If you manage a remote team, you already know the drill: keeping people connected and motivated isn’t easy when you’re all scattered across time zones and Slack channels. Maybe you’ve heard about Bonusly, an employee recognition platform, and you’re wondering if it’s worth the money—or if it’s just another shiny SaaS with a cute mascot and lots of buzzwords.
This review cuts through the fluff. If you care about actually improving engagement and morale (without wasting hours setting up yet another tool), read on.
What Bonusly Actually Does
Bonusly is a platform for peer-to-peer recognition. In plain English: your team gets a monthly allowance of “points” they can give to each other as a thank you or shout-out. People can then turn those points into gift cards, donations, or even cash (depending on your setup).
It plugs into tools your team already uses—Slack, Microsoft Teams, email—and nudges people to recognize each other for good work, big or small. The hope is that it makes praise more visible and regular, not just a once-a-year HR thing.
Key Features: - Peer-to-peer micro-bonuses: Not just top-down recognition—everyone can give, not just managers. - Message feed: A running feed of public recognition. Think of it as a team kudos wall. - Reward catalog: Gift cards, charities, and sometimes cash-out options (depending on country). - Integrations: Works inside Slack, Teams, email, or even via Zapier. - Analytics: See who’s getting (and giving) recognition, spot engagement trends.
Why Remote Teams Use Bonusly
Let’s be honest: remote work can feel isolating. People miss hallway chats and high-fives after a win. Bonusly tries to fill that gap by making recognition visible and easy.
Where Bonusly shines for remote teams: - It’s async by default: Nobody has to be online at the same time to get recognized. - It lowers the bar for praise: You don’t need a formal process—just type a quick thank you and hit send. - Recognition isn’t just top-down: Peer-to-peer is huge for morale, especially when managers are juggling too much.
But: - If your culture already struggles with feedback, Bonusly won’t magically fix that. - If nobody uses it, it fades into the background fast.
Setting Up Bonusly: What’s Smooth and What’s Not
The Good
- Fast onboarding: You can get Bonusly up and running in less than an hour.
- Integrates where work happens: The Slack/Teams integration is solid. People actually see and use it.
- Customizable rewards: If you want to add your own rewards (think: lunch with the CEO, branded swag), it’s easy.
The Not-So-Great
- Reward catalog can be hit-or-miss: In some countries, gift card options are limited or odd. Double-check before you promise “tons of choices.”
- Customization has limits: You can tweak point amounts and some settings, but not everything. For example, you can’t easily customize the look and feel.
- Analytics are basic: You get the usual charts, but don’t expect deep insights out of the box.
Pro Tip: Start with a pilot group. If your team thinks it’s cheesy or forced, you’ll know before rolling it out company-wide.
Day-to-Day Use: What Employees Actually Experience
The Good Stuff
- Recognition feels immediate: Someone helps you? You can thank them in 30 seconds, and everyone sees it.
- Public praise, private rewards: Even if you don’t care about gift cards, the public message still feels good.
- Easy to use: The Slack command is as simple as
/give @alex great job on the client presentation!
The Not-So-Good
- Sometimes it feels like a popularity contest: Social people rack up more points.
- Low effort recognition: “Thanks for being you!” can start to dilute the impact if nobody’s specific.
- Gift card fatigue: After the 10th Amazon voucher, rewards can lose their shine.
Watch out for: “Recognition inflation”—when everyone gives out points just because they have them, not because they mean it.
What Bonusly Gets Right (And Where It Falls Short)
Where It Delivers
- Makes praise visible: No more silent wins. Even shy team members get noticed.
- Easy for distributed teams: Works across time zones, languages, and departments.
- Reduces admin pain: No spreadsheets or big HR process to manage.
Where It Doesn’t
- Doesn’t create culture from scratch: If people don’t value recognition, no tool will change that.
- Can feel transactional: If you don’t encourage meaningful messages, people just chase rewards.
- Limited customization: You can’t deeply tailor everything—branding and UX are mostly set.
Ignore the Hype
- Bonusly isn’t a silver bullet. It won’t double engagement overnight. It’s a tool, not a culture fix.
- The analytics are fine for spotting trends, but don’t expect them to reveal deep insights about your team’s health.
How to Get the Most Out of Bonusly
- Lead by example. If leaders don’t use it, nobody else will.
- Set some ground rules. Encourage specific praise, not just “good job.”
- Mix up the rewards. Add custom rewards people actually want (extra day off, lunch with a leader, company swag).
- Keep it light. Don’t make people feel like they have to use up all their points every month.
- Check in often. Ask your team if it feels valuable, or if it’s turning into just another checkbox.
Pro Tip: Tie Bonusly to real company values. If “helping others” is core to your culture, call that out in your recognition messages.
Pricing: Is It Worth It?
Bonusly isn’t cheap, especially if you have a big team. Pricing is per user per month, and you also fund the rewards. (So it’s not just a software bill—you’re paying for the gift cards, too.)
Worth noting: - Small teams (<50) pay more per user, but can get away with the basic plan. - Larger teams get lower rates, but costs add up fast. - There’s a free trial, but you’ll need to pay to unlock all features.
Be realistic: If your budget is tight and your team isn’t likely to use it, try out the trial and measure usage before you commit.
Should You Use Bonusly?
Use Bonusly if: - Your remote team already values recognition, but needs a nudge to do it more often. - You want a tool that’s easy to set up and works where your team already hangs out (Slack, Teams). - You’re willing to spend a little to boost morale and retention.
Skip it if: - Your team is tiny and already communicates well. - You want deep customization or heavy analytics. - You’re hoping software alone will change your culture.
The Bottom Line
Bonusly makes it easier for remote teams to say “thanks” and make that praise visible. It works best when it’s part of a real culture of recognition—not a substitute for one. Don’t overthink it: start small, keep it meaningful, and tweak as you go. If it feels forced or falls flat, move on. There’s no magic fix, but for many teams, Bonusly is a solid step in the right direction.