Both start at $3 per user a month: Assembly’s Empower plan billed yearly, and Bonusly’s Team plan without Bizy AI. Bonusly adds a free plan for up to 8 users and a 30-day trial.
LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.
Scorecard
Assembly wins 1Bonusly wins 12 ties
Assembly vs Bonusly by dimension
Dimension
Assembly
Bonusly
PricingBoth list $3 per user a month: Assembly Empower billed yearly, Bonusly Team without Bizy AI. Bonusly is free for up to 8 users; Bizy AI adds $2 per user a month, and rewards are paid at face value. Yes3
$3/user/mo (Empower plan, billed annually)
$3/user/mo
CapabilitiesAssembly documents 9 items on our recognition checklist, including budget approvals and values tagging. Bonusly documents 7, adding mobile access for frontline staff. Peer-to-peer recognition in Slack, Microsoft Teams or the web, Recognition categories based on company values, Points and budget controls, Global reward catalog, Milestone celebrations, announcements, awards and challenges, Advanced people analytics1
9 of 11 core capabilities
7 of 11 core capabilities
SecurityBoth state SOC 2 Type II and GDPR. Bonusly’s trust center also lists SOC 3 and CCPA. Yes4
SOC 2, GDPR
SOC 2, GDPR
Fit and supportBoth sell from small teams to enterprises. Bonusly offers 24/7 chat on its paid plans; Assembly lists enterprise-grade support on Enterprise. Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises4
Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises
Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises
The lowest monthly cost in each row is highlighted.
Monthly cost of each product’s entry plan with published per-employee pricing, at the annual rate where marked.
Analysis by dimension
Pricing. Both list $3 per user a month: Assembly Empower billed yearly, Bonusly Team without Bizy AI. Bonusly is free for up to 8 users; Bizy AI adds $2 per user a month, and rewards are paid at face value.
Capabilities. Assembly documents 9 items on our recognition checklist, including budget approvals and values tagging. Bonusly documents 7, adding mobile access for frontline staff.
Security. Both state SOC 2 Type II and GDPR. Bonusly’s trust center also lists SOC 3 and CCPA.
Fit and support. Both sell from small teams to enterprises. Bonusly offers 24/7 chat on its paid plans; Assembly lists enterprise-grade support on Enterprise.
Neither one?
Awardco
Awardco has the highest LeadChange Score in Employee Recognition Software after excluding these two (8.3/10).
At list price they start level: $3 per user a month on Assembly Empower, billed yearly, and on Bonusly Team without Bizy AI. For teams of up to 8, Bonusly is cheaper, with a free plan. Bonusly charges rewards at face value when redeemed.
How much does Bonusly cost a company?
Team costs $3 per user a month without Bizy AI or $5 with it, or $30 and $50 per user a year. Organization is custom priced, and rewards cost their face value: a $10 gift card costs $10.
What is Bonusly?
A peer recognition and rewards platform from Smartly, Inc., based in Boulder, Colorado. It covers peer recognition, a rewards catalog, automated milestone celebrations and pulse checks.
Who owns Assembly?
Quantum Workplace, a talent management platform, which announced its acquisition of Assembly in January 2026. Assembly was founded in 2018.
Do Assembly and Bonusly work in Slack and Teams?
Yes. Assembly runs recognition in Slack, Microsoft Teams or the web. Bonusly includes its Slack and Teams integrations even on the free plan.
Which is more secure, Assembly or Bonusly?
Both state SOC 2 Type II and GDPR. Bonusly offers SAML single sign-on on Organization; Assembly connects to Okta and OneLogin.
Who are Bonusly’s competitors?
Besides Assembly, Nectar is a recognition platform we compare with Bonusly, and Workleap Officevibe is another engagement tool we review.
How this page was made
What it is built from
29 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Nov 3, 2026.
Method
Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.5. Read the methodology
Independent review
Not reviewed yet by our independent reviewer. How we review
Hands-on testing
We have not tested either product hands-on: this page uses public information only.
Who made it
The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us
Independence and errors
Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction
Assembly or Bonusly? Your answer in 3 questions
Your team size, what matters most and your role: see which one fits more of your answers, from verified facts and list prices.
LeadChange may earn a fee when you request pricing through our site or follow a sponsored link. Rankings never depend on whether a vendor pays us.We may earn a fee.
How we make money
LeadChange may earn a fee when you request pricing through our site or follow a sponsored link. Rankings never depend on whether a vendor pays us.
The 9 pages this page's facts come from, with the day we last checked each one. The numbers beside the figures above link here.
Quotes from the sources
Assembly joinassembly.com/pricing“Most Popular Empower Add peer-to-peer recognition, points, and AI-powered insights for bottom-up culture building. $3 per user / month (billed yearly)” “Milestone celebrations, Announcements, Awards & Challenges Global reward catalog Peer-to-peer recognition Points and budget controls”
Bonusly bonusly.com/pricing“Team plan available without Bizy AI for $3/user/month or $30/user paid annually.” “Organization: Custom pricing upon request.”
Assembly joinassembly.com“SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant” “all teams experimenting with recognition to enterprises running global programs.”
Bonusly trust.bonus.ly“ComplianceCCPAGDPRSOC 2 Type 2SOC 3”
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What the LeadChange Score means
A 0–10 editorial assessment built only from verified facts, across six weighted dimensions: capabilities, pricing, integrations, security, fit and support, and data confidence.
High confidence: at least 80% of the critical facts are verified on primary sources.
Medium confidence: at least 50% are; the rest are missing or rely on secondary sources.
Payments, commissions and lead fees are never inputs.