Donut Review: Boost Team Collaboration Without Engagement Challenges

Struggling to keep remote teams connected and engaged?

If you’re evaluating Donut, it’s probably because building real connections and a sense of belonging has become harder as your team has grown or gone remote. The truth is, most tools only scratch the surface, so you’re left with disconnected employees who rarely interact organically—and you feel the effects of low morale and missed opportunities every single day.

That’s why I spent weeks putting Donut to the test. Donut brings together automated intros, onboarding journeys, peer recognition, and now live video events (after acquiring Gatheround), aiming to tackle not just “connection,” but real culture and engagement at every stage.

In this review, I’ll uncover how Donut transforms daily interactions and onboarding for your remote or distributed team.

You’ll find everything you need in this Donut review: real-world analysis of features like Intros, Journeys, Watercooler, Celebrations, and peer-to-peer shoutouts, plus my take on pricing, use cases, and the best alternatives for 2025.

If you’ve been searching for the features you need to finally build engagement and cut through the remote disconnect, you’ll leave here with answers and next steps.

Let’s dive into the analysis.

Donut Overview

Donut is all about building culture for remote and hybrid teams. They’ve been around since 2016, based in New York, with a mission to transform how your colleagues can truly connect.

I think their focus on mid-sized companies struggling with remote team cohesion is smart. Their approach is about automating human connection at scale, which feels more intentional than just another chat app your team might ignore.

Their recent acquisition of Gatheround was a very smart move. Through this Donut review, you will see how this adds crucial live event capabilities to their programs, which I think is a game-changer.

Unlike competitors that stick to simple coffee chats, Donut provides a more holistic employee experience platform. I find this makes it a more strategic tool for HR leaders, not just a fun Slack add-on.

They work with over 20,000 teams, from tech giants like IBM and Automattic to growing startups. This shows their solution scales well for almost any business size you might have.

My take is their strategy is to become your core employee experience hub. They are building an integrated platform for the entire employee lifecycle, directly addressing the biggest challenges you face when managing modern hybrid workforces.

Now let’s examine their core capabilities.

Donut Features

Team connections feel strained in a remote world?

Donut features are designed to build those crucial employee relationships, especially for distributed teams. Here are the five main Donut features that foster connection and boost engagement.

1. Donut Intros

Struggling with spontaneous team connections?

In a remote setting, those organic “watercooler” moments are tough to replicate. This can lead to team members feeling isolated or disconnected.

Donut Intros automatically pairs colleagues for virtual coffee chats, bridging those interaction gaps. From my testing, the customized frequency and direct scheduling integration make it incredibly simple to set up. This feature truly sparks informal conversations.

This means your team can build genuine rapport without any manual effort on your part, boosting morale significantly.

2. Donut Journeys

New hires getting lost in the shuffle?

Onboarding can be a time-consuming administrative nightmare, often leading to inconsistent experiences. This impacts how quickly new employees become productive.

Donut Journeys automates structured programs for onboarding, mentorship, or training with scalable content. What I love about this feature is how you can customize programs or use pre-built templates to fit your needs, integrating with HRIS systems to automate enrollment.

So you can deliver a consistent, engaging experience for every employee, reducing your administrative workload dramatically.

3. Donut Watercooler

Silence in your team channels?

Sometimes, teams need a nudge to engage in casual conversation beyond work-related topics. This can make a team feel more like a task force than a community.

Donut Watercooler introduces fun, engaging topics into your Slack channels to spark discussions. Here’s the thing – these prompts naturally build camaraderie by encouraging lighthearted interactions. This feature creates a more vibrant team culture.

The result is your team feels more connected and community-oriented, even if they’re spread across different time zones.

4. Donut Celebrations

Forgetting important team milestones?

Failing to acknowledge birthdays or anniversaries can make employees feel undervalued. This often leads to a dip in team spirit.

Donut Celebrations automates the recognition of key milestones, ensuring everyone feels appreciated. What I found impressive is how you can create unlimited custom celebrations with personalized messages, making each moment special.

This means you can easily maintain a strong sense of community and appreciation, which strengthens team bonds without any extra effort.

5. Donut Shoutouts

Is great work going unnoticed?

Employees thrive on recognition, but it’s often overlooked in the daily hustle. This can lead to a lack of motivation and lower team morale.

Donut Shoutouts promotes peer-to-peer recognition directly within Slack, making appreciation a daily habit. From my testing, the custom emojis and personalized thank-yous make this feature incredibly engaging and fun to use.

This allows you to foster a culture of appreciation, directly boosting productivity and aligning your team around shared successes.

