Awardco
vs.
O.C. Tanner

 
4.9/5
 

Awardco gives organizations flexible recognition, global reward choice, and zero-markup fulfillment, making it easier to build programs that scale without losing personalization.

 
4.8
 

With the right vendor, employee recognition improves every single business outcome. Two well-known options in the space are Awardco and O.C. Tanner, but how do they compare, and which is best for you?

The verdict

While O.C. Tanner was founded on service award catalogs and high markups (averaging 88% or more in many cases), Awardco disrupted O.C. Tanner’s business model in 2015 with zero-markup partners like Amazon, in-country fulfillment, and configurable technology that empowers organizations to build programs that transform culture. While O.C. Tanner has sought to modernize its employee recognition platform by replicating Awardco’s roadmap and reducing fees in some areas, hundreds of O.C. Tanner customers continue to move from O.C. Tanner to Awardco for superior technology and transparent pricing practices.

2025 G2 Best Software badges for Top 100 and Top 50 software products displayed in overlapping rows.
#1 overall and highest-rated employee recognition platform by customers on G2

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O.C. Tanner at a glance

O.C. Tanner is a legacy pioneer in the recognition industry, utilizing nearly a century of history to offer high-touch consulting, custom award manufacturing, and thought leadership. Their primary offering, Culture Cloud, offers an array of tools to facilitate global enterprise recognition, focusing heavily on traditional service awards, milestone yearbooks, and top-down appreciation.

O.C. Tanner appeals to buyers seeking a traditional, consultant-led partnership leveraging classic recognition practices. They have recently attempted to modernize their pricing with a "SaaS-based model", though this does not address high overhead costs and reallocates as opposed to eliminating overall customer cost. Key features include:

  • Extensive managed consulting services and research led by the O.C. Tanner Institute
  • Custom award manufacturing supported by an in-house global warehouse and physical fulfillment network
  • "Culture Cloud" platform offering standard service milestones, peer-to-peer recognition feed and eCards, and "Say Thanks" external recognition programs
  • AI features like "Recognition Coach" help them tell a more modernized recognition story.

For organizations heavily invested in traditional custom awards and willing to pay a luxury premium for managed consulting services, O.C. Tanner remains a familiar choice. However, modern HR teams increasingly find the platform inflexible, the implementation cycles excessively slow, and the underlying pricing structure highly burdensome compared to modern, agile alternatives that offer more advanced solutions.

What sets Awardco apart?

Unlike O.C. Tanner, which masks still-dated technology behind high-touch consulting and shifting fee structures, Awardco offers unprecedented flexibility, transparent zero-markup pricing, and deep native integrations and workflows that drive greater platform engagement with less administrative cost. Awardco eliminates the need to submit tickets for basic program changes, empowering admins with robust self-service controls.

When Awardco’s advanced technology is combined with its consulting services and Center of Excellence, large enterprises are able to have the best of both worlds: a partner that can maximize employee adoption and program success through the latest technology innovation while offering dedicated consulting and end-to-end change management support. This partnership approach is a major reason why hundreds of O.C. Tanner customers have switched over to Awardco in the past three years.

By replacing highly curated, high-margin catalogs with the world's largest reward network, Awardco ensures budgets maximize actual employee value while driving greater employee behaviour adoption.

 
Accelerating global recognition

With a 26,000-person workforce spanning 160 countries, and more than 80% working in customer-facing, deskless roles, Hertz® uses Awardco® to build a high-performance culture where appreciation is timely, personal, visible, and aligned with the company’s values.

Key differences: Awardco vs. O.C. Tanner

Transparent Pricing & No Hidden Fees
Zero markups and free shipping on rewards ensure 100% of the recognition budget goes directly to the employee
Averages 88% markups across catalog items, drastically reducing the actual value employees receive.
Awardco’s platform eliminates costly change fees because almost anything customers can imagine for their program can be done directly on the platform
Requires heavy investment, often in the form of strict 36-month terms and minimum annual spend limits
Awardco focuses on the actual sales price, not MSRP or other buzzwords like “market price” used by other vendors to hide secret costs such as 15%+ premier gift card fees; most items on Awardco cost exactly what employees would expect to pay at a retail store.
The recent move to more “SaaS-based pricing” does not address O.C. Tanner’s total cost of ownership challenges and simply “shifts costs around” to a subscription fee while still allowing for premium item and gift card fees (e.g., a 15% markup fee for the most popular gift cards that people actually want).
Platform Agility & Administration
High configurability and self-service capabilities empower admins to build, configure, and update complex programs with ease directly in the platform at no cost
Lacks cohesive platform-wide configurability, meaning different elements of the platform require additional or manual levels of administration
Seamless, modern API integrations adapt to existing workflows without expensive professional services
Dated, inflexible architecture that requires consultants to execute basic platform adjustments and permissions
New capabilities are developed and available to all customers, with no need for custom implementations or deployments
Architectural and platform limitations impact the rollout of new capabilities, their availability to all customers, and implementation speed
Global Reward Network
The world's largest rewards network, featuring over 100 million items globally through partnerships with companies like Amazon Business and Best Buy
Controlled inventory is housed in warehouses around the world, which requires massive overhead
Offers unparalleled choice across digital gift cards, travel, event tickets, and custom company swag, with millions more items available in over 160 countries worldwide.
G2 users frequently cite "limited options" and frustrating "gift card issues" as primary system drawbacks.
Our extensive catalogue includes custom swag, iconography, and other high-quality corporate gifting options that are typically more cost-effective.
We offer strong iconography and corporate gifting options, but these come at a significant price premium.
Recognition for distributed workforces
The 2025 launch of Awardco’s Platform 2.0 and its updated mobile app bring the complete Awardco employee experience into a modern, AI-first mobile environment.
While O.C. Tanner’s platform isn't primarily designed as a mobile solution, they have put together a decent mobile experience that incorporates many strong elements from their Culture Cloud.
Capabilities like Awardcodes, A-Pay, and mobile optimization features such as biometrics and notifications are designed to drive high mobile and offline employee adoption and engagement.
Mobile and offline employee capabilities that have been on Awardco for years are only now arriving on O.C. Tanner’s mobile applications.
The experience can be optimized and integrated directly into client applications or other software like Slack and Microsoft Teams
Issues are regularly reported with O.C. Tanner’s mobile applications, creating risks for frontline employee adoption

