Guusto vs. Matter Comparison: Pricing & Reviews [2025 Guide]

Choosing the right recognition platform can be challenging for businesses striving to enhance employee engagement and reinforce company values. Organizations need solutions that make employees feel valued while driving high-performing cultures. Matter deeply understands these needs, offering seamless integration with Slack and Microsoft Teams and features like customizable kudos and automated Feedback Friday to foster a culture of continuous appreciation and engagement.

By comparing Guusto and Matter, this guide will help you choose the tool that will help your business reach its goals the best.

Guusto vs. Matter: Overview comparison

When comparing Guusto vs. Matter, it's important to understand how each platform enhances employee engagement and builds a strong recognition program within organizations. Both platforms offer valuable features, but their approaches and capabilities differ, impacting how well they meet your company's specific needs.

Matter is a Slack-first and Teams-first platform, integrating seamlessly with these tools to make recognition a natural part of daily workflows. With Matter, employees send peer-to-peer recognition through beautiful, customizable kudos cards. The platform is highly automated, requiring just 2 minutes to install and 5-10 minutes to customize. Once set up, Matter runs with minimal manual input, using features like Feedback Friday to encourage recognition at the end of each week. It also automates birthday and work anniversary celebrations, rewarding employees with options like digital gift cards, charitable donations, and custom-branded rewards.

Guusto, in contrast, provides flexible recognition solutions, particularly for deskless and frontline workers. It offers straightforward rewards with a no-points system—$1 is $1—ensuring simplicity in its reward distribution. Guusto also automates milestone celebrations and integrates with HRIS platforms, making it a practical choice for industries with a large distributed workforce, such as retail and healthcare. However, Guusto's integration with communication tools like Slack and Teams is not as comprehensive as Matter's, which may limit its ability to embed recognition into everyday team interactions​.

Key differences at a glance:

• Integration:
  • Matter: Seamlessly integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams and connects with HRIS platforms like ADP, BambooHR, and Gusto to automate employee data synchronization and milestone celebrations.
  • Guusto: Provides flexible integration with HRIS platforms and mobile apps but lacks deep integration with Slack and Teams, which makes Matter an effortless part of daily workflows.
• Points System:
  • Matter: Utilizes a unique coin system that resets weekly, encouraging frequent and meaningful employee recognition.
  • Guusto: Does not use a points system, opting for direct rewards where $1 equals $1, simplifying the reward process but may not encourage ongoing engagement like Matter's system does.
• Automation:
  • Matter: Highly automated, offering features like Feedback Friday and automated celebrations for birthdays and anniversaries, requiring minimal manual input to maintain a consistent recognition program.
  • Guusto: Automates milestone celebrations but may require more active management to track rewards and manage budgets.
• Rewards:
  • Matter: Offers a variety of reward options, including digital gift cards, prepaid Visa/Mastercard, charitable donations, and custom-branded rewards, making it adaptable to diverse employee preferences.
  • Guusto: Focuses on straightforward rewards, offering gift cards, charitable donations, and branded company swag, with a practical, simple approach to reward distribution.

Both Guusto and Matter offer strong solutions for employee recognition, but Matter stands out as the better choice for companies looking for seamless integration and ongoing engagement. Matter's Slack-first and Teams-first design allows recognition to be deeply embedded into daily communication workflows, fostering continuous engagement and making recognition effortless for employees. The coin-based system that resets weekly ensures frequent, authentic recognition, while the wide variety of reward options keeps employees motivated and engaged.

Guusto is a solid option for organizations with a large frontline workforce, offering simple and flexible reward options. However, for companies seeking a more automated, integrated, and engaging recognition program, Matter offers the tools and flexibility needed to create a positive workplace culture that drives long-term employee satisfaction and performance.

Guusto vs. Matter: Features

When comparing the features of Guusto vs. Matter, it's evident that both platforms offer comprehensive tools to foster employee recognition and improve engagement. However, each platform has distinct capabilities designed to meet the unique needs of different organizations.

