Short answer: BLOK is free because the software is built so that one more shop costs us almost nothing, and because we will make money later from an optional Pro plan for bigger businesses, not from your customers' data. There is no catch: no trial that turns paid, no credit card, no contract, and we never sell data. The free plan, the complete loyalty card without an app plus your free digital staff, stays free forever.
- Free forever, no trial period
- No credit card to start
- We never sell your data
- No contract, stop whenever you want
How can a loyalty card really be free?
A healthy suspicion: when something is free, you are often the product. At BLOK that is not the case, and the reason is dull but honest. BLOK is software. There is no card, no terminal and no courier involved, so whether one baker or a thousand bakers use it, the cost of one more shop is close to zero for us. That is why we do not need to charge you to keep the door open. The free plan is free forever: unlimited customers and check-ins, no trial that expires, no credit card and no setup fee.
How do we make money today?
From one thing: an optional Pro plan (19 euros a month) for bigger businesses that want everything unlimited and fully automatic. That is the whole revenue side. A small share of shops wants more and picks Pro, and that pays for the rest. Whoever starts free simply keeps working free. Pro adds, it never takes away anything you already use. The free plan includes the complete card and the free digital staff, with no small print.
Our view: you should earn, not pay
We actually think a local shop should not pay for something like this, but earn from it. That is why the free plan stays free, and why we are looking at ideas where BLOK pays you instead of costing you. Two ideas we are working on:
An ad box you earn a share of
A small box on your loyalty card page that you switch on yourself and whose revenue you share in. Off by default, your customers' data never goes into it, and we never play shops against each other: your competitor around the corner will not appear on your page.
Contests and actions, paid by others
Saving actions, contests or events across several shops, paid for by brands, advertisers or a town, not by you. The more local shops join, the more fun it gets for the customer, and you share in the results.
These are ideas, not small print. They only arrive if you switch them on yourself, and what you use today stays free either way.
What “free” does not mean at BLOK
The free business model of some tools is your data. Ours is not. Our privacy statement puts it in writing: we never sell or trade your data, full stop. Here is what “free” often means, and what we mean:
| What “free” often means | At BLOK |
|---|---|
| A trial that quietly turns into a subscription | Free forever, no countdown |
| Credit card details up front | No payment details to start |
| Your customer data is the business model | Never: no data trading, your data stays in the EU |
| A contract with a notice period | Stop whenever you want, your customers and balances stay |
Why we do it this way
A local baker, coffee shop or butcher should not need expensive software or a marketing agency to bring customers back. That is why the free plan is free, and why next to the loyalty card there is also free digital staff that wins back lapsed customers, proposes actions and writes your posts and review replies, all approved by you with one click. BLOK is made in Leuven, Belgium, by real people; you write directly to the person who builds it, not to a help desk.
Trying it yourself is the most honest test
The best way to check that this is true is to try it. Because the free plan is free forever, you can run a loyalty card without an app alongside what you do today, with no risk. You start online in about five minutes, without a credit card and without hardware. Prices are in euros: BLOK is made and sold in Belgium, and works anywhere a browser does.
Read the Dutch version of this article.