The Blueboard platform offers employee recognition and rewards through exciting experiences rather than physical products or gift cards. This focus on memorable experiences over gifts for employee recognition sets them apart from many other employee rewards platforms available online today. 

But are there any noteworthy Blueboard competitors that offer a similar focus or perhaps an even better one? Which of these Blueboard alternatives is the right choice for your company? 

Find out in our review of the best Blueboard competitors and alternatives for employee recognition below.

An Overview Of The Blueboard Employee Gifting Platform

The Blueboard gifting platform aims to reward your employees, managers, or valued business associates with experiences rather than traditional gift cards, vouchers, and products. Their website claims that this is the better approach, as experiences are more memorable than physical gifts or gift cards.

You’ll find a wide variety of experiential rewards that you can send your employees or let them choose their favorite. The experiences on offer range from creative courses to sports and adventure activities to wellness retreats and gastronomic experiences. 

The Blueboard Concierge team creates a personalized itinerary to make the recognition reward even more special.

With an experience to meet every interest and budget, you’ll find something for every occasion - whether it's a spot reward or a milestone celebration. Discover more about this approach to rewards and recognition in our Blueboard review for employee recognition.

7 Of The Top Alternatives To Blueboard For Employee Recognition And Rewards

Do you appreciate the sentiments behind Blueboard’s experience-centered approach, but need other reward possibilities too? Look at these seven Blueboard alternatives. They may be a better fit for your employee recognition needs.

1. PerkUp

PerkUp offers everything you want in an employee recognition platform. 

Send your employees curated gifts from over 1000 quality products in the PerkUp catalog or through its Amazon Business integration. Getaways, fun experiences, and wellness or entertainment services are also on offer for rewards and recognition.

Alternatively, reward them with dollar amounts that they can use to choose their own products or cash out with cash cards. Gift cards and virtual Visa cards are also available, redeemable anywhere Visa is accepted. 

PerkUp also lets you create your own custom company swag, which can be shipped to over 130 countries. Now, even your remote employees can feel more like team members with swag that builds engagement.

With a selection of gift categories from tech to wellness to entertainment, you never have to worry about finding the appropriate gift. Just let your employees choose what they love. There’s no need to hassle with points, either. Simply allocate your employees a dollar amount, and they can choose what they want to do with it. 

Thanks to various top HRIS integrations, you can also include PerkUp recognition and rewards on your favorite collaboration and communication tools.

PerkUp’s top features include:

• Extensive range of rewards, including products, gift cards, cash cards, experiences, and company-branded swag

• Users can customize their reward catalog and add personalized messages for reward recipients.

• Many top HRIS integrations, including Namely, ADP, Okta, and Justworks, which sync every 24 hours

• Get real-time data to track the receiving and sending of rewards.

• Open your own company swag store so employees can easily access branded items

• Automation and scheduling ensure you never miss an employee milestone. 

Take a look at what companies and employees say about their experience using the platform in these PerkUp reviews.

2. Sendoso

Sendoso is another excellent platform for managing your employee recognition program. The Sendoso corporate gifting marketplace includes eGifts, physical gifts, custom-branded merchandise, virtual experiences, and philanthropic opportunities.

Sendoso offers three different standard pricing plans with various features, so you can choose one that meets the needs and budget of your company. Two are suitable for domestic use, while one is aimed at domestic and international corporate gifting.

Enterprise plans and customizable options are available, too. Or opt for Sendoso Express, a convenient pay-as-you-go eGift card program with no subscription or membership fees, for those once-off corporate gifting situations. 

Sendoso’s top features include:

• A wide range of gifts and rewards to choose from, including company swag

• Analytics that track your corporate gifting program’s ROI

• Worldwide gift fulfillment

• Top integrations like Outreach, Salesforce, and HubSpot.

• Support team for help with gift curation

Wondering if Sendoso is a good fit for your company? Check out our complete Sendoso review for more information on the platform’s features. 

3. Bucketlist

As an employee recognition and rewards platform, Bucketlist offers various gift cards and experiences to suit different tastes. If you don’t see something you know your employees will enjoy, you can create unique company rewards too. Bucketlist integrates with most top collaboration tools for greater convenience in sending recognition.

You can communicate with your team or post company-wide special announcements on the platform. If you need support or advice on the performance of your recognition program, Bucketlist includes monthly account management and email/phone support. 

Top HRIS interactions make adding or removing employees easy as they come and go through the ranks at your company. 

Bucketlist’s top features include:

• A wide range of gifts across 20 countries

• Communications hub

• Convenient integrations

• Allocate points to be redeemed for gifts or gift cards with a specific cash value.

