Bucketlist Rewards vs Reward Gateway
Bucketlist Rewards and Reward Gateway both help companies recognize and reward employees, but they take different approaches. Reward Gateway offers recognition as part of a wider employee engagement platform. Bucketlist Rewards delivers the same core recognition and reward capabilities with greater reward choice, deeper program customization, built-in tax guidance, dedicated support, and a written Value Guarantee.
Best reviewed employee rewards software
Why teams choose Bucketlist Rewards
Rewards employees actually want, everywhere they work
With 1M+ choices, including products from Amazon Business, Expedia and Viator experiences, gift cards in 200 countries, donations, and custom swag, teams never run out of meaningful ways to recognize great work.
A simpler platform to launch, manage, and use daily
Bucketlist is rated higher than Reward Gateway on G2 for ease of use, setup, and administration. Employees get a simple way to recognize and redeem, while HR teams get straightforward tools to manage the program.
Clearer insights to measure and improve recognition programs
Bucketlist gives leaders visibility into participation, reward spend, and performance, with benchmarks showing where to improve. In contrast, Reward Gateway does not include all recognition activity in its dashboard.
TL;DR comparison table
| Category | Bucketlist Rewards | Reward Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Reward catalog | 1M+ rewards across 200+ countries, including Amazon Business products, Viator and Expedia experiences, and donations. | Gift cards, Amazon products, experiences, donations, and custom rewards across 65+ countries. |
| Customization | Branding, budgets, rewards, approvals, and workflows by team or location | Branding, awards, budgets, and programs for different groups |
| Mobile access | Native iOS and Android apps | Native iOS & Android apps |
| Reporting and benchmarks | Real-time dashboards, industry benchmarks, and AI Tax Copilot | Dashboards and downloadable reports; no public AI tax tool |
| Customer support | Dedicated CSM and onboarding manager with ongoing guidance | CSM and implementation support |
| Pricing | Tiered pricing | Pricing not publicly listed |
| Free trial | Personalized sandbox for qualified prospects | No free trial |
| Integrations | Slack, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, HRIS, payroll, and SSO | Slack, Teams, Outlook, HRIS, and SSO |
Why teams outgrow Reward Gateway
Reward Gateway can fall short when teams need more reward choice in more countries, built-in tax guidance, and reporting that works for both HR and finance. Bucketlist delivers all three in one platform, with 1M+ rewards across 200+ countries, industry benchmarks, finance-ready exports, and AI Tax Copilot.
Rewards & Experiences
Reward Gateway and Bucketlist both offer gift cards, Amazon products, experiences, donations, and custom rewards. The difference is scale. Bucketlist offers 1M+ rewards across 200+ countries, giving global teams more choice in more places.
Bucketlist Rewards
- 1M+ rewards across 200+ countries
- Amazon Business products
- Viator and Expedia experiences, gift cards, donations, swag, and custom rewards
Reward Gateway
- Rewards available in 65+ countries
- No total catalog size published
- Gift cards, Amazon products, experiences, donations, and custom rewards
“Enjoy putting smiles on my co-workers faces!”
The rewards are full of variety and there’s something for everyone. I also like that there is an option to publicly reward people and also more privately. I really have enjoyed using Bucket list!
Tayli Z. – Verified G2 Reviewer
Customization & Branding
Reward Gateway lets teams customize branding, eCards, content, and rewards. Bucketlist goes further, giving teams more control over the program itself, from values and awards to points, milestones, rewards, and workflows by team or location.
Bucketlist Rewards
- Custom branding, values, badges, and awards
- Automated milestones, nominations, and incentives
- Custom points, rewards, and workflows by team or location
Reward Gateway
- Logos, colors, images, and custom hub pages
- eCards and rewards by employee group
- Some page fonts, button colors, and styles are fixed
Ease of Use & Mobile
Both Bucketlist and Reward Gateway offer native iOS and Android apps for recognition and rewards. Where Bucketlist stands out is ease of use, with higher G2 ratings for ease of use, setup, and administration.
