You’ve probably used or wanted to try out Betterworks to measure your employee progress because it’s a widely used performance management platform with an extensive range of features that can keep teams on track.
Despite its comprehensive service, Betterworks tends to have higher pricing than other options, exceeding the budget limits for many companies. Plus, if your company is new to the OKR goal-setting framework or prefers a solution with a streamlined onboarding process, Betterworks may not be the best fit.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the 5 Betterworks competitors to help you choose the best performance management solution that will help you:
Support the professional development of your workforce with various useful features
Save money and energy on adopting new tools from scratch with a streamlined onboarding process and integrations
Not waste time on solutions that aren’t a great fit for your business’s needs
Criteria for selection
Goals and OKRs. An ideal employee performance management platform should have robust goal-setting features that align with the company's strategic objectives. It enables measurable Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and provides a roadmap for tracking progress, helping team members grasp how they contribute to the organization's success.
Feedback and performance reviews. A platform that facilitates ongoing feedback and enables timely performance reviews helps create a culture of open communication and development. As a result, employees are more motivated and productive, which ultimately translates into improved business outcomes, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and potentially increased revenue for the company.
Meeting tools. Efficient meeting tools within a performance management platform streamline the scheduling and conducting of meetings. These can include one-on-one settings, performance check-ins, and task management sessions. Meeting tools enable structured conversations, and progress is continuously monitored.
Integrations. The ability of a performance management platform to integrate with other systems is another important aspect to consider. For example, integration with calendar applications and communication tools (like Slack, Microsoft Teams, AI tools, et cetera) ensures seamless data flow and reduces manual admin work.
Interface and design. A user-friendly interface and design contribute significantly to the user experience and adoption of a performance management solution. Intuitive navigation will make it easier for employees to understand and use the system effectively. Above all, ease of use will encourage regular system interaction and facilitate smoother adoption across the organization.
Customer support. Access to reliable and responsive customer support ensures that any issues or questions related to the platform are addressed promptly. Whether it’s technical assistance, system training, or general inquiries, a dedicated support team helps users maximize the software’s potential and minimizes potential work disruptions.
Pricing. While the features of a performance management platform are a priority, you should also consider its cost-effectiveness. The pricing structure should align with your organization’s budget and provide value for the investment. Striking a balance between features and cost ensures that the company receives the desired functionality without unnecessary financial strain.
Plai is a people and performance management software designed to create a high-performing culture within scaling organizations. It offers flexible tools to coach and guide teams towards success, making the process of gathering feedback and organizing review cycles easier and more efficient.
Main features include:
Goal-setting
Performance appraisals
One-on-ones
Peer-to-peer feedback to nurture positive feedback culture
Growth plans for career development
Praise
Integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams, calendar, HR systems, and identity management providers
Employee engagement surveys
Dashboards and analytics
AI-based features
Plai also provides complimentary onboarding, training, data migration, and a dedicated customer success manager.
Plai offers the best value for your money compared to other HR products available on the market. Unlike many competitors, the platform doesn’t bind you to annual contracts; instead, you have the flexibility to choose a monthly subscription and can cancel it at any time.
Moreover, their customer support stands out with an impressive average response time of just 3 hours. You also have the option to request a live product demo and a free onboarding call, as well as access their live chat services through their help center for any urgent queries.
To explore its capabilities, new users can take advantage of a 14-day free trial.
Pros:
User-friendly and intuitive platform
Suitable for companies of all sizes
Dedicated real-time support team
Highly flexible and customizable according to your company’s needs
Enhanced OKR and performance review features
Actionable insights
Cons:
Not too many integration options, though they are being added continuously
Pricing model
Plai offers the following subscription plans:
Starter — $2.4/user/month (best for small teams and startups)
Pro — $4/user/month (best for small and mid-sized businesses)
Enterprise — custom pricing (best for 1000+ ppl companies)
Leapsome is another popular performance enablement platform that enables you to establish a connection between goals, regular feedback processes, employee development, and compensation decisions to drive performance through its five modules:
What sets Leapsome apart is its customizable nature, allowing you to tailor the platform to fit your organization’s specific needs. You have the flexibility to choose the modules that are most relevant to your company.
