PEKO vs Idle
Written by PEKO Research Team.Last updated: 10/07/2026.
Published: 10/07/2026
Updated October 2026: PEKO is the better pick for most independent cafés, restaurants and service venues in Singapore: guests earn by snapping any receipt with no POS integration, the whole table joins via Group Check-In, and an embedded AI Agent sets up vouchers and campaigns from one message, from free up to 300 members.
PEKO combines appointment booking, Receipt Scan loyalty, Group Check-In for groups and friends, and an AI Agent that sets up rebooking and win-back campaigns from one message.
Choose Idle if you want one system for inventory, packages and credits, gift cards and checkout.
Idle (idlebooking.com) describes itself as AI salon and spa management software built with 700 Singapore salons. PEKO is a retention platform that also takes appointments. Facts about Idle come from idlebooking.com, checked October 2026.
- Both take appointments: Idle with online booking, calendar and waitlists; PEKO with online appointment booking with staff calendars and automatic reminders.
- Idle's loyalty, packages and marketing automations are on the Grow plan, not Solo; PEKO's loyalty is on its free plan up to 300 members.
- Idle has an AI WhatsApp agent that books and replies; PEKO's AI Agent builds rebooking and win-back campaigns you approve.
What is Idle? Singapore salon and spa management software (idlebooking.com) with online booking, an AI WhatsApp agent, and loyalty on its Grow plan.
The PEKO ecosystem
PEKO and LOOP are two products from the same company. PEKO is the AI retention layer and runs alongside the POS you already use. LOOP is the AI-native POS that covers operations: recipe-level inventory, staff shifts, table plans and the kitchen display. Each works on its own, and run together they share one dataset, so nothing has to be entered twice. See PEKO + LOOP in one ecosystem
Choose PEKO when
- You want loyalty on a free plan. PEKO is free up to 300 members, while Idle lists loyalty under Grow, not Solo.
- You want clients who come in together to all join. Group Check-In enrols every friend from one QR, not only the client who pays.
- You want rebooking and win-back campaigns set up from one message, e.g. “Remind lash clients 18 days after their last set, WhatsApp only, free lash bath for rebooking this week”.
- You want flat venue pricing: Free up to 300 members, then S$49, 0% commission, cancel anytime.
- You'd rather chat to your loyalty tool than click through 10 dropdowns. PEKO's AI Agent creates vouchers, segments and campaigns for you, and you only click Approve.
Choose Idle when
- You want one system for inventory, packages and credits, gift cards and checkout: Idle covers these on Grow, while PEKO focuses on booking, loyalty and retention.
- You want an AI WhatsApp agent that replies and books 24/7: Idle states this; PEKO's AI Agent drafts campaigns for your approval instead of chatting with clients.
- You run a solo chair and only need booking at the lowest price: Idle's Solo plan is S$15 per month per store billed yearly.
Already on this POS?
Rebooking cycles
Typical guidance only: every client's hair, nails and skin differ, so set your own timing from your booking history. The AI Agent can time a reminder just before each window.
| Service | Typical rebooking window | Reminder idea |
|---|---|---|
| Nails (gel, extensions) | About 3 to 4 weeks | Remind around week 3 |
| Lash refills | About 2 to 3 weeks | Remind around day 18 |
| Facials | About 4 weeks | Remind around week 4 |
| Hair colour | About 6 to 8 weeks | Remind around week 6 |
PEKO includes online appointment booking with staff calendars and automatic reminders, alongside Receipt Scan loyalty, Group Check-In and the AI Agent, so a salon or spa can take bookings and bring clients back from one place. “Remind lash clients 18 days after their last set, WhatsApp only, free lash bath for rebooking this week”.
PEKO pricing: free up to 300 members, then S$49/month on the Standard plan, 0% commission, cancel anytime.
Why owners switch from Idle to PEKO
1.Receipt Scan Loyalty: Snap any receipt. Points land in seconds.
Traditional loyalty CRM: Integration project or a specific POS. PEKO: Any POS that prints a receipt. Receipt Scan Loyalty →
2.Group Check-In: The whole table joins, not just the one who pays.
