Alternative Comparison

Best Forma Alternatives: Why Teams Choose Xoxoday Empuls

Forma is a strong lifestyle spending account platform. Empuls gives you lifestyle benefits and a full recognition, rewards, survey and incentive suite on one platform. Here is how they compare, so you can see where each fits.

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Why Xoxoday

Why Companies Choose Xoxoday Empuls Over Forma

Ten enterprise-grade differentiators that set Empuls apart.

Lifestyle Benefits and Recognition Together

Run lifestyle spending accounts, flexible tax benefits and wellness alongside recognition, with one budget view and one vendor.

One Platform for the Full Employee Experience

Rewards, recognition, benefits, surveys, gifting, intranet and wellbeing on a single integration.

An Owned Global Rewards Marketplace

10M+ reward options in 30+ categories across 150+ countries. Xoxoday owns its catalog, so there are no middlemen and no per-redemption markups.

Regional Nuance, Built In

50+ languages, 50+ currencies, cost-of-living adjustments, purchase parity, local tax governance and local data residency.

Sales Incentives in the Same Platform

Commission plan design, quota tracking and automated payouts for sales and channel teams.

Program Governance and Fairness

Role-based access, maker-checker approvals, budgets by country, department and manager, and AI detection of favoritism and quid-pro-quo patterns.

Structured Survey Depth

eNPS, pulse and lifecycle surveys with AI sentiment analysis and action plans, linked to the programs you run.

AI Across the Platform

Em, the Empuls AI copilot, generates reports, recommends who to recognize, coaches award writing and predicts attrition.

Flexible, Secure Deployment

SOC 2 certified and GDPR compliant, with SaaS, API, embedded or white-label deployment and data residency in the US, UAE, India and Saudi Arabia.

Hands-On Customer Success

White-glove onboarding, a named Customer Success Manager and 24/7 support.

Feature Comparison

How Empuls Addresses Capability Gaps vs. Forma

Forma is a leading lifestyle spending account platform that helps companies offer flexible, meaningful benefits to employees. But when evaluation extends to recognition, peer appreciation, surveys, sales incentives and the programs that drive engagement year-round, the platforms diverge.

Both platforms support flexible benefits - where Empuls goes further is connecting lifestyle spending to recognition, rewards and surveys on one platform.

1 / 5

Capability

Forma

Xoxoday Empuls

Lifestyle Spending Accounts

Configurable lifestyle spending accounts with wide vendor coverage

Lifestyle spending accounts, flexible tax benefits and wellness budgets alongside recognition

Flexible Benefit Wallets

Multi-wallet benefit management with category controls

Flexible benefit wallets with multi-category controls and local tax handling

Wellness Programs

Wellness spending categories within lifestyle accounts

Wellness programs with reward points, fitness integrations and habit tracking

Perks & Discounts

Employee discounts and perks marketplace

Perks, employee discounts and exclusive deals alongside recognition and rewards

Benefits Tied to Recognition

Not available

Survey findings and recognition moments connect directly to benefits programs

** All comparisons are based on publicly available information

Empuls vs Forma: Full Feature Comparison

Lifestyle & Wellbeing Benefits

Both platforms support flexible benefits - where Empuls goes further is connecting lifestyle spending to recognition, rewards and surveys on one platform.

Capability	Forma	Xoxoday Empuls
Lifestyle Spending Accounts	Configurable lifestyle spending accounts with wide vendor coverage	Lifestyle spending accounts, flexible tax benefits and wellness budgets alongside recognition
Flexible Benefit Wallets	Multi-wallet benefit management with category controls	Flexible benefit wallets with multi-category controls and local tax handling
Wellness Programs	Wellness spending categories within lifestyle accounts	Wellness programs with reward points, fitness integrations and habit tracking
Perks & Discounts	Employee discounts and perks marketplace	Perks, employee discounts and exclusive deals alongside recognition and rewards
Benefits Tied to Recognition	Not Available	Survey findings and recognition moments connect directly to benefits programs

Recognition & Rewards

Forma funds lifestyle choices. Empuls adds the recognition layer - peer appreciation, milestone automation and nomination programs on the same platform.

