Which gamification software is right for you? Top 5 gamification companies in 2023

When it comes to app development and gamification, you don’t need to build everything yourself! Instead, you can use gamification software. With a gamification company, you can build an engaging user experience with ease! So which software is right for you? Check out our list of the top 5 gamification companies in 2023.

• What is gamification software for web and mobile apps?
• Benefits of using a gamification company
• Why gamify the user experience?
• 5 key features of gamification software
• How to choose the right gamification company for you
• Top 5 gamification companies in 2023
• FAQs

What is gamification software for web and mobile apps?

Gamification software for helps cut down the hard work of gamifying your user experience. It’s simple – instead of spending time and money on coding features like points and levels into your app, you can simply plug in the elements and go!

In addition, software grants you access to a full range of tools to help facilitate and improve your gamification strategy. For example, a gamification company will offer gamification consulting to help you build your ideal user experience. That includes the ability to add elements gradually so that you don’t overwhelm the user. Essentially, gamification software is your one-stop shop for creating a great user experience!

Benefits of using a gamification company

App development takes internal expertise, time, and money. That’s fine for an app giant with deep pockets, but most apps can’t afford it. According to research, the world’s top 200 apps earn an average income of $83,500 a week, whereas apps in the top 8000 make just $3,500. In short, you need money to make money! But there is another way. Smaller apps can achieve scalability with gamification software and enjoy a range of benefits:

Gain the necessary expertise

A gamification company can lend you their knowledge! Gamification companies offer the help of their expert teams, who have spent years crafting gamification strategies. They can act as your support agent and design consultant at the same time. Basically, you can learn from the experience of others, instead of making your own mistakes.

Save time and money

You can start using the add-on gamification features immediately. As a result, you’ll spend less to develop and maintain features that might end up being either underutilized or overwhelming. In fact, if you build features yourself, you would pay 20% of the development cost in maintenance alone!

Why gamify the user experience?

Gamification is the use of game-like features like points, badges, and levels in non-game contexts. But these features are good for more than just fun! Game mechanics and rewards motivate users to perform actions that you want to see. For example, a fitness app might want users to run. Well, if the app ranks runners on a leaderboard, users will be motivated to hit the top and exercise more! In turn, the app provides more value.

Here are 3 big reasons why you should gamify the user experience:

Reduce onboarding churn

As many as 78% of those who download a mobile app will uninstall it in just 24 hours. But using a gamification company can combat that. For example, progress bars can reduce the ‘cognitive load’ of onboarding. In other words, things are easier for the user because you provide the information in steps. As well, simply rewarding new users with a badge after onboarding can ‘positively influence’ users to stick around!

User satisfaction

There are two powerful types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Basically, extrinsic motivators are tangible rewards like prizes, grades, and recognition. These work great – but to be fully satisfied, users also need to be intrinsically motivated! And that’s where gamification comes in! There are 3 needs you must satisfy to unlock intrinsic motivation:

1. Autonomy. Use avatars, quests, and content-unlocking to give users control.
2. Mastery. Show off your skills with challenges, leaderboards, and points.
3. Purpose. Badges, levels, and target-setting give users an end goal.

When you fulfill these needs, you increase user satisfaction. In reality, this is simple behavioral psychology. People like to become better at skills, they like to have a goal, and they also like having choices over their journey. That’s what makes gamification so powerful – every one of us has these needs!

User engagement

Gamification hooks users and engages them with a trigger, action, and reward cycle. This is the ‘Hooked Model’, which successful platforms like Facebook use to make their product a part of our daily lives. Essentially, users are given a cue like a push notification or a gamified challenge. In turn, this drives them into action. Lastly, the user is rewarded for their effort. Ideally, this ‘bit of work’ was so satisfying that they return for more! Indeed, studies show that gamification boosts engagement and leads to habit formation.

3 key features of gamification software

Flexibility

Your choice between build or buy should offer you a lot of flexibility. When choosing a gamification software, this should have various off-the-shelf gamification features such as challenges, quests, memory games, and the possibility to customize the experience after your own look and feel. In this way, you can experiment with different gamification mechanics inside your app and see what works best for your business goal and target audience.

Various Rewards

Of course, no gamification software is complete without a range of rewards! Whether you use points, badges, or discounts, a reward can incentivize users to complete actions like referrals and social media shares. In practice, people just like to know they are getting something for their time!

A/B Testing

Gamification companies make it easy to add new features to your web or mobile app. However, implementation is just half of the battle! To maximize the effectiveness of your changes, your gamification software empowers you with A/B testing capabilities. In short, this lets you test new features, choose the best-written copy, and listen to the feedback of your users. Through this, you can create the perfect platform for your customers.

How to choose the right gamification company for you

Not all gamification companies are created equal. Ultimately, picking gamification software depends on what you wish to make. For instance, you could be at the start of your journey, looking to build a whole new gamified app. Or, you might have an existing app and want to use layers of gamification to generate growth.

