Donut review

Donut is employee-engagement software for onboarding, recognition, and helping coworkers connect. It runs through Slack or Microsoft Teams, with the homepage describing AI-assisted onboarding, smart-match introductions, automated recognition, and engagement tools.

Its onboarding workflows can automate customizable tasks, messages, and polls, and can sync with an HRIS or ATS. Smart introductions match coworkers for cross-team conversations. Shoutouts let peers recognize contributions with points and badges tied to rewards. Donut also describes engagement tracking for participation, sentiment, and Slack channels, plus live facilitation for interactive team sessions.

The product is broader than a one-off introduction bot: it combines recurring connections with onboarding and recognition workflows. But the available plan details specify Slack channels and Slack or email delivery; they do not lay out equivalent Microsoft Teams limits or features.

Donut covers several engagement jobs in one product: new-hire onboarding, coworker introductions, peer recognition, and live team sessions. That breadth may be useful for teams that want to manage recurring engagement from their collaboration platform rather than assemble separate tools.

The free plan gives teams a way to start without a subscription. According to the pricing page, it includes one Slack channel each for Intros, Watercooler, and Celebrations, 12 default Watercooler topics, and up to 24 users per Intro round. Standard adds multiple Slack channels and 50+ HRIS integrations. Premium includes prebuilt onboarding and training Journeys, unlimited Journey automations, and unlimited Journey messages through Slack and email.

The workflow distinction is meaningful: teams can begin with simple connections, then move to automated onboarding or recognition as needs grow. Pricing is based on active users, according to the pricing details, so it is worth checking how your user count changes the bill before switching. Standard and Premium offer monthly or annual billing; annual prices are shown per month, and monthly plans have no commitment.

The free tier has clear ceilings. It allows up to three messages in one Journey, up to 24 users per Intro round, and up to 24 default Celebrations messages. Standard raises the Journey allowance to six messages in one Journey, but its listed inclusions do not provide unlimited Journey messages or automations. Those are Premium features.

The headline paid prices need context. The pricing page lists Standard at $74 per month and Premium at $119 per month on annual billing; the actual month-to-month prices are not published on the vendor's site. Donut charges by active users, and Premium also counts users in custom workflows, so the listed figures are not enough to estimate every team’s total cost. Enterprise pricing is not published; it is an annual flat fee paid upfront by ACH or wire transfer.

Donut lists a 14-day free trial, but the published details do not say which paid plan the trial covers. Teams relying on Microsoft Teams should also confirm plan-specific support: the pricing breakdown gives Slack channel limits, not Teams limits.

Donut has a free plan and a 14-day free trial. According to the pricing details, Standard costs $74 per month when billed annually, and Premium costs $119 per month when billed annually. That is a $45 monthly jump to Premium. The listed annual rates are per month; monthly billing is available for Standard and Premium, but those prices are not published. Monthly plans have no commitment.

Free covers one Slack channel each for Intros, Watercooler, and Celebrations, but caps a Journey at three messages and an Intro round at 24 users. Standard raises the Journey cap to six messages and adds unlimited Intros, Watercooler topics, and Celebrations messages, plus multiple Slack channels and 50+ HRIS integrations. Premium adds unlimited Journey messages and automations, prebuilt onboarding and training Journeys, and Slack Enterprise Grid support.

Pricing is based on active users. Premium also counts users in custom workflows, so check how your workflows affect the bill. Enterprise pricing is not published; it is an annual flat fee paid upfront by ACH or wire.

Donut’s setup is tied to how your team uses Slack or Microsoft Teams: it runs introductions, recognition, onboarding, and engagement workflows through those tools. Before switching, list the channels, Journeys, automations, HRIS or ATS connections, and recognition rules you need to recreate. The published pricing details specify Slack channel limits and Slack Enterprise Grid support, but do not explain how existing workflows or records transfer.

Donut’s data-export options, migration assistance, and retention rules are not published on the vendor's site. Ask Donut what you can export—including participation and recognition history—and whether it can be provided in a usable format before you cancel another tool. Also confirm what happens to active-user counts and custom workflows on Premium.

We can’t name recurring reasons people leave based on Reddit: no Reddit posts or comments were published to verify. For a switch away, confirm export and deletion terms first, then identify which onboarding tasks, matches, and recognition processes need a replacement. Don’t assume those records move automatically.