Choosing a loyalty platform often comes down to one question: how much do you want the tool to do? Loyally.ai focuses on digital loyalty cards that live in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Fivestars wraps loyalty inside a wider marketing platform that includes email, SMS, and an in-store tablet. Both can help you bring customers back, but they are built for different kinds of shop owners.
This comparison walks through setup, customer experience, marketing features, pricing, and fit by business type. By the end, you should have a clear picture of which one matches the way you actually run your shop.
What each platform is built to do
Loyally.ai is a digital loyalty card platform. You create a card (stamp, reward, membership, cashback, coupon, gift, or multipass), share a link or QR code, and customers add the card to their phone wallet. No app for the customer to install. The card updates automatically when you stamp it or apply a reward.
Fivestars is an all-in-one customer marketing platform aimed at small and mid-size businesses. It combines a loyalty program with automated email and SMS campaigns, a customer-facing tablet at the counter, and a merchant dashboard. The pitch is that you get loyalty and marketing in one subscription rather than stitching together separate tools.
Both platforms are designed for local businesses like coffee shops, salons, restaurants, and gyms. The difference is scope: one does one thing well, the other tries to cover several things at once.
How customers actually use each one
This is where the two platforms diverge most sharply.
With Loyally, a customer scans a QR code or taps a link, and the card lands in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet in about thirty seconds. From that point on, the card sits next to their transit pass and boarding passes. When they come in, you stamp or validate it from your phone or tablet. No account creation, no password, no separate app. The card is just there.
With Fivestars, the typical enrollment happens at the counter. The customer types their phone number into a tablet (the Fivestars terminal), and the system creates an account linked to that number. Future visits are logged when they enter their number again. Some customers find this natural; others feel awkward typing personal information in front of a line of people.
The friction difference matters more than it sounds. The easier it is to join, the more customers actually do. A loyalty program with a high sign-up barrier quietly loses members before they ever earn their first reward.
For a deeper look at how wallet-based cards work technically, see how Apple Wallet loyalty cards work for local shops.
Marketing and communication features
This is where Fivestars has a real advantage over Loyally if marketing automation is a priority for you.
Fivestars includes automated campaigns that trigger based on customer behavior. A customer who hasn't visited in 60 days can receive an SMS automatically. New members get a welcome message. You can send targeted promotions to segments of your list without doing it manually. The platform also gives you a dashboard showing visit frequency, average spend patterns, and campaign performance.
Loyally focuses on the card itself rather than campaign automation. You can send push notifications to cardholders through the platform, which is useful for announcing a special or a new menu item. But it does not offer the same depth of automated SMS drip sequences or behavioral triggers that Fivestars does.
If you are a restaurant owner who wants to run a "we miss you" campaign to lapsed customers automatically, Fivestars is the stronger tool. If you want a clean digital punch card that customers keep on their phone and you handle your own email marketing separately, Loyally is lighter and faster to manage.
Pricing and what you actually get
Pricing is one of the most practical differences between the two platforms.
Loyally publishes its pricing openly. The Starter plan is $17 per month (or $12 per month billed annually). Growth is $30 per month (or $24 per month billed annually). Premium is $98 per month (or $78 per month billed annually). Every plan includes a 14-day free trial. You can see the full breakdown at Loyally's pricing page.
Fivestars does not publish pricing on its website. You need to contact their sales team for a quote, and the cost varies based on business size, location count, and which features you need. Reports from shop owners suggest the monthly cost is considerably higher than entry-level loyalty-only tools, and contracts can be multi-year. That is worth knowing before you book a demo.
For a broader look at what small businesses typically pay for loyalty platforms, loyalty platform pricing: what small businesses pay covers the range in detail.
| Feature | Loyally | Fivestars |
|---|---|---|
| Customer app required | No (Apple/Google Wallet) | No (phone number entry) |
| Card types | Stamp, reward, membership, cashback, coupon, gift, multipass, discount | Primarily points-based |
| Email/SMS automation | Push notifications | Full email and SMS automation |
| In-store tablet | Optional (merchant device) | Dedicated Fivestars terminal |
| Pricing transparency | Published on website | Quote required |
| Starting price | $17/mo (or $12/mo annually) | Not published |
| Free trial | 14 days | Demo available |
| Wallet integration | Apple Wallet + Google Wallet | No native wallet integration |
Which card types each platform supports
Loyally supports eight card types: stamp cards, reward cards, membership cards, cashback cards, coupon cards, gift cards, multipass cards, and discount cards. This range matters because different businesses need different mechanics. A coffee shop might run a classic "buy 9 get 1 free" stamp card. A gym might sell monthly membership cards. A salon might offer a cashback card that returns a percentage of every visit.
Fivestars is primarily built around a points-based loyalty model. Customers earn points per visit or per dollar spent, and they redeem points for rewards you set. It works well for that model, but it is less flexible if you want to run a subscription-style membership or a gift card program through the same platform.
If your business model involves multiple reward structures, or if you want to test different card types before settling on one, Loyally's variety gives you more room to experiment.
Fit by business type
Neither platform is right for every shop. Here is a practical breakdown.
Coffee shops tend to do well with stamp cards because the purchase frequency is high and the reward is simple. Loyally's wallet-based stamp card is fast to set up and easy for customers to use at a busy counter. Fivestars works too, but the tablet adds a step during a rush. See how small businesses can implement loyalty programs that drive sales for more on high-frequency business models.
Salons and barbershops often benefit from appointment-based rewards. A cashback or reward card that customers carry in their wallet means they see it every time they open their phone. Fivestars' automated SMS reminders can be genuinely useful here if you want to prompt lapsed clients without doing it manually.
Restaurants with a strong repeat-customer base can use either platform. If you want to run targeted promotions to specific customer segments (lunch regulars vs. weekend diners, for example), Fivestars' segmentation tools are more developed. If you want a simpler digital stamp card that works across multiple visits, Loyally handles that cleanly.
Gyms and fitness studios often need membership cards more than stamp cards. Loyally's membership card type fits this well, and the wallet format means members always have their card on them. Fivestars can track visits and send re-engagement messages, which is useful for gyms dealing with members who stop showing up after the first month.
Retail shops looking for a cashback or discount card for regular shoppers will find Loyally's card variety useful. Fivestars' marketing automation can help retail owners run seasonal promotions, though the cost may be harder to justify for a single-location shop.
The retention case for both platforms
The underlying goal of any loyalty program is the same: keep customers coming back. According to Harvard Business Review, acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing one, and increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95% (Bain & Company, via the same source). A loyalty program, done well, is one of the most direct ways to move that retention number.
Accenture research found that members of loyalty programs generate 12 to 18% more incremental revenue growth per year than non-members. The platform you choose matters less than whether your customers actually use the program. That is why enrollment friction is so important: a program nobody joins does nothing.
Both Loyally and Fivestars are trying to solve the same retention problem. Loyally bets that removing the app-install barrier gets more customers enrolled. Fivestars bets that richer marketing automation keeps more customers engaged after they join. Both bets are reasonable, and the right one depends on your shop.
How to choose
Ask yourself three questions before deciding.
First, do you already have email or SMS marketing handled? If you use Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or a similar tool and are happy with it, paying a premium for Fivestars' built-in marketing may not make sense. Loyally at a lower monthly cost, combined with your existing email tool, could cover the same ground.
Second, how important is wallet integration to you? If a meaningful share of your customers are iPhone users who live in Apple Wallet, a card that appears there automatically has a visibility advantage over a points account they have to log into. The same applies for Android users and Google Wallet.
Third, what is your budget and how long are you willing to commit? Loyally's pricing is transparent and starts with a 14-day free trial. Fivestars requires a sales conversation and may involve a longer contract. If you want to test before committing, Loyally's trial period gives you a low-risk starting point.
If you want to explore what running a loyalty program could mean for your specific revenue numbers, the loyalty calculator is a useful starting point before you commit to any platform.
Frequently asked questions
Does Loyally replace the marketing automation that Fivestars offers?
Not fully. Loyally focuses on the loyalty card itself and includes push notifications to cardholders. It does not offer the same automated SMS sequences or behavioral triggers that Fivestars includes. If you need deep marketing automation built into your loyalty platform, Fivestars has more to offer in that area.
Do customers need to download an app to use Loyally cards?
No. Loyally cards live in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, which are already on most smartphones. Customers tap a link or scan a QR code and the card is added in seconds. There is no separate loyalty app to download or account to create.
Is Fivestars suitable for a single-location coffee shop?
It can be, but the cost and complexity may be more than a single-location shop needs. The in-store tablet, sales-driven pricing, and potential multi-year contracts are features designed for businesses that can absorb that overhead. A simpler wallet-based card may serve a single-location shop just as well at a lower monthly cost.
Can I run multiple card types at the same time with Loyally?
Yes. Loyally supports stamp cards, reward cards, membership cards, cashback cards, coupon cards, gift cards, multipass cards, and discount cards. You can run more than one type simultaneously, which is useful if you want to offer a stamp card for regular purchases and a separate membership card for a subscription tier.
What happens if a customer loses their phone?
With Loyally, the card is tied to the customer's Apple or Google account. When they set up a new phone and sign into their account, their wallet cards restore automatically. With Fivestars, the customer's account is linked to their phone number, so they can continue using it on any device by entering that number at the terminal.