Matter features: Matter is designed to integrate seamlessly into the daily workflows of organizations that use Slack and Microsoft Teams. This Slack-first and Teams-first approach ensures that peer-to-peer recognition is easy and frequent, embedding recognition naturally into day-to-day communication. Key features include:

• Kudos and coins: Employees can send customizable Kudos cards that reflect company values or inside jokes, adding a personal touch to recognition. These Kudos are tied to Matter coins, which reset weekly, encouraging consistent recognition and keeping it fresh. This coin system promotes ongoing participation rather than letting points accumulate indefinitely, maintaining organizational engagement​​.
• Automated features: Matter automates several aspects of employee recognition, such as Feedback Friday, a fully customizable feature that prompts employees to give recognition at the end of the week. It also automates celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries, ensuring no milestone is missed. This automation alleviates HR teams from manual tracking, making the recognition process more streamlined​​.
• HRIS integration: Matter integrates with a wide range of HRIS platforms, including ADP, BambooHR, Gusto, and Workday, allowing for the automatic synchronization of employee data. This integration ensures that recognition is timely and based on accurate, up-to-date information​​.
• Rewards system: Matter provides a diverse rewards catalog, offering options such as digital gift cards, charity donations, prepaid Visa/Mastercard, and custom-branded rewards like company merchandise. The platform supports both frequent, smaller rewards through its weekly resetting coin system and larger, more significant rewards for key achievements, making it adaptable to various employee preferences​.

Guusto features: Guusto also offers robust features designed to make employee recognition simple and accessible, particularly for organizations with deskless or frontline workers. Its focus on flexibility and straightforward rewards is well-suited to diverse work environments. Key features include:

• Direct reward system: Unlike Matter's points system, Guusto uses a direct approach where $1 equals $1. Employees can redeem their recognition for various rewards, such as digital gift cards, charitable donations, and branded merchandise. This straightforward approach simplifies the reward process, making it easy for employees to understand and use​.
• Integration capabilities: Guusto integrates with various HRIS platforms and collaboration tools, providing broad accessibility for organizations with different work environments. Though it integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams, it doesn't embed recognition as deeply into these platforms as Matter does, which may limit its seamless use in daily communication​.
• Automated milestones: Guusto automates celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries, like Matter, ensuring that key moments are recognized without manual tracking. Without requiring more administrative labor, this function helps HR teams sustain engagement.
• Advanced budget control: Guusto provides advanced budget controls, allowing managers to track recognition budgets and allocate rewards effectively across teams. For businesses with numerous departments or sizable, dispersed workforces, this is quite helpful.

While Guusto and Matter offer comprehensive feature sets to boost employee engagement, their unique approaches cater to different organizational needs. Matter's focus on frequent, meaningful recognition through its weekly resetting coin system and deep integration with Slack and Teams makes it ideal for organizations looking to embed recognition seamlessly into their daily workflows. On the other hand, Guusto's flexibility and simple, direct rewards make it a practical choice for businesses with diverse or deskless workforces looking for an easy-to-use, scalable recognition solution.

Guusto vs. Matter: Integration options

When comparing the integration capabilities of Guusto vs. Matter, it's important to understand how each platform fits into your organization's existing workflow and infrastructure. Both platforms offer integration options that enhance employee engagement and streamline recognition programs, but they differ in terms of approach and depth of integration.

Matter integration options: Matter is specifically designed as a Slack-first and Teams-first platform, meaning it is deeply embedded within these communication tools. This seamless integration allows employees to send and receive recognition directly within their daily communication channels, making recognition a natural part of their workflow. Key integration features include:

• Slack and Microsoft Teams: Matter's recognition, rewards, and survey features are fully integrated into Slack and Microsoft Teams. Employees can send Kudos, participate in Feedback Friday, and complete surveys without leaving these platforms. This integration also includes automated celebration messages for birthdays and work anniversaries, ensuring that these milestones are recognized across the team without manual input​.
• HRIS integration: Matter supports integration with various HRIS platforms such as ADP, BambooHR, Gusto, and Workday. This allows for automatic synchronization of employee data, ensuring that important events like birthdays and anniversaries are celebrated timely and accurately. Additionally, HRIS integration streamlines the onboarding process and ensures that recognition efforts are aligned with up-to-date employee information​.
• Automated surveys: Matter's survey feature is also integrated within Slack and Teams, making it easy to deploy and collect feedback. With automated delivery and scheduling options, organizations can ensure high participation rates and gather meaningful insights without disrupting daily workflows. Surveys are further incentivized with Matter coins, encouraging participation and boosting response rates​​.

