Gift card platform pricing, compared honestly
Tremendous, Giftbit, Tango and SendReward all let you send gift cards at face value. If you're choosing between them, price is no longer the deciding factor — so here is the comparison that actually matters, including the places where we're not the best choice.
The headline: for gift cards, everyone is now "free"
A few years ago, most incentive platforms charged a fee on top of every card. That is no longer true. Tremendous, Giftbit, Tango (now part of Blackhawk Network) and SendReward all advertise no platform fee and no per-reward fee. You pay face value, and the platform makes its money from brand partnerships. Any of us can send a $25 Amazon card for $25.
So "no fees" is table stakes now, not a differentiator. The real differences are in catalog size, global reach, payout types, funding costs, and how long it takes to actually send your first reward.
The comparison
| SendReward | Tremendous | Giftbit | Tango (BHN) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gift cards at face value | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Platform / subscription fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Per-reward fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Bank / ACH funding | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Credit-card funding | 3% + $0.30 | 3% | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Free sandbox / test mode | $1,000 test balance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-serve signup (no demo) | Yes | Yes, demo-first | Yes, demo-first | Yes |
| Bulk send from a spreadsheet | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reward catalog | Hundreds | 2,300+ | 1,500+ | 3,100+ |
| Countries / currencies | USD only | 200+ countries | 40+ countries | 200+ countries |
| Cash payouts (PayPal / Venmo / bank) | No | Yes (4–6%) | No | Yes |
| Native app integrations | API + CSV | 5,000+ tools | Some | 25+ |
| Tax forms (W-9 / 1099) | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Sales call required | No | No | No | No |
What actually differs
Catalog and global reach
This is where the big platforms win, and we will say so plainly. Tremendous lists 2,300+ reward options and payouts in 200+ countries; Tango lists 3,100+ across 55+ currencies; Giftbit covers 1,500+ brands in 40+ countries. SendReward offers hundreds of brands, in USD only. If you are rewarding people in ten countries, or you need a specific niche brand, use one of them.
Cash payouts
Tremendous and Tango can pay recipients by PayPal, Venmo, bank transfer or digital wallet (Tremendous charges 4–6% on those). SendReward is gift cards and prepaid cards only. If some of your recipients would rather have cash, that is a reason to choose a competitor.
Tax and compliance tooling
Tremendous collects W-9s and prepares 1099s, and holds SOC 2. If you are a large enterprise with a tax team, that matters. SendReward does not do that yet.
Funding cost
Bank and ACH funding is free everywhere. Card funding is where they differ slightly: Giftbit and Tango charge 2.9%, Tremendous charges 3%, and SendReward charges 3% + $0.30. If you fund by card we are marginally more expensive — fund by bank transfer and it is a wash.
Time to first send
This is where SendReward is built to win. There is no demo and no sales call. You create an account, get $1,000 of test balance, and can send a real reward about a minute later. The larger platforms are self-serve too, but they lead with "book a demo" and route bigger programs to a sales team. If you just want to send twenty gift cards today — a survey payout, a spot bonus, an apology — you do not need a contract or a call, and here you will not get one.
Where SendReward fits — and where it doesn't
Use SendReward if you want to send a handful or a few thousand gift cards quickly, at face value, without a sales process: survey and research payouts, employee recognition, referral rewards, support apologies. It is built for the person who needs to pay people today, not next quarter.
Choose one of the larger platforms if you need a 3,000-brand catalog, payouts in dozens of currencies, cash options like PayPal or Venmo, native integrations with your CRM or survey tool, or enterprise tax reporting. Those are real advantages we do not match yet.
Compare SendReward to a specific platform
SendReward vs Tremendous
The largest catalog and global payouts vs the fastest way to send a reward.
SendReward vs Giftbit
1,500+ brands and breakage recapture vs simple, self-serve sending.
SendReward vs Tango
Blackhawk's 3,100-reward catalog vs a no-frills, no-demo alternative.
SendReward vs BHN Rewards
Rybbon's enterprise research tooling vs a pay-as-you-go option.
Frequently asked questions
Are Tremendous, Giftbit and Tango really free?
For gift cards, yes. All three now advertise no platform fee and no per-reward fee, and charge face value — they make their money from brand partnerships. Fees apply to credit-card funding (2.9–3%) and, at some providers, to cash payouts like PayPal or Venmo.
So why would I choose SendReward?
Speed and simplicity. You can sign up, switch to a free test balance, and send a real reward in about a minute — no demo, no sales call, no enterprise onboarding. If you need thousands of brands, global payouts or tax reporting, a larger platform is the better fit.
Does SendReward charge a platform fee?
No. You pay face value for rewards. Bank transfers are free to fund; card top-ups add a 3% + $0.30 processing surcharge, which is what the card networks charge us.
Can I send to more than one person at once?
Yes. Upload a CSV or Excel file as a campaign — up to 10,000 recipients with individual amounts and messages — or loop over the API.
Send your first reward in a minute.
Free account, $1,000 test balance, no sales call.