You’ll appreciate how these Donut features work together to create a holistic platform for employee connection, transforming how your team engages.

Donut Pricing

Worried about unexpected software costs?

Donut pricing offers clear, tiered plans with straightforward costs, making it easier for you to budget for enhanced team connectivity and engagement.

Plan	Price & Features
Free Plan	No Cost • Up to 24 intro participants/round • 1 Slack channel for intros • Limited Journeys (3 messages/action) • Default Watercooler topics
Standard Plan	From $59/month (billed annually) • Unlimited users & channels for intros • Custom group sizes & intro messages • Google Calendar & Zoom integration • Unlimited customizable celebrations
Premium Plan	From $99/month (billed annually) • All Standard features • Peer-to-peer recognition (Shoutouts) • Built-in reward store • Unlimited Journeys messages & automations • Enterprise Grid multi-workspace support
Enterprise Plan	Custom pricing – contact sales • For 500+ users • Billing via invoice • Dedicated customer success manager • Access to security resources

1. Value Assessment

Great pricing for value.

What I found regarding Donut pricing is how it directly scales with your team’s engagement needs, ensuring you only pay for what your employees actively use. The tiered approach offers clear feature progression without overwhelming your budget, especially as you grow from a small team to a larger organization.

This means your budget gets a predictable and scalable solution for fostering team connections.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Smart evaluation process available.

Donut offers a very generous Free plan that effectively acts as an extended trial, letting you experience core features before any financial commitment. What stood out is how you can test introductions and watercooler functions with real teams, giving you practical insights into its value.

This helps you evaluate user adoption and engagement before you commit to any of Donut’s paid pricing tiers.

3. Plan Comparison

Choosing the right plan matters.

The Free plan is perfect for testing the waters, but for real impact, you’ll find the Standard or Premium plans offer much more robust features. Budget-wise, Premium unlocks unlimited Journeys and recognition features, essential for comprehensive employee experience programs.

This helps you match Donut pricing to actual usage requirements, ensuring you get the most out of your investment.

My Take: Donut’s pricing strategy is transparent and scales well, offering clear pathways from free tools to enterprise solutions for businesses focused on enhancing employee connection and culture.

The overall Donut pricing reflects excellent value for enhancing team connection and engagement.

Donut Reviews

What do real customers actually think?

To give you the clearest picture, I’ve analyzed numerous Donut reviews to provide balanced insights into real user experiences, highlighting both strengths and common frustrations.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users genuinely love connecting.

Donut maintains a strong overall satisfaction rating, with users frequently highlighting its effectiveness in building relationships and collaboration. What I found in user feedback is how positive reviews focus on fostering team bonds, particularly in remote settings, making Donut a valuable tool for engagement.

This indicates you can expect improved team cohesion and a more welcoming environment.

2. Common Praise Points

Enhanced team engagement consistently stands out.

Users consistently praise Donut for promoting interaction and bonding among team members. From my review analysis, the ease of use and setup for core features is repeatedly mentioned, making it simple for teams to adopt and integrate into daily workflows.

This means you’ll likely find Donut an intuitive way to boost team morale and productivity.

3. Frequent Complaints

Pricing concerns often surface.

While largely positive, some users find the paid plans expensive, especially for smaller organizations or those with many participants. What stands out in customer feedback is how the free plan’s limitations restrict usage, leading to a desire for more features without upgrading.

These issues are generally minor, but for budget-conscious teams, they warrant consideration.

The overall Donut reviews reflect genuine user satisfaction with connection-building, balanced by a few common pricing and feature concerns.

Best Donut Alternatives

Searching for the right team connection tool?

The best Donut alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations, priorities, and communication platform preferences.

1. Alfy Matching

Is budget your top priority for team matching?

Alfy Matching offers a significantly more cost-effective solution, allowing for more customizable matching options, including cross-team pairing and a scheduling assistant. From my competitive analysis, Alfy is considerably cheaper with granular control, a clear advantage if you need specific matching features on a tight budget.

Choose Alfy when you need extensive control over matching and scheduling features within Slack at a lower price point.

2. Dewdropz

Are you a dedicated Microsoft Teams user?

Dewdropz is purpose-built for Microsoft Teams, offering a more comprehensive and native experience within that platform compared to Donut’s more limited Teams app. What I found comparing options is that Dewdropz provides a full-featured Teams integration with robust pairing and reporting, making it a powerful alternative for Teams-first organizations.

Consider this alternative when your organization primarily uses Microsoft Teams and requires a deep, native integration.

3. Doozy

Do you want more interactive team-building games?

