15Five Review: Stop Reactive HR Data & Drive Strategic People Growth

Is your team feeling disengaged more often?

If you’re evaluating performance management software, it’s likely because your current tools just aren’t helping managers actually motivate or develop people.

This turns daily check-ins and reviews into pointless box-ticking that wastes everyone’s time — and you feel the drag in employee motivation and even higher turnover.

That’s where 15Five comes in, with a platform built to do more than just grade performance. 15Five’s solution connects real feedback, engagement insights, and recognition tools to help you actually boost morale and get measurable buy-in.

In this review, I’ll break down how 15Five actually fixes that disconnect between what your people need and what most HR software delivers.

You’ll discover in this 15Five review exactly how it works, its key features, pricing breakdowns, and how it stacks up against alternatives like Lattice.

Read on if you want the features you need to finally support your managers — and stop losing talent to burnout.

Let’s dig in.

15Five Overview

Based in San Francisco since 2011, 15Five helps HR leaders build highly-engaged, high-performing organizations. They are committed to driving tangible business results through human-centered management and continuous feedback cycles.

I find they primarily target mid-market and growing companies ready to move beyond ineffective annual reviews. What truly sets them apart is their core philosophy of building a stronger company culture, achieved through consistent weekly check-ins, structured 1-on-1s, and genuine peer recognition.

Their 2021 acquisition of Emplify was a smart move, adding robust engagement analytics to their platform. You’ll see the clear impact of this powerful integration throughout this 15Five review.

Unlike broader platforms, 15Five concentrates on improving the manager-employee relationship and fostering continuous development. This focus makes the tool feel intentional and less overwhelming for your teams, making it a practical solution they will actually use.

They work with thousands of forward-thinking organizations, from startups to industry leaders like Pendo and HubSpot, who need to scale their positive culture alongside significant business growth.

Their current strategic priority is manager enablement, embedding powerful training and AI-powered coaching tools directly into the platform’s daily workflow. This addresses the critical market need for upskilling leaders