Give River vs Bonusly
Both have a free plan and per-user monthly pricing, and both run peer recognition with rewards inside Slack and Microsoft Teams. Bonusly leans toward continuous performance management (goals, 1:1s, AI-written recaps) and a very large rewards catalog. Give River runs recognition in time-bound Seasons and adds micro-learning, wellness, and charitable impact, with a River Guide coach on paid plans.
Which should you choose?
Choose Give River if…
- You want recognition, micro-learning, and charitable giving in one platform rather than three tools.
- Engagement fades a few months after launch, and you want structured, time-bound Seasons to keep it going.
- You'd like a coach who designs your programs and reads the data with you.
- You're a nonprofit (discounted pricing) or a team of roughly 20–500 people who want to launch in about two weeks.
Choose Bonusly if…
- You want goals, 1:1 meetings, and AI-generated performance recaps in the same tool as recognition.
- A very large rewards catalog matters most, including cash-out options such as PayPal and Venmo.
- You need a long list of HRIS connectors or Google Chat.
- You're a larger organization that wants Bonusly's enterprise plan features, such as SAML single sign-on.
Feature by feature.
| Feature | Give River | Bonusly |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, includes your first Season | Yes, up to 8 users |
| Paid plans start at | $5/user/mo (Core) | $5/user/mo (Team, with Bizy AI) or $3 without |
| Free trial | 30 days on paid plans | 30 days on Team |
| Peer recognition tied to company values | ✓ | ✓ |
| Time-bound gamified programs | Seasons, 1–3 months | Flash Points campaigns (Organization) |
| Leaderboards | ✓ | Organization plan |
| Micro-learning content | River Runs, 5–20 min (Core) | Not listed |
| Goals and 1:1s | Goals and coaching (Growth) | Goals, 1:1s, AI recaps |
| Pulse surveys | Surveys, polls, eNPS (Core) | Pulse checks (1–5 rating) |
| Birthdays and work anniversaries | Core and up | Team plan and up |
| Rewards catalog | Gift cards and custom rewards (Core) | 1,200+ rewards, incl. cash-out |
| Charitable donations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Volunteer management | Growth plan | Not listed |
| Wellness programs | Wellness Seasons | Not listed |
| Slack and Microsoft Teams | Slack on Free; both on Core | Both, all plans |
| HRIS sync | ADP, Workday, BambooHR, Rippling | 30+ systems (Team and up) |
| Single sign-on | Core and Growth | Google on all plans; SAML on Organization |
| iOS and Android apps | Core and up | All plans |
| Coach or success manager | River Guide: shared on Core, dedicated on Growth | Dedicated CSM (Organization) |
| Typical implementation | About 2 weeks | 4–6 weeks, faster for small teams |
Bonusly details come from Bonusly's public website and help center, checked October 4, 2026 (sources below). Plan names in a cell show where a feature sits. “Not listed” means we couldn't find it on their site. Products change, so confirm with Bonusly before you decide.
What Give River looks like.
5–20 minute modules on wellness, professional growth, and soft skills, plus your own.
Time-bound 1–3 month Seasons with a team leaderboard.
Employees turn Drops into donations to the causes they choose.
An engagement coach who designs your Seasons and reads the data with you.
Peer shout-outs tied to your company values, with Drops attached.
Engagement trends, Drops activity, and eNPS results in one dashboard.
What each one costs.
Give River
Free plan that includes your first Season. Core is $5 per user per month; Growth is custom, up to $9 per user per month. Paid plans start with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required, with no long-term contracts and discounted nonprofit pricing. Your rewards budget is separate and set by you. See all plans.
Bonusly
Free for up to 8 users. Team is $5 per user per month including the Bizy AI assistant, or $3 without it, and $50 per user per year billed annually (new customers). Organization is custom-priced. Rewards are billed at face value, plus a convenience fee when paid by card; prepaying by bank transfer has no fee.
Give River vs Bonusly: common questions.
Yes, especially if you want micro-learning and charitable giving alongside recognition. Both platforms run peer recognition with rewards in Slack and Microsoft Teams, with a free plan and per-user monthly pricing. Give River adds River Runs micro-learning, Wellness Seasons, and volunteer management, and organizes engagement into 1–3 month Seasons with a River Guide coach.
Both have a free plan. Give River's free plan includes your first Season; Bonusly's covers up to 8 users. Give River Core is $5 per user per month; Bonusly Team is $5 with its Bizy AI assistant, or $3 without. Give River's Growth plan is custom, up to $9 per user per month, and Bonusly's Organization plan is custom-priced.
Give River includes River Runs, 5–20 minute micro-learning modules on wellness, professional development, and soft skills, plus your own content. We couldn't find a learning content library on Bonusly's site; it offers goals, 1:1s, and AI performance recaps instead.
Yes. Bonusly includes both on every plan. Give River includes Slack on the Free plan and both Slack and Microsoft Teams on Core and Growth.
Sources, checked October 4, 2026
- Bonusly pricing
- Understanding Bonusly plans
- What you get on the Organization plan
- Paying for Bonusly rewards plans
- Bonusly rewards
- Leaderboard
- Flash Points
- Goals
- 1:1 meetings in Bonusly
- Managing pulse checks
- Celebrations in Bonusly
- Setting up direct HRIS integrations
- Bonusly integrations
- Single sign-on with SAML
Spotted something out of date? Email hello@giveriver.com and we'll fix it. Give River facts: giveriver.com/facts.
See Give River in action.
30-day free trial. No credit card. River Guide included on Core and Growth.