12 Best Performance Management Software of 2025

Employee performance management is no longer just about yearly reviews. It is a system that helps teams stay aligned, motivated, and productive. Companies that do this well see good results.

A study by Bersin by Deloitte found that organizations with strong performance management practices are 1.5 times more likely to beat their peers financially.

But, a huge problem is that traditional methods like spreadsheets and manual check-ins doesn't allow room for scaling. As teams grow, managers need to track progress, and give feedback more quickly than expected.

This is where performance management software platforms can make a difference. These platforms simplify the process, reduce admin work, and give leaders the insights they need to support employees better.

We’ve rounded up 12 of the best performance management software platforms to help you make an informed decision. You’ll learn what makes each platform stand out, along with its key benefits so you can decide which one fits your organization best.

12 Best Performance Management Software of 2025

Each of the following performance management software carries the necessary capabilities and features you'd require to effectively manage and enhance your organization's performance.

1. ThriveSparrow

ThriveSparrow is a performance management platform designed to connect individual goals with business outcomes. It gives managers the tools to guide employees, and employees the clarity to grow in their roles. By combining feedback, reviews, and goal tracking in one place, it makes performance management less of a chore and more of a continuous process.

Key Features & Benefits

• Continuous Feedback: Make feedback timely and useful. Employees and managers can share coaching and recognition in the moment instead of waiting for annual reviews.

• Setting Goals and OKRs: Align team and individual goals with company priorities. Clear objectives keep employees focused and give leaders full visibility into progress.
• Streamlined Reviews: Visually appealing reports give instant takeaways on employee strengths and improvement areas. Moreover, managers save time, and employees get feedback they can act on.
• Development Plans (PDPs): Create structured growth paths. Employees map future skills, and managers spot training needs to support career development.

Pricing Details

ThriveSparrow offers 4 pricing plans,

Engage: $3/employee/month

Kudos: $2/employee/month

Performance: $5/employee/month

Goals [OKRs}: $3/employee/month

If you don't know which plan is right for you, consider getting a free trial.

Signup for free

2. factoHR

factoHR is a comprehensive HR and performance management platform that helps businesses align employee objectives with organizational goals while saving time through automation. By combining performance tools with core HR functions like payroll and attendance, factoHR streamlines operations and gives teams more time to focus on growth.

Key Features & Benefits

• Measure performance with goals: Set various measurement parameters like numbers or stars against each goal to measure goals in multiple dimensions.
• Informative dashboard: Get a bird's eye view of employee performance ratings and identify who performs well, and who needs training.
• Flexible review cycle: Set and lay back with factoHR. Configure the review cycle, approval hierarchy, types of incentives, and employees to be considered.
• Easy accessability: With the mobile application, manager can create goals, carry out review cycles at their convenience from anywhere.
• Payroll-linked:  Calculate salary and incentives based on the performance data, helping engage and motivate employees.

Pricing Details

factoHR offers the starting core plan at INR 4999 for 50 employees and requires INR 69 for each additional employee.

3. BambooHR

BambooHR is a solid choice for small-to-mid sized teams who want performance management tools that feel human, not like extra work. It integrates nicely with other HR functions and emphasizes simplicity, feedback, and alignment.

Organizations with 50-300 employees who want a unified HR platform (payroll, time off, performance, etc.) without using many disconnected tools.

Key Features & Benefits

• ‍Integrated HR Suite: Get a complete picture of your workforce. BambooHR combines performance management with HR data, giving leaders holistic insights into employee performance and growth.
• Automated Review Cycles and Reminders: You can set up recurring review cycles and goal progress checks. The system sends automated reminders so reviews don’t fall behind, helping managers stay on schedule.
• 360-Degree & Peer Feedback Options: BambooHR supports feedback from multiple sources — peers, direct reports, etc. This gives employees a more rounded view of how they’re doing, and helps managers identify strengths and gaps.
• Reports & Insights: The platform generates performance reports — tracking goal completion, feedback cycles, and assessments. These insights help you see which teams are thriving, which ones need support, and where performance trends are heading.
• Customizable Performance Reviews: Tailor review cycles to your organization’s needs. Whether you run quarterly check-ins or annual reviews, BambooHR makes it easy to adapt the process to your culture.‍
• Employee Self-Service: Empower employees to take ownership of their development. With self-service features, they can set goals, request feedback, and stay actively engaged in their growth.

