A side-by-side look at seven loyalty platforms UK cafés, salons, restaurants and retailers actually shortlist - what each does well, what it costs on its published price list, and who it suits.
Disclosure: this guide is published by Ruloyal, which is one of the products compared. We built the comparison from each vendor's public website and pricing page on 19 September 2026, and we did not run a hands-on test of every product. Prices change, so check the vendor's own page before you buy. See the methodology below.
Key takeaways
Decide first whether you want a wallet pass, a branded app or a browser card - it matters more than any single feature.
Published entry prices range from free (MemberPass, up to 20 members) to £57 + VAT a month (Loyalzoo Grow); check plan limits, not just the headline price.
We compared public pricing and product pages on 19 September 2026, and Ruloyal is one of the products compared.
Match the tool to your team size, visit frequency and whether you need subscriptions or ordering.
How We Compared These Loyalty Apps
The word 'app' covers three quite different approaches, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake we see. Some platforms issue a wallet pass that lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet with no download. Some require customers to install the business's or the vendor's branded app. Others use a browser-based card that opens from a link or QR code. Each has trade-offs, which we cover in digital loyalty card vs loyalty app.
For each product we looked at five things: how the customer joins and holds the card, which reward mechanics are supported (stamps, points, tiers, memberships), how staff issue stamps, what the published monthly price is, and what limits apply to that price. We recorded what the vendor states publicly and nothing more.
What we did not do: we did not create live passes on every platform, we did not verify vendor performance claims, and we have not ranked the products with a single score. A single ranking hides the fact that a two-seat coffee kiosk and a twelve-branch restaurant group need different tools.
Sources: each vendor's public pricing and product pages, checked 19 September 2026
Currency: prices are shown in the currency the vendor publishes; exchange rates and VAT treatment differ
Ruloyal is our own product and is included for completeness - read our entries with that in mind
Quick Comparison: Seven Loyalty Platforms
The table summarises how each platform describes itself. 'Wallet' means the vendor states that customers can add a pass to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
Platform
Customer experience
Published entry price
Best suited to
Ruloyal
Wallet pass (Apple and Google), QR stamping
£29/month (Starter); £59/month (Growth)
UK cafés, salons, restaurants and retailers wanting a no-app card
Businesses that want to design their own cards; billed in US dollars
MemberPass
Wallet pass (Apple and Google)
Free up to 20 members; £15/month up to 100; £30/month up to 500
Very small programmes and membership-style passes
Loyalzoo
Wallet pass (Apple and Google)
£57 + VAT/month (Grow); £127 + VAT (Smart)
Businesses wanting points, stamps and paid subscriptions in one tool
Stamp Me
Branded app plus stamp cards
£39/month (Lite); £49 Pro; £129 Elite
Businesses happy for customers to use an app
Embargo
Hospitality loyalty, CRM and ordering platform
Not published on the pages we reviewed
Hospitality groups that want ordering and CRM as well as loyalty
Prices as published on each vendor's website on 19 September 2026. Plan limits differ - for example number of locations, staff accounts or members - so the cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest plan for your business.
Wallet Pass, Branded App or Browser Card?
Before comparing vendors, decide which customer experience you want. It matters more than any single feature.
Wallet pass. The card sits next to the customer's bank cards and tickets. There is nothing to download, the pass can show on the lock screen near your location, and updates arrive without the customer opening anything. The trade-off is that you depend on Apple's and Google's wallet features, and a customer has to choose to add the pass. Our guides to Apple Wallet loyalty cards and Google Wallet loyalty cards explain what each platform allows.
Branded app. An app gives the vendor or business a full canvas: order-ahead, richer profiles, in-app messaging. But every customer must find, download and keep the app, and most people are reluctant to install an app for a business they visit occasionally. It suits businesses with high visit frequency and a reason for customers to open the app, such as ordering.
Browser card. A web link or QR code opens the card in the phone browser. It is the lowest-friction way to start but has the weakest re-engagement, because the card is not visible until the customer goes looking for it.
Ruloyal
Ruloyal issues loyalty passes to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, with QR-based stamping from a tablet or phone, push notifications, birthday rewards and analytics. It is built for UK independents and the pages on features and how it works describe the workflow in detail.
Where it is strong: a UK-focused setup, a QR stamp workflow that needs no POS change, and sector guidance for cafés, salons, restaurants and retail.
Where it is not the cheapest: the Starter plan is £29/month and Growth is £59/month, which is above the entry plans of Perkstar and MemberPass. If your programme is a single site with a handful of regulars, a cheaper plan elsewhere may be enough. See Ruloyal pricing for the current plans.
Perkstar
Perkstar is the closest like-for-like alternative to Ruloyal: a UK-facing, wallet-first platform aimed at small businesses. Its published plans start at £15/month for Starter (one location, two staff accounts, stamp and points cards), £30/month for Growth (five staff accounts, all card types) and £65/month for Scale (ten staff accounts, advanced features and API access). It states unlimited members and cards on all plans, with a 7-day trial.