Traditional loyalty CRM: Only the person who pays. PEKO: Everyone at the table. Group Check-In →
3.AI-first operations (PEKO AI Agent): Prompt it. PEKO does it.
Traditional loyalty CRM: 10+ clicks across menus; staff need training. PEKO: One message to the AI Agent; you approve. AI-first operations (PEKO AI Agent) →
PEKO pricing: free up to 300 members, then S$49/month on the Standard plan, 0% commission, cancel anytime.
Feature by feature
| Feature | PEKO | Idle |
|---|---|---|
| Earn by snapping any receipt (no POS integration) | Snap any receipt. Points land in seconds. Works with any POS that prints a receipt. | Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Whole table joins (Group Check-In) | The whole table joins, not just the one who pays. 4 guests = 4 members. | Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Change setup by chatting with an AI Agent | Prompt it. PEKO does it. Approval-gated: the Agent proposes, you decide. | Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Setup time | About 15 minutes, self-serve | Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Starting price | Free up to 300 members, then S$49/month; 0% commission; cancel anytime | Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Appointment booking | Yes: online appointment booking with staff calendars and automatic reminders | Yes: online booking, calendar, booking page, waitlists |
| Loyalty | Points, stamps, tiers, vouchers on every plan | Points, stamp cards and tiers at checkout: Grow plan, not Solo |
| Earn without a cashier step | Yes: Receipt Scan | Not stated on Idle's site (checked Oct 2026) |
| Group / friends enrolment | Yes: Group Check-In | Not stated on Idle's site (checked Oct 2026) |
| AI | AI Agent sets up rebooking and win-back campaigns from one message | AI WhatsApp agent books, replies and reminds; AI restock agent |
| Data migration | Member CSV import | Free migration up to 300 rows; larger migrations are paid packages |
| Paid price | Free up to 300 members, then S$49 | Solo S$15 per month per store, billed yearly; Grow price for Singapore not shown |
| In-product AI Agent that takes actions for you | Yes: chat to create vouchers, segments, campaigns and settings; approval-gated (you click Approve) | No: manual clicks through dashboards and dropdowns |
| Can customers self-enrol without a cashier? | Yes: customers scan a table/receipt QR or photograph the bill and PEKO's OCR credits points automatically. Cashier is out of the enrolment loop. | Not clear from public documentation |
| Can it earn points from other POS receipts? | Yes: AI OCR reads receipts from any POS (KiotViet, iPOS, Sapo, MISA, PosApp, Toast, Square). No POS swap or API required. | Not clear from public documentation |
| Can someone who did not pay join? | Yes: anyone present scans the in-venue QR to join and receives a joining reward | Not stated in public documentation |
| Redeem rewards on online orders? | Yes: the same balance redeems online and in-store | Not stated in public documentation |
| How many automated message types? | 10 types, including points- and voucher-expiry reminders | Not stated in public documentation |
| Abuse controls when customers claim their own points? | Yes: rate limits, receipt age and value thresholds, 90-day brand-wide duplicate-image matching, risk-tiered actions | Not stated in public documentation |
Earn by snapping any receipt (no POS integration)
Snap any receipt. Points land in seconds. Works with any POS that prints a receipt.
Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Whole table joins (Group Check-In)
The whole table joins, not just the one who pays. 4 guests = 4 members.
Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Change setup by chatting with an AI Agent
Prompt it. PEKO does it. Approval-gated: the Agent proposes, you decide.
Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Setup time
About 15 minutes, self-serve
Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Starting price
Free up to 300 members, then S$49/month; 0% commission; cancel anytime
Not stated in the Idle sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Appointment booking
Yes: online appointment booking with staff calendars and automatic reminders
Loyalty
Points, stamps, tiers, vouchers on every plan
Points, stamp cards and tiers at checkout: Grow plan, not Solo
Idle pricing, checked on 2026-10-07
Earn without a cashier step
Yes: Receipt Scan
Not stated on Idle's site (checked Oct 2026)
Group / friends enrolment
Yes: Group Check-In
Not stated on Idle's site (checked Oct 2026)
AI
AI Agent sets up rebooking and win-back campaigns from one message
AI WhatsApp agent books, replies and reminds; AI restock agent
Idle product, checked on 2026-10-07
Data migration
Member CSV import
Free migration up to 300 rows; larger migrations are paid packages
Idle pricing, checked on 2026-10-07
Paid price
Free up to 300 members, then S$49
Solo S$15 per month per store, billed yearly; Grow price for Singapore not shown
Idle pricing, checked on 2026-10-07
In-product AI Agent that takes actions for you
Yes: chat to create vouchers, segments, campaigns and settings; approval-gated (you click Approve)
No: manual clicks through dashboards and dropdowns
Can customers self-enrol without a cashier?
Yes: customers scan a table/receipt QR or photograph the bill and PEKO's OCR credits points automatically. Cashier is out of the enrolment loop.
Not clear from public documentation
Can it earn points from other POS receipts?
Yes: AI OCR reads receipts from any POS (KiotViet, iPOS, Sapo, MISA, PosApp, Toast, Square). No POS swap or API required.
Not clear from public documentation
Can someone who did not pay join?
Yes: anyone present scans the in-venue QR to join and receives a joining reward
Not stated in public documentation
Redeem rewards on online orders?
Yes: the same balance redeems online and in-store
Not stated in public documentation
How many automated message types?
10 types, including points- and voucher-expiry reminders
Not stated in public documentation
Abuse controls when customers claim their own points?
Yes: rate limits, receipt age and value thresholds, 90-day brand-wide duplicate-image matching, risk-tiered actions
Not stated in public documentation
Idle is loyalty only. PEKO + LOOP is loyalty and a free POS.
Idle: loyalty from S$15 per month. PEKO + LOOP: PEKO loyalty free up to 300 members, plus LOOP POS free for one outlet, since 2019.
Where PEKO is weaker
- PEKO does not run inventory, gift cards or packages: keep your current system for those, or pair PEKO with it, and let PEKO handle booking-to-rebooking retention.
- PEKO has no Singapore or Malaysia merchant base to cite yet; the 3,000 onboarded venues are in Vietnam. Local pricing, WhatsApp support and onboarding help are included on every plan.
- Receipt Scan records the visits clients choose to claim, not every till transaction. Receipt and counter QR prompts plus AI rebooking reminders raise the claim rate.
From your chat request to a live merchant setup, 5 steps.
Here's the before/after workflow: the strikethrough line is how other tools make you do it, the line below is how PEKO's AI Agent does it for you.
Click a step to run it in the demo below.
Sample prompt
“20% off weekday lunch for lapsed diners we haven't seen in 30 days, cap 1 per customer.”
Ready-to-paste voucher request: drop it straight into the AI Agent chat.
Questions merchants ask at each step
Ask, review, approve.
Describe the voucher you want in one sentence. PEKO's AI Agent drafts the full configuration; you approve it with one click, no 10-step form.
Your request
Or try one of these:
Proposed voucher
FAQ
Is Idle's loyalty included on every plan?
No. Idle's pricing page lists loyalty, gift cards and vouchers, packages and marketing automations on the Grow plan, not the Solo plan (checked October 2026). PEKO's loyalty is on its free plan up to 300 members.
Can I use Idle and PEKO together?
Yes. Keep Idle for operations and add PEKO's QR at the counter so clients earn by snapping their receipt; PEKO's AI Agent then runs rebooking and win-back campaigns. No integration is needed.
Do I still need to learn a complicated dashboard?
No. PEKO's embedded AI Agent takes actions for you (creating vouchers, building segments, drafting campaigns) inside the product. You describe what you want in chat, the Agent configures it, and you only click Approve. The full dashboard is there when you want it, but on any given day you can run PEKO by messaging the Agent.
Does Idle have receipt scanning?
