Best Microsoft Teams Apps for Employee Recognition in 2026
The best Microsoft Teams recognition apps let people thank each other without leaving Teams, tie each shout-out to a company value, and add rewards or a leaderboard. We compare Give River, Bonusly, Matter, HeyTaco, Kudos, WorkTango and Culture Amp, with Microsoft's built-in Praise as the baseline.
The short answer: start with what Microsoft Teams already includes. Praise is built in and on by default: anyone can thank up to 10 colleagues at once with one of 14 preset badges, in a chat or a channel, at no extra cost on most Microsoft 365 plans. Microsoft's documentation doesn't describe points, rewards, leaderboards, custom company values or organization-wide reporting in Praise, so if you want those, you need an app. Give River covers that ground on its Core plan: Drops tagged with your own core values that redeem for gift cards, the River Rankings leaderboard, gamified Seasons and an Insights dashboard, with Microsoft Teams and Slack included, at $4.99 per user per month with a 30-day trial.
Below: what Praise does, then seven apps that go further, Give River first because we make it. Sources and check dates are at the end. Looking for a direct replacement? See Microsoft Praise alternatives. Running Slack as well? See recognition platforms for Microsoft Teams and Slack.
The baseline: Microsoft Praise
Praise is Microsoft's built-in recognition feature in Teams. It's a messaging extension you open from the compose box in a chat or channel (on desktop: Actions and apps, then Praise) or from the Viva Insights app. It's enabled by default for all Teams users in your organization.
What Praise does
- A quick thank-you card. Praise up to 10 people at once with one of 14 preset titles, such as Courage, Optimism, Kind heart and Creative (the default is "Awesome"), plus an optional note of up to 500 characters and a background color.
- Private or public. Send it in a 1:1 chat, or post it in a Teams channel where every member can see it.
- Nudges. Viva Insights adds recurring praise reminders, a six-month history of praise sent and received, and suggestions of whom to praise. Managers get nudges about team members they haven't praised in a while.
- No extra cost. Praise is included with most Microsoft 365 and Office 365 business, enterprise and frontline plans.
- Simple admin controls. Admins can turn it on or off for the organization or for specific users.
What Microsoft's documentation doesn't describe
Microsoft's Praise documentation doesn't describe points, rewards, leaderboards, custom company values or organization-wide reporting. The analytics it does describe, "praise trends," need a paid Viva Insights subscription, and only the person can see their own. Surveys sit elsewhere in Microsoft Viva, as separate paid products (Viva Glint and Viva Pulse). Viva Engage, if you use it, has its own praise post type for communities and storylines, documented separately from Teams Praise.
When Praise is enough: if you want an easy way to say thanks in Teams with nothing to buy, Praise does the job. Look further when you want recognition tied to your own values, something people can redeem, a reason to keep going after launch, or a view of recognition across the whole team.
Teams recognition apps at a glance
| App | In Teams | Free or trial | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Praise | Built in: 14 preset badges, sent in a chat or channel | Included with most Microsoft 365 plans | No extra cost; praise trends need Viva Insights | Quick thank-yous with nothing to set up |
| Give River | Give Drops tagged with your values from Teams; Teams and Slack on Core | Free plan in the web and mobile apps (no Teams), up to 25 members; 30-day trial on Core | Core, $4.99/user/mo | Going beyond Praise at a published price |
| Bonusly | Points tied to company values; Teams and Slack on every plan | Free for up to 8 users; 30-day trial on Team | Team, $3/user/mo ($5 with Bizy AI) | Teams that want points and a large rewards catalog |
| Matter | Runs inside Teams: kudos from default templates and Feedback Friday | Free, unlimited users, after a 14-day trial | Basic, $1/user/mo billed annually ($2 monthly) | A step up from Praise for everyone, at no cost |
| HeyTaco | Tacos, levels and leaderboards; Quests are Slack-only | No free plan; 30-day trial | Classic, $3/user/mo billed monthly | A playful recognition currency with rewards on every plan |
| Kudos | Teams app, plus Slack and Outlook | Not listed; demo available | No pricing page; its blog gives $2–$5/user/mo | Awards, nominations and a large rewards catalog |
| WorkTango | Teams bot is an add-on; covers Recognition & Rewards | Not listed; interactive demo | Quote only; 12-month minimum | Zero-markup rewards and validated surveys |
| Culture Amp | Shoutouts in Teams or Slack, not both at once | No free plan listed | Quote only, billed annually | Survey-led programs that want light recognition |
1. Give River
Best for: teams that want to go beyond Praise with their own values, gift card rewards, gamified Seasons and team-wide insight, at a published price, with recognition given from Teams and Slack.