Guusto integration options: Guusto offers a flexible range of integrations that make it a practical solution for companies with diverse employee environments, particularly those with frontline or deskless workers. Key integration features include:

• HRIS and collaboration tools: Guusto integrates with various HRIS platforms and collaboration tools, ensuring employee data is easily managed and recognition efforts remain streamlined. While it does integrate with Slack and Microsoft Teams, the depth of integration is not as extensive as Matter's. Guusto allows for recognition activities to occur within these tools but may require more manual effort to align them with the overall communication workflow​.
• Mobile and offline capabilities: Guusto is designed flexibly, offering mobile apps and offline recognition options for deskless workers. This ensures that employees without access to traditional communication tools can still participate in recognition programs​.

Budget and Reward Controls: Guusto's integration extends to budget management, allowing managers to control and track reward spending across various teams. This level of control is ideal for companies that want more granular oversight over their recognition programs​.

Why Matter is the better fit for seamless integration

When evaluating Guusto vs. Matter based on integration options, it's clear that both platforms offer valuable and flexible solutions. However, Matter is the best option for businesses who value integrating recognition straight into their everyday communication platforms because of its extensive connectivity with Slack and Teams, as well as its smooth HRIS connections and automatic survey features. Matter's approach ensures that recognition is consistent and effortless, making it a natural part of employees' everyday interactions.

While Guusto offers flexibility, particularly for frontline workers and companies with diverse needs, Matter stands out for organizations looking for a fully integrated, automated solution that requires minimal manual effort and maximizes engagement through continuous recognition.

Guusto vs. Matter: Pricing and plans

When evaluating Guusto vs. Matter based on their pricing and plans, it's essential to consider how each platform's pricing structure aligns with your organization's needs and budget. Both platforms offer flexible options designed to cater to various business sizes, but the features included at each tier differ significantly.

Matter pricing and plans: Matter offers a range of pricing tiers to meet the needs of businesses from small teams to large enterprises.

• Pricing Options:
  • Free Forever: $0/user/month
  • Basic: $1/user/month, billed annually
  • Pro: $3/user/month, billed annually
  • Pro + Surveys: $5/user/month, billed annually

Guusto pricing and plans: Guusto offers flexible pricing tiers to cater to companies of varying sizes, particularly those with deskless workers or frontline teams.

• Pricing Options:
  • Free: $0 per month, Single user account
  • Lite: $40 per month, Single user account
  • Essential: $120 per month, Starts with 30 seats
  • Premium: $400 per month, Starts with 80 seats

Why Matter offers better value for most businesses

When comparing Guusto vs. Matter in terms of pricing and plans, aligning the features offered at each tier with your organization's needs is crucial. Matter's pricing structure—from the free tier to its robust enterprise solutions—provides significant flexibility for businesses of all sizes. Matter's weekly resetting coin system, advanced HRIS integration, and automated surveys make it the better choice for companies looking for a highly automated and comprehensive recognition program that can be embedded into daily workflows.

While Guusto offers simple and flexible pricing, especially for companies with deskless workers, Matter stands out as the more feature-rich, scalable solution for businesses seeking seamless integration, automated engagement, and advanced analytics. Matter's deeper customization options and frequent recognition tools help foster an engaged and high-performing culture, making it the best solution for long-term organizational growth.

Guusto vs. Matter: Customer Support

Customer support is crucial when choosing an employee recognition platform like Guusto or Matter. To guarantee that customers can efficiently administer and execute their recognition programs, both systems provide a range of services. Below is a verified comparison of their support features:

Matter customer support: Matter provides comprehensive support services tailored to meet the needs of businesses at different levels:

• Live chat and email support: Matter offers all users responsive live chat and email support, ensuring quick assistance with any platform-related questions or issues. This is particularly beneficial for HR teams who require timely help to keep their recognition programs running smoothly​.
• Dedicated account management: Matter offers dedicated account management for organizations on higher-tier plans, such as Pro + surveys and Enterprise. This personalized service helps businesses optimize the platform to meet their recognition and engagement goals​.
• Extensive help center and resources: Matter features a robust help center filled with articles, tutorials, and FAQs. These resources give users the knowledge they need to autonomously resolve common issues and effectively use the platform​.
• Onboarding and training: Matter supports a smooth onboarding process by offering live team training sessions and custom video tutorials. This makes sure that Matter is widely used throughout the company and that all workers can fully utilize its features.
• Automated and customizable notifications: Matter extends its support into the platform with features like Feedback Friday and automated milestone celebrations that help maintain engagement without requiring constant manual oversight​​.