Capability	Forma	Xoxoday Empuls
Peer-to-Peer Recognition	Not Available	Wall of Fame, badges, real-time appreciation feed with values tagging and points
Manager Spot Awards	Not Available	Instant spot awards, configurable budgets, approval flows, frequency caps
Milestone Celebrations	Not Available	Auto-tiered tenure programs, birthdays, anniversaries, onboarding moments - fully automated
Nomination Programs	Not Available	Multi-level jury panels, nomination windows, branded award cycles, AI-powered bias detection
Values-Aligned Recognition	Not Available	Company values tagged on every recognition, reports on values adoption by team and region

Reward Catalog & Redemption

Forma routes spend through a benefits wallet. Empuls adds a dedicated reward catalog with 10M+ options for structured recognition moments.

Capability	Forma	Xoxoday Empuls
Global Reward Catalog	Vendor network for lifestyle categories; not a structured reward catalog	10M+ options across 150+ countries - gift cards, Amazon, experiences, prepaid cards, charity
Catalog Ownership	Third-party vendor integrations	Owned and operated - no middlemen, no markup on redemptions
Structured Redemption	Category-based spending with receipts and claims	Points-based redemption with instant fulfillment, no claims process
Redemption Channels	Web and mobile app for benefit claims	In-app, Slack, Teams, SMS, WhatsApp, kiosk - omnichannel for every workforce type
Points & Wallet System	Benefit wallet balance with spending controls	Points wallet, expiry controls, rollover settings, multi-currency support

Surveys & Listening

Employee benefits work best when you understand what employees actually value. Empuls closes the loop with built-in listening.

Capability	Forma	Xoxoday Empuls
eNPS & Pulse Surveys	Not Available	eNPS, pulse and lifecycle surveys with AI sentiment analysis
360-Degree Feedback	Not Available	360 surveys with anonymous feedback, manager reports and coaching recommendations
AI Sentiment Analysis	Not Available	AI-powered sentiment tagging, trend alerts and at-risk employee flagging
Mood-o-Meter	Not Available	Daily mood check-in with trend analysis and manager alerts
Benefits Utilization Insights	Benefits utilization dashboards and category spend reports	Benefits + recognition + survey analytics in one dashboard

Global Scale & Governance

Global benefits programs demand tax compliance, deployment flexibility and the integrations to deliver them in every country.

Capability	Forma	Xoxoday Empuls
Security & Compliance	SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA compliant; US-primary deployment	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, DPDP, WCAG; VAPT-tested annually
Deployment Options	SaaS only; US and select international markets	SaaS, API, embedded or white-label; data residency across US, UAE, India and Saudi Arabia
HRMS Integrations	Workday, ADP, BambooHR, Rippling; payroll integrations	60+ HRMS connectors; Teams, Slack, Viva, Salesforce, HubSpot; robust APIs
Multi-Language & Currency	US-primary; limited international currency and language support	50+ languages, 50+ currencies, COLI adjustments, local tax handling
Budget & Access Controls	Benefit wallet controls, spending categories and admin settings	Budget controls by country/department/manager, maker-checker approvals, RBAC, audit logs

Pricing

Transparent Pricing, No Surprises

Forma offers lifestyle spending account pricing built around flexible benefits. Here is how Empuls pricing works at enterprise scale.

Modular, not bundled

Activate only the modules you need: recognition, surveys, benefits, wellness, gifting, or sales incentives. No forced bundles, no paying for capabilities your team won't use.

Per-employee, per-month

Transparent pricing that scales with your headcount. No implementation fees, no setup costs, no per-redemption charges on the rewards catalog.

No hidden costs

The global rewards marketplace, SSO, mobile apps, dashboards, multi-country support, and onboarding are included with every plan. Standard integrations carry no extra fee.

