Best performance management software in 2024

Zoho People’s dynamic performance management product gives you a simple and streamlined way to assign goals, provide valuable feedback to your employees and create custom appraisals that encompass both self-reviews and multi-rater reviews from people who actually work side by side with the employee. The provider’s mid-tier Premium plan ($3.50 per user per month, dropping to $3 if billed annually) gives users access to all of its HR products (employee onboarding, time off management, shift scheduling and attendance marking to name a few), plus the performance management products.

Some of the most impressive features of Zoho People’s performance management platform include its 360-degree feedback (enabling feedback from employees’ coworkers as well as their managers), the nine-box matrix (providing clear insights into current performance and future potential), integration with the Xoxoday rewards and incentives platform, and a tool to manage salary increases.

The easy-to-use interface and impressive product offerings make Keka HR a great option. Its performance management tools include 1:1 meeting tools, continuous feedback and flexible goal setting in addition to people and performance analytics, a skills matrix and an employee survey tool. It also offers some very unique tools like an employee expression wall, designed with a Facebook-like feel.

Keka HR is more expensive than many of its competitors, as performance management features aren’t included in its two lower-tier plans (Foundation and Strength). In its highest tier — the Growth plan at $22 per employee per month — users gain access to all performance management tools in addition to core HR and payroll functionalities. As such, we think this provider is best for larger businesses with larger budgets.

Lattice offers advanced features that provide insights beyond just simple data and numbers. The nine-box matrix compares an employee’s current performance with their potential to help gain an understanding of what future leaders you have among your team. Its 1:1 management tool (highly praised in user reviews) is another standout feature; it’s easy to use and intuitive, helping managers facilitate stronger relationships and set achievable goals with their employees.

Its entry-level plan ($11 per employee per month) gives users access to all of the performance management features, including performance and talent reviews, custom question templates, goals and OKR (objectives and key results) tracking, reporting and analytics, and even employee praise/recognition tools. In addition to its standard performance management tools, Lattice also offers add-ons that provide additional features geared toward employee engagement and growth (for an additional $4 per employee per month each) and compensation (for an additional $6 per employee per month).

FlowyTeam offers a ton of great performance management tools that are easy to use and integrate into your everyday processes and loved by customers (in our research, it had the highest overall customer rating of any provider on our list). It offers OKR goal tracking, a 1:1 meeting tool (similar to a chat box that provides a simple way for managers and employees to communicate), 360-degree review functionality and an employee rewards feature.

Pricing starts at $5 per employee per month (dropping to $4.17 per month if paid annually) and includes access to all of the performance management tools. FlowyTeam also offers additional discounts for 50-plus users and has a “personal” account that is free.

AssessTEAM offers a large range of features at very competitive prices for businesses that have one through 500 employees. It has three plans; pricing starts at $3 per user per month and goes up to $5 per user per month (you can save 20% if billed annually). Included in its entry-level plan are 360-degree evaluations, goal setting for teams and individuals, and white-glove setup with unlimited phone support.

While there’s no nine-box matrix or OKR goal-setting option, AssessTEAM’s other evaluation and engagement products are on par with many of its competitors. The software integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and 200-plus other systems, making it simple to utilize the performance management tools while staying with the other tools you know and love.

Synergita provides tools and features for every step of the performance management process as laid out in its 16 performance management building blocks. It starts with a simple employee profile before moving to goals, progress tracking, check-ins and 1:1s, rewards and peer recognition, and performance reviews. The process continues with training, skill mapping, performance improvement plans, smart promotions and, finally, reporting and analytics.

Synergita has four different plans (Engage, OKR Growth, Perform Plus and All-In-One) that range from $2 to $12 per employee per month when billed annually. The first three plans focus on different aspects of performance management (engagement, performance and goal-setting), while the fourth plan combines them all.

Motivosity’s software is focused primarily on rewards and recognition. While it offers many of the features that the other software on our list does — including a 1:1 tool, employee NPS and surveys, hiring support, etc. — the rewards program is definitely the standout offering. It takes a unique and modern approach to employee rewards with its ThanksMatters card, which gives employees instant access to financial rewards, and “trendy” gift cards (Amazon, Apple, Zappos, etc.).

The recognition and rewards tool starts at $4 per employee per month, with an available add-on for all employee insight tools for an additional $2 per employee. The pricing page has a free calculator that gives prospective customers the ability to enter user count and which tools they want to get a full understanding of pricing. It’s important to note, however, that there is a minimum $3,000 licensing spend to use their software (which is the equivalent of about 40-60 employees, depending on whether or not you want the insights add-on).

15Five offers a host of features focused on employee engagement and performance, including all the tools you’ll need for employee surveys, performance reviews, goal management, and reporting and analytics. Its highest-level plan includes some basic tools to improve the performance of your managers, such as manager effectiveness assessments and training resources. Furthermore, 15Five offers a separate plan just for manager training and coaching that includes courses and group or 1:1 coaching sessions.

The provider’s engagement and performance plans start at $4 per employee per month (paid annually), increasing to $16 per employee per month for the highest plan. The manager training plans are more expensive (from $99 to $750 per manager per month), but might be a good investment if you’re looking to create a world-class management team.

TriNet Zenefits is a household name that offers everything from payroll to risk mitigation, in addition to performance management tools on par with the other providers in our guide. Its customizable template library makes all of its feedback, 360 reviews and peer reviews simple and easy to use. The review template, for example, allows you to customize everything from the type of review to the distribution (who the review will be shared with), frequency and review dates.

There are three pricing plans (Essentials, Growth and Zen) that range from $10 to $33 per employee per month, with a 20% discount available for annual billing. The performance management tools aren’t available at the lowest tier, so to access those tools you must have at least the Growth plan ($20 per month per employee, or $16 per month when billed annually).

With gamification, social collaboration tools and other collaborative features, Engagedly is designed to be a performance management tool for the modern workplaces, which includes remote workforces. The software allows you to manage the performance of your team, wherever they are located, in a fun and effective way with points, badges and a leaderboard.

Its base plan gives access to performance appraisal tools, real-time feedback, 360 reviews, surveys and other low-level performance management tools. There are three different add-ons available for rewards and recognition, growth and learning, and mentoring tools. Pricing is custom, so you must contact sales. However, there is a $5,000 annual minimum.