Pricing Details

BambooHR offers a 7-day free trial so you can test the platform. For full pricing, you’ll need to contact their team directly for a custom quote.

4. Lattice

Lattice is a full-suite platform built for organizations that want to raise their performance game — not just with reviews, but with ongoing feedback, growth, and alignment. It supports small teams all the way up to large enterprises, offering tools that help managers, HR, and employees work more clearly and intentionally.

Key Features & What Makes It Useful

• Performance Reviews & Talent Reviews: Lattice streamlines formal reviews and helps structure conversations about long-term potential. It helps companies avoid vague feedback by making performance conversations more consistent.
• 1:1s, Weekly Updates, Feedback & Praise: Managers can run regular check-ins (1:1s) and give real-time feedback or praise. This keeps performance visible and supports continuous improvement rather than waiting for annual reviews.
• OKRs & Goal Tracking: You can set company, team, and individual objectives, track progress, see updates across the organization, and ensure alignment.
• AI-Powered Insights & Reports: Lattice includes dashboards, trend reporting, and tools to spot bottlenecks or risks. Leaders can use these reports to make informed decisions about talent, development, and performance.
• Performance Improvement Plans & Continuous Coaching: For cases where someone is struggling, Lattice allows you to set up improvement plans and follow up with coaching or feedback, helping to get performance back on track.

Pricing

Lattice provides a pricing plan starting at $11 per user per month, with additional features available in premium plans.

5. Leapsome

Leapsome is an end-to-end HR platform built to combine performance, feedback, learning, and goals in a people-first way. It’s designed for teams that want ongoing growth, alignment, and actionable insights.

What Makes Leapsome Strong

• All-in-One HRIS + Performance Tools: Leapsome handles core HR tasks (employee records, payroll, time tracking, onboarding) alongside performance management features like reviews, 1:1s, feedback, and goal tracking. This helps reduce tool silos and keeps data consistent.
• Goals & OKRs + Feedback & 1:1s: The platform makes tracking OKRs or objectives transparent across teams. Combined with frequent feedback, praise, and structured one-on-ones, teams stay aligned and managers can intervene early when targets slip.
• Engagement, Surveys, and Learning: You can regularly survey your workforce to measure engagement, gather insights, and feed that data back into development programs. Leapsome also supports learning modules to build skills based on feedback.
• AI-Powered Insights & Coaching: Their “Leapy AI” features turn raw data into useful recommendations — like spotting which teams are lagging, suggesting next steps, or helping manager coaching. This reduces blind spots and keeps things moving.
• Customizable Workflows & Strong Integrations: Leapsome supports flexible review templates, permissions, and workflows. It also integrates with tools you may already use like Slack, calendars, payroll, and HR systems. That makes rollouts smoother.

Pricing Details‍

Book a demo with Leapsome to learn about custom pricing for your organization.

6. 15Five

15Five offers a full performance management suite focused on feedback, fairness, and growth. It provides tools that help companies run better review cycles, spot high-performers, and keep employees engaged.

Key Features & What Makes It Useful

• Holistic Review Cycles: You can set up review cycles in as little as 15 minutes. It supports multiple sources of feedback (managers, peers, direct reports) to give a more rounded view of employee performance.
• Calibration & Reporting: Helps remove bias by allowing managers to calibrate ratings across departments. Reports let you see performance by role, department, or demographic group so decisions on pay/promotions can be fairer.
• Compensation & Career Paths: Integrates performance with compensation decision-making and lets employees see career paths so they know what is needed for next levels.
• AI-assisted Review Tools: Provides support for writing reviews, flattening bias, and making feedback faster and more meaningful.

Pricing Details

15Five's Perform plan starts at $10 per user per month, with combined features of Engage available at $16 per user per month.

7. Engagedly

Engagedly is a robust performance management software that emphasizes employee engagement through gamification and social collaboration. Engagedly’s performance review module focuses on fairness, growth, and smart feedback. It’s built for organizations that want a system that supports ongoing improvement, insights, and alignment across all levels.

