Your data. Your jurisdiction. Your payment account.
Self-hosted
loyalty software.
Own your loyalty platform. No monthly fees.
Your server, your data, your rules.
What is self-hosted loyalty software?
Self-hosted loyalty software runs on your own server. You download the code, install it on your infrastructure, and own it outright. Customer data stays on your server. Updates happen when you choose. Customization is unlimited because you have the source code.
The opposite is SaaS loyalty software. Platforms like Smile.io, Stamp Me, and Loopy Loyalty that charge monthly fees and store your data on their servers. You rent access. They control the platform.
Self-hosted means ownership. SaaS means renting.
Where the cost win actually is.
One license runs every business from one install. A monthly app bills per business. Here is three years of cost as you go from one business to ten, with $10/month hosting on the self-hosted side.
| Businesses run | Reward Loyalty (3 yr) | $25/mo app, per business (3 yr) | $49/mo app, per business (3 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 business | $907 | $900 | $1,764 |
| 3 businesses | $907 | $2,700 | $5,292 |
| 5 businesses | $907 | $4,500 | $8,820 |
| 10 businesses | $907 | $9,000 | $17,640 |
Reward Loyalty stays flat: one license ($349), 36 months of hosting, and two optional renewals after the first year. At one business a cheap monthly app costs less over three years, so a single shop buys this for ownership. By three businesses one install is already the cheaper path, and the gap widens from there. Enterprise multi-tenant platforms like Open Loyalty start in the five figures a year.
Self-hosted vs SaaS.
| Factor | Self-Hosted | SaaS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | One-time purchase | Monthly/annual subscription |
| Long-term cost | Decreases over time | Increases with usage |
| Data location | Your server, your jurisdiction | Vendor cloud servers |
| GDPR compliance | You are both controller and processor | Requires DPA with vendor |
| Customization | Unlimited (source code access) | Limited to vendor features |
| Vendor lock-in | None. Export data anytime | High. Data format is proprietary |
| Updates | Your choice when to update | Forced. Vendor decides |
| Setup complexity | Requires server + installation | None. Browser access |
| Maintenance | You manage updates + backups | Vendor manages everything |
| Scalability | Scale your own infrastructure | Pay more per user/order |
| Shutdown risk | Software is yours forever | Vendor can discontinue service |
Who should choose self-hosted?
Running loyalty for many businesses
One install runs loyalty for many businesses, each one's data isolated and white-labeled. You charge clients $50 to $200 a month and keep all of it, with no per-seat or per-client fee to any SaaS vendor. One license covers unlimited businesses on one install.
Multi-location businesses
Franchises and business networks run on one install with the shared wallet, so customers earn at any location and each location's data stays isolated. A chain under one brand is one business, however many locations, so one license covers it, all locations included, instead of a subscription per site.
EU businesses (GDPR)
Customer data on your server means you are both data controller and processor. No third-party data processing agreements needed.
Developers who want to extend
Full Laravel source code lets you add features, integrate existing systems, and modify any file. Closed SaaS platforms do not allow this.
Businesses that value data sovereignty
Your customer data never leaves your infrastructure. No vendor runs analytics on it, and no vendor shutdown can delete your program.
Anyone who wants to own it outright
You buy the license once and the install runs forever on your server, on the last version you received even if you skip a renewal. At a single business the upfront price won't undercut a cheap monthly app for a year or two, so this is a call for ownership over rental.
Who should stay on SaaS?
Shopify-only stores
If your business runs entirely on Shopify and you need automatic checkout integration, Smile.io's native Shopify plugin is smoother than a self-hosted QR approach.
Zero technical capacity
Self-hosted requires a server, SSL, and database. If nobody on your team can manage this, a SaaS platform removes the operational overhead. Though Reward Loyalty offers a step-by-step installation guide.
Apple Wallet is a requirement
If native Apple and Google Wallet passes are non-negotiable, Loopy Loyalty currently has this. Self-hosted options including Reward Loyalty use PWA approaches instead.
Own it. Don't rent it.
$349 once. Full source code. Your server. No monthly fees.
Laravel · PHP · Full source code · 12 languages