Honest Haiilo Review 2024: Pros, Cons, Features & Pricing

Haiilo Pricing

Haiilo emerged in 2022 from the merger of 3 companies: COYO from Germany (specialized for social intranets), Smarp from Finland (known for employee advocacy), and Jubiwee from France (focused on employee surveys). This new platform combines their unique strengths to enhance employee engagement and communication.

Haiilo offer 3 pricing plans:

Plan	Core	Business	Enterprise
Best for	Medium-sized businesses looking for core employee engagement features	Growing organizations needing advanced communication tools	Large enterprises requiring a comprehensive employee experience platform with custom solutions
Features	• Branded mobile app • Branded web platform • Content creator and calendar • Audience targeting • Rich platform analytics • Artificial virtual assistant	All Core features, plus: • Content management • Pages & communities • Knowledge wikis • Enterprise search • Events & colleagues	All Business features, plus: • Smart pulse surveys • Engagement questions library • Real-time risk notifications • Sentiment analysis • Automated engagement reports

In addition to these plans, Haiilo provides several modules that can enhance employee communication and engagement:

1. Multichannel Communication
2. Modern Intranet
3. Employee Advocacy
4. Engagement Surveys

There are also add-ons for other needs. 

The pricing plans form the base subscription, and you can then customize your package by adding modules and add-ons. 

Haiilo doesn’t publicly disclose its pricing on the website. You must contact their sales team. Haiilo competitors like Blink, Flip, and Simpplr also don’t have transparent pricing. 

It’s also worth noting that Haiilo doesn’t offer a free trial or a free plan, which might be a drawback for organizations wanting to test the platform before committing. Also, I never heard back when I reached out to the sales team. So, unfortunately, I can’t judge its cost-effectiveness compared with other solutions in the market. 

Here are the prices for some other platforms with communication and engagement features: 

Team size	Haiilo (Core)	Blink (Business)	Workleap Officevibe (Essential)	Connecteam (Basic)
10 Users	Custom pricing	From $34/month	$35/mo	Free for life—All features and dashboards
20 Users	Custom pricing	From $102/month	$70/mo	$29.00/mo
30 Users	Custom pricing	From $170/month	$105/mo	$29.00/mo
50 Users	Custom pricing	From $340/month	$140/mo	$39.00/mo

Haiilo Usability and Interface

Since I couldn’t test Haiilo myself, I explored its documentation and knowledge base to get the feel for the user interface (UI).

The UI seemed modern and clean. Many users agree. For example, one says it’s “very user-friendly.”

The main menu items—“Pages,” “Communities,” “Events,” “Studio,” and “Surveys”—are prominently displayed, so you can quickly navigate between different sections of the platform. The navigation bar changes based on the specific modules enabled for your platform. 

The left sidebar provides quick access to important pages and communities. Plus, the central feed area—which imitates the feeds in popular social media platforms—felt familiar and intuitive.

The right sidebar showcases user profiles and online statuses. And the search function, located at the top of the page, makes it easy to find specific content or colleagues.

I found the user drop-down menu to be comprehensive and well-organized. It’s divided into 4 main sections:

1. General: Includes options like changing status, accessing saved items, and managing files.
2. Platform: Offers access to administration tools, analytics, content management, and moderation features.
3. Settings: Allows users to adjust account settings and notification preferences.
4. Support: Provides easy access to help resources, terms of use, and platform information.

Moreover, Haiilo’s administration section is neatly organized into areas like user management, system settings, and more. However, I noticed some of the more advanced features—such as creating custom integrations or setting up complex automation rules—might require a steep learning curve.

Haiilo is actively working towards better accessibility but acknowledges only partial compliance with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. That said, it offers features like textual alternatives for images, voiceovers for screen readers, intuitive keyboard navigation, and sufficient contrast levels for better visibility—all which help make the platform accessible to users with visual or motor impairments.

