HeyTaco vs. Awardco: Which Recognition Platform Is Right for Your Team? [2025]

Before diving into differences, let's acknowledge what Awardco does right. Awardco is an enterprise-focused recognition and rewards platform with real strengths:

Awardco's Strengths

Amazon Business partnership: Exclusive access to millions of Amazon products for rewards. This partnership provides one of the largest reward networks globally, giving employees vast selection for redemptions.

Enterprise-grade capabilities: Built for large organizations (100+ employees) with multiple recognition programs. Support for service awards, spot recognition, incentive programs, and custom competitions all from one platform.

Physical and digital reward cards: Unique Awardco card system that works for deskless and offline employees. Physical cards solve recognition challenges for frontline workers who may not have constant computer access.

Extensive customization: Create branded swag stores, custom programs, automated service awards, and company-specific recognition workflows. Deep customization appeals to enterprises with complex recognition needs.

Global rewards support: International reward options, travel booking, charitable donations, and multi-currency support. Works well for multinational corporations with distributed teams.

Comprehensive reporting: Enterprise-grade analytics and reporting for tracking recognition spend, engagement metrics, and ROI calculations across multiple programs.

Where Teams Experience Friction with Awardco

Despite these strengths, many teams find challenges:

100+ employee minimum: Awardco typically requires 100+ employees, excluding small and mid-sized teams who want recognition software. This enterprise focus means smaller growing companies can't access the platform.

Reward markup concerns: Despite claiming "zero markups," users consistently report that rewards cost more on Awardco than buying directly from Amazon or retail. The premium can make recognition programs more expensive than expected.

Platform complexity: The breadth of features creates navigation challenges. Users report confusing interfaces, excessive clicks to find features, and a steep learning curve that requires significant training.

Enterprise implementation timeline: Setup takes 2-8 weeks with dedicated onboarding, integration configuration, and training. This delays time-to-value compared to simpler recognition tools.

Custom enterprise pricing: No transparent pricing available. Requires lengthy sales process for quotes. Teams report enterprise contracts that are significantly more expensive than simple recognition platforms.

Unlimited recognition creates favoritism: Like other unlimited points systems, employees can concentrate recognition on favorites. Teams report "recognition cliques" where the same people always recognize each other.

Knowing the true cost difference helps you make a smarter decision when evaluating platforms.

HeyTaco Pricing

HeyTaco Classic Plan: $3/user/month

• Unlimited recognition sends and receives
• Public and private leaderboards
• Custom daily taco limits
• Custom and collaborative rewards
• Gamification with stickers, levels, and Tacotars
• Company/individual insights and tracking
• Integrations (Slack, Teams, Google Chat)
• Unlimited teams, channels, and spaces
• Migration support from other platforms
• World class customer support
• Monthly or annual billing
• Secure login with SSO

HeyTaco Deluxe Plan: $5/user/month

• Everything in Classic
• Automated milestone celebrations (birthdays, work anniversaries)
• Instant gift cards (2,000+ options in 200+ countries)
• Dedicated account manager to help you customize, optimize, and scale your recognition strategy

No hidden costs:

• No setup fees
• No additional transaction fees
• No per-redemption charges
• No minimum commitment
• No minimum company size

---

Awardco Pricing

Custom Enterprise Pricing (contact sales required)

Awardco does not publicly disclose pricing. Based on user reports and industry research:

• Estimated range: $3-8+/user/month depending on company size and features
• 100+ employee minimum typically required
• Multiple plan tiers (Starter, Growth, Enterprise)
• Additional fees for extra program types
• Implementation and onboarding fees may apply
• Annual commitment typically required

Additional costs to consider:

• Reward costs separate from platform fees
• Users report reward markups despite "zero markup" claims
• Enterprise implementation support fees
• Additional program types may require extra fees

Note: Awardco requires contacting sales for specific pricing. Estimates based on user reports and industry benchmarks.

---

Real Cost Comparison

For a 200-person team:

HeyTaco Deluxe:

• Platform: $1,000/month ($12,000/year)
• All features: Included
• Recognition: Unlimited
• Setup: Free (5 minutes)
• Total: $12,000/year

Awardco (estimated based on user reports):

• Platform: ~$1,000-1,600/month ($12,000-19,200/year)
• Implementation: $5,000-10,000 one-time
• Reward costs: Additional (with reported markups)
• Annual commitment: Required
• Total: $17,000-29,000+/year (first year)

Potential savings with HeyTaco: $5,000-17,000+/year

For a 50-person team:

HeyTaco Deluxe:

• $250/month = $3,000/year
• No minimum commitment
• No minimum company size

Awardco:

• Typically requires 100+ employees
• Not accessible for smaller teams

HeyTaco advantage: Accessible for teams of any size with transparent pricing

HeyTaco: Daily Taco Allowance

Every person gets a fresh taco allowance each day (typically 5 tacos). Key dynamics:

• Use them or lose them: Creates daily urgency to recognize someone
• Prevents favoritism: Can't send 100% to one person
• Drives habits: Teams develop daily recognition routines
• Equalizes giving: Everyone has the same allowance
• Stays in chat: Send tacos directly in Slack/Teams conversations

Why this works: Daily limits drive 4x more consistent recognition than unlimited systems and prevent gaming. The constraint ensures fairness—no one can monopolize recognition by always rewarding the same friends.