Pros:
Responsive customer support in 13 different languages
Great scalability
Allows customization of goal-setting and survey features
Cons:
Continual enhancements may occasionally result in minor software glitches
Currently lacks a mobile app
The range of features offered may present a learning curve
Reflektive is a continuous performance management platform designed to help businesses streamline their employee feedback and performance review processes. It provides a platform for continuous feedback, recognition, and goal tracking to enhance employee engagement and development.
Integration with other popular tools and platforms
Cons:
The pricing is higher compared to some of its competitors
Users may experience a learning curve when adopting the platform
The goal-setting editor comes with limited functions
Pricing model
Reflektive’s pricing is provided on a quote basis, tailored to each organisation's specific requirements. Customers are invited to contact Reflektive directly for detailed pricing information.
BambooHR is primarily known as a human resources information system (HRIS), but it also offers some features related to employee engagement and performance management. Team leaders have the ability to create engagement surveys and monitor their team’s motivation and well-being over time. Additionally, they can opt to add BambooHR’s separate Performance Management plan, which allows for setting goals and managing performance appraisals.
However, compared to other options on this list, BambooHR is more focused on tools for HR professionals.
BambooHR key features include:
Survey tools and templates
Performance reviews
Goal management
Reporting and data analytics platform
Hiring and onboarding tools
Employee learning and training
Pros:
Employee self-service functionality
Mobile app availability
Extensive range of integrations
Built-in HRIS capabilities
Cons:
Mainly an HRIS platform
Not enough feedback and recognition tools
No alignment features
Limited customization options
Pricing model
BambooHR offers two paid plans — Essentials and Advantage. Pricing is based on a per-employee model, but specific costs are not readily available. A free demo option is also offered.
15Five is another, more comprehensive people success platform. The solution provides features that target engagement, development, and performance within an organization. A notable highlight of 15Five is its strong emphasis on OKRs, making it well-suited for businesses that follow a goal-oriented methodology. However, the software has limited support for other types of goal management, which means organizations that don’t use OKRs may not fully utilize its capabilities.
Top features of 15Five include:
Survey tools and templates
Reporting and analytics
Performance reviews
Feedback tools
Development paths for succession planning
OKR management
Meeting tools and templates
Pros:
Modular pricing structure
Integration with LearnUpon LMS
Mobile app
Cons:
Limited focus on OKR goal management
Lack of training tools and dedicated compensation management
Unintuitive user interface leading to a steep learning curve
Pricing model
15Five offers a 14-day free trial and four paid plans, billed annually. The plans include:
Engage — $4/employee/month (surveys and analytics)
Perform — $8/employee/month (review and feedback tools)
Focus — $8/employee/month (OKR management)
Total platform access — $14/employee/month
5 main Betterworks competitors: comparison table
Platform
Betterworks
Plai
Leapsome
Reflektive
BambooHR
15Five
OKR and goals
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Through integrations only
Higher tiers only
1:1 meetings
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Performance reviews
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
360° feedback
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Praise and employee recognition
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Limited
Limited
Real-time feedback
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Integrations
Yes
Yes
Limited
Yes
Yes
Yes
Easy onboarding and navigation
Learning curve
Yes
Learning curve
Learning curve
Yes
Learning curve
Real-time support
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Conclusion
After evaluating the best alternatives and main competitors to Betterworks, Plai emerges as the top alternative. Plai’s user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and emphasis on design make it an ideal choice for managing performance effectively and upping your company’s culture score.
For an ambitious company culture of facilitating connection through continuous check-ins, career pathing, development plans, and high-performance talent management for the entire workforce, Plai provides a holistic performance management solution.
Sign up today for a free trial and let Plai enhance your daily management tasks.
FAQ
What is Betterworks used for?
Betterworks is used as a performance management software that helps organizations track, manage, and improve employee performance.
What is an OKR in Betterworks?
OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. In Betterworks, OKRs are a goal-setting framework used to align individual and team goals with the overall objectives of the organization.
Is Betterworks anonymous?
Betterworks provides the option for users to provide and request feedback and engage in performance-related conversations anonymously. This can enable teams to give and receive honest feedback. However, the anonymity feature may vary depending on how organizations configure their Betterworks platform.
Founder of 3 products and product development agency @Uptech before 25. Use and consult about OKRs, performance management, and team leadership for 4+ years.
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