How it works in Teams: the Microsoft Teams integration comes with Core, together with Slack, so a company on both can run one program. People give Drops from Teams and can tag them with your custom core values; the leaderboard, Seasons and gift cards live in the Give River web and mobile apps. Setup and everyday use are in our Help Center: Microsoft Teams Integration and Using Give River in Microsoft Teams.
What Core adds over Praise
| Microsoft Praise | Give River Core | |
|---|---|---|
| What recognition is tied to | One of 14 preset titles | Your own custom core values |
| Rewards | Not described in Microsoft's docs | Drops redeem for gift cards from a global catalog |
| Friendly competition | Not described in Microsoft's docs | River Rankings leaderboard and unlimited gamified Seasons |
| Reporting | Praise trends, visible only to each person (paid Viva Insights) | Insights dashboard |
| Surveys and eNPS | Separate paid Viva products | Surveys and polls, including eNPS |
| Also included | Reminders and suggestions in Viva Insights | Custom awards, River Runs micro-learning, HRIS integration, a shared River Guide, Slack |
| Price | No extra cost on most Microsoft 365 plans | $4.99 per user per month; 30-day trial (card required) |
Seasons are gamified cycles of 1–3 months with a clear start, finish and reset, so recognition has a rhythm instead of fading after launch. River Runs are 5–20 minute micro-learning modules on wellness, professional development and soft skills, plus your own content. Both come from the 5G Method: Gratitude, Gamification, Growth, Generosity and Guidance. Give River customers average 90% adoption.
Pricing: Core is $4.99 per user per month, with a 30-day trial; a card is required. Free, $0 for up to 25 members with no time limit, runs Drops tied to your values, River Rankings and one Season at a time in the web, iOS and Android apps, but doesn't include Teams or Slack. Growth, at $8.99 per user per month, adds River Guides coaching and team-building activities. Every price is published, with no hidden upcharges or fees.
Where others are stronger: Praise costs nothing extra and is already on. Matter includes Teams on its free plan; Give River's Teams app starts on Core. Kudos also works in Outlook.
2. Bonusly
Best for: teams that want points tied to company values and a large rewards catalog in Teams.
Beyond Praise: peer recognition with points tied to company values, and a rewards catalog of more than 1,200 rewards, including cash-out options such as PayPal and Venmo. Teams and Slack are on every plan, and Bonusly also supports Google Chat. Leaderboards need the Organization plan.
Pricing: free for up to 8 users, according to its help center (the pricing page shows only paid plans). Team is $3 per user per month, or $5 with the Bizy AI assistant, with a 30-day trial. Organization is custom-priced. See Give River vs Bonusly.
3. Matter
Best for: teams that want a step up from Praise for everyone, at no cost.
Beyond Praise: Matter runs inside Microsoft Teams and Slack. Its free plan includes kudos from default templates and Feedback Friday. Custom kudos, such as your company values, start on Basic; coins and rewards start on Pro. It doesn't list a native mobile app.
Pricing: free forever with unlimited users, after a 14-day trial of everything. Basic is $1 per user per month billed annually ($2 monthly); Pro is $3 billed annually ($4 monthly). The free plan leaves out custom kudos, coins and rewards, analytics and surveys.
4. HeyTaco
Best for: teams that want recognition to feel like a game, with rewards on every plan.
Beyond Praise: HeyTaco integrates with Microsoft Teams and Slack. Teammates give each other tacos, with leaderboards, levels and Taco TV, and every plan includes a custom Taco Shop for rewards. Its Quests feature works in Slack only, so a Teams-only company won't get it.
Pricing: no free plan. After a 30-day trial, Classic is $3 per user per month billed monthly, and Deluxe, which adds gift cards, is $5.
5. Kudos
Best for: recognition-first programs with formal awards, nominations, service milestones and a large rewards catalog.
Beyond Praise: Kudos works in Microsoft Teams, Slack (not Enterprise Grid) and Outlook. It offers values-based recognition with four impact levels, nominations with approvals, service awards, and rewards from gift cards to travel and prepaid cards. It adds incentive challenges, badges, recognition goals, leaderboards and pulse surveys with eNPS.
Pricing: no pricing page; its own blog puts pricing at $2–$5 per user per month, quoted after a demo. It doesn't list a free plan or trial, and it recommends a 6–8 week rollout. See Give River vs Kudos.
6. WorkTango
Best for: mid-market companies that want zero-markup rewards and validated engagement surveys.
Beyond Praise: WorkTango's Teams bot is an optional add-on, and its Teams and Slack apps cover Recognition & Rewards, not Surveys & Insights. The rewards marketplace has no markup and includes gift cards, travel, prepaid cards, swag and donations to more than 1.2 million charities. Its surveys, designed by I/O psychologists with benchmarks and 40+ languages, are a separate product.
