# Kudos alternatives: what AI models name instead, September 2026

HR AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. 192 of the 216 answers in the 1 category where Kudos holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/vendors/kudos/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Bonusly: 40
- Achievers: 22
- Workhuman: 19
- Awardco: 17
- Matter: 13
- Nectar: 12

## Recognition and rewards

**Small business**: 61 of 72 answers did not name Kudos (Kudos is #7 of 8 at 2%).

- Bonusly: first choice in 30 of those 61
- Matter: first choice in 7 of those 61
- Nectar: first choice in 4 of those 61
- Awardco: first choice in 3 of those 61
- Guusto: first choice in 3 of those 61
- Assembly: first choice in 1 of those 61
- Bucketlist Rewards: first choice in 1 of those 61
- Connecteam: first choice in 1 of those 61

**Mid-market**: 65 of 72 answers did not name Kudos (Kudos is #10 of 12 at 0%).

- Bonusly: first choice in 9 of those 65
- Nectar: first choice in 8 of those 65
- Matter: first choice in 6 of those 65
- Awardco: first choice in 5 of those 65
- Bucketlist Rewards: first choice in 3 of those 65
- Motivosity: first choice in 3 of those 65
- Achievers: first choice in 2 of those 65
- Bonfire: first choice in 1 of those 65

**Enterprise**: 66 of 72 answers did not name Kudos (Kudos is #9 of 10 at 0%).

- Achievers: first choice in 20 of those 66
- Workhuman: first choice in 19 of those 66
- Awardco: first choice in 9 of those 66
- O.C. Tanner Culture Cloud: first choice in 3 of those 66
- Assembly: first choice in 2 of those 66
- Bonusly: first choice in 1 of those 66
- Innovatrics: first choice in 1 of those 66
- Motivosity: first choice in 1 of those 66

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.