Awardco: Unlimited Recognition with Points

Employees and managers can give unlimited recognition. Key dynamics:

• No sending limits: Give as many recognitions as you want
• Point-based system: Each recognition includes point value
• Multiple program types: Spot recognition, service awards, incentives
• Platform-centric: Recognition happens on Awardco platform
• Risk of gaming: Can concentrate points on favorites

Trade-off: More program flexibility for enterprises, but teams report concerns about favoritism and "recognition cliques." HeyTaco's 67% daily active users represents consistent engagement vs. platform-based recognition that requires remembering to visit.

---

Where Recognition Happens

HeyTaco: Fully Native Chat Experience

Recognition lives entirely in your team's communication flow:

• In-channel recognition: Give tacos in any Slack channel or Teams chat
• Thread recognition: Recognize someone in conversation context
• Emoji-simple: Just type @person deserves a taco for [reason] :taco:
• No context switching: Never leave your conversation
• Visible celebrations: Team sees recognition happen in real-time

Result: Recognition becomes habitual because it's effortless. No separate login, no switching apps.

Awardco: Dedicated Recognition Platform

Recognition happens on Awardco's platform:

• Web platform: Primary interface for all recognition and rewards
• Social feed: Recognition appears in platform social feed
• Mobile app: Dedicated Awardco app for on-the-go access
• Physical cards: Offline recognition for deskless workers
• Integrations: Connect to Slack/Teams for notifications

Trade-off: Comprehensive enterprise features on platform, but requires employees to remember to visit separate system. Friction reduces spontaneous, in-the-moment recognition.

---

Rewards & Redemption

HeyTaco: Custom + Marketplace Rewards

• Custom non-monetary rewards: Extra PTO, premium parking, lunch with CEO, WFH Fridays (cost $0)
• 1,000+ gift cards: HeyTaco Deluxe includes global gift card options
• No markups: Dollar-for-dollar value on all rewards
• Collaborative rewards: Team members pool tacos for group rewards
• Company swag: Add branded merchandise to your catalog

Key advantage: Non-monetary rewards cost nothing but mean everything. An extra PTO day costs $0 but employees value it highly, dramatically reducing reward budgets.

Awardco: Amazon Business Integration

• Millions of Amazon products: Exclusive Amazon Business partnership
• Travel booking: Book hotels and experiences through platform
• Charitable donations: Donate points to causes
• Custom swag stores: Branded company merchandise
• Physical/digital cards: Versatile redemption options

Key advantage: Unmatched selection through Amazon partnership. However, users consistently report that items cost more on Awardco than buying directly from Amazon or retailers, despite "zero markup" claims.

---

The Favoritism Problem

HeyTaco's Built-in Fairness

Daily limits prevent gaming the system:

• Can't monopolize: 5 tacos/day means you must spread recognition
• No reciprocal deals: Can't trade tacos back and forth daily
• Visible fairness: Everyone sees who's getting recognized
• Self-regulating: Social pressure prevents abuse

Awardco's Unlimited Model

No rules on recognition distribution:

• Can concentrate points: Possible to send most recognition to favorites
• Recognition cliques form: Same people always recognizing each other
• Perceived unfairness: Teams may see imbalanced recognition
• Requires monitoring: Admins must watch for abuse patterns

Real feedback from teams: Unlimited points systems consistently create favoritism concerns. Daily limits solve this problem by design.

Case Study: Marketing Agency
(75 employees)

Background:

• Evaluated Awardco but couldn't meet 100-employee minimum
• Growing fast, needed recognition now
• Budget-conscious during growth phase

Why they chose HeyTaco:

• No minimum employee requirement
• Transparent $3/user pricing vs. enterprise quotes
• 5-minute setup vs. weeks of implementation
• Chat-native matched their Slack-first culture

Results after 90 days:

• 58 of 75 employees giving tacos regularly (77%)
• Zero implementation delay
• $4,500/year savings vs. estimated Awardco quote
• Daily limits prevented favoritism issues

"Awardco required 100+ employees. We're 75 people who need recognition now, not when we hit arbitrary minimums. HeyTaco had no barriers." — Sarah K., Head of People