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

"Recognition Actually Became a Daily Habit"

The Problem with Monthly Allowances:

Teams using Bonusly's monthly point system report a consistent pattern:

• Week 1: Little recognition (people forget)
• Week 2-3: Moderate recognition (occasional reminders)
• Week 4: Recognition surge (use-it-or-lose-it panic)

Result: 34% average monthly active users

The HeyTaco Difference:

Daily taco allowances reset every 24 hours:

• Morning routine: Check who helped yesterday, send tacos
• Real-time recognition: See great work, send taco immediately
• End-of-day reflection: Use remaining tacos before they refresh

Result: 67% daily active users (2x higher engagement)

"With Bonusly, we'd see recognition cluster at month-end when people realized 'oh crap, I have 100 points to give.' With HeyTaco's daily tacos, recognition is constant. It's genuinely changed our culture." — Sarah P., Head of People, Tech Startup (85 employees)

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"It Stopped Feeling Like Work"

The Friction Problem:

Bonusly requires multiple steps for most actions:

• Remember to give recognition
• Open Bonusly (separate from your workflow)
• Find the person
• Write message
• Decide how many points to give
• Submit

HeyTaco's Simplicity:

Recognition in Slack:

• See great work in channel
• Type: @person :taco: for solving that bug!
• Done

"Bonusly felt like homework. HeyTaco feels like celebration. The difference in adoption was immediate and dramatic." — James R., Engineering Manager, SaaS Company (120 employees)

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"We Cut Our Recognition
Budget in Half"

The True Cost of Bonusly:

Many teams don't realize total cost until they're deep in:

• Platform fees ($5-7/user on Pro/Custom plans)
• Point budgets (separate from platform cost)
• Transaction fees on some redemptions
• Hidden costs in admin time managing the system

Real example from a 100-person company:

• Bonusly Pro: $6,000/year platform
• Point budget: $6,000/year
• Admin time: ~5 hours/month managing budgets, approvals, etc.
• Total cost: $12,000+ annually

After switching to HeyTaco:

• Platform: $6,000/year (HeyTaco Deluxe)
• Custom rewards: $2,000/year (PTO days, parking, team events)
• Admin time: ~30 minutes/month (minimal maintenance)
• Total cost: $8,000 annually
• Savings: $4,000/year (33% reduction)

"We were paying Bonusly $12K+ annually and our engagement was still mediocre. HeyTaco costs us less than half that and engagement skyrocketed. The ROI is undeniable." — Mike L., COO, Marketing Agency (120 employees)

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"The Chat Integration Is
Actually Native"

Bonusly's Bot Limitations:

Bonusly's Slack/Teams integration works via bot commands:

• Must @mention the bot
• Use specific command syntax
• Recognition opens in modal/sidebar
• Reward browsing requires visiting website
• Key features only available on platform

HeyTaco's True Native Experience:

• No bot @mentions needed (though you can)
• Natural language: "great job @person :taco:"
• Recognition appears inline in conversation
• Leaderboards viewable via slash commands

"With Bonusly, you had to remember weird bot commands. With HeyTaco, you just... send a taco emoji. My grandmother could figure it out." — Nick B., VP HR, Remote

Case Study: SaaS Company
(150 employees)

Background:

• Used Bonusly for 18 months
• $750/month platform cost (Pro plan)
• Additional $400/month point budget
• 28% monthly active users

Why they switched:

• Low engagement despite good intentions
• Team found points system felt transactional
• Admin overhead managing budgets
• CEO wanted more spontaneous recognition

Results after 90 days with HeyTaco:

• 67% daily active users (up from 28% monthly)
• 4x more recognition messages sent per week
• $4,800/year cost savings (42% reduction)
• Employee satisfaction +23 points in next survey
• Zero admin time managing point budgets

"The difference was immediate. First week with HeyTaco, we saw more recognition than our best month with Bonusly. The daily taco limit creates this gentle urgency that monthly points never did." — Sarah P., Head of People

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Case Study: Creative Agency
(45 employees)

Background:

• Tried Bonusly for 6 months
• Struggled with adoption
• Only 8-12 people actively using it
• Recognition clustered at month-end

Why they switched:

• Too complex for small team
• People forgot to use monthly allowances
• Wanted something more fun and visual
• Needed better Slack integration

Results after 60 days with HeyTaco:

• 38 of 45 employees actively giving tacos (84%)
• Recognition culture completely transformed
• Team morale visibly improved (per leadership)
• Fun factor high - people love Tacotars and stickers

