The best alternatives to Fivestars

Thinking of leaving Fivestars, or choosing between it and something else? Start with what Fivestars is, then see how it stacks up against the 2 alternatives we have compared with it side by side, plus 9 more CRM and loyalty software worth a look.

Read the full CRM & loyalty buyer guide

At a glance

What Fivestars is, and who it suits.

What it is: Small-business loyalty and automated marketing, now part of SumUp (merchant product rebranded SumUp Connect).
Best for: Independent cafes, quick-service restaurants and small retailers wanting simple, automated loyalty.
Pricing: Reported SumUp Connect tiers around $99/month (Lite), $199 (Plus) and $289 (Pro); confirm current pricing with vendor.Indicative and changes often. Confirm current pricing with the vendor.

Full Fivestars profile

Head to head

How Fivestars compares with 2 of them.

Each verdict comes from our full side-by-side comparison, where every claim drills down to its source.

Fivestars vs Thanx

Thanx profile

Who it is built for: Fivestars compared with Thanx
Who it is built for: Fivestars	Small independents (single-location cafes, quick-service spots, and retail shops) that want an affordable, self-serve rewards program without an enterprise rollout.
Who it is built for: Thanx	Multi-location restaurant brands (roughly 40-plus locations) that want restaurant-specific, low-friction loyalty and a real retention program across sites.

Verdict

There is no universal winner, only a match to your size and stage. Thanx is the stronger choice for a growing, multi-location restaurant brand: card-linked tracking removes the counter friction that kills enrollment, the rewards are margin-aware, and the ML engine works your lapsed guests, all on an enterprise contract. Fivestars (now SumUp Connect) is the better fit for a single independent that wants an affordable, self-serve points program and a little nearby-merchant acquisition, particularly on SumUp payments. But both stop at loyalty and messaging. Neither builds your website, runs your online ordering or reservations, or replies to your reviews, and those are the channels that actually capture the guest data a loyalty program runs on.

Full Fivestars vs Thanx comparison

Fivestars vs TapMango

TapMango profile

Verdict

Neither is a genuine AI platform, and that is fine: both are automation-first loyalty tools for the independent, and the choice is about ownership and fit. Choose Fivestars (SumUp Connect) if you want simple, hands-off loyalty with a clearer entry price and you already use or would consider SumUp for payments, since the program rides most naturally on that ecosystem. Choose TapMango if you want a program that is unmistakably yours: a branded app and tablet, a deeper promo toolbox with online ordering, flat pricing with no per-message fees, and register-agnostic integrations. But both stop at loyalty and messaging. Your website, online ordering, reservations, and review responses, and the repeat-visit marketing that ties them together, live elsewhere, and the guest data can end up stranded inside whichever app you pick.

Full Fivestars vs TapMango comparison

The rest of the field

9 more CRM and loyalty software to weigh.

Other CRM and loyalty software to weigh against Fivestars, and what each is built for
Tool	Built for
Bikky	Unifies first-party guest data across ordering, POS, and delivery to power segmentation, lifetime value, and marketing.
Bloom Intelligence	Captures restaurant guest data (including via WiFi), unifies profiles, and automates email and SMS marketing.
Klaviyo	Owned-marketing platform combining email, SMS, and a customer data platform with segmentation and automated flows.
Popmenu	Dynamic menu-driven websites, online ordering, marketing automation and reviews for 10,000+ restaurants.
Punchh	Large multi-location QSR and fast-casual chains (roughly 100+ locations) wanting an established enterprise loyalty program.
Spendgo	Multi-location restaurants and retailers wanting integrated loyalty, especially operators on the Olo ordering ecosystem.
Paytronix	Multi-location restaurant and c-store brands needing advanced loyalty and data-driven marketing.
Marsello	Cafes, restaurants, and retailers running loyalty plus email and SMS off one POS-linked customer list.
Como	Restaurant and hospitality chains wanting a branded loyalty app wired deeply into their POS.

Before you switch

There is rarely one winner: the right pick depends on your format, your budget, and how much lock-in you can live with. Before you leave Fivestars, price the whole move: getting your data out, any payment-processing contract, hardware, and the other tools it connects to. If Fivestars does its main job well, fixing one weak spot may beat switching. Describe that specific need in the builder and check the connections before going live.

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Fivestars profile
Small-business loyalty and automated marketing, now part of SumUp (merchant product rebranded SumUp Connect).

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References

Every figure on this page drills down.

The terms and tools referenced on this page each resolve to their own profile.

Term First-party data Term Customer lifetime value (CLV)Tool Thanx Tool Fivestars Tool TapMango

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