Compare
A paper card, a general tool, or Counter Club
Most shops start with paper. Some move to a general marketing or texting tool. Here is what each one does with the things that matter at a counter, honestly, by capability.
| Capability | A paper card | A general tool | Counter Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the card lives | In the customer's wallet, until it is lost | In an app the customer has to install and remember | On the customer's mobile number; nothing to install |
| Joining | Hand over a card | Create an account with a password | Scan, type a mobile, confirm a six-digit code |
| Stamping | Ink stamp, lined up by hand | Varies; often a code or a scan per sale | One press on the member's row from any device |
| Knowing who your regulars are | You do not, beyond memory | Usually, with a report to set up | A members list, newest first, with stamps and rewards |
| The reward | Whatever is written on the card | Points and tiers you configure | One reward in your words; a code appears when the card fills |
| Telling the club something | A chalkboard or a social post | Email and texts to lists you upload | One message to members who joined and have not opted out |
| Who can be messaged | Nobody by text | Anyone on a list you upload, at your risk | Only people who joined with a confirmed mobile |
| The way out | Not applicable | Depends how it is set up | A personal link in every message and STOP replies, built in |
| Cost to start | A box of cards and a stamp | Usually a monthly fee from day one | Free for 50 members; $24 or $69 a month after |
| Time to set up | An afternoon at the printer | An afternoon or two | Two fields and a printed QR |
| Fit for a shop counter | Good, until the card is lost | Built for many kinds of business | Built for a shop with regulars and a till |
Paper is fine until the card is lost, and it tells you nothing about who comes back. A general tool can do more than Counter Club, and that is the point: it also asks more of you and of your customers, and it lets you text a list nobody joined. Counter Club does one thing, a stamp card and a message to the people who asked for it, and refuses to do the things that get shops into trouble.
If you want points per dollar, tiers, scheduling or segments, a general tool is the right choice and we will say so. If you want the paper card without the paper, start free.
Head to head
Checked October 2026
Counter Club vs Loopy Loyalty
Loopy Loyalty puts the card in Apple or Google Wallet and covers several sites, with no SMS or email. Counter Club texts and emails the club, priced in AUD.
Read the comparisonChecked October 2026
Counter Club vs Mailchimp
For messaging a shop's regulars: Mailchimp has far deeper email tools and no stamp card. Counter Club pairs a card with texts priced inside the plan.
Read the comparisonChecked October 2026
Counter Club vs Square Loyalty
Square Loyalty suits shops already taking payments on Square. Counter Club suits any till, prices by club size in AUD and can text the club.
Read the comparisonChecked October 2026
Counter Club vs Stamp Me
Stamp Me gives more features through an app customers download. Counter Club keeps one card on the customer's mobile, with texts inside the plan price.
Read the comparisonPut the QR by the till this week
Setting the card takes two minutes. The first fifty members are free, paid for by a marketing consent instead of a card, and the card runs in full from day one.