Guusto customer support:  Guusto is also recognized for its strong customer support services, providing various tools to ensure that users can easily navigate and manage their recognition programs:

• Email and live chat support: Guusto has quick response times for email and live chat, so users can quickly solve any problems or ask questions. Their support team has been praised for being informed and going the extra mile​.
• Help center and tutorials: Guusto features an extensive help center filled with step-by-step guides and FAQs, allowing users to resolve common issues independently. The platform also offers live product demos to help new users get acquainted with the system​.
• Onboarding and training: Guusto offers onboarding support with easy-to-follow setup guides and best practices. However, personalized onboarding services such as live training sessions may not be as extensive as Matter offers​.
• Customer success and awards: Guusto has won awards for its customer support, including being recognized as the Best Customer Support platform by G2. This reflects its commitment to providing an excellent user experience from onboarding to program implementation​.

Why Matter Stands Out for Comprehensive Customer Support

In comparing Guusto and Matter for customer support, Matter offers a more hands-on and comprehensive approach, particularly for organizations using higher-tier plans. With dedicated account management, live training, and a range of automated features, Matter ensures that users can fully leverage the platform to enhance employee engagement and maintain a high-performing culture. While Guusto provides solid support through email, chat, and helpful resources, Matter's deeper personalized support, especially with its account management and automated engagement tools, gives it an edge for companies looking for a more integrated and supportive experience.

Guusto vs. Matter: Customer reviews

Customer reviews are a great way to find out how well recognition systems like Guusto and Matter work and how happy their users are with them. Below is a comparison of user feedback based on verified reviews and ratings from G2.

Matter customer reviews: Matter holds a strong G2 score of 4.7/5. Users frequently praise its ease of use, seamless integration with Slack and Microsoft Teams, and its ability to positively impact company culture and employee engagement. 

Here are some highlighted reviews:

• “I love how easy it is for employees to recognize each other with kudos. Matter has boosted morale, increased employee engagement, and it's now a strong presence in our company culture.” - Michael Margolese, Senior Human Resources Manager at Trend Hunter
• "Being a high-performance team, Matter helps us take a moment out of our busy day to share heartfelt gratitude with kudos." - Sam Udotong, CTO & Co-founder at Fireflies.ai
• "I was astonished at the start because I was used to feedback tools being very unemotional and static. That’s why I love Matter, because it provides necessary structure for an organization while allowing feedback to be enjoyable and personable.” - Dominik Bernhart, Chief Happiness Officer at COBE

These reviews highlight Matter's ability to build a high-performing culture through frequent and meaningful recognition, leading to increased employee engagement and retention​.

Guusto customer reviews: Guusto enjoys an impressive G2 score of 4.9/5. Users appreciate the platform's simplicity, flexibility, and broad selection of digital gift card options. 

Some highlighted reviews include:

• “The limited number of merchants in the list. Also an offer was provided if we give a G2 review. It was a bogus offer as I have not seen that offer.” - Verified User in Insurance
• “I have only been using guusto for a little bit. The only thing I find I don't like is that when I log in it redirects me to the website instead of letting me log in via the app.” - Verified User in Hospitality (Customer G2 Review)
• “I like the rewards and the frequency of them, but it makes me log in every single time.” - David B.

While users find Guusto easy to use and value its straightforward reward system, some suggest that expanding the reward catalog would enhance the overall experience​.

Why Matter is the ideal choice

Both Guusto and Matter receive excellent feedback from users. Still, Matter stands out for its deep integration with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams and its powerful automation features. Guusto excels in providing flexibility and simple reward options, though users want a broader range of rewards.

For businesses looking to foster a positive culture with seamless automation and continuous employee engagement, Matter is the better choice.

Guusto vs. Matter: Which is the right tool for you?

Picking the right tool for employee recognition is a big decision that will affect how well your company can engage employees and create a positive work environment. Both Guusto and Matter offer robust solutions, but their strengths differ depending on your company's specific needs and goals. Here's a closer look at how these employee rewards platforms compare and why Matter might be better for most organizations.