Bucketlist Rewards
- Native mobile apps for iOS and Android
- “Easiest to Use” rating on G2
- Recognition, milestones, and rewards on the go
Reward Gateway
- Native mobile apps for iOS and Android
- Lower G2 ease-of-use rating
- Recognition alongside news and engagement content
“Bucketlist Makes it Easy”
Bucketlist is such an easy platform to use to give recognition for the efforts of employees and is so easy and seamless to use. Not to mention the fact that the redeeming process is lightning fast too!
Raelynn S. – Verified G2 Reviewer
Analytics & Tax Compliance
Reward Gateway offers real-time dashboards and downloadable recognition reports. Bucketlist goes further with industry benchmarks, finance-ready exports, and AI Tax Copilot, giving HR and finance clearer insight into performance, spend, and tax requirements.
Bucketlist Rewards
- Real-time dashboards with industry benchmarks
- AI Tax Copilot
- Finance-ready exports for payroll and compliance
Reward Gateway
- Real-time engagement and recognition dashboards
- No AI tax guidance tool documented
- Downloadable reward and budget reports
Customer Success & Support
Both Bucketlist and Reward Gateway provide implementation support and a dedicated CSM. Bucketlist stands out with quarterly program reviews, ongoing optimization, and a higher G2 rating for customer support
Bucketlist Rewards
- Dedicated CSM + onboarding specialist
- Quarterly reviews and program optimization
- 9.7 G2 Quality of Support rating
Reward Gateway
- Dedicated CSM and implementation
- Client support for admin and technical issues
- 9.3 G2 Quality of Support rating
Pricing & ROI Guarantee
Reward Gateway does not publicly list pricing. Bucketlist offers tiered pricing backed by a written Value Guarantee tied to measurable program outcomes.
Bucketlist Rewards
- Tiered pricing based on employee count
- Written Value Guarantee tied to program outcomes
Reward Gateway
- Pricing not publicly listed
- Value Guarantee only available to UK customers
Customer Testimonials
“Such a fun way to connect with all your team!”
It is a very fun and easy way to connect with all your team! Even those that are states away! We love using the GIFs to make our recognitions even more entertaining too!
Joshua T.
“Fosters a community within the workplace.”
I like that it gives a visible transparent way to live out company culture. Rewards for performance are one thing but recognition for cultural activities brings things to a new level.
Jacob G.
Frequently asked questions
Find answers to your most pressing questions about our services and offerings.
1. How fast can each platform launch ?
Bucketlist launches in 2–4 weeks with guided onboarding. Reward Gateway does not publish one standard launch timeframe.
2. Do both support Slack and Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Both Bucketlist and Reward Gateway integrate with Slack and Microsoft Teams. Bucketlist lets employees send recognition directly in both tools, while Reward Gateway requires its Social Wall add-on to send recognition through Microsoft Teams.
3. Which platform offers more employee reward options?
Bucketlist offers 1M+ rewards across 200+ countries, including Amazon Business products, gift cards, experiences, donations, swag, and custom rewards. Reward Gateway offers rewards in 65+ countries, including gift cards, Amazon products, experiences, donations, and custom rewards.
4. Which platform offers greater customization?
Both platforms support branding and custom recognition programs. Bucketlist gives teams control over awards, incentives, values, rewards, and program settings by department, location, or team, making it easier to tailor recognition around how different parts of the organization work.
5. Which platform is easier to use and manage?
G2 reviewers rate Bucketlist higher for ease of use, setup, and administration. Bucketlist scores 9.7 for ease of use and 9.6 for both setup and administration, compared with Reward Gateway’s 9.3, 9.1, and 9.0
6. Which platform offers better tax support?
Bucketlist includes tax-ready reporting and AI Tax Copilot, developed with insights from EY, to help answer reward-related tax questions. Reward Gateway provides downloadable recognition and budget reports, but no comparable public AI tax guidance tool is documented.
7. How does pricing differ?
Bucketlist uses predictable tiered pricing based on the number of employees in the program. Reward Gateway does not publicly list standard recognition pricing, and its Value Guarantee is only available to UK customers.