Mobile app

Haiilo offers mobile apps for Android and iOS. I found the mobile app to be well-designed and efficient. 

The bottom navigation bar lets you easily switch between 5 main sections:

• Home: Acts as the central dashboard and displays various content types, like notifications and surveys. Users can view recent activities, access saved items, and navigate to other sections of the app.
• Timeline: Offers a social media-like feed where users can share updates, view company announcements, and interact with posts from colleagues. I appreciated the ability to easily share content—including attachments and images—directly from this screen.
• Chat: Enables direct communication between colleagues. It supports text and voice messages. 

• Colleagues: Provides access to an employee directory so you and your team members can easily call, direct message, or email each other.
• Menu: Provides links to different sections, such as Pages, Communities, Events, and personal settings—and includes the option to log out.

I like that employees can receive push notifications through the mobile app, ensuring they stay updated on important announcements and activities. The app also supports file sharing and image uploads.

Some key features like in-depth administrative controls, detailed customization options, and certain advanced analytics features are available only on the web platform. Other features won’t be available if specific modules aren’t enabled. 

As an admin, you can set your employees’ permissions and give them access to only the features they need.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find information about the app’s offline capabilities, and the lack of an offline mode could be a drawback for field service workers or those with unstable internet connections. 

Menu Items	Admin		Employee
	Web	Mobile app	Web	Mobile app
Key Features
Pages	✅	✅	✅	✅
Communities	✅	✅	✅	✅
Events	✅	✅	✅	✅
Studio	✅	❌	❌	❌
Surveys	✅	✅	✅	✅
Timeline/Feed	✅	✅	✅	✅
Chat	✅	✅	✅	✅
Voice messages	❌	✅	❌	✅
Colleagues list/ directory	✅	✅	✅	✅
Create content	✅	✅	✅	✅
Approve content	✅	✅	❌	❌
Analysis Features
Analytics dashboard	✅	❌	❌	❌
Generate reports	✅	❌	❌	❌
View activity logs	✅	❌	❌	❌
Management Features
User management	✅	❌	❌	❌
Group management	✅	❌	❌	❌
Role management	✅	❌	❌	❌
Platform settings	✅	Limited	❌	Limited (personal only)

Haiilo Core Functionalities

Multi-channel communication 

Haiilo offers a comprehensive suite of communication tools centered around its “Studio” feature. 

In Studio, you can create and manage posts, articles, and newsletters. The interface is intuitive, with a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that supports rich media integration. You can add text, images, and other media elements directly into the layout you see, making it easier to design content without knowing complex coding or markup languages.

Then, you can distribute these across various channels (including email and chat). 

One of the standout features I encountered is Haiilo AVA, an AI-powered virtual assistant. It’s available as an add-on, as well as part of the modern intranet module. AVA can generate initial drafts of posts and offer different tones to use for content, including professional, casual, enthusiastic, and informative.

For email communication, Haiilo provides an email template builder and dynamic delivery lists. Though it offers basic features like creating and sending newsletters, audience targeting, and basic analytics, it lacks advanced features like drag-and-drop content blocks, A/B testing, AI-driven insights, and personalized email campaigns.

In terms of in-app messaging, Haiilo supports both group and individual chats. Plus, users can mute, delete, or leave chats.

Modern intranet 

In the modern intranet, the homepage serves as a customizable hub for employees. I appreciated that users can personalize their homepages to display the most relevant information, such as recent news, upcoming events, or frequently used resources.

One of the core features is the “Pages” functionality, which lets you create and organize static content—like company documents, policies, and procedures.

“Communities” form another important part of the intranet experience. These function similarly to forums or groups, enabling team members to collaborate on specific projects or topics. I noticed that each community has its own timeline, file storage, and member list.

The “Timeline” feature adds a social aspect to the intranet. It mirrors social media feeds, where users can post updates, share content, and interact with colleagues’ posts through comments and likes.