Why Matter could be the perfect fit for your organization

Matter is designed with a deep understanding of modern workplace needs, particularly for companies that rely heavily on Slack and Microsoft Teams for daily communication. Here's why Matter is a standout choice for effective employee recognition programs:

• Seamless integration with Slack and Teams: Matter's tight integration with Slack and Microsoft Teams allows recognition software to be embedded naturally into daily workflows. Employees can quickly send kudos and participate in Feedback Friday, encouraging frequent recognition that feels effortless and drives employee motivation. This social recognition helps create meaningful employee connections and fosters a more engaged workplace​​.
• Encouraging frequent, genuine recognition: Matter's coin-based system resets weekly, promoting consistent recognition. Unlike other platforms where points can accumulate indefinitely, Matter's system encourages ongoing participation. It ensures that recognition remains fresh and relevant, which helps improve employee engagement and fosters a high-performing culture​​.
• Comprehensive automation: Matter's employee recognition software is highly automated. Features like Feedback Friday, birthday and work anniversary celebrations, and automatic surveys reduce administrative burden and ensure continuous engagement. This level of automation is ideal for organizations looking to streamline their employee rewards and incentive programs.
• HRIS integration: Matter integrates with various HRIS platforms like ADP, BambooHR, Gusto, and Workday, ensuring accurate employee data for timely recognition. This integration supports seamless management of recognition programs while helping to drive employee satisfaction and retention​​.

When Guusto might be the right choice

While Matter excels in several areas, Guusto might be a better fit for organizations looking for a more flexible reward system or those with a large number of deskless workers:

• Straightforward reward system: Guusto uses a simple approach where $1 equals $1, making it easy for employees to understand and redeem rewards. This no-point system is ideal for companies looking for a direct approach to employee rewards without the complexity of points-based rewards platforms.
• Focus on frontline and deskless workers: Guusto offers mobile access and offline recognition options, making it a great fit for industries like retail, healthcare, and hospitality where workers may not be regularly connected to traditional office communication tools​.
• Broad reward options: Guusto provides a wide selection of digital rewards, including gift cards and charitable donations, making it easy for employees to redeem meaningful rewards. If your organization values flexibility in reward options, Guusto's rewards program may appeal more to your needs​.

Why Matter is the ideal choice for most companies

Both Guusto and Matter offer valuable employee recognition platforms, but Matter is better suited for organizations that prioritize automation, seamless integration, and frequent recognition. Matter's advanced features and its integration with Slack and Microsoft Teams make it a natural part of daily workflows, enhancing social recognition and helping teams feel more connected.

For businesses focused on building a high-performing culture and enhancing employee motivation, Matter's employee recognition software provides the tools to continuously engage employees, celebrate milestones, and create a sense of belonging within the workplace. While Guusto is a solid option for companies with deskless employees or those seeking a more straightforward reward system, Matter stands out as the clear choice for companies aiming to improve employee engagement and boost team performance.

Final summary: Why Matter is the clear choice

Selecting the right recognition software is crucial for organizations to foster meaningful connections and increase employee engagement. While both Guusto and Matter offer strong solutions, Matter excels in integrating deeply with communication tools, automating recognition processes, and encouraging frequent, genuine recognition. Here's how to decide which platform is best for your organization:

1. Assess your current tools: If your team relies on Slack or Microsoft Teams, Matter's seamless integration will likely enhance employee engagement by embedding recognition into your daily workflow​​.
2. Evaluate your recognition goals: If your goal is to create frequent recognition opportunities, Matter's coin-based system will help foster continuous engagement. Guusto's digital rewards approach may be a better fit if you prefer a more straightforward reward system.
3. Consider automation needs: Matter's automated incentive programs and milestone celebrations will provide significant benefits for organizations looking to reduce manual oversight and ensure consistent recognition.
4. Review reward preferences: Matter's rewards platform offers a variety of options, including prepaid Visa/Mastercard, charity donations, and custom-branded rewards, ensuring that your recognition program meets diverse employee preferences​.

Matter's employee award software is made to meet and go beyond your company's needs in today's competitive business world, where maintaining employees and keeping them engaged are key to success. Ready to see how Matter can transform your workplace? Try Matter for free today and build a more engaged, motivated, and productive team.