Tool profile
Bonusly: cost, fit and limits
Bonusly is a peer recognition and rewards platform made by Smartly, Inc. that lets colleagues give each other points inside Slack or Microsoft Teams, redeemable for gift cards or cash, with an optional AI sidekick named Bizy. It also covers 1:1 check-ins, goals and 360 feedback for small and mid-sized teams.
What to know first
Bonusly reads as a recognition tool that grew into a lightweight performance suite. The cheapest paid step is a plain Team plan, Bizy AI is priced as a separate line, and the Organization plan adds nominations, spot bonuses and SAML SSO. Rewards are billed at face value when redeemed, so the subscription is only part of the bill. The pricing page and its FAQ describe Bizy slightly differently, which is worth clarifying before you sign.
Bonusly at a glance
| Maker | Bonusly, United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Free trial only |
| Entry price | $5 per user per month (Team with Bizy) |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Employee Recognition Software in 2026, rank 7 of 10 |
| Website | bonusly.com |
Who Bonusly is best for
Teams that already live in Slack or Teams
Points and shout-outs are given in the chat tools staff use all day, and the vendor lists iOS and Android apps for people who are away from a desk.
HR leads who also want 1:1 support
The Team plan lists enhanced 1:1s with smart agendas, performance recaps and manager alerts, so recognition and light check-ins run from one login.
Companies buying recognition before they have a rewards budget
Rewards are billed at face value only when redeemed and the vendor says there are no hidden fees, so unspent points do not create an upfront cost.
Bonusly plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Team | $3 per user per month, or $30 per user per year | Peer recognition, Slack and Teams integrations, mobile apps, milestone celebrations, HRIS provisioning, 24/7 chat support, smart 1:1 agendas and manager alerts. |
| Team + Bizy | $5 per user per month, or $50 per user per year | Everything in Team plus Bizy, the AI recognition sidekick, for the users the admin chooses. |
| Bizy add-on | $2 per user per month | Adds Bizy to a Team or Organization plan, with a free trial inside the 30-day plan trial. Admins pick which users get access. |
| Organization + Bizy | Custom, by demo | Team features plus nominations and awards, spot bonuses, analytics, SAML SSO, a dedicated CSM, a training library and 1,000 MCP tool calls a month. |
Checked October 2026.
What Bonusly does
- Points and rewards catalog
- Employees give points that recipients exchange for gift cards, cash or other rewards from a global catalog. A cost of rewards calculator on the site helps budget the redemption spend that sits outside the subscription.
- Bizy recognition assistant
- Bizy helps users notice colleagues and find moments worth recognizing. The vendor gives no technical detail on how it works, and it is billed per user, so admins can limit it to managers first.
- Automated milestones
- Birthdays, work anniversaries and other milestones are celebrated without manual posts. This sits in the Team plan, so even the cheapest tier keeps the calendar of occasions covered.
- Check-ins and growth
- Smart 1:1 agendas, reflections, goals and 360 feedback sit next to recognition. This matters if you want one tool for both thanks and development rather than two tools to license.
- Insights and recognition quality
- Organization customers get company-wide analytics and a recognition quality report, which show how core values appear in posts and which employees rarely get thanked by anyone.
How Bonusly handles your data
Bonusly's trust center lists CCPA, GDPR, SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 under compliance. Its subprocessor list names AWS, Chargebee, AssemblyAI, Anthropic and Algolia, which tells buyers that AI and speech processing happen with outside providers. The privacy notice says the site is hosted in the United States and that personal information is kept while the account is active. AI overview and AI security documents sit behind an access request, so the vendor's policy on training use was not readable here.
Where Bonusly falls short in practice
- AI documents are gated. The trust center lists AI Overview, AI Feature and AI Security documents but shows them only after an access request. A buyer must ask for them before knowing how Bizy treats employee text.
- Bizy pricing is not consistent. The pricing box shows Bizy as a $2 add-on, while the FAQ refers to it as included in Team pricing. Get the exact line item in the quote so the per-seat total is clear.
- Rewards cost on top. Rewards are billed at face value on redemption, so a 500-person company paying $3 per user still funds a separate reward budget. Plan that figure first.
Works with
Alternatives to Bonusly
Bonusly: common questions
What does Bonusly cost per user?
As of November 2026 the page lists Team at $3 per user per month or $30 per user per year, and Team with Bizy at $5 per month or $50 per year. Bizy alone is $2 per user per month. Organization plans are quoted. Rewards are billed at face value when redeemed.
Is Bizy included or an add-on at Bonusly?
The pricing box lists Bizy as an add-on at $2 per user per month and bundles it into the $5 Team plus Bizy tier. The FAQ calls it included in Team pricing, so the sources disagree. Ask the sales team to write the exact seat price before approving.
Which AI providers does Bonusly use?
The trust center subprocessor list names Anthropic and AssemblyAI, alongside AWS, Chargebee and Algolia. The page does not say which provider powers which feature or whether customer text is retained for training. Request the AI Overview and AI Security documents through the trust center.
Does Bonusly have a free trial?
The pricing page offers a 30-day trial of the Team or Organization plan, and a free Bizy trial inside that period. It shows no permanent free plan. Pilot with one team and watch how many managers act on Bizy prompts before paying for it.
Where does Bonusly store data?
The privacy notice says the service is hosted on servers in the United States, and the trust center lists AWS as a subprocessor without naming a region. No EU hosting option appeared on the pages read, so European buyers should ask about data transfers.