For document management, Haiilo provides a “File Library.” The version control feature—which tracks changes and lets you revert documents to previous versions—is particularly helpful.

Finally, the “Colleagues List” (directory) feature allows employees to find and connect with coworkers, view organizational charts, and access contact information.

While Haiilo’s intranet solution is comprehensive, I noticed it might not fully meet the needs of users who require complex functionalities like detailed workflow automation or advanced usage analytics. Additionally, the features might be overwhelming for organizations looking for a simpler solution.

Engagement surveys

Haiilo’s engagement surveys module offers tools for gathering and analyzing employee feedback.

The survey creation process is straightforward and flexible. Users can choose from pre-designed templates or create custom surveys from scratch. I appreciated the various question types available, including multiple choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions.

One feature that stood out to me was the ability to schedule recurring surveys, which could be great for, say, regular employee well-being checks. Plus, the module includes various distribution options: Surveys can be sent via email, displayed as pop-ups within the Haiilo platform, or shared through unique links.

On the analysis side, Haiilo provides real-time results and visualizations. The dashboard offers an at-a-glance view of survey responses, with options to drill down into specific questions or demographic segments. The platform also calculates an overall engagement score, which can be useful for benchmarking.

All surveys are anonymous by default, which I find can encourage more honest feedback from employees. Plus, admins can reply to anonymous survey feedback through emails sent to the anonymous employee—which is great for continuing dialogue without compromising anonymity.

Employee advocacy 

Haiilo’s Employee Advocacy platform comes as a standalone module separate from the main communication suite. It’s designed to amplify a company’s social media presence through employee participation—and sets Haiilo apart from direct competitors like Flip. 

Typically, a designated team within an organization—such as the marketing or communications department—can use this platform to craft various types of posts for different social networks. The platform also lets them schedule posts, which I think is great for maintaining a consistent social media presence. 

Other employees can then share this content. 

I’m intrigued by how the platform can facilitate sharing. Employees can connect their personal social media accounts—such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter (X)—to the Haiilo platform. They can then share content directly through the Haiilo interface, which posts this content to their chosen social networks. 

The Perks & Rewards system also interests me. This gamification element encourages employee participation by offering points or other incentives for sharing company content. These include tickets and vouchers, books, charity contributions, and company merchandise.

This module also offers analytics and reporting capabilities. You can track the performance of shared content, including metrics like reach, engagement, and click-through rates.

While these features are cool, they won’t make sense for all companies—especially if employees prefer to keep strict personal-professional boundaries. I can see employees balking at the option to link their personal social media accounts with Haiilo, for instance. For companies where employees are passionate about the company’s mission and have a genuine desire to advocate on its behalf, I think this module will work well.

Also, I noticed that this module is separate from the main Haiilo platform (it uses a different domain, smarpshare.com) and might require additional onboarding for users already familiar with other Haiilo tools. 

Haiilo integrations

You can connect Haiilo with Microsoft 365 for streamlined access to your files and emails, Google Workspace for collaborative document editing and sharing, various HRIS systems for syncing employee data, and Slack for improved communication workflows. 

Unfortunately, I noticed that it lacks payroll integrations, which many communication tools (like Connecteam) have.

While Haiilo offers a solid range of integrations, communication platforms like Staffbase, Slack, and Microsoft Teams provide broader and more extensive integration options.

Haiilo Security Features

I found Haiilo’s security measures to be comprehensive and up to industry standards. The platform uses strong encryption for data in transit and at rest, supports multi-factor authentication, and offers granular access controls. 

Importantly, Haiilo maintains GDPR compliance and ISO 27001 certification, showing a strong commitment to data protection and information security.

I wish Haiilo offered better customization options for security settings—such as more role-based access controls—to help businesses with stronger security needs. Alternatives like Staffbase offer these. 

