What does a loyalty program cost? There is no single answer, because the pricing models swing wildly, from free paper cards to app builds running into many thousands of kroner. This guide breaks down what actually drives the price, which ranges are realistic in Denmark, and how to work out whether it pays off.
Why the answer varies so much
You can get two quotes for what sounds like "the same" loyalty program and find that one costs nothing and the other costs tens of thousands of kroner. It is not because one vendor is ripping you off. It is because they are selling fundamentally different things under the same word.
The price of a loyalty program comes down to four things: whether there is a setup fee, whether you pay a flat rate or per member, whether the solution needs a downloadable app, and whether the loyalty is tied to your POS. Once you know those four factors, you can see through any quote in under a minute.
The four things that drive the price
Setup fee (one-off cost). Bespoke solutions and custom-built apps usually charge an upfront fee for design, configuration, and onboarding before you are even live. That can run into thousands of kroner. Web-based solutions typically have no setup fee: you sign yourself up and are ready the same day.
Flat rate vs. per member. A fixed monthly price is predictable no matter how many customers you enrol. Per-member or per-card pricing sounds cheap at first, but it punishes you the better things go. Imagine a café with 100 members today: a per-member price looks affordable. But once you hit 1,000 members, the same model is suddenly ten times more expensive, even though your revenue has not necessarily kept pace. A flat rate, by contrast, gets cheaper per customer the more you sign up.
App development (downloadable app). A bespoke native app that customers have to fetch from the App Store or Google Play is the most expensive route. You pay for the build itself, for ongoing maintenance, and for updates every time Apple or Google changes the rules. Web-based solutions avoid all of it: customers scan a QR code and open the card in the browser with nothing to download.
POS add-on. Loyalty bundled into your POS often looks "free," because the price is buried in the POS contract and in transaction fees. The catch is that the loyalty is tied to that one POS. Switch providers and you lose the program along with your data.
What a loyalty program costs: realistic ranges in Denmark
Rather than walk through each category again (our overview of loyalty solutions and prices does that), it is more useful to recognise the shape of the price so you can sanity-check a quote. Any quote falls into one of these four shapes:
- One-off fee plus monthly: typical for custom-built apps. A large setup fee up front and a recurring price after, so always count both in your assessment.
- Price that scales with members: looks low at first, but climbs the better things go. Always ask for the price at three times the members you have today.
- Buried in a bigger deal: a POS add-on, where the cost sits in the POS contract and a per-transaction fee. Ask what the loyalty costs on its own.
- Flat monthly subscription: the same price regardless of how many customers you have, with no setup fee. It is the most predictable shape and the easiest to compare.
MightyLoyalty sits in that last category. Standard costs 299 DKK per month; Pro costs 399 DKK per month and adds personal offers, a spin-the-wheel draw, and advanced analytics. Both come with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required. If you prefer to pay per interaction, there is a pay-as-you-go option at 5 DKK per stamp with no monthly commitment. There is no setup fee and no downloadable app.
How to work out the ROI
The most important calculation is not about the price, but about what a regular is worth. A one-time guest spends once. A regular who comes back spends again and again, and that is exactly the behaviour a loyalty program is built to encourage.
Flip the question around: instead of asking "what does it cost?", ask "how many extra visits does the program need to create before it has paid for itself?". Imagine a café where a coffee and a pastry cost a little under fifty kroner. To cover a 299 DKK monthly subscription, the program needs to trigger roughly six extra visits in a month, spread across all of your customers. If just a handful of your regulars feel like coming in one extra time a week because they are close to a reward, the foundation is covered. Everything above that is upside.
It is the same thinking behind the big chains' paid customer clubs: a customer who is a member spends a larger share of their budget with you rather than with the competitor. You do not need to double your revenue. You just need to move some visits from "maybe" to "yes."
Hidden costs to ask about
The figure at the top of a quote is rarely the whole picture. Ask specifically about:
- Lock-in period: are you committed for 12 months, or can you cancel month to month?
- Setup and onboarding fee: is there a one-off charge on top of the subscription?
- Data export and lock-in: can you take your members and history with you if you switch?
- Overage: does it cost extra per message, per member, or per campaign beyond a limit?
- Print material: is the QR poster and signage included, or billed separately?
What you should pay for your type of business
For a single café, restaurant, or salon, a flat web-based solution is almost always the right level. You get data, rewards, and an overview without a big upfront cost, and the price does not climb just because you gain more customers. A custom-built app is usually overkill for a standalone business: you pay for development you do not need.
If you run a small chain with several outlets, a flat web-based solution can still win, as long as it handles multiple locations. Only at genuinely large member counts and advanced needs does a bespoke app start to make sense.
For a full comparison of the different solution categories and the questions you should put to a vendor, our overview of loyalty solutions and prices goes into depth. To see concretely what you get for the money in a web-based solution, our guide to the digital stamp card walks through it all. You can also see current pricing directly on our pricing overview.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a setup fee on a loyalty program?
It depends on the model. Custom-built apps and bespoke solutions often charge a one-off fee for setup and onboarding before you are live. Web-based solutions like MightyLoyalty have no setup fee: you sign yourself up and are ready the same day.
Which is cheaper: a flat subscription or paying per stamp?
It depends on your volume. If you stamp rarely or irregularly, a pay-as-you-go model at 5 DKK per stamp can be cheapest, because you only pay when something happens. If you stamp regularly, the flat subscription at 299 or 399 DKK per month quickly becomes the cheapest per stamp.
Can I find out whether it is worth it before I pay?
Yes. With a 30-day free trial and no credit card, you can enrol customers, stamp visits, and see whether return visits actually rise before you commit. Measure the number of repeat customers during the trial: that is the real test of whether it is worth it for your particular business.