Dec 7, 2022
20 min read

10 Best 15Five Competitors You Should Try in 2023

In this article:

‍15Five is one of the most popular performance management software tools that offers, yet a lot of businesses seek 15Five competitors. If you are not a big fan of 15Five or you simply need an alternative, here is a list of 10 of the most popular 15Five competitors you should try out.

15Five

What is 15Five?

15Five is a tool that includes features intended to help business owners and team leaders track, assess and offer feedback to their subordinates. It is a two-way tool that allows employees to raise red flags in the areas where things do not work as expected.

Some of the most commonly used features 15Five include:

  • Feedback management (including 360-degree feedback);
  • Weekly reports about objectives and the completion rate;
  • 1-on-1 meetings (managers and employees);
  • Objective tracker.

Why Effy is the number 1 15Five competitor

At this point, when it comes to selecting the top 15Five competitors, one cannot avoid Effy. It is crucial to offer evidence supporting the fact that this platform has all it takes to be the number 1 alternative to Slack and 15Five. So, let’s explore the tool in greater detail. 

1. Effy - Performance Management Software

Effy alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 5/5

Utility: 5/5

Value for money: 5/5

Effy is one of the most popular competitors to 15Five. It is a performance management software tool that allows you to track your team’s activity. Your team members will enjoy weekly check-ins to make sure everything goes as planned. This feature is a part of the performance review process.

 

Continuous and comprehensive performance reviews

One of the most popular functions included in the Effy performance management platform is 360-degree feedback. The level of employee engagement fluctuates according to the effectiveness of your company. Therefore, the manager must assess productivity and come up with a relevant and helpful strategy to improve the efficiency of the processes.

360-degree feedback allows you to analyze data from the reports and create interesting feedback for each employee working in your organization. What is more, you can provide your subordinates with real-time feedback using the mobile app.

Interesting integrations for employee feedback - Slack and Microsoft Teams

The Covid 19 pandemic has created new and complex problems that require modern solutions. Many companies found themselves in positions where half of the employees must work remotely. Therefore, the team members working from home must be somehow connected with those still in the office.

Effy allows you to integrate Slack and Microsoft Teams into your workflow. Using Slack, you can keep track of your goals, tasks and objectives. Each employee can be added to the platform and assigned to a particular task. 

For example, you can create a new task called Marketing Project for MyShop and assign one of your employees to perform the competitor analysis, another one to come up with the relevant keywords for your approach and so on.

On the other hand, Microsoft Teams offers you a wide variety of communication features that lets users connect in real-time. This enhances the organizational culture and strengthens the productivity strategy you integrate into your workflow. 

Microsoft Teams is an excellent way of keeping the engagement level at the highest levels, as it allows colleagues to connect every day and see each other. This daily check-in keeps their morale high, even when half of them are currently working from home.

User satisfaction

‍ When introducing Effy as the best 15Five competitor, we have to explain what boosts user satisfaction when working with the platform. Clients prefer Effy because of the following:

  1. Effy comes with a flexibility of the entire performance review process configuration
  2. In contrast to 15Five and other similar tools, Effy is an affordable tool with a great quality-to-price ratio
  3. Effy’s free package extends over standard 14-days trial, which also makes it one of the free alternatives to 15Five
  4. Effy comes with a library of pre-made templates that make performance review and 360-feedback way easier

These aspects urge people to choose Effy for conducting performance reviews. Now, let’s look further into Effy vs.15Five comparison to prove that the former is the best 15Five competitor on the market. 

Effy vs 15Five

Comparing those two software applications may get pretty complicated. Even though 15Five is one of the most popular tools in its segment, Effy is an all-in-one platform that allows you to complete multiple actions without worrying about integrating different solutions. 

According to many online forums, Effy is considered the best alternative to 15Five, since it offers an impressive number of features with a fair pricing system.

In terms of actual functions, Effy is the older brother of 15Five. It allows you to gather data from your users in real-time, perform accurate tracking and come up with a relevant solution strategy for your employees to integrate. 