Haiilo Reporting & Analytics

Haiilo provides several customizable reports, including:

• User Accounts Report: Tracks the development of registered users over time, offering insights into user growth and overall engagement levels on the platform.
• Active Users Report: Shows daily statistics on unique users who’ve accessed the platform—so you can understand day-to-day user activity and participation.
• Popular Search Terms Report: Displays the search queries entered by users, which helps you understand what users are most interested in and how they navigate the platform.
• Created Content Report: Details the content created daily across the platform, including new pages, communities, posts, comments, blog articles, wiki articles, file uploads, and events. This report helps you monitor content generation and interaction.

I like that you can select parameters and create reports with just a few clicks.

Also, I appreciate that Haiilo offers actionable insights rather than just raw data, which can help companies make informed decisions. The platform uses AI to enhance data analysis.

While built-in Haiilo reports are comprehensive, there are limitations. More complex analytical needs, such as advanced filtering and segmentation, require a paid add-on (Haiilo Analytics).

Haiilo Customer Support

Haiilo’s customer support offers several channels to assist users:

• Phone and email support are available for paying customers who can log into the Service Desk to submit tickets.
• Live chat involves a service desk bot that directs users to relevant articles rather than providing direct agent interaction.
• A knowledge base provides articles and guidance on using different features of Haiilo.

Support is available from Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 18:00 CET. This time range caters to a European audience, which might be a drawback for users in other time zones. Some users have reported that the support team takes a long time to answer. 

My experience with Haiilo’s support wasn’t great. 

As mentioned above, I never heard back when I reached out for a demo request. Also, I chatted with the bot and found that you can’t type in questions and instead must choose from predefined questions and answers. This is frustrating for prospective customers who need detailed information or have unique questions—such as, “Can admins prevent employees from muting chats?”  

I find this a significant drawback—especially since so many other platforms provide direct agent support to prospective customers. 

What are Haiilo Review Ratings from Review Sites?

(As of September 2024)

• Capterra: 4.3/5
• G2: 4.6/5
• Software Advice: 4.3/5
• TrustRadius: n/a
• GetApp: 4.3/5
• Google Play Store: n/a
• Apple App Store: 3.4/5

Haiilo App Review

Haiilo is a great employee communication and engagement platform with an intuitive interface.

It’s best suited for medium to large organizations—especially those with distributed teams that are looking to simplify internal communications and enhance employee engagement. It offers rich tools for managing content, surveys, and communications. But businesses looking for deep analytics and advanced customization should be aware that they might require additional tools or add-ons.

Finally, small companies may find Haiilo’s features more extensive than necessary. 

Connecteam: The Better Haiilo Alternative

Connecteam stands out as the best alternative to Haiilo.

First, it offers many of Haiilo’s essential communication features. For instance, its in-app chat functionalities support 1:1 and group messaging and enable strict access controls for keeping chats secure.

Plus, it features a dynamic social-media style newsfeed, where I found it easy to post company updates and critical announcements. 

Additionally, you can use the employee directory app to store information on not just your internal contacts but also your vendors and suppliers—which gives this feature a leg up on Haiilo. 

Furthermore, Connecteam’s company knowledge base serves as a centralized digital library for storing and managing content like manuals and company policies. Customizable access controls ensure that sensitive information remains secure.

For employee engagement, I love Connecteam’s rewards and recognition system, which includes tangible rewards like employee recognition gift cards. Plus, the platform offers various surveys and feedback tools that provide valuable insights into employee satisfaction and more.

Beyond communication and engagement, Connecteam offers tons of additional functionalities—from task management to scheduling to training. Paid plans are super affordable, and there’s even a free plan and free trial. 

Get started with Connecteam for free today!

FAQs

Does Haiilo offer a free trial? 

Haiilo doesn’t offer a free trial. You can book a free demo with a sales rep to get a pricing quote.

Is Haiilo HIPAA compliant?

Haiilo doesn’t advertise its platform as being HIPAA compliant. US-based healthcare companies seeking to protect health information might want to look at other HIPAA-compliant software—like Connecteam.