To help you make a decision, here is a list of the best gamification companies in 2023:

Top 5 gamification companies in 2023

StriveCloud

Based in Ghent, Belgium, StriveCloud is a leading gamification company. StriveCloud supports clients big and small across industries, from shared mobility operators like HumanForest or EVO Sharing to big enterprises like Siemens, or ABInBev.

In practice, StriveCloud’s gamification software makes creating a great user experience as simple as possible. For example, StriveCloud offers a modular platform, which means that you can select from 30+ gamification & loyalty add-ons and introduce them into your web or mobile app – without a line of code. Alongside that, you’ll always have an expert team free to provide advice and consulting on your gamification strategy. Ultimately, the goal is your growth!

Pricing:

StriveCloud is designed to grow as you grow! By segmenting the pricing into tiers based on monthly active users, StriveCloud offers a scalable solution. To be sure, this comes in useful when StriveCloud’s past customers have tripled their number of active users!

Prices start at $599/month for apps under 10k users. Following that, the 25k tier costs $1,199, and apps with up to 100k in users can expect to spend $1,799/month. For the full breakdown, check out the pricing table.

Key Features:

• API integration on web & mobile app/or stand-alone platform (web & mobile app)
• Admin dashboard
• Game thinking & design workshop

Gamification & Loyalty Features:

• Achievements
• Leaderboards
• Challenges
• Timed Challenge
• Leveling
• Hotzone
• Wheel of fortune
• Memory game
• Man of the Match
• Scratch cards
• Raffle/Lottery
• Badges
• Code Redemption
• Currency Bundle
• Virtual Currency Shop

Interactive Content

• Classic poll
• Dynamic poll
• Swipe poll
• Swipe quiz
• Classic quiz
• Time quiz
• Time score quiz
• Personality tests

Michael Stewart @HumanForest – “Personally, I really like the control panel of StriveCloud, and I think it is easy to use. I can instantly implement changes without having to wait 24 hours or more to deploy.”

Gamify your app with StriveCloud! Use our gamification software to add loyalty & gamification features that support your app’s goals. Find out more!

Funifier

From Canada, Funifier is a stand-alone gamification software that is “purpose-built for the enterprise”. They pride themselves on offering a flexible solution to boost audience engagement. That being said, the app lacks integrations in comparison to the other platforms listed.

Pricing:

Funifier’s pricing is not made public, so you have to contact them for a quote. For B2C apps, there is a tiered pricing model and B2B apps benefit from volume discounts.

Key Features:

• Game thinking & design workshop
• Stand-alone platform (web & mobile app)

Gamification & Loyalty Features:

• Achievements
• Point collection
• In-app currency
• Rewards
• Avatar stats
• Leaderboards
• Progress bars

Influitive

Toronto-based Influitive is another big gamification company. They specialize in building advocacy on their “customer marketing platform” for retail, publishing, and B2B software. In addition, they offer a big knowledge base to learn from, including regularly updated blogs, eBooks, and webinars.

Pricing:

Starts at $1,999/month. To access extra community features, you must ask for a quote.

Key Features:

• Stand-alone platform (web & mobile app)

Gamification & Loyalty Features:

• Gamified Q&A (points, badges, and rewards)
• Leaderboards
• Achievements
• Point collection
• Rewards
• Badges
• Gamified virtual event hub

Interactive Content:

• Quizzes
• Surveys
• Live polls
• Q.&A

Other

• Rewards on referrals
• Rewards on references
• Rewards on user-generated content

Insert Coin

Insert Coin is a Swedish start-up for teachers, HR managers, and product owners. Their gamification software is called GWEN, and it comes complete with an admin dashboard and a wide range of features. At the moment, most of their clients are also based in Sweden.

Pricing:

Not publicly available. GWEN is listed at around $99/month for every 5,000 monthly active users. However, Insert Coin may quote differently. In addition, this tier comes without any customer service or design assistance.

Key Features:

• API integration on web & mobile app
• Admin dashboard
• A/B testing

Gamification & Loyalty Features:

• Leaderboards
• Levels
• Missions
• Team levels
• Team missions
• Onboarding missions
• Achievements
• In-app currency
• Point collection
• Rewards

SaaSquatch

SaaSquatch, also from Canada, positions itself as a “referral & loyalty software”. In particular, they focus on referral programs, offering the ability to give users points, gift cards, credit, and even discounts. This differentiates them from the other gamification companies on this list, as they are less about the user experience as a whole.

Pricing:

Starts at $1,750/month + set-up fee. This is limited to just 25k users, so for more, you need to ask for a custom quote. As well, it excludes Salesforce integrations.

Key Features:

• API integration on web & mobile app
• Integrations with big platforms
• Template library
• Widgets

Gamification & Loyalty Features:

• Rewards
• Points marketplace
• Point collection
• Credit and discounts
• Gift cards
• Leaderboards

Other:

• Cashback programs
• Referral program

FAQs