• Automate your company’s unique milestone rewards

• Experiences and custom swag options

4. Nectar HR

Nectar emphasizes the importance of meaningful rewards that are not just top-down but also include peer-to-peer recognition. The platform allows managers and employees to send encouraging messages and incentivize employee recognition.

These shoutouts to employees and colleagues can include personal messages with hashtags that tie to the company's core values. Add the points you think are appropriate for the achievement or effort you're rewarding. You can do this from your Slack or Microsoft Teams channels, too.

There are no set-up fees. You can choose between a month-to-month option or a discounted multi-year pricing plan. If you want to tie gifting in with your recognition, add points to recognition shoutouts that can be redeemed for rewards.

These rewards include Amazon products, gift cards, branded swag, custom reward options, and charitable donations.

Nectar's top features include:

• A platform that's equally suitable for employer-to-employee and peer-to-peer recognition

• Points-based rewards system that you can personalize with messages of praise or support

• Include hashtags that highlight company values

• Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations

• Five possible categories of rewards

If you’re interested in learning more about Nectar HR, be sure to read our comprehensive Nectar HR review. We dive into the platform’s pros and cons and more.

5. Bonusly

Bonusly is a top choice in employee recognition and rewards. It allows top-down rewards, peer-to-peer recognition, and automation of milestone achievement awards and incentive programs. 

Employee analytics give you deeper insights into what’s working in your recognition and rewards program and what needs to be revised. 

It makes employee recognition even easier when you can send recognition and rewards via the CRMs, sales intelligence tools, and engagement platforms you already use. That’s why Bonusly offers top integrations like 6Sense, HubSpot, OutReach, and Salesforce.

Your employees can choose various rewards, from digital gift cards, custom rewards, and company swag, to cashout or donation options. Or they can use points they’ve earned to give colleagues a points boost in recognition of their camaraderie and support.

Bonusly’s top features include:

• Automated milestone rewards

• A variety of rewards, including gift cards, swag, custom rewards, and cashouts

• Integrations that make recognition simpler

• A points-based platform for top-down and peer-to-peer recognition and gifting

• Employee analytics for improving your rewards program

Find out more about this rewards and recognition platform in our complete Bonusly review where we cover its main features and more. 

6. Tremendous

Improve your company's employee engagement and retention tremendously with the Tremendous reward-sending platform. Besides employee recognition, you can also use the platform for sending items as research, marketing, and sales incentives.

The Tremendous global catalog includes over a thousand options, including prepaid Amazon gift cards redeemable in twenty countries and pre-loaded virtual Visa cards. You can also send bulk cash rewards through ACH, PayPal, or Venmo. If your employees wish to pass their rewards payouts to a worthy cause, they can also do so.

You can start using Tremendous quickly and easily, with no set-up fees. If your corporation’s rewards amount to over $200k annually, there’s more good news. You may qualify for a special discount.

Tremendous’ top features include:

• A global catalog of rewards suitable for remote workers or distributed teams in international companies

• Numerous ways to reward employees, including three cashout options and various digital gift cards.

• Zapier integrations

• Option to make donations instead of cashing out a reward

• Fee-free currency conversion for international reward sending

To learn more about Tremendous, take a look at our Tremendous review. We outline the platform's top features and its pros and cons so that you can see whether it's the right gifting solution for your company. 

7. HeyTaco

HeyTaco is a communication and recognition platform that creates a fun and vibrant workplace through social recognition and rewards. It is commonly used within teams, especially remotely or in distributed environments.

HeyTaco aims to promote positive interactions and recognition among team members. The goal is to create a fun and engaging way for colleagues to appreciate each other's efforts and accomplishments, ultimately fostering a positive team culture and boosting morale.

The platform operates around a virtual "taco" currency. Team members can give each other tacos as a form of recognition and appreciation. These tacos are typically given in response to specific actions, achievements, or contributions that align with the team's values or goals.

Hey Taco’s top features include:

• Team members can give each other virtual tacos to acknowledge their contributions and efforts or express gratitude 

• The platform often allows organizations to customize the types of achievements or actions that can be recognized with tacos 

• The platform can integrate with various messaging and collaboration tools that teams commonly use, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams 

• HeyTaco provides analytics and insights into the recognition patterns within a team

Final Thoughts

Your employee recognition and rewards program must offer versatility, flexibility, and variety to suit all your recognition needs. It should be user-friendly, suited to all work environments, with the broadest gift choices. 

While Blueboard only focuses on providing experiential rewards, PerkUp meets all the above requirements and more. 

The platform offers gift cards, company swag, lifestyle services, high-quality products, and experiences that everyone needs. Whether you’re looking for incentive perks, spot rewards, milestone celebrations, or a gift for an employee’s birthday, we’ve got you covered!  

Get a free PerkUp demo today.