Guusto
Guusto is a recognition and rewards product built for frontline teams.
From $150/mo Free tier 30-day free trial
Bottom line
Guusto is a recognition and rewards product built for frontline teams. A free plan lets you send rewards with no subscription. Paid Lite is $150 per month for 1 sender and 250 recipient seats, with a 30-day trial.
Stands out for: You pay full price only for senders. Recipients cost less on Essential ($4 sender + $0.70 recipient, $200/mo minimum) and Premium ($500/mo minimum). Rewards also go out by SMS, print, and QR, not just email.
Watch out for: Essential and Premium minimums are billed annually. API access sits on Premium. Unclaimed rewards can be cancelled on Lite, which matters for frontline programs where emails bounce.
Overview
Guusto sends recognition and merchant rewards to employees who may never open email. Delivery includes email, SMS, print, QR, and manager handoff when contact details are missing. A free account sends rewards at 100-plus merchants. Lite automates milestones for one sender and 250 recipients.
USD yearly pricing lists Lite at $150/mo. Essential is $4 per sender plus $0.70 per recipient with a $200/mo minimum, billed annually. Premium has a $500/mo minimum and adds SSO, HRIS integrations, global rewards, and API. A 30-day Lite trial is offered. Rewards budgets are separate from the subscription.
Who it's for
Best for
- Frontline and deskless teams that need SMS, print, and QR redemption
- HR teams starting on a $0 plan before buying Lite at $150/mo
- Mid-market programs that will hit Essential's $200/mo annual minimum
- Companies that want senders billed higher than members so more budget hits the gift, not the seat
Not ideal for
- Enterprises that need a full culture suite with surveys and wellbeing in the base SKU
- Buyers who refuse annual billing on Essential and Premium
Key features
Gift cards at face value. No markup on rewards; unclaimed gifts credit back.
Shoutouts and feed. Public recognition with a social feed.
Frontline delivery. Mobile, print, and offline options for deskless staff.
Sender and recipient seats. Pay for who sends, less for who receives.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Send rewards with no subscription fee |
| Lite | $150/mo | 1 sender seat, 250 recipient seats, 30-day trial |
| Essential | $4/sender + $0.70/recipient | $200/mo minimum, billed annually |
| Premium | $500/mo minimum | Billed annually; SSO, HRIS, global rewards, API |
A free plan sends rewards with no subscription fee. Lite is $150 per month for 1 sender seat and 250 recipient seats, with a 30-day trial. Essential is $4 per sender plus $0.70 per recipient with a $200 per month minimum, billed annually. Premium has a $500 per month minimum, billed annually, and adds SSO, HRIS integrations, global rewards, and API. Reward spend is separate. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.
Checked 19 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.
Is Guusto expensive?
Guusto starts at $150/mo. We list 17 recognition & rewards tools in total. 3 have a free tier, and those with a public price typically start around $3 a month.
- 11 quote-based
- 3 free tier
- 5 public price
Worked out automatically from every recognition & rewards listing, so it updates as the directory changes.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Permanent free plan plus a $150/mo Lite with a 30-day trial
- SMS, print, and QR reach frontline staff who do not live in Slack
- Capterra 4.9 from 3,831 matching Guusto reviews
Cons
- Essential $200/mo and Premium $500/mo minimums are annual
- API is Premium-only
- The subscription does not include the gift-card spend
Integrations
Microsoft Teams Outlook
What's new at Guusto
No updates logged yet. Follow Guusto and we will email you when it announces something new or its starting price changes.
Follow Guusto
Get an email when Guusto ships a new feature, posts release notes or changes its starting price. Only when something changes, and you can stop in one click.
How Guusto compares
See all Guusto alternatives, with what each one does differently and a head to head for every pairing.
| Tool | Free tier | From | MCP | API | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ✓ | $150/mo | – | – | |
| | ✓ | $3/user/mo | – | ✓ | Compare |
| | ✓ | $1/user/mo | – | – | Compare |
| | – | Sales-quoted | – | – | Compare |
| | – | Sales-quoted | – | – | Compare |
$3/user/mo Free tier API
Bonusly is peer recognition from $3/user/mo with a free tier, stronger on points-in-Slack than frontline SMS and print.
$1/user/mo Free tier
Matter is Slack and Teams kudos with a free tier, lighter if you do not need merchant gift cards.
Sales-quoted
Nectar is values-tagged peer recognition with rewards, quote-led, if you want a culture feed more than print/QR delivery.
Sales-quoted
Vantage Circle is a quote-led recognition plus wellness suite if you need perks and pulse on top of rewards.
Your next step
Shortlisting Guusto?
Still deciding? Ask an AI assistant about Guusto.
ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)Claude (opens in a new tab)Grok (opens in a new tab)