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Employee Engagement · head to head

Fond vs Loop & Tie

Fond logo

Fond

Employee Engagement

Employee experience platform for modern teams

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loop & Tie logo

Loop & Tie

Employee Engagement

Choice-based gifting on a flat annual subscription with a marketplace weighted toward small and independent makers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Loop & Tie has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fond fond.co redirects to Reward Gateway. No pricing plans or costs are published on Reward Gateway's website; 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: Fond covers Social 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 Fond and Loop & Tie actually diverge.

Attributes where Fond and Loop & Tie differ
AttributeFondLoop & Tie
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer year subscription plus gift spend
Free tierNoYes
Founded2013Unknown

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 Fond

  • Social recognition
  • Engagement tools
  • Culture programs
  • Mobile app
  • Analytics dashboard
  • Manager resources
  • Customizable workflows
  • Reporting

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.

Fond

  • Peer-to-peer recognition with points employees send each othernot Loop & Tie
  • Redeeming points against a rewards cataloguenot Loop & Tie
  • Corporate perks and discounts for staffnot Loop & Tie
  • Running a recognition programme across international officesnot Loop & Tie

Loop & Tie

  • A marketing team that wants gifting spend to go to small and independent makers rather than mass-produced branded drinkwarenot Fond
  • A customer success team sending moderate volumes of thank you gifts and needing a meeting booked immediately after redemptionnot Fond
  • A property management company sending resident perks where a curated local-feeling catalogue matters more than catalogue sizenot Fond
  • A small business that wants to run gifting properly on a published five hundred dollar a year subscription rather than negotiating an enterprise contractnot Fond

Where each one falls short

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

Fond

  • Fond.co redirects to Reward Gateway. No pricing plans or costs are published on Reward Gateway's website
  • Requires contacting the company through demo request forms and ROI calculators for custom quotes

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

Fond

On request
  • Fond Platform$undefined/month
    • Recognition
    • Engagement tools
    • Culture building

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 Fond if

  • You need social recognition.
  • You also want engagement tools.
Fond review

Choose Loop & Tie if

  • You need choice-based collections.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want curated marketplace.
Loop & Tie review

Questions people ask

Is Fond or Loop & Tie better?
Neither clearly leads. Fond starts at On request and Loop & Tie at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fond or Loop & Tie?
Loop & Tie has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Fond and Free for Loop & Tie.
Does Fond 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. Fond starts at On request.
What is Fond best used for?
Fond is most often used for peer-to-peer recognition with points employees send each other, redeeming points against a rewards catalogue, corporate perks and discounts for staff, running a recognition programme across international offices. Of those, peer-to-peer recognition with points employees send each other and redeeming points against a rewards catalogue are not what Loop & Tie is typically brought in for.
What can Fond do that Loop & Tie cannot?
Fond covers Social recognition, Engagement tools, Culture programs, Mobile app. Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections, Curated marketplace, Flat rate or free shipping, Redemption analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fond: Is Fond still operating under that brand?

Fond.co redirects to Reward Gateway, suggesting Fond has been acquired or rebranded under the Reward Gateway brand.

Source
Loop & 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.

Fond: How does Reward Gateway publish pricing?

Reward Gateway does not disclose specific pricing tiers or costs on their website. Prospective customers must contact the company through demo requests or ROI calculators.

Source
Loop & 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.

Loop & 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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