Doozy is a Slack-based platform that goes beyond simple pairings, offering interactive team-building games, quizzes, polls, and video call features. Alternative-wise, Doozy focuses on engaging, game-based activities for team connection, which can be more dynamic than Donut’s emphasis on casual chats.

Choose Doozy if your team desires more interactive and game-based engagement activities within your Slack environment.

4. CultureBot

Looking for automated HR tasks with team connection?

CultureBot combines employee connection with automated HR administrative tasks like celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, often claiming more features for less cost. From my analysis, CultureBot offers a strong feature-to-price ratio, making it a versatile alternative for combining social and administrative functions.

Choose CultureBot when you want a solution that blends employee connection with more automated HR administrative tasks and better value.

The best Donut alternatives ultimately depend on your budget, platform, and desired level of interaction, not just feature counts.

Donut Setup

Concerned about a complex software setup?

Donut implementation is generally straightforward, particularly for its core functionalities, making it relatively easy to integrate into your existing communication platforms for this Donut review.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Getting Donut up and running is genuinely simple.

Your setup process involves connecting Donut to your Slack or Microsoft Teams workspace and then configuring specific channels for introductions or watercooler topics. From my implementation analysis, most teams find the Donut setup quick and intuitive, avoiding lengthy project timelines and extensive resource allocation.

You’ll need to allocate time for initial channel configuration and setting up desired program types rather than extended project phases.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Minimal technical hurdles or infrastructure changes.

Donut functions primarily as an integration for Slack and Microsoft Teams, meaning it requires these platforms already in use within your organization. What I found about deployment is that it easily integrates with common video and calendar tools like Google Meet, Outlook, and Zoom, without demanding new hardware.

Plan for connecting to your existing communication platforms and any preferred video or calendar services to optimize its functionality.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption is high due to familiar interfaces.

The learning curve for Donut is remarkably low because users interact with it directly within their familiar Slack or Microsoft Teams environment. From my analysis, the intuitive experience minimizes the need for extensive training, allowing teams to quickly grasp its purpose and features for fostering connections.

You’ll want to encourage consistent participation and leverage Donut’s internal resources to maximize engagement and program success.

4. Support & Success Factors

Dedicated support ensures a smooth rollout.

Donut offers help center resources and email support for any questions regarding plans, billing, or technical assistance during implementation. From my analysis, their available support helps ensure a seamless transition and addresses any hurdles you might encounter while configuring programs or integrating platforms.

You should leverage Donut’s support and internal resources to optimize your program setup and achieve your desired employee engagement goals.

Overall, the Donut setup is notably easy, with success heavily reliant on encouraging active employee participation after initial configuration.

Bottom Line

Should your team be using Donut?

My Donut review synthesizes my findings to help you decide if this employee experience platform is the right fit for your organization’s connection and engagement goals.

1. Who This Works Best For

Fostering connection in remote and hybrid teams.

Donut is ideal for mid-sized companies (51-1,000 employees) leveraging Slack or Microsoft Teams, aiming to enhance employee engagement and combat isolation. From my user analysis, organizations prioritizing a holistic approach to employee experience will find its automated introductions and structured programs invaluable for culture building.

Your team will thrive with Donut if you’re dedicated to breaking down silos and improving internal communication in a distributed workforce.

2. Overall Strengths

Unparalleled capability to foster genuine connections.

The software excels at automating employee introductions, streamlining onboarding with structured Journeys, and boosting engagement through peer recognition features. From my comprehensive analysis, Donut’s ability to facilitate spontaneous connections across departments is a standout strength for improving company culture.

These strengths translate into a more cohesive, engaged workforce, directly impacting retention and overall productivity for your business.

3. Key Limitations

Microsoft Teams integration needs more feature parity.

While powerful, Donut’s Microsoft Teams integration offers a less robust experience compared to its full-featured Slack counterpart, which could be a limitation for some users. Based on this review, pricing can also be a significant consideration for smaller organizations, especially when exploring higher-tier plans.

I find these limitations are manageable if your primary platform is Slack or your budget allows for the investment, but they require careful evaluation.

4. Final Recommendation

Donut earns a strong recommendation for team connection.

You should choose this software if your organization is committed to building a vibrant, connected culture within Slack or Microsoft Teams. From my analysis, Donut is perfect for automating key people programs like onboarding and mentorship, especially if you prioritize employee belonging and engagement.

My confidence is high for organizations seeking a comprehensive solution to foster connections and enhance the overall employee experience.

This Donut review confirms its strong value for fostering team connections and automating people programs, making it a powerful tool for your business.