
Homebase logo

Homebase

HR & Recruiting

Scheduling, time tracking and HR for hourly teams

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Homebase has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cooleaf cooleaf's archived 2013 employer pricing (under its original wellness-marketplace business model, before its pivot to employee engagement) shows tiered per-employee-count fees rather than flat per-seat pricing: the mid Healthy Partnership tier had a $1,000 setup fee and monthly fees ranging from $150 for 1-100 employees up to $250 for 201-500 employees, with 500+ employees requiring a custom quote (archived pricing page, 31 August 2013); Homebase free Basic plan is capped at 10 employees and a single location

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cooleaf and Homebase actually diverge.

Attributes where Cooleaf and Homebase differ
AttributeCooleafHomebase
Starting price$4/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
CategoryEmployee EngagementHR & Recruiting
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Cooleaf

  • Peer recognition
  • Rewards marketplace
  • Wellness challenges
  • Team activities
  • Gamification
  • Analytics
  • Mobile app
  • Social feed

Only in Homebase

Nothing recorded that Cooleaf does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Cooleaf

  • Employee recognitionnot Homebase
  • Wellness programsnot Homebase
  • Team buildingnot Homebase
  • Culture improvementnot Homebase

Homebase

No use cases recorded yet. See the Homebase review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cooleaf

  • Cooleaf's archived 2013 employer pricing (under its original wellness-marketplace business model, before its pivot to employee engagement) shows tiered per-employee-count fees rather than flat per-seat pricing: the mid Healthy Partnership tier had a $1,000 setup fee and monthly fees ranging from $150 for 1-100 employees up to $250 for 201-500 employees, with 500+ employees requiring a custom quote (archived pricing page, 31 August 2013)

Homebase

  • Free Basic plan is capped at 10 employees and a single location
  • Paid plans are billed per location per month ($30, $70 or $120), so a multi-location business pays the rate again for each site
  • Payroll is a separate add-on at $39 per month plus $6 per month per employee paid
  • Tip Manager and Task Manager are further add-ons billed per location per month on top of the base plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Cooleaf

$4/month
  • Essentials$4/month
    • Recognition
    • Rewards catalog
    • Mobile app
  • Premium$undefined/month
    • Wellness challenges
    • Advanced gamification
    • Custom integrations

Homebase

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Homebase review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cooleaf if

  • You need peer recognition.
  • You also want rewards marketplace.

Choose Homebase if

  • You want to start without paying.

Questions people ask

Is Cooleaf or Homebase better?
Neither clearly leads. Cooleaf starts at $4/month and Homebase at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cooleaf or Homebase?
Homebase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4/month for Cooleaf and Free for Homebase.
Does Cooleaf or Homebase run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Homebase for free?
Yes. Homebase has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cooleaf starts at $4/month.
What is Cooleaf best used for?
Cooleaf is most often used for employee recognition, wellness programs, team building, culture improvement. Of those, employee recognition and wellness programs are not what Homebase is typically brought in for.
What can Cooleaf do that Homebase cannot?
Cooleaf covers Peer recognition, Rewards marketplace, Wellness challenges, Team activities.

Related pages

Other head to heads