Fedele vs Squid Loyalty: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Looking for a loyalty app for your business? Fedele and Squid Loyalty are both platforms designed to help cafes, restaurants, salons, and shops create digital loyalty programs. While the goal is similar, the way they work, what they cost, and where they operate are quite different. Here's a detailed comparison to help you choose.
What is Squid Loyalty?
Squid Loyalty is a loyalty platform founded in Ireland, primarily active in Ireland and the UK. The app has over 750,000 consumer users and more than 2,500 registered businesses, with over 20 million transactions processed.
Squid uses NFC-based digital stamp cards: customers tap their smartphone on an NFC tag placed at the checkout to collect a stamp. Beyond stamp cards, Squid offers Wave Points — a universal rewards currency that customers earn by linking their debit/credit card, and can spend on vouchers across the Squid partner network.
What is Fedele?
Fedele is a business-focused loyalty platform that lets you create and manage your own points-based loyalty program from scratch. You design your rewards, set your rules, and manage everything from your smartphone. Customers use the free Fedele companion app to collect points and redeem rewards via simple barcode scanning — no additional hardware required.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Fedele | Squid Loyalty |
|---|---|---|
| Loyalty system | Points with custom rewards | Digital stamps + Wave Points |
| Collection method | Barcode scanning (smartphone) | NFC tag at checkout |
| Hardware required | None — smartphone only | Yes — NFC tags to purchase |
| Reward customization | Full — your rules, your rewards | Limited — preset stamp cards |
| Customer analytics | Yes | Yes — via business portal |
| Push notifications | Coming soon | Yes |
| Promotional campaigns | Coming soon | Yes — messages and vouchers |
| Map visibility | Yes (Premium) | Yes — Discover feature |
| Free plan | Yes — up to 5 customers | No |
| Consumer app | Yes — iOS and Android | Yes — iOS and Android |
| Web dashboard | Yes | Yes — business portal |
| Primary market | Worldwide | Ireland and UK |
Pricing Comparison
| Fedele Starter | Fedele Premium | Squid (Monthly) | Squid (Annual) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $59.99/month | From €15 to €95/month | From €328/year |
| Customers included | Up to 5 | Unlimited | Tiered by active users (0-50, 51-100, 101-500, etc.) | Tiered by active users |
| Setup costs | None | None | NFC tags to purchase | NFC tags to purchase |
| Annual discount | — | $599.99/year (~17% savings) | €328/year first year | Increases from year two |
How Squid's Pricing Works
Squid uses a tiered pricing model based on active users per location:
- 0–50 active users: €15/month
- 51–100 active users: €35/month
- 101–500 active users: €55/month
- 501–1,000 active users: €75/month
- 1,001+ active users: €95/month
The annual plan starts at €328 for the first year (introductory rate), but renewal prices increase up to €950 for higher tiers. For 4+ locations, you need to contact sales.
Fedele keeps pricing simple: free to start, then a flat $59.99/month (or $599.99/year) for unlimited customers — no tiers, no surprises.
Hardware: The Key Difference
One of the most important differences is hardware requirements.
Squid requires purchasing NFC tags to place at your checkout. Customers must tap their phone on the tag to collect a stamp. This means an upfront cost and dependency on a physical device that can break or get lost.
Fedele works entirely through barcode scanning using your smartphone camera. No hardware to buy, no tags to install. Download the app, create your program, and start immediately.
When to Choose Fedele
Fedele is the right choice if you:
- Want to start for free with no upfront hardware costs
- Prefer a flexible points-based system with fully customizable rewards
- Want flat, predictable pricing without tiers based on user count
- Don't want to depend on NFC tags or other physical devices
- Need a simple solution that works from your phone in minutes
When to Choose Squid Loyalty
Squid Loyalty makes more sense if you:
- Like the NFC stamp system and want to offer a "tap to collect" experience
- Want to leverage the Wave Points network for cross-brand rewards
- Need promotional campaigns and direct messaging right away
- Have few active customers and want to start at a very low monthly cost (€15/month)
The Verdict
Fedele and Squid Loyalty are both loyalty platforms for small businesses, but with different philosophies.
Squid focuses on the NFC experience and a closed rewards ecosystem (Wave Points) concentrated in Ireland and the UK. Costs scale with your number of active users and require NFC hardware.
Fedele offers a fully customizable points-based system, works without hardware, includes a free plan to get started, and has flat pricing with no surprises. It's available worldwide.
If you want a simple loyalty program with no hardware and no hidden costs, Fedele lets you get started in minutes — for free.
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