The Idle sources cited on this page do not mention receipt scanning (checked October 2026), so ask Idle directly. With PEKO: Guests photograph the receipt your POS already prints. PEKO's AI reads the total, items, receipt number, date and time, and credits points in seconds. It works with any POS that prints a receipt, with no integration project and no cashier step, so enrolment no longer dies at peak hour.
Can a whole table join Idle's loyalty programme?
The Idle sources cited on this page do not describe a whole-table sign-up (checked October 2026). With PEKO: Every guest at the table scans one QR and joins in about 10 seconds with a welcome reward. Four guests become four members you can reach again, instead of one. Traditional programmes only ever enrol the payer.
Can I set up Idle by chatting with AI?
The Idle sources cited on this page do not mention an AI agent that builds setup from a message (checked October 2026). With PEKO: No more hunting for buttons to create one voucher. Tell the embedded AI Agent what you want in plain language, for example "20% off for regulars who haven't visited in 3 weeks, WhatsApp only, cap 500 redemptions", and it builds the voucher, segment or campaign for you. You review and click Approve; nothing goes live without you. The same AI watches for regulars who are drifting and drafts the win-back for you, 24/7.
Does receipt-scan loyalty miss transactions?
Receipt Scan records every sale a guest chooses to claim, whatever the payment method, including cash and e-wallets that payment-linked loyalty misses. Guests are prompted by the QR on the receipt and the table, Group Check-In enrols everyone at the table, and the AI Agent can send a reminder to members who stop claiming. Full answer: heypeko.com/answers/does-receipt-scan-loyalty-capture-every-sale
Does PEKO have appointment booking?
Yes. PEKO includes online appointment booking with staff calendars and automatic reminders, alongside Receipt Scan loyalty, Group Check-In and the AI Agent, so a salon or spa can take bookings and bring clients back from one place.
Does PEKO include a POS?
Not by itself: PEKO runs alongside any POS. If you also want a POS, LOOP POS, our sister product, is free for one outlet, and PEKO customers get 50% off LOOP's paid plans.
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Comparator
PEKO vs Advocado
Advocado's strength is phone-number enrolment: guests join with a number, no card or app, and a campaign tool sits behind it. Its Singapore Pro plan is S$200 per outlet a month billed yearly. PEKO costs less per outlet and drafts the campaigns for you to approve.
Comparator
PEKO vs Aptsys
Choose Aptsys if you are buying a new POS, kiosk or QR-ordering system and want loyalty built into it, with up to 50% grant support for eligible SMEs. Choose PEKO if you are keeping the POS you have, want the whole table enrolled through Group Check-In, and want an AI Agent that sets up rewards and win-backs from one message, with a free plan.
Sources & citations
These public sources support the competitor pricing, feature, and limitation claims in this comparison.
- Idle, pricing
Solo S$15/month/store billed yearly. Checked 2026-10-07.
- Idle, pricing (plan features)
Loyalty and marketing on Grow not Solo; 300-row free migration. Checked 2026-10-07.
- Idle, product
Online booking, waitlists, AI WhatsApp agent, loyalty at checkout. Checked 2026-10-07.
- PEKO, pricing details
PEKO's listed plan prices and free-plan limit.
How we compare
Every comparison on this site is written from a fair market analyst stance, no hit pieces, no puffery.
- Public materials first. Competitor pricing, feature, and limitation claims are sourced from their own website, marketing collateral, and public reviews (Capterra, G2, App Store). See the Sources & citations block above.
- Acknowledge real strengths. Each page includes a "Choose Idle when" block that names the scenarios where the competitor is genuinely the better pick.
- Same feature grid. Every comparator uses the same feature axes (pricing, setup time, messaging channel, churn prediction, data ownership, and more) so you can read across vendors on the same grid.
- Refreshed when the market moves. This page was last updated on 10/07/2026. Spot a stale claim after a competitor pricing or feature change? Email hello@heypeko.com and we'll refresh it.
- No pay-to-rank. We take no payment from competitors to shape rankings or hide weaknesses. If you spot bias, tell us and we'll rewrite the section.
Ready to try PEKO instead of Idle?
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