Regulars vs app-based loyalty
Loop and platforms like it do much more than we do. That is the point of difference, in both directions.
We describe other people’s pricing as ranges rather than facts, because prices change and being wrong about somebody else’s price is not a fair way to sell.
| Regulars | App-based platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Customer sign-up | A web link. No download. | App store download, then an account |
| Feature depth | A card, five automations, one dashboard | Tiers, points, feeds, challenges, referrals, sometimes ordering |
| Social and UGC | None, deliberately | Usually a feed, photos, sometimes reviews in-app |
| Points vs stamps | Stamps only | Points with configurable earn and burn rates |
| Staff training | One sentence | A session, and a refresher when features change |
| Offline stamping | Yes, queues on the device and syncs | Varies. Often requires a connection |
| Time to live | About five minutes | Usually an onboarding call and a setup period |
| Typical cost | £29.99 a month, flat | Often tiered by customers or locations, sometimes with setup fees |
Where they're better
Written by us, about them, honestly. If one of these is the thing you need, this page has done its job.
They can do things we have chosen not to
Tiers, points with variable earn rates, referral schemes, in-app ordering. If your business needs those, we are not the answer and no amount of positioning will change that.
An app is a real channel once people install it
Push notifications, a permanent icon, richer content. The whole question is how many of your customers get that far, and for an independent shop the answer is usually a small fraction of the people who would have taken a link.
We think most of the depth is a cost, not a feature
A social feed needs moderating. Tiers need explaining. Points need a policy. Each is a small ongoing tax on the owner's attention, paid in exchange for something that rarely moves visits.
Choose app-based platforms if
- You need tiers, points, or a referral programme
- You want ordering and loyalty in one app
- You have the marketing capacity to drive app installs
Choose Regulars if
- You want it live this afternoon with no onboarding call
- Your bottleneck is how many customers actually join
- You want a flat price that does not grow with your list
Digital loyalty cards with no app: why simpler wins in 2026
App-based loyalty asks for a download at the worst possible moment. Here is why link-based cards convert better, and what you give up by choosing one.
The one-screen loyalty dashboard every shop owner needs
Most loyalty dashboards drown owners in metrics nobody acts on. Here are the six numbers that change a decision, and the ones to ignore.
Setting up a loyalty program in under 5 minutes
A practical checklist for getting a loyalty scheme live before the lunch rush, with the three decisions that matter and the ones you can defer.
Try ours for 30 days
Everything switched on, nothing charged until day 30. If it turns out you needed the other thing, you will know inside a fortnight.