These Are Different Tools for Different Jobs
The most important thing to understand: HeyTaco and Donut solve fundamentally different problems:
HeyTaco = Recognition & Appreciation: Built for daily peer-to-peer recognition. Give tacos to teammates publicly, explain why they're awesome, accumulate points, redeem rewards. Builds appreciation culture through consistent daily habits.
Donut = Random Connections: Built for facilitating introductions and casual conversations. Randomly pairs people for coffee chats, posts icebreaker questions, helps teams socialize. Breaks down silos through scheduled interactions.
The key question: Does your team need recognition (thanking people for contributions) or connections (helping people meet each other)? Most teams actually need recognition far more than random pairings.
Why Teams Choose HeyTaco Over Donut
Recognition Drives Culture More Than Pairings
Teams consistently report recognition has bigger culture impact:
Public appreciation builds morale: When someone gives you tacos and explains why you're awesome, it feels great. The whole team sees it. Donut pairings are private 1:1s that don't build team-wide culture.
Daily habits beat weekly events: HeyTaco's daily taco giving creates consistent culture touch points. Donut's weekly pairings are occasional events that don't shape daily team behavior.
Rewards amplify impact: Redeeming tacos for Amazon gift cards, extra PTO, or custom rewards makes recognition tangible. Donut pairings are just conversations—valuable but not incentivized.
Values reinforcement: Custom taco types let you tag recognition with company values (":innovation: :taco:"). Over time, this reinforces what behaviors you want to see. Donut doesn't tie to strategic culture goals.
"We tried Donut first for team building. Pairings were nice but felt like scheduled obligations. People would skip them or have awkward forced conversations. Switching to HeyTaco gave us something better—spontaneous daily appreciation that actually built team bonds through recognition. Plus the reward redemptions made it fun and tangible." — Emma K., VP People, 95-person startup
Active Recognition Beats Passive Pairings
Engagement patterns tell the story:
67% daily active users: HeyTaco's recognition model drives daily participation. People actively look for opportunities to give tacos because it feels good to appreciate teammates.
Pairing fatigue is real: Donut users report declining participation over time. Random pairings feel obligatory, especially when teams are busy. Scheduled connections become another calendar burden.
Self-directed vs. assigned: HeyTaco lets people choose who to recognize and when. Donut assigns random partners on a schedule. Teams prefer autonomy over algorithmic matching.
Public vs. private impact: HeyTaco recognition is visible to everyone, creating shared culture moments. Donut pairings are private conversations that don't build team-wide connection.
"Donut pairings started strong but after 3 months, participation dropped to 40%. People were too busy or didn't want scheduled social time. HeyTaco doesn't require scheduling—just spontaneous appreciation in the moment. Our 65% daily recognition rate shows the difference between active engagement and scheduled pairings." — Carlos M., Engineering Lead, 120-person company
Gamification and Rewards Drive Sustained Engagement
Why HeyTaco maintains higher long-term participation:
Leaderboards create healthy competition: See who's giving and receiving the most tacos. Gamification drives continued participation. Donut has minimal competitive elements.
Reward redemption is motivating: Accumulating tacos toward gift cards keeps people engaged long-term. Donut has no reward system—it's purely social with no tangible incentives.
Tacotars and stickers add fun: HeyTaco's visual gamification (avatars, badges, levels) makes recognition playful. Donut is purely functional—no whimsy or personality.
Progress visibility: See your taco count grow, watch leaderboard position, track toward rewards. Donut shows pairing history but no accumulation or progression.
They're Complementary (But Most Need Recognition First)
Some teams use both—and that's valid:
HeyTaco for recognition: Daily peer appreciation, rewards, public celebration, values reinforcement. Builds recognition culture.
Donut for connections: Random pairings for new hires, cross-department introductions, onboarding buddies. Facilitates initial connections.
Most teams prioritize recognition: If you can only choose one, recognition drives more culture impact than random pairings. HeyTaco's 67% daily engagement vs. Donut's weekly/bi-weekly cadence shows which creates more sustained behavior change.
Start with recognition: Get daily appreciation working first with HeyTaco. Add Donut later if you specifically need structured pairing facilitation.
"We realized Donut was solving a problem we didn't really have—people will connect naturally when they work together. What we actually needed was structured recognition and appreciation. HeyTaco gave us that daily culture building through peer recognition. Donut's random pairings were nice-to-have; HeyTaco's recognition was must-have." — Rachel P., Director of Culture, 150-person agency