Key Features & Strengths

• Custom Review Templates & Personalized Process: You can choose how often to run reviews, adjust rating scales, set skip-level reviews (letting employees be reviewed by someone above their manager), and use different workflows for different teams.
• Fairness & Talent Identification: Engagedly helps reduce bias with calibration tools (so ratings are consistent across departments) and supports 9-box assessments to spot leadership potential.
• Continuous Feedback & 360-Degree Reviews: It supports multi-rater feedback (peers, direct reports, managers), and lets employees give or receive feedback continuously. This helps keep performance visible throughout the year, not just during reviews.
• Development Plans & Growth Support: From development recommendations to personalized growth paths, the platform keeps feedback actionable by helping employees know where to improve and how.
• AI & Analytics Support: Engagedly includes advanced metrics and analytics to track performance trends, identify gaps, and help managers make better decisions using data rather than guesswork.

Pricing Details

Engagedly starts at $5 per user per month that comes with Goals and OKRs as well.

8. Culture Amp

Culture Amp Perform is a people-centric platform built to support continuous feedback, recognition, and data-driven growth. It helps organizations reduce bias, align goals, and keep performance conversations frequent and fair. Best for teams ready to move beyond annual reviews and build a more transparent, agile performance culture.

Key Features & Strengths

Pricing Details

You need to contact their Sales team for a custom quote.

9. ClearCompany

ClearCompany offers a robust performance management platform built to help companies streamline reviews, strengthen alignment, and grow employees in meaningful ways. ClearCompany gives you flexible review cycles, strong analytics, and automation so you can run performance reviews more easily and fairly. Best for companies with diverse teams and review types who want to reduce manual overhead and boost clarity.

Key Features & Strengths

• Custom Review Cycles & Templates: ClearCompany allows you to run quarterly, semi-annual, annual, or new-hire reviews. You can build your own review flows or use pre-built templates. It also supports 360-degree reviews, goal-based, role-based, and competency reviews.
• Workflow Automation & Participation Tracking: It automates many administrative tasks: sending reminders, tracking cycle progress, handling different participant roles. That helps ensure reviews happen on time and that participation is high.
• Mobile & Multilingual Access: Employees and managers can access reviews on mobile devices, in their preferred language. Goals, recognition, and performance progress are also visible, which helps with transparency and engagement.
• Goal Planning & Continuous Feedback: The platform emphasizes tools for setting and aligning goals with company strategy, followed by frequent feedback and informal coaching to keep things moving forward.
• Reporting & Analytics: ClearCompany includes dashboards and drill-downs for insight: goal alignment, manager scoring, cycle progress, performance trends, 360 reviews, and “9-box” reporting. These help leaders identify high performers, monitor trends, and make informed decisions.

Pricing Details

Get a quote from ClearCompany on 3 different modules.

10. Small Improvements

Small Improvements is a lightweight performance-management platform for teams of 10 – 350 employees. Used by 1,000+ teams at companies like Duolingo, Zapier, and SoundCloud, it streamlines reviews, 1-on-1s, objectives, and 360 feedback without the setup burden of larger HR suites.

Key Features & Strengths

• All relevant info in one view: Managers can see objectives, past achievements, peer feedback, and 1:1 meeting notes without leaving the review form. This helps reduce recency bias by giving context from across the review period.
• Expectation alignment tool with 2D graphs: Employees and managers mark their view on a customizable x-axis and y-axis. Comparing dots helps reveal differences in perception and expectations, making review conversations more grounded.
• Flexible review & check-in settings: You can customize questions, hide or show self-assessments, schedule reminders, and adjust workflows to match your review process.
• Guided reflection content: The platform provides templates and prompts so employees know how to reflect clearly and thoughtfully, not just fill in blanks.
• Dashboard for tracking progress: See who has started or completed reviews, send nudges to late managers, export rating data, and monitor alignment and participation.

Pricing Details

Small Improvements starts at $3 per user per month and includes a 30-day free trial with no minimum seat count.

11. Trakstar

Trakstar Perform is performance management software built to help organizations define expectations clearly, track goals continuously, and engage employees with regular feedback. It aims to reduce admin burden and help HR teams build accountability, alignment, and growth paths across the organization.