Where it is strong: low entry price and a clear plan ladder. Worth checking: the entry plan is limited to stamp and points cards and two staff accounts, so businesses with more than a couple of team members will likely need Growth.
Loopy Loyalty
Loopy Loyalty specialises in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet stamp cards and has an extensive library of guidance. Plans are billed in US dollars: Starter at $25/month (one card design, one location, three sub-users), Growth at $69/month and Ultimate at $95/month, each with unlimited customers and a discount for annual billing.
Where it is strong: flexibility in card design and a mature product. Worth checking: USD pricing means the sterling cost moves with the exchange rate, and the plan limits are set by card designs and locations rather than by features.
MemberPass
MemberPass issues Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes for loyalty, memberships, events and offers. It publishes a free plan for up to 20 members, £15/month for up to 100 members, £30/month for up to 500 members, and custom enterprise pricing.
Where it is strong: a genuine free tier for testing a wallet programme, and support for membership-style passes beyond stamp cards. Worth checking: limits are set by member count, so a successful programme will move you up plans - model the cost at the number of members you expect in a year, not on day one.
Loyalzoo
Loyalzoo is a UK loyalty platform supporting points or stamps, tiered loyalty, targeted promotions and paid subscriptions or memberships with automated payments. Its published plans are Grow at £57 + VAT/month and Smart at £127 + VAT/month, with custom pricing for multi-location businesses. All plans include Apple and Google Wallet passes.
Where it is strong: subscription and membership mechanics, which suit coffee-subscription and salon-membership models. Worth checking: the price point is higher than the wallet-first entry plans, so it makes most sense if you will use the subscription and promotion features.
Stamp Me
Stamp Me is a long-established digital stamp card provider. On its pricing page, plans are Lite at £39/month, Pro at £49/month and Elite at £129/month (shown in sterling for UK visitors), with a 30-day free trial after your first card is published and a charge for cards beyond the two included programmes.
Where it is strong: track record and marketing tools such as unlimited push notifications. Worth checking: its pricing page describes customer access through the Apple App Store and Google Play, so confirm with the vendor how much of the experience is app-based versus wallet-based if a no-download card is your priority.
Embargo
Embargo positions itself as a hospitality platform combining loyalty, customer CRM and ordering, and states that it serves thousands of coffee shops, restaurants and bakeries. We did not find a public price list on the pages we reviewed, so you would need to request a quote.
Where it is strong: if you want ordering and CRM in the same system as loyalty, or you run a multi-venue hospitality group. Worth checking: it is a broader platform than a stamp card, so it may be more than a single café needs, and it is aimed at hospitality rather than salons or retail.
Which Loyalty App Should You Choose?
Start with your constraints, then choose the tool. These rules of thumb cover most UK small businesses:
One site, tight budget, simple stamp card: start with the lowest wallet-based tier you can find, and check staff-account and member limits against your team size.
Growing programme with birthday offers, push messages and analytics: compare mid-tier plans on features you will actually use, not the entry price.
Subscriptions or memberships: shortlist platforms that handle recurring payments, such as Loyalzoo or MemberPass.
Ordering and hospitality CRM as well: consider a broader hospitality platform such as Embargo.
UK independent wanting a no-app card with QR stamping and sector guidance: Ruloyal is built for this, and a free trial lets you test it at the till.
Whatever you choose, run a trial with your own staff during a real service - the speed of issuing a stamp matters more than any feature list. Then use the loyalty programme ROI method to check the numbers after 90 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best loyalty app for a small UK business?
There is no single best option. For a single-site business that wants the lowest cost, a wallet-based entry plan from a provider such as Perkstar or MemberPass may be enough. If you want UK-focused guidance, QR stamping and push notifications in one place, Ruloyal is designed for that. Match the platform to your team size, visit frequency and whether customers will accept a wallet pass or an app.
Do customers need to download an app for these loyalty programmes?
Not for wallet-based platforms. Ruloyal, Perkstar, Loopy Loyalty, MemberPass and Loyalzoo state that customers can add a pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Some providers, such as Stamp Me, also offer an app, so check how the customer experience works before you buy.
How much should a small business pay for a loyalty app?
Published entry prices in this comparison range from free (MemberPass, up to 20 members) to around £57 + VAT per month (Loyalzoo Grow). Rather than choosing on price alone, estimate the cost at your expected number of members and the features you need, then compare it with the extra visits the programme is likely to generate.
Is a free loyalty app good enough?
A free plan is a sensible way to test whether your customers will use a wallet card. Check the member limit, and whether messaging and analytics are included, because a free plan that caps at 20 members will not support a real programme for long.
How do digital stamp card platforms compare with traditional loyalty programmes?
Traditional programmes such as paper stamp cards or plastic points cards are cheap to start but give you little data and are easy to lose. Digital platforms cost a monthly fee but show you visits, redemptions and lapsed customers, and let you send reminders. Our digital stamp card vs paper comparison goes through the trade-offs in detail.