Cooleaf
Empuls
How It Works
Cooleaf
All users can give recognition, but only admins and managers can award points. Challenges and performance goals let users earn more points. Points can be exchanged for digital gift cards, swag, or other physical products. Monthly budget determines how many rewards can be redeemed.
Empuls
Create pre-defined pieces of recognition that users can distribute, each with its own specific givers, recipients, approvers, point value, and budget. Points from awards can be used to purchase gift cards.
The Good
Cooleaf
- Huge number of integrations and automations
- Good set of default reports
Empuls
- 30-day free trial
- Configuration options give complete control over your recognition program
- Very good international rewards options
The Bad
Cooleaf
- Peer-to-peer recognition is non-monetary
- No public API
- Primarily email support
Empuls
- Has a learning curve that makes it easy to misconfigure something
- Limited support options
- Gift cards are the only reward option
Pricing
Cooleaf
Custom quotes and no public pricing.
Empuls
$2-$4 per user per month, depending on the the plan and if paying monthly or annually.
Setup & Onboarding
Cooleaf
They setup your account based on your company’s goals, then train you on the platform and prepare you for launch.
Empuls
Free trial makes it easy to get started, but the complexity of budgets and awards makes going through their sales and onboarding process more appealing.
UI & UX
Cooleaf
Fairly modern, though some areas of the platform feel dated. Navigation is simple for normal users and intuitive for admins.
Empuls
Modern, if unremarkable look. Navigation is mostly easy and users have personalized homepages.
Reward Catalog
Cooleaf
Gift cards, physical products, company swag.
Empuls
Hundreds of gift cards with plenty of international options.
Integrations
HRIS
Cooleaf
Workday, BambooHR, ADP, Namely
Empuls
Gusto, Zoho People, Freshteam, Keka, custom HRIS integrations via SFTP
SSO
Cooleaf
Okta, Onelogin
Empuls
OneLogin, Okta, Azure, custom SSO integrations
Common Tool Integrations
Cooleaf
Microsoft Teams, Slack, Facebook Workplace
Empuls
Microsoft Teams, Slack, Facebook Workplace
Additional Integrations
Cooleaf
Linkedin Learning, Lessonly, Salesforce, Zendesk, Salesloft, Lattice, and more.
Empuls
N/A
Analytics & Reports
Cooleaf
Decent set of graphs with a good range of filters. More than a dozen default reports that cover a variety of metrics.
Empuls
Good data visualizations with filters and pivot points to adjust the data, but overall very basic.
Support
Cooleaf
Primary support channel is email. The help center features articles that thoroughly cover the basics, but doesn't cover more advanced topics.
Empuls
Primary support channel is email. Help center covers entire platform, but lacks depth.
Extra Features
Cooleaf
Pulse surveys, incentivized in-person or virtual events with in-app registrations and check in, and Android and Apple mobile apps.
Empuls
Any user can send feedback survey requests. Admins can send company-wide surveys. Mobile apps for Android and Apple.
The Bottom Line
Cooleaf
The top-down recognition and earning points through challenges and KPIs makes it good for incentivizing performance, but not for those wanting peer-led recognition programs.
Empuls
Tons of control over how your recognition program is setup, but excessive for those who need something simple.
Cooleaf