Key Features & Benefits

• Performance Reviews Aligned with Business Goals: Trakstar lets you create review cycles that tie directly to organizational goals and competencies. Everyone knows what’s expected.
• Continuous Feedback & Check-Ins: Trakstar supports frequent manager check-ins, note taking, and real-time feedback rather than waiting for formal reviews.
• Automatic Reminders and Workflow Automations: The system sends reminders for review cycles, approvals, and other steps so performance processes don’t get stuck. Integration with communications tools ensures people stay on track.
• Reports, Insights & Benchmarking: Detailed dashboards give insights into performance trends, participation, and status. Trakstar also offers benchmarking so you can compare performance metrics internally or against peer groups.
• Job Descriptions & Role-based Expectations: You can store job descriptions centrally and tie them directly to reviews or goal setting. This helps reduce ambiguity about what roles expect.
• Metrics on Impact: Trakstar shares stats like thousands of reviews completed, many feedback notes taken, reduction in turnover and disengagement in some customers.

Pricing Details:

Trakstar doesn't offer upfront pricing, so you'll need to ask them for a quote.

12. PerformYard

PerformYard is designed to reduce the HR burden while making performance management more straightforward and meaningful. It works well for organizations of many sizes that want both structure and flexibility.

Key Features & Benefits

• Reviews & Check-Ins: PerformYard supports formal performance reviews (annual, quarterly, project-based) plus frequent check-ins and 1-on-1s. This lets teams keep performance conversations regular, not just limited to big review moments.
• Goal Management: You can set goals (including goal check-ins), cascade goals across teams, track progress, and link them to larger company objectives.
• 360-Degree Feedback & Continuous Feedback: Peer feedback, self-assessment, upward feedback — PerformYard supports these. Employees can also request feedback and managers can give recognition or notes continuously, not just during review cycles.
• Reporting & Analytics: Dashboards show trends, review completion rates, goal progress, etc. These insights help HR/leadership spot issues early, see what’s working, and decide where to support or adjust. performyard.com+1
• AI Enhancements: PerformYard includes AI tools to speed up writing review responses, summarizing feedback, improving tone, etc. These help reduce reviewer fatigue and improve consistency. performyard.com+1
• Customization & Workflow Flexibility: You can import existing review forms or build custom ones. Also, review cycles, question types, visibility settings (who sees what, when), are customizable to match what your company needs. performyard.com
• Ease of Use & Support: Generally rated highly for usability. PerformYard has clean dashboards, reminders/notifications so tasks don’t get missed. Also, dedicated customer success/support help during setup and ongoing use.

Pricing Details

PerformYard pricing starts at $5–$10 per person/month, billed annually.

What is a Performance Management Software?

Performance management software is a digital platform that helps organizations track, evaluate, and improve employee performance. Instead of relying on manual reviews or scattered tools, it brings everything into one place. Most platforms include features such as:

• Goal setting and progress tracking
• Continuous feedback between managers and employees
• Performance reviews and check-ins
• 360-degree feedback from peers and leaders
• Analytics and reporting to spot trends
• Development and training plans
• Recognition and rewards to boost motivation

Features to Look for In a Performance Management Software Platform

The right performance management software doesn’t just track goals — it makes it easier for managers and employees to work smarter together. A strong system should help you monitor, evaluate, and improve performance without unnecessary complexity. Here are the key features to look for:

1. User-Friendly Interface
   Software should be simple enough for both managers and employees to use without hours of training. A clean, intuitive design makes adoption much smoother.
2. Customizability
   Every company has its own way of measuring success. Choose a platform that can be tailored to your organization’s goals, values, and KPIs.
3. Goal Setting and Alignment
   Aligning goals with performance management is what makes it a complete performance management system. This makes it easy to set clear goals, connect them to company objectives, and track progress. This alignment keeps everyone focused on what matters most.
4. Regular Feedback Mechanism
   Employees don’t want to wait a year for feedback — 80% prefer to receive it in the moment. The best platforms enable continuous check-ins, helping employees improve steadily and feel more supported.
5. 360-Degree Feedback
   This feature collects feedback from managers, peers, direct reports, and sometimes clients. It gives a well-rounded view of performance, encourages self-awareness, and helps employees compare their own self-assessments with peer perspectives.
6. Reports and Analytics
   Robust reporting turns raw performance data into meaningful insights. With visual dashboards and trend analysis, managers can quickly spot high performers, identify skill gaps, and monitor team-wide progress. This data helps leaders make informed decisions about promotions, training investments, and succession planning. For employees, seeing progress in numbers reinforces achievements and highlights where to focus next — making performance management less subjective and more actionable.

