Perks vs employee engagement
Perkbox is a well-known employee perks platform in the UK, and when people talk to us at Incentivesmart they often ask us what the differences are between their platform, our solution, and others on the market. So here we’ve compared six strong alternatives to Perkbox, and highlighted the advantages of each.
The best choice for your business will depend on the size of your organisation, and the objectives you want to achieve. For example, you may want to improve employee retention and reduce presenteeism through recognition and motivation; you may have specific sales targets you want to inspire teams to achieve; or you may want to reinforce your company culture and foster values-based behaviours.
Why a strong employee engagement programme matters
The right employee engagement programme will help you to:
- Foster a recognition culture by enabling in-the-moment peer-to-peer and manager-to-peer recognition for values-based behaviours, activities (such as learning), achievements and milestones
- Reward those behaviours and achievements with inspirational gifts that carry memorable trophy value
- Leverage its value as a two-way communications hub – through its social feed, surveys, feedback, referrals, events and other custom modules – to support and consolidate your community of work
All this needs to be delivered effectively and consistently over time – and if you can build in some fun along the way with gamification, campaigns and challenges, even better!
Why employee engagement with your platform is the key to ROI
The platform is only part of the story. Providers – like Incentivesmart – that offer targeted support to help you drive employee engagement with your platform are likely to help you achieve greater ROI.
These examples show how high levels of employee engagement have driven success for Incentivesmart clients.
- Recruitment specialists Simply Education saw 100% of recruiters register on their Incentivesmart platform, leading to a 36% reduction in employee turnover.
- Incentivesmart clients Miele saw their engagement score climb to 87%, with 98% of employees joining their branded employee engagement programme with Incentivesmart.
- A major mobile network provider needed a behaviour-shifting, scalable employee strategy that boosted knowledge and rewarded effort. Thanks to the Incentivesmart platform, their short-term sales incentive was so effective that it was extended to run for a year.
Perkbox alternatives: side-by-side comparison
| Platform | Best for | Key strengths | Pricing |
| Incentivesmart | Culture-first SMEs wanting performance improvement and growth through employee engagement, reward and recognition | Rewarding and recognising performance and values-based behaviours; versatility; strategic support for driving employee engagement | From £4 PEPM |
| Rippl | Recognising deskless and decentralised global teams |
Employee recognition and engagement | From £1,000 per month |
| Kudos | Recognition-led culture | Values-based recognition | Custom quote |
| Bonusly | Peer-to-peer recognition | Simple, real-time recognition | Up to 8 users free, or from $5PEPM |
| Workhuman | Enterprise recognition | Social recognition and employee appreciation at scale | Custom quote |
| Reward Gateway | Enterprise employee engagement | Broad employee experience platform | From £8 PEPM monthly, £6 PEPM annually |
PEPM = per employee, per month; setup fees may also apply. Sourced July 2026.
Like Perkbox, all these platforms are based on a points-based reward system, and all offer digital gift cards as part of their reward catalogue. They’re all accessible through mobile devices, and at the back end they all feature reporting, analytics, and integration – although there are considerable degrees of difference between each.
Incentivesmart
Built on decades of motivation expertise, Incentivesmart enables organisations of all sizes to incentivise and drive individual and team productivity, while building a high-performing recognition culture.
Incentivesmart’s employee engagement solution brings together recognition, rewards and communications with the option of agency-style strategic support for growing UK businesses. It is especially popular with mid-sized organisations, as its user-friendly employee engagement platform puts enterprise-level features within reach for organisations of just 50+ employees.
Incentivesmart key features
As well as providing ongoing employee reward and recognition, the platform enables you to run seasonal and tactical engagement campaigns and incentives that keep things fresh and exciting for your teams.
- Flexible and customisable, with modules for ideas schemes, referrals and employee surveys, including eNPS
- Transparent pricing, with rewards invoiced only on points redemption
- Catalogue of 4,000+ aspirational employee rewards, including gift merchandise, digital vouchers and bespoke travel
- Social feed, leaderboards, badges, and gamification options, such as ‘spin the wheel’
If you want employee engagement that actively drives behaviour through recognition, reward and incentives, all with the option of strategic support from motivation specialists, Incentivesmart is your ideal choice.
Incentivesmart pricing
- Essentials (self-serve, entry level): from £4 PEPM for 50+ employees
- Premium (advanced features): from £6.50 PEPM for 100+ employees
- Enterprise (customised): POA for 500+ employees
Setup fees may also apply; rewards are invoiced only on redemption.