The pricing of the two tools is quite similar. However, the value for money offered by Effy is way better because this particular software tool lets clients choose what functions they need and avoid wasting money on what they do not need.

9 notable 15five competitors

Objectively comparing software applications requires a lot of technical skills and a great understanding of the initial problem. Our team includes experts in the Human Resources field and software testers that can properly compare how apps are structured and the actual utility of their features.

By interviewing over 750 business owners and managers that use Effy daily to manage their teams, we have identified a common starting point: people are very different and each employee requires feedback to decide whether their approach towards work is the most effective one or not. Therefore, using performance management software lets business owners come up with relevant information about their employees' work habits.

On the other hand, comparing software tools requires standard criteria to assess their level of efficiency objectively. Before coming up with the final form of each software tool's review, our experts use it for at least 14 days so they can get used to all the features available. After testing all the functions, we assess three distinct criteria, as follows:

  • Ease of use;
  • Utility;
  • Value for money.

What is more, when assessing the level of effectiveness of the most popular performance management tools, we also consider user reviews as well as other resources. For example, we read tens of articles explaining the ups and downs of each tool and then compare to what we have found testing them ourselves. However, the point of view of each writer is left out of the comparison. We only use the technical information included in each article.

Some of the articles we have read before coming up with the final version of the top 10 15Five competitors are:

 

Now let’s look closer at each of the alternatives we have chosen:

2. StaffCircle

StaffCircle alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4/5

Utility: 4/5

Value for money: 4.5/5

StaffCircle is a software application intended for companies with up to 5 000 employees, including small businesses and enterprises. This Objectives and Key Results Management (OKRS Management) tool offers a wide variety of functions, and can be considered a good 15Five competitor. For example, you can use templates to create personalized feedback for your subordinates.

When it comes to pricing, StaffCircle does not offer a pay-per-employee subscription model. Therefore, you will have to pay a yearly flat rate. Thanks to the mobile app, you are always in touch with your company. On the other side of the barrier, your subordinates will surely enjoy the ability to perform daily check-ins to make sure everything goes along the plan, using the integrated mobile app (Android and iOS).

StaffCircle vs 15Five

Both software applications come up with a free trial, so you as a business owner can assess the level of effectiveness generated by integrating them into your workflow. StaffCircle comes up with an attractive mobile app that produces a higher level of employee engagement. Regarding pricing, the two applications have significant differences - StaffCircle requires yearly payments, while 15Five requires monthly payments. 

3. Reflektive

Reflektive alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4/5

Utility: 4/5

Value for money: 4.5/5

Reflektive is a complex platform and a 15Five competitor offering an interesting solution to business owners who want to assess their company's processes and come up with relevant reviews for their employees. This system is an excellent alternative to applications that let managers send performance reviews for their subordinates and includes many functions that are not strongly tied to this field.

In terms of pricing, this application is quite expensive, being especially useful for enterprise-level companies with up to 10 000 users. However, this tool may not be exactly what you are looking for when it comes to employee feedback and performance management. For example, say you have a marketing company. If you want to get a platform that integrates with your system and lets you control your entire business, Reflektive is a suitable option. But if you are only looking to provide your users with an interesting and helpful performance review, maybe you should look out for other options.

Reflektive vs 15Five

These two tools are very different. Reflektive is meant to control most of the areas included in your organization, while 15Five is intended to provide your team with a valuable performance review.  If you want to manage your entire business, 15Five is not the best solution. Therefore, you should stick to Reflektive. However, if you only have particular needs related to performance management, 15Five will do the job just fine.

4. Hibob

Hibob alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4.5/5

Utility: 4.5/5

Value for money: 4.5/5

HiBob is a complex and effective Human Resources Information System (H.R.I.S.). As a 15Five competitor, this solution offers an all-in-one platform you as a business owner can use to manage your company. For example, using HiBob, you can initialize the entire talent acquisition process, track employment, assess the level of engagement your employees have and conduct meetings with your subordinates.

