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Employee Engagement · head to head

Loop & Tie vs Rakuten Advertising

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
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Rakuten Advertising logo

Rakuten Advertising

Affiliate Marketing

Performance marketing solutions with global reach

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Loop & Tie has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Rakuten Advertising account terminations without clear explanation
  • They diverge on capability: Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections, Rakuten Advertising covers Global publisher network.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Loop & Tie and Rakuten Advertising actually diverge.

Attributes where Loop & Tie and Rakuten Advertising differ
AttributeLoop & TieRakuten Advertising
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer year subscription plus gift spendtransaction
Free tierYesNo
CategoryEmployee EngagementAffiliate Marketing
FoundedUnknown1997

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 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

Only in Rakuten Advertising

  • Global publisher network
  • Influencer marketplace
  • Cross-device attribution
  • AI-powered insights
  • Brand protection
  • Google Analytics
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Shopify

What people use each for

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

Loop & Tie

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

Rakuten Advertising

  • affiliate marketing managementnot Loop & Tie
  • Workflow automationnot Loop & Tie
  • Reportingnot Loop & Tie

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Rakuten Advertising

  • Account terminations without clear explanation
  • Commission payment delays of 60-90 days before payment settlement
  • Support response times are slow and often unhelpful
  • Limited transparency on advertiser approval reasons when applications get rejected
  • Less user-friendly interface compared to CJ Affiliate and ShareASale

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Rakuten Advertising

On request
  • NetworkFree
    • Performance-based pricing
    • Global publisher access
    • Advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Loop & Tie if

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

Choose Rakuten Advertising if

  • You need global publisher network.
  • You also want influencer marketplace.
Rakuten Advertising review

Questions people ask

Is Loop & Tie or Rakuten Advertising better?
Neither clearly leads. Loop & Tie starts at Free and Rakuten Advertising at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Loop & Tie or Rakuten Advertising?
Loop & Tie has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Loop & Tie and On request for Rakuten Advertising.
Does Loop & Tie or Rakuten Advertising 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. Rakuten Advertising starts at On request.
What is Loop & Tie best used for?
Loop & Tie is most often used for a marketing team that wants gifting spend to go to small and independent makers rather than mass-produced branded drinkware, a customer success team sending moderate volumes of thank you gifts and needing a meeting booked immediately after redemption, a property management company sending resident perks where a curated local-feeling catalogue matters more than catalogue size, a small business that wants to run gifting properly on a published five hundred dollar a year subscription rather than negotiating an enterprise contract. Of those, a marketing team that wants gifting spend to go to small and independent makers rather than mass-produced branded drinkware and a customer success team sending moderate volumes of thank you gifts and needing a meeting booked immediately after redemption are not what Rakuten Advertising is typically brought in for.
What can Loop & Tie do that Rakuten Advertising cannot?
Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections, Curated marketplace, Flat rate or free shipping, Redemption analytics. Rakuten Advertising covers Global publisher network, Influencer marketplace, Cross-device attribution, AI-powered insights.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Rakuten Advertising: How does Rakuten Advertising pay commissions?

Rakuten Advertising follows a 60-to-90 day commission payment cycle tied to advertiser invoice settlement, which is industry-standard but can result in delayed payments.

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.

Rakuten Advertising: What integrations does Rakuten Advertising support?

Rakuten Advertising integrates with third-party platforms including Improvado, Strackr, Wecantrack, and Kochava for data tracking and reporting across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Meta Ads.

Source
Loop & Tie: Do recipients choose their gift?

Yes, the sender sets a collection and price band and the recipient picks one item.

Rakuten Advertising: How are commission rates determined on Rakuten Advertising?

Each advertiser sets its own commission rates, cookie durations, and approval requirements. Commission structures vary by individual brand and product category.

Source
Loop & Tie: Can I gift internationally on the cheaper plans?

Not properly. Global warehousing and fulfilment are Premium features.

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