Forma

Lifestyle spending account platform focused on benefits - no built-in recognition or rewards programs
No peer recognition, milestone automation or nomination workflows
No surveys, eNPS or employee listening tools
SaaS only; US-primary deployment with limited global coverage

Xoxoday Empuls

Transparent per-employee, per-month pricing
White-glove onboarding included in every plan
Owned rewards catalog, no markups or per-redemption fees
SaaS, API, embedded, or white-label deployment

2,000+

companies running recognition programs globally

10M+

reward options across 30+ categories in 150+ countries

60+

HRMS integrations including Workday, SAP, and ADP

4.6/5

rating on G2 across employee engagement categories

Beyond the Platform

Beyond the Platform - What You Get When You Choose Empuls

Empuls is more than a recognition tool - it's the engagement infrastructure your people strategy runs on.

At launch, you get dedicated Implementation Engineers, structured onboarding, manager toolkits and adoption workshops, built so your program lands with momentum and not a quiet rollout that fades in weeks.

Post-launch, a named Customer Success Manager drives adoption, recognition frequency and participation through targeted campaigns, manager nudges and structured Monthly and Quarterly Business Reviews. A 24/7 AI-powered support bot keeps your teams unblocked.

On AI, Em generates reports on demand, recommends who to recognize, coaches award writing, maps skills and predicts attrition, and lets admins plan entire campaigns through simple conversation.

FAQ

Common Questions About Empuls vs. Forma

Pricing, integrations, deployment, and more.

Empuls uses a modular, per-employee per-month pricing model. You activate only the modules you need, whether recognition and rewards, surveys, benefits, wellness, gifting, or sales incentives, and pay based on active employee count. There are no implementation fees, no per-redemption charges, and no forced bundles.

Forma is a lifestyle spending account platform built around flexible benefits. Empuls pricing is modular and per-employee per-month, covering recognition, rewards, benefits, surveys, and sales incentives with an owned catalog spanning 10M+ options across 150+ countries, and no per-redemption markups.

No. Empuls includes structured onboarding, a dedicated implementation team, and go-live support in every plan. There are no separate setup or implementation fees.

Yes. Empuls offers a free trial so your team can evaluate the platform before committing. No credit card is required to get started.

Yes. Empuls supports lifestyle spending accounts, flexible tax benefits, and wellness budgets alongside recognition and rewards programs. Unlike Forma, which is benefits-only, Empuls connects lifestyle benefits to recognition, surveys, and incentives on a single platform.

Yes. Standard integrations with Workday, SAP, ADP, Darwinbox, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, and Salesforce are included. There are no additional fees for standard integrations.

No. Empuls owns its rewards catalog and charges no per-redemption fees or markups. Access to the global rewards marketplace across 150+ countries and currencies is included in every plan.

Yes. Empuls is designed to be modular. You can begin with lifestyle benefits and recognition, then activate surveys, sales incentives, or wellness modules as your program and team grow.

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G2 Recognition

Leader in 100+ G2 Categories

Rated 4.6 / 5 by 1,200+ HR and People professionals on G2 - the world's largest software review platform. Voted Best Employee Engagement Software across recognition, rewards, surveys, and benefits.

Employee RecognitionRewards & IncentivesEmployee EngagementPulse SurveysBenefits AdministrationEmployee WellnessSales Incentive ManagementHR AnalyticsEmployee Intranet

Customer stories

Real results from teams running global recognition programs

Leading HR teams trust Xoxoday Empuls to build cultures of recognition that scale across geographies and workforce types.

Sakshi Sharma

GM HR, Philips

Health Technology · Employee Engagement

Empuls gives a human touch to the feedback mechanism and helps our HR function use employee data effectively. The product keeps improving, which makes it more useful for us.

The AI insights from Empuls helped us reduce turnover by 15%, directly impacting our bottom line.

Sulbha Kaushal Rai

VP of People, RenewBuy

Insurtech · Retention

Empuls detects potential disengagement early and prompts interventions, which lets our leaders approach team engagement in a way that is personalized and intentional.

Roberto Guevarra

OD Manager, AboitizLand

Real Estate · Recognition