See Incentivesmart engagement packages and prices >
Rippl
Rippl’s employee recognition and engagement platform helps remote businesses improve culture through reward, recognition, incentives and employee engagement. With a social recognition feed and feedback tools built-in, it’s simple to use and supports culture-building and employee appreciation.
Rippl key features
- Employee reward, recognition and engagement platform
- Mobile-friendly user experience, designed for employees who aren’t desk-based
- Simple, easy-to-use platform with transparent pricing and quick implementation
If your team is mostly remote or deskless and you want something simple and mobile-first, Rippl is a good choice.
Rippl pricing
Rippl starts at £1,000 per month (minimum licensing for smaller businesses) plus a one-time setup fee of £2,000-£5,000.
Kudos
Kudos is for enterprise and global businesses where culture is important, and which want a values-based recognition programme. Its focus on reward and recognition differentiates it from broader engagement platforms, such as Incentivesmart and Reward Gateway, and from platforms centred around perks and benefits, such as Perkbox.
Kudos key features
- Peer-to-peer recognition, complete with social feed
- Extensive global reward catalogue, including physical merchandise, digital rewards and travel
- Enables creation of incentives and challenges
If you’re a global enterprise focused purely on peer-to-peer recognition, Kudos’ scale would make it an option for your shortlist.
Kudos pricing
Pricing is available on request (as a custom quotation).
Bonusly
US-based Bonusly is a global employee recognition-first platform that mainly focuses on real-time peer-to-peer appreciation and rewards, rather than on employee engagement overall. It’s easy to use, with a social feed, and is popular with mid-sized tech companies and remote teams.
Bonusly key features:
- Global recognition platform
- Digital, physical and cash-equivalent rewards
- Employees are given a monthly points allowance to award to peers
If you’re a remote-first team wanting real-time peer recognition, Bonusly’s simplicity is likely to be appealing. At the time of writing, US-based Bonusly prices only in US dollars. UK organisations that value transparent GBP pricing, in-country support and a local presence may prefer a UK-based recognition provider. For teams comfortable with a US platform, Bonusly remains a strong, easy-to-adopt option.
Bonusly pricing
Bonusly offers pricing in three tiers:
Free: Up to 8 users, with limited functionality
Team: $5 per PEPM
Organisation: POA
Workhuman
Workhuman is a premium enterprise-level employee recognition platform focused on culture, belonging and suitably large-scale recognition reward and recognition programmes.
Workhuman key features
The platform includes all you’d expect, such as a social feed, service awards and enterprise scalability, and is designed for global organisations, especially those that already have mature recognition programmes.
- Global recognition platform
- Reward catalogue offering merchandise, gift cards and travel
- 360-degree feedback tools
If you’re a large global enterprise with an already-mature recognition programme and the budget to match, then Workhuman is a good option to consider.
Workhuman pricing
Workhuman pricing is quote-based; there is an ROI calculator available.
Reward Gateway key features
Reward Gateway is a comprehensive enterprise employee experience platform that offers reward and recognition, discounts, wellbeing, communications and engagement tools, including surveys and feedback. Its broad range of functionality and HR integrations give it strong mid-market and enterprise appeal.
Reward Gateway key features
- Employee experience platform including perks, discounts and wellbeing tools
- Reward catalogue with custom rewards and Amazon integration
- Communication tools, including surveys and feedback
If you want one platform covering discounts, wellbeing and communications alongside recognition, Reward Gateway’s breadth could suit.
Reward Gateway pricing
Reward Gateway is priced at £8 per employee per month. This rate is reduced with an annual subscription (from £6 PEPM). For more than 100 employees, price is POA. A setup and scoping fee may apply.
Outgrown perks? Incentivesmart motivates your employees
Perkbox and its direct competitors are optimised to offer a range of employee discounts and wellbeing offerings. Incentivesmart’s employee engagement platform optimises for behavioural change, matching meaningful rewards with what actually motivates each person. It’s backed by decades of motivation expertise and a pricing model that means you only pay for the reward once it’s done its job (pay on redemption).
In summary – if you simply want to enrich your EVP with discounts and benefits, a perks platform like Perkbox is likely to be a good choice. If your goals are more wide-ranging, a programme that focuses more widely on employee engagement – like Incentivesmart – may be more suitable for your needs.
Get started with Incentivesmart
Incentivesmart’s employee engagement platform offers enterprise-level features in a platform suitable for businesses of all sizes. Based on years of motivational experience and psychology, Incentivesmart focuses on creating measurable cultural impact through in-the-moment recognition, memorable and aspirational rewards, incentives, and interactive employee communication and participation.
Book a demo to see how Incentivesmart can help you build a more engaged, motivated and connected workforce.
See how Incentivesmart works >
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