Benefits of Using a Performance Management Tool

A performance management tool does more than streamline reviews — it helps organizations grow stronger, keep employees engaged, and make smarter decisions. Here are the key benefits:

Organizational Performance

• Strategic Alignment: These tools connect individual goals to company-wide objectives. When employees see how their work supports the bigger picture, their efforts become more focused and impactful.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Instead of relying on gut feelings, managers get real performance data. This helps with workforce planning, resource allocation, and shaping long-term strategies.
• Boosted Productivity: Clear goals and regular feedback cut down on confusion. Bottlenecks are easier to spot, and best practices can be shared across teams, leading to higher output.

Employee Development

• Targeted Skill Building: Tools highlight skill gaps, making it easier to create personalized training and development plans.
• Career Path Visibility: Employees get clarity on what they need to move forward — skills, milestones, and achievements. This visibility motivates them to stay and grow.
• Culture of Learning: Frequent feedback cycles keep growth ongoing, not limited to annual reviews. This builds a culture of continuous improvement.

Engagement and Retention

• Higher Engagement: Recognition and regular feedback show employees their work matters, which drives motivation and commitment.
• Lower Turnover: Clear growth opportunities and transparent evaluations reduce frustration, improving retention and cutting hiring costs.
• Better Work-Life Balance: By simplifying processes and reducing admin overload, these tools free up time and make flexible work arrangements easier to manage.

How to Implement a Performance Management Software?

Rolling out performance software works best when you treat it like a change program, not just a new tool. Use this simple plan:

1. Clarify the outcome‍

Don’t just say “we want better performance reviews.” Spell out what better looks like. Start by asking:

• What’s broken today? (e.g., review cycles drag on for months, feedback is vague, goals aren’t aligned)
• What should change? (e.g., complete reviews in 4 weeks, track goals quarterly, managers give at least 2 feedback touchpoints per month)
• How will we measure success? Define success metrics before rollout. For example:
  • Shorten review cycle time by 30%
  • Achieve 80%+ completion on quarterly check-ins
  • Link 90% of employee goals to company OKRs

By setting clear outcomes, you avoid vague expectations and create a yardstick to evaluate whether the software is working.

2. Map the process you have today

‍List your current steps: goal setting, check-ins, reviews, calibration, rewards. Note what’s working and what causes friction. This tells you what to keep, fix, or retire in the new system.

3. Secure executive leadership buy-in

Ask one senior leader to be the visible owner. Have them announce the “why,” set expectations, and model usage. Sponsorship reduces resistance and speeds adoption.

4. Choose owners and champions‍

Assign an admin (HR or Ops), a small pilot group of managers, and a few “champions” in each department. Champions answer questions and collect feedback in the first months.

5. Start with a focused pilot‍

A pilot isn’t just a test run — it’s where you debug processes and build champions. Choose 1–2 departments that represent different working styles (e.g., a sales team for fast-moving goals, and an engineering team for project-based goals). Run a full cycle with them: goal-setting, check-ins, and reviews.

During the pilot:

• Track adoption rates (how many set goals, how often check-ins happen, completion rate of reviews).
• Collect structured feedback from managers and employees. Ask: What was easy? What was frustrating? What should change?
• Document quick wins (e.g., “weekly check-ins cut meeting time in half”) and pain points (e.g., “rating scales felt confusing”).

A successful pilot gives you data, stories, and allies to scale the rollout. Without this step, you risk launching company-wide with avoidable friction.

