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

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

How is HeyTaco different from Donut?

They solve completely different problems. HeyTaco is a peer recognition platform—teammates give each other tacos to say thanks, explain why people are awesome, accumulate points, and redeem rewards. It's about daily appreciation and public celebration. Donut is a team connection tool—it randomly pairs people for coffee chats, posts icebreaker questions, and facilitates introductions. It's about helping people meet and socialize.

HeyTaco drives 67% daily active users through recognition habits. Donut schedules weekly/bi-weekly pairings that require actual meetings. Most teams need recognition (thanking people for contributions) more than random pairings (scheduled social time).

Can I use both HeyTaco and Donut together?

Yes, they're complementary tools serving different purposes. Some teams use HeyTaco for daily peer recognition and rewards, plus Donut for onboarding buddy pairings or cross-department introductions. However, most teams find that once they have strong recognition culture through HeyTaco, the need for scheduled random pairings diminishes—people connect naturally when there's consistent appreciation.

Which drives better team engagement—recognition or random pairings?

Recognition drives significantly better daily engagement. HeyTaco's 67% daily active users vs. Donut's weekly pairing cadence shows the difference. Recognition is active (teammates choose to give tacos) and public (builds team culture). Pairings are passive (algorithm assigns partners) and private (1:1 conversations). Teams consistently report recognition has bigger culture impact than scheduled social time.

Does Donut have rewards like HeyTaco?

No. Donut is purely about facilitating connections—it doesn't include recognition, points, or rewards. You can't accumulate anything or redeem for gift cards. It's social facilitation only. HeyTaco's reward system (1,000+ gift cards plus custom rewards like extra PTO) makes appreciation tangible and drives sustained engagement through reward goals.

Why do teams experience "Donut fatigue"?

Random pairings require scheduling actual meetings, which feels like another calendar obligation. When teams are busy, these scheduled social chats become a burden rather than a benefit. Participation declines over time as people skip pairings or have awkward forced conversations. HeyTaco avoids this because recognition is spontaneous (no scheduling needed) and quick (type @person :taco:)—it fits naturally into workflow rather than requiring dedicated meeting time.

Is HeyTaco more expensive than Donut?

Both start at $3/user/month for paid plans. Donut offers a free tier with basic features. HeyTaco offers a 30-day free trial. The real question isn't price—it's which tool drives more value. HeyTaco's recognition with rewards, daily engagement, and public celebration typically delivers more culture impact than Donut's scheduled pairings.

What about Donut's icebreaker questions—doesn't HeyTaco have those?

Donut posts conversation starters to channels, which can spark discussions. HeyTaco doesn't focus on icebreakers—instead, it builds connections through recognition. When you give someone tacos and explain why they're awesome, that creates a more meaningful connection than answering random questions. Recognition drives relationship building organically rather than through prompted questions.

Does HeyTaco work for remote teams like Donut does?

Yes. HeyTaco is fully native in Slack/Teams/Google Chat, making it perfect for remote teams. The advantage: recognition is visible to everyone in channels, creating shared team moments even when distributed. Donut's private pairings work for 1:1 connections but don't build team-wide culture visibility. Remote teams especially benefit from HeyTaco's public appreciation that everyone can see and celebrate together.

Can I switch from Donut to HeyTaco?

Yes, though there's no data to migrate (Donut doesn't have recognition history). Setup takes 5 minutes. Teams switching from Donut report better engagement with HeyTaco's active recognition vs. passive pairings. You gain daily habit formation, public appreciation, rewards, gamification, and values reinforcement that Donut doesn't provide.

What if I specifically need onboarding introductions and buddy pairings?

Then Donut's structured pairing might be valuable for that specific use case. However, many teams find HeyTaco serves onboarding just as well—new hires give and receive tacos, see who's most helpful, and naturally connect with engaged team members through recognition. The organic relationship building through appreciation often works better than algorithmically assigned buddies.