"Bonusly was too serious and complex for us. HeyTaco matched our creative, playful culture. The gamification and visual elements made recognition feel fun instead of formal." — Emma T., Creative Director

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Case Study: Remote Tech Company (200 employees)

Background:

• Global team across 12 time zones
• Used Bonusly for 2+ years
• Decent engagement but plateauing
• High costs on Custom plan

Why they switched:

• Wanted daily recognition habit
• Needed better Slack presence (where team lives)
• Cost reduction priority
• Simpler admin experience

Results after 6 months with HeyTaco:

• Recognition frequency up 180%
• Cross-timezone recognition improved (daily refresh helps)
• $14,000/year savings vs. Bonusly Custom
• Admin time reduced 80% (no budget management)
• Higher NPS scores from employees

"For a distributed team, daily tacos work better than monthly points. Time zones don't matter—everyone wakes up to fresh tacos. It's been incredible for building connections across our global team." — David K., VP People Ops

How is HeyTaco different from Bonusly?

The core difference is daily taco allowances vs. monthly point allowances. HeyTaco gives everyone a fresh allowance each day (typically 5 tacos) that resets after 24 hours. This creates daily engagement habits rather than monthly bursts. Additionally, HeyTaco operates entirely within Slack/Teams as a native experience, while Bonusly uses a bot integration that directs you to their platform for many features.

Beyond mechanics, HeyTaco focuses on fun and playfulness with gamification (Tacotars, stickers, levels), while Bonusly maintains a more professional, corporate feel. HeyTaco also offers simpler all-inclusive pricing ($3/user vs. Bonusly's $2-7/user tiered plans).

Does HeyTaco work with the same reward options as Bonusly?

Yes and no. Bonusly offers 1,000+ gift card options through their marketplace, which is excellent for variety. HeyTaco offers 1,000+ gift card options too, but our key differentiator is custom non-monetary rewards.

With HeyTaco, you can create rewards like:

• Extra PTO day (costs you nothing)
• Premium parking spot for a month (costs nothing)
• Lunch with the CEO (costs one lunch)
• Work-from-home Friday (costs nothing)
• Early leave pass (costs nothing)

These rewards often mean more to employees than generic gift cards, and they cost far less. You can combine both monetary and non-monetary rewards in your catalog.

How does HeyTaco's reward catalog compare to Bonusly's?

Bonusly offers 1,000+ gift cards through their marketplace. HeyTaco offers similar gift card options BUT also enables non-monetary rewards (extra PTO, parking spots, lunch with CEO) that cost you nothing but mean everything to employees. This flexibility reduces your reward budget significantly.

Can I keep my Bonusly recognition history when switching?

Yes. We import your complete Bonusly point history totals converting the data into taco format.

What happens to unused Bonusly points when we switch?

We convert them to tacos at a ratio you determine based on your reward values. For example, if someone has 500 Bonusly points worth $50 in your system, and you want to maintain $1 per taco, we'd credit them 50 tacos. You have complete control over the conversion ratio to maintain fairness.

Is HeyTaco cheaper than Bonusly?

For teams needing full features, yes. HeyTaco Classic ($3/user) includes everything most teams need. Bonusly requires their Pro plan ($5/user) plus separate point budgets for comparable functionality. For a 100-person team, this typically saves $4,800-8,400 annually.

Will my team actually use HeyTaco more than Bonusly?

Based on teams who switched: yes. Bonusly averages 34% monthly active users, while HeyTaco sees 67% daily active users. The daily taco allowance creates consistent habits vs. monthly allowances that get forgotten until month-end.

What if we have custom Bonusly integrations?

Let's discuss your specific needs. While HeyTaco doesn't have 20+ HRIS integrations like Bonusly, we have API access and can work with you on critical connections. Many teams find that deep Slack/Teams integration reduces the need for complex HRIS sync.

Can we run both systems during transition?

Yes, and we recommend it. Most teams run both platforms for 1-2 weeks during migration. This gives everyone time to adjust, reduces anxiety about switching, and ensures no recognition gaps. Once people try HeyTaco, adoption is typically organic.

How long does it take to switch from Bonusly to HeyTaco?

Technical setup: 5 minutes to install HeyTaco in Slack/Teams.

Full migration with data import:

• Small teams (under 50): 1-2 days
• Medium teams (50-200): 2-3 days
• Large teams (200+): 3-5 days

Recommended transition period: 1-2 weeks running both systems in parallel so your team can adjust gradually. Many teams do a hard cutover and see immediate adoption, but parallel running reduces anxiety for change-averse teams.