6. Set up the essentials

• Configure goal templates and rating scales
• Turn on 1:1 agendas, check-ins, and reminders
• Connect core systems (HRIS, SSO, Slack/Email)
• Define data permissions and retention rules

7. Train by role, not just features‍

Too many rollouts fail because training focuses on buttons to click rather than jobs to be done. Instead, design training for each role’s needs:

• Managers: Show them how to set SMART goals with their team, give constructive feedback in the system, and use reporting to spot coaching opportunities. Emphasize time saved compared to their old process.
• Employees: Teach them how to write clear goals, request peer or manager feedback, and prepare for reviews. Keep it practical — focus on why the system makes their work easier and their contributions more visible.
• HR/Admins: Cover workflow setup, data security, calibration tools, and reporting dashboards. HR needs confidence in customizing templates, handling exceptions, and troubleshooting.

Tip: Replace long slide decks with short role-based videos, quick reference guides, and live Q&A sessions. People learn faster when they see what matters to their job.

8. Communicate early and often‍

Share a simple rollout timeline, FAQs, and “what changes for me.” Use quick Loom videos or slides. Keep updates flowing during the first cycle.

9. Measure, learn, and iterate‍

Review adoption metrics monthly: goal coverage, check-in completion, review cycle time, feedback volume, user satisfaction. Adjust templates, reminders, and training based on what you see.

10. Scale and lock in habits‍

Roll out to the rest of the org. Add advanced pieces later (360s, career paths, compensation links) once the basics run smoothly. Celebrate teams that hit high adoption and share their playbooks.

Recent Trends in Performance Management

The performance management software landscape is undergoing significant transformation. Here are the most impactful trends reshaping how organizations approach employee performance:

1. Shift from Annual Reviews to Continuous Feedback

Source: (ClearCompany, 2023)

Annual performance reviews are on the decline—dropping from 82% usage in 2016 to just 54% in 2019. In contrast, organizations that implemented continuous feedback saw a 40% boost in employee engagement and 26% improvement in overall performance.

This shift reflects a growing demand for real-time feedback that’s more relevant, actionable, and better aligned with today’s agile, fast-paced work environments.

2. Rise of AI-Powered Performance Tools

Source: (PeopleFluent, 2024)‍

Companies using AI in performance management are twice as likely to excel compared to those that don’t. AI enables more objective evaluations, personalized development plans, and helps eliminate bias in assessments.

As AI adoption grows across industries, performance reviews are becoming smarter, faster, and more personalized—leading to better outcomes for both managers and employees.

3. Manager-Employee 1:1s Are Replacing Traditional Reviews

Source: (HR.com, 2024)‍

41% of organizations now prioritize frequent manager-employee conversations over static annual reviews. Weekly check-ins foster stronger relationships, increase clarity around goals, and make it easier to course-correct quickly.

This trend is driven by the need for ongoing development, especially in hybrid and remote settings where communication gaps are common.

4. Continuous Feedback Is Driving Retention and Engagement

Source: (Betterworks, 2020)‍

Organizations that deliver frequent, meaningful feedback achieve 44% better retention and 39% higher talent attraction. As employee expectations evolve, especially among Gen Z and millennial workers, they now expect feedback weekly or even daily.

This trend is about creating an environment of trust, learning, and psychological safety.

5. Personalized Development Plans Are Linked to Higher Retention

Source: (IBM, 2023; Unilever, 2023)‍

Personalized Development Plans (PDPs) are becoming the norm, not a nice-to-have. Companies using PDPs report 40% higher performance, 30% better satisfaction, and up to 82% improvement in retention. As skill gaps widen and career mobility expectations grow, employees value individual growth over blanket performance metrics.

6. Bias in Traditional Reviews Is Fueling Calls for Change

Source: (SHRM, 2023; Textio, 2023; Bonusly, 2023)‍

Research shows women receive 22% more personality-based feedback and are 28% less likely to receive top performance ratings. Black and Latinx employees receive 2.4x more non-actionable feedback than their white counterparts. These inequities are pushing organizations to adopt more structured, transparent, and data-driven review systems to ensure fairness and reduce bias.

Conclusion

Choosing the right performance management software is one step closer toward building a culture of continuous improvement and long-term success. The 12 solutions we’ve covered show the variety of features and pricing models available, giving organizations flexibility to find the best fit.

As you evaluate your options, focus on the tools that match your company’s culture, support your growth goals, and make performance conversations easier and more meaningful.

With the right platform in place, you’ll be better equipped to develop talent, boost engagement, and build truly high-performing teams.

We wish you the best in building and retaining high-performing teams.