Pricing: quotes only, per user per month, with a 12-month minimum contract, usually billed yearly. No free plan is listed; there's an interactive demo. BI WORLDWIDE acquired WorkTango in July 2026. See Give River vs WorkTango.
7. Culture Amp
Best for: survey-led programs that want light peer recognition next to engagement surveys and performance reviews.
Beyond Praise: Shoutouts, Culture Amp's peer recognition, can be given in Microsoft Teams or Slack, but a company can run only one of the two at a time. A leaderboard shows the top 20 givers and receivers. Its strength is measurement: 40+ survey templates with eNPS and benchmarks. We couldn't find points, rewards, badges or challenges on its site.
Pricing: quotes only, billed annually; subscriptions renew for 12 months unless either side gives notice 90 days before the end. No free plan is listed. See Give River vs Culture Amp.
Also in Teams: GoProfiles sends Bravo notifications to Teams channels, but Bravos are given in Slack. Nectar integrates with Teams and Slack, and Engagedly supports praise and feedback in both.
How to choose
- Decide whether Praise is enough. For occasional thank-yous with no budget, it is. Add an app for your own values, rewards, friendly competition or team-wide reporting.
- Name what you want beyond Praise. Your own values: Give River, Bonusly, Kudos, or Matter from Basic. A game with a rhythm: Give River's Seasons, HeyTaco's levels, Kudos's challenges. Measurement: Give River's Insights and eNPS, Kudos's pulse surveys, or WorkTango's and Culture Amp's surveys.
- Check which plan includes Teams. Bonusly lists it on every plan, and Matter includes it on Free. Give River includes it on Core. WorkTango's Teams bot is an add-on.
- If you also run Slack, check both. Give River Core and Bonusly include Teams and Slack together. Culture Amp runs one or the other, and HeyTaco's Quests are Slack-only.
- Add up the full price. Compare per-user prices, contract length (WorkTango: 12 months; Culture Amp: annual) and which plan includes rewards.
Slack-first? See the best Slack apps for employee recognition. For ways to make recognition a habit, see peer-to-peer recognition activities.
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft Teams have built-in employee recognition?
Yes. Praise is a messaging extension in Teams, on by default for Teams users. You can praise up to 10 people at once with one of 14 preset titles and an optional note, privately in a chat or publicly in a channel.
Is Microsoft Praise free?
It's included at no extra cost with most Microsoft 365 and Office 365 business, enterprise and frontline plans. Praise trends, the personal analytics, need a paid Viva Insights subscription, and only the person can see their own.
Can Praise give points or rewards, or use our company values?
Microsoft's documentation doesn't describe points, rewards, leaderboards or custom company values in Praise. For those you need an app: Give River Core, for example, ties Drops to your own values and redeems them for gift cards, and Bonusly ties points to company values.
Which Teams recognition apps have a free plan?
Matter's free plan works in Teams, with no user cap, and Bonusly is free for up to 8 users. Give River's Free plan runs in its web and mobile apps; Teams comes with Core, at $4.99 per user per month with a 30-day trial.
Do we have to turn off Praise to use another app?
Praise stays on unless an admin blocks it in the Teams admin center. Microsoft says blocking takes a few minutes for the Teams app but can take up to 15 days for Praise in Viva Insights.
Sources
Microsoft facts checked on November 12, 2026, from Microsoft's own support and Learn pages. Competitor facts come from each vendor's own website, help center and marketplace listings: Bonusly and Nectar checked on October 4, 2026; Kudos, WorkTango, Culture Amp and Engagedly on October 5, 2026; Matter, HeyTaco, GoProfiles and Bonusly's free plan on November 2, 2026. Give River facts are from our pricing page and facts page.
- Microsoft Praise: Praise in Viva Insights, send Praise in Microsoft Teams, manage the Praise app, Viva service description, Viva Insights environment requirements
- Viva Engage: post types, including praise, Engage communities in Teams, storylines
- Bonusly: pricing, plans, leaderboard, integrations, rewards
- Matter: pricing, what each plan includes, kudos guide
- HeyTaco: pricing, how it works, Quests
- Kudos: pricing (Kudos blog), integrations, Slack app, employee recognition, incentives and challenges, rewards, service awards, pulse surveys, product overview (rollout)
- WorkTango: pricing, Microsoft Teams integration, Slack integration, rewards marketplace, Surveys and Insights, BI WORLDWIDE acquisition
- Culture Amp: pricing, install the app for Slack or Microsoft Teams, Shoutouts, introducing Shoutouts, survey templates, terms of service
- Also mentioned: GoProfiles Slack app and Teams listing; Nectar integrations; Engagedly integrations overview
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