Is Awardco or O.C. Tanner easier to use?

Awardco leads with a clean, modern experience that G2 reviewers describe as intuitive, easy to navigate, and simple to use for recognition and reward redemption. Reviewers also praise quick setup, familiar reward destinations such as Amazon, and integrations that bring recognition into the tools employees already use. Read what real users say about Awardco and review Awardco on G2.

O.C. Tanner also receives positive feedback for its recognition feed, reward redemption, and employee experience. However, negative Culture Cloud reviews mention extra clicks to find recognition history or rewards, slower point-balance updates, mobile-app issues, and features that can require additional training. The fairest distinction is not that O.C. Tanner is unusable; it is that Awardco may be a stronger fit for organizations prioritizing a streamlined, self-service experience. Review O.C. Tanner on G2.

How difficult are implementation and ongoing administration with Awardco and O.C. Tanner?

Awardco combines implementation support with self-service administration. Its implementation process includes program design, configuration, integrations, testing, training, rollout, and post-launch support, while the Center of Excellence provides guidance on governance, communications, adoption, budgeting, and optimization. Review Awardco’s implementation approach and Center of Excellence support.

Awardco reviews generally reinforce the ease-of-setup and ongoing-usability story.

O.C. Tanner has some reviewers who describe implementation partners as helpful and onboarding as smooth. At the same time, public enterprise review feedback identifies complex implementation, time-consuming integration work, and limited automation for custom workflows as potential risks to validate during evaluation. See Awardco implementation feedback on G2 and review O.C. Tanner implementation feedback.

Which platform gives employees more reward choice and more reliable fulfillment?

Awardco leads with broad employee choice, including gift cards, products, Amazon purchasing, company merchandise, experiences, charitable giving, and other reward types. G2 reviewers frequently praise the variety of available rewards, straightforward redemption, and timely digital delivery. Read what real users say about Awardco, review Awardco rewards on G2, and explore Awardco’s reward marketplace.

O.C. Tanner offers digital and physical rewards, custom awards, and a global rewards marketplace. However, negative G2 feedback cites delayed gift cards, limited visibility into order status, voucher-resolution delays, and fewer choices in some international markets. Other reviewers request a broader range of gift cards and more relevant options. Buyers should compare country-specific catalogs, delivery timelines, tracking, returns, and support ownership—not just the size of a headline catalog. Review O.C. Tanner’s G2 pros and cons.

How do Awardco and O.C. Tanner compare on pricing and reward value?

Awardco is designed around transparent reward economics and zero-markup fulfillment for eligible reward channels, helping organizations direct more of their budget toward employees rather than hidden product margins. Awardco also gives buyers a clearer way to evaluate software fees, reward costs, shipping, and implementation as one total-value equation. Talk to one of our recognition specialists to learn more.

O.C. Tanner has strong brand recognition and a high-touch consulting model, but comparison materials and customer reviews raise questions about catalog pricing, shipping, taxes, and the value employees receive from points. One public review specifically noted that some reward point values appeared higher than product MSRP, creating additional taxable value for employees. Pricing structures and contracts change, so buyers should request a complete itemized comparison that includes platform fees, markups, shipping, taxes, implementation, services, and term commitments. Review O.C. Tanner pricing and value feedback and review O.C. Tanner on G2.

Can both platforms support global recognition and rewards programs?

Awardco leads with localized reward choice, in-country fulfillment, multilingual communications, centralized administration, and support for distributed and frontline employees. The platform is designed to let organizations maintain global governance without forcing every country into the same reward experience. Buyers should still validate exact country, currency, catalog, tax, and fulfillment requirements for their program. Review Awardco’s multilingual communication options.

O.C. Tanner has extensive multinational experience and offers global fulfillment, multiple currencies, and country-specific reward options. However, G2 reviewers report that international gift selection can feel limited, and other public reviews describe delivery and customs problems in Europe. The right comparison should test actual country coverage, local reward availability, delivery responsibility, returns, tax treatment, and compliance support in every region—not rely on general global positioning. Review global feedback on G2.

The strategic choice is clear

If you’re looking for a customizable recognition platform that can scale with your business, adapt to your organization’s workflows, and truly reflect your culture, brand, and organizational objectives, Awardco is the smart, strategic choice.

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Contact us today for a demo and see how Awardco can elevate your recognition strategy.