Head to head

Bonusly vs Empuls

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Bonusly

$3/user/mo Free tier 30 day free trial

Peer recognition and rewards. Free for up to 8 users; cheapest paid Team is $3/user/mo without Bizy, or $5/user/mo with Bizy included.

Where Bonusly fits

Teams starting peer recognition in Slack or Teams
Companies under 8 people (free)
HR teams that want points and a rewards shop without an enterprise suite
Orgs willing to trial 30 days

Empuls is still Xoxoday's employee engagement platform, sold under the Empuls name. Pricing is a per-employee, per-month SaaS model based on headcount and the modules you turn on. The vendor pricing page does not print a dollar rate.

Where Empuls fits

HR teams that want recognition, surveys, and a social intranet from one Xoxoday product
Companies that will add perks later rather than buy the whole suite day one
Global employers already looking at Xoxoday Plum for rewards catalogs
Mid-market internal-comms leads who want a feed plus rewards, not only an intranet

At a glance

Detail	Bonusly	Empuls
Starting price	$3/user/mo	Sales-quoted
Free tier	✓Yes	–No
Free trial	30 day free trial	Not on record
MCP server	–No	–No
Public API	✓Yes	–No
Listed under	Engagement, Recognition & rewards	Internal communications, Recognition & rewards
Capterra	4.8 from 1,611 reviews	4.5 from 109 reviews

Where they pull apart

Bonusly

Stands out: A real free plan plus a $3/user public Team seat, with Slack and Teams in the flow of work rather than a separate rewards portal nobody opens.

Watch out: Bizy, the AI recognition sidekick, is included on the $5 Team plan (or $2/user/month extra). Organization is quoted. HRIS provisioning is not on Free.

Not the right fit for

Enterprises that need Workhuman-scale programs
Buyers who want Bizy on the $3 seat
Companies that will not put recognition in Slack

Empuls

Stands out: You pick modules (recognition, surveys, perks, social intranet) instead of a forced bundle, and AI is described as built into every module. Slack and Microsoft Teams are named deployment surfaces.

Watch out: Reward catalog spend is billed when employees redeem, on top of the platform fee. Minimum employee counts and contract lengths are handled in sales. Third-party $2/employee/month teaser copy is not on the pricing table.

Not the right fit for

Buyers who need a printed $99/mo checkout
Teams that only need a free Slack kudos app

Pros and cons

Bonusly

Free plan up to 8 users
Public $3/user/mo Team seat
30-day trial with Bizy included

Bizy is extra on the $3 seat
Organization is quoted
Not a full engagement suite

Empuls

Modular PEPM so you are not forced into a full culture suite
Recognition, surveys, and a social intranet in one Xoxoday product still branded Empuls
Capterra 4.5 from 109 matching Xoxoday Empuls reviews

No public dollar table on the Empuls pricing page
Reward redemptions bill separately from the platform fee
Implementation is a sales-led rollout, not a credit-card signup

What each one costs

Bonusly

$3/user/mo

Free plan for up to 8 users. Paid Team from about $3 per user a month without Bizy, or $5 with Bizy. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 12 Sep 2026

Empuls

Sales-quoted

Empuls is priced per employee per month based on headcount and the modules you activate. Recognition, surveys, perks, and the social intranet can be mixed. Reward catalog spend is billed on redemption, separate from the platform fee. The vendor does not print a dollar rate. A demo produces a quote. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026

Common questions

Can you try Bonusly or Empuls for free?

Bonusly carries a free tier on our listing. Bonusly offers a 30 day free trial.

Not the pair you wanted?

All Bonusly alternatives All Empuls alternatives Every Engagement tool

Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 12 Sep 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?