What is more, this robust platform lets you enjoy performance management functions, such as 360-degree feedback, customized reviews for each employee, and team activities planning that boost the level of engagement. In matters of pricing, HiBob is not that transparent. The vendor does not mention any price on the website, so you will have to ask for it yourself after analyzing and deciding the exact functions your company needs.

HiBob vs 15Five

Compared to 15Five, HiBob offers a free version. This membership plan includes some elementary functions available to a limited number of users. 15Five does offer a free trial but does not have a free version. These two tools are very similar in matters of performance management functions. Both offer customized reviews for the employees and personalized improvement plans. What is more, HiBob also offers methods of boosting the level of engagement.

5. WorkTango

WorkTango alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4.5/5

Utility: 4/5

Value for money: 4.5/5

WorkTango is an all-in-one platform that offers bidirectional reviews. On the one hand, business owners can come up with interesting feedback for their subordinates and identify relevant improvement plans. On the other hand, subordinates can generate reviews and identify gaps in the workflow of the company. All these are on a single platform.

This performance management tool includes a mobile app that lets team members complete surveys and increases the level of active listening inside your business. Besides the essential functions of performance review, WorkTango also includes onboarding solutions for new employees and OKRS Management functions.

WorkTango vs 15Five

WorkTango is an interesting 15Five competitor. It offers a wide variety of functions, not necessarily related to detailed performance reviews and 360-degree feedback. 15Five is a problem-oriented solution, while WorkTango is a more complex alternative. Both software applications let business owners increase employee engagement, using practical progress tracking and organizational goal management functions.

6. BetterWorks

Betterworks alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4.5/5

Utility: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5

BetterWorks is one of the most popular 15Five alternatives, as it offers similar functions. Using the integrated Review section, you can create, optimize and share 360-degree feedback with each employee hired in your company. However, it does not include an Improvement Plan function nor a Compensation Management feature.

The major downside of BetterWorks is that it does not offer a free trial version for the business owners to try out. Therefore, you will have to assess your company's needs before making the purchase. Another flag about this alternative is that the vendor does not offer a clear and transparent pricing plan. You will have to ask for a customized quote based on your company's requirements and expectations.

BetterWorks vs 15Five

BetterWorks is the younger brother of 15Five and a 15Five competitor at the same time. The first includes interesting functions but does not have that much history in the performance management field. On the other hand, 15Five has both useful features and a long-lasting history. When it comes to assessing the Review section, both applications offer the same functions. The only difference is that you will not be able to send improvement plans to your subordinates.

7. PeopleForce

PeopleForce alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 5/5

Utility: 4.5/5

Value for money: 4/5

PeopleForce is a software application created for HR leaders, business managers and company managers that strive for the highest levels of efficiency. Many functions included in this performance management tool let team members stay tuned and get constant check-ins with their colleagues. For example, the Peer Appraisals function allows you to offer valuable feedback to other members of your team.

Other interesting functions that are commonly used by many business owners when taking advantage of PeopleForce include:

  • Continuous performance tracking;
  • Individual development plans;
  • Skill assessment;
  • Review cycle tracking.

PeopleForce vs 15Five

15Five is a tool that offers way more functions compared to PeopleForce. What is more, the pricing of PeopleForce is higher than its alternatives. Therefore, it may be a good idea to properly assess your company’s exact requirements and expectations before actually making a choice. If you are unsure whether a tool is suitable for you and your team, feel free to ask for a free demo of all the available features to check this 15Five competitor before using it.

8. Culture Amp

Culture Amp alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4/5

Utility: 4.5/5

Value for money: 5/5

Culture Amp is a tool intended for medium-sized and enterprise-sized companies. Small businesses may not fit this expense in their budget, especially if we are talking about startups with small budgets. However, when it comes to the available functions, Culture Amp excels. It offers various features, such as 360-degree feedback, compensation management, review cycle tracking and many other functions.

Using the Self Assessment section, each employee can come up with a short review of their performance and identify the gaps. It is commonly said that You are your most harsh critic. This is the statement that guided the creation of this personal review function.

