{"question": "best loyalty program software for small businesses", "category": "loyalty-program-software", "category_name": "loyalty program software", "audience": "small-businesses", "audience_name": "small businesses", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-13T22:26:39Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/loyalty-program-software-small-businesses-2026-10-13", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/loyalty-program-software/small-businesses", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Square", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Square POS", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Loyverse", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Marsello", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "Shopify", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "BigCommerce", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "Smile.io", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "LoyaltyLion", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 9, "brand": "RaftLabs", "label": "mentioned"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://www.merchantmaverick.com/loyverse-vs-square/", "domain": "merchantmaverick.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://g2.com/products/smile-io/pricing", "domain": "g2.com", "source_type": "review"}, {"url": "https://www.raftlabs.com/blog/best-loyalty-program-software", "domain": "raftlabs.com", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://costbench.com/best/loyalty-program-for-small-business", "domain": "costbench.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://smallbiztrends.com/loyalty-card-software/", "domain": "smallbiztrends.com", "source_type": "other"}], "answer_text": "The honest answer is that \"best\" splits cleanly by *where you sell*, so here's who I'd actually name, in order:\n\n**If you have a physical storefront (café, salon, retail):**\n\n1. **Square Loyalty** - ~$25/location/month, bolted onto Square POS. If you're already on Square, this is the default answer and you should probably stop reading. Points accrue automatically at checkout off the phone number the customer already gives you; no app for them to download, nothing for you to reconcile. The ceiling is low but the floor is high.\n2. **Loyverse** - free POS with a free built-in loyalty program. Genuinely the best value if you don't have a POS yet and don't want a monthly bill. Catch: no first-party payment processing or hardware, so you're stitching together a card reader yourself.\n3. **Marsello** - ~$60-299/month, and the one I'd name if you run both a shop *and* a website and want one points balance across them. Several roundups put it at the top overall for exactly that reason. Overkill for a single location.\n\n**If you sell online (Shopify/BigCommerce):**\n\n4. **Smile.io** - free up to 200 orders/month, then roughly $15 up to $999 depending on tier. Points, referrals, VIP tiers, minim", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}