Culture Amp vs 15Five 

Culture Amp offers more functions compared to 15Five. However, the latter is more transparent in the pricing and (according to unofficial sources) is a bit less expensive. Yet, if you strive for effective performance reviews and the highest level of employee engagement, Culture Amp is one of the best 15Five competitors.

9. Leapsome

Leapsome alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4.5/5

Utility: 5/5

Value for money: 4/5

Leapsome is an all-in-one software application intended for companies with up to 1 000 employees. It is a great system that allows you to track the performance of your subordinates by setting particular organizational goals and then assessing the progress. It relies on a set of tasks that you as a business owner must set up. As each employee completes a particular task, it increases progress, working towards achieving the business goal.

In matters of reviews, Leapsome excels. It offers 360-degree feedback, as well as customized improvement plans for your employees. After identifying a performance gap in your workflow, you can develop solutions for your subordinates to implement and then assess the results.

Leapsome vs 15Five

Leapsome and 15Five are two very similar software applications. The functions related to performance reviews offered are handy if you are a team leader or a business owner. When it comes to pricing, the difference is minimal. Leapsome is an alternative for the software applications that offer efficient management functions and employee review features. However, depending on what you need, you should choose one of the two alternatives, as they have slightly different perspectives. Similarly to Culture Amp, Leapsome is in the list of top 15Five competitors.

10. Lattice

Lattice alternative to 15Five

Ease of use: 4/5

Utility: 4.5/5

Value for money: 5/5

Lattice is one of the employee engagement software applications that allow business owners to assess their organization's efficiency level. Besides the most basic goal management functions that enable you to set particular objectives for your organization, it also includes progress tracking features. Therefore, you can track what each employee has achieved during a pre-defined period and get a 360-degree review about how they performed.

This is a great way to manage your team, especially when dealing with employees with a low engagement level. Please note that the level of engagement usually affects the overall performance of the team. Therefore, using the functions offered by Lattice is an effective way of keeping your team under control and offering customized feedback for each employee included in the workflow.

Lattice also offers a feature called Pulse Survey. This function lets you connect with users and offer them the opportunity to check in daily with their colleagues. Using the platform you can help them develop a more robust organizational culture, resulting in a higher level of performance.

Lattice vs 15Five

When it comes to comparing Lattice and 15Five, the two software applications are pretty similar. Their functions are the same, allowing managers to assess their team members and increase employee engagement. Weekly check-ins are a great way of keeping your subordinates connected.

What is more, both platforms let you provide your employees with continuous feedback. It is a crucial part of the performance management process. Both 15Five and this 15Five competitor offer free trials, so you do not have to worry about paying in advance without getting a better understanding of the essential features you will make use of.

Conclusion: 15Five Alternatives & Competitors

To put everything in a nutshell, there are a lot of 15Five competitors on the market. However, depending on what you are looking for, you might want to try out different software applications before choosing. We highly recommend taking advantage of all the free demos you can get, as those are great opportunities when it comes to deciding whether a software tool is suitable for your business.

But before making up your mind about what performance management tool to choose, we invite you to try out the new and improved Effy software. It is definitely an alternative to consider if you are looking for good value for money.

Pictures - freepick

What’s Effy software?
Performance review
Easily launch review cycles in your way, track progress.
360 degree feedback
Collect feedback from peers and managers. Identify strength and improvements areas.
Templates
Choose templates that are right for you. Start review process in 15 min.
1:1s
Collaborate effectively with team meeting agenda, action items and meeting notes
Personal development plan
Develop your people by providing them an explicit plan to the next level. Track goals progression.
AI generated insights & Analytics
AI will generate an extended summary for every employee, including top strength, areas to improve and action plan.
March 20, 2023
6 min read
15 People Management Skills Every Great Manager Should Have
Performance
Read More
March 16, 2023
3 min read
AI in HR: How You Can Use It to Take Your HR to the Next Level
Performance
Read More
March 13, 2023
10 min read
Developing a Career Path Framework: a Step-by-step Guide
Performance
Read More
Set up your first
Performance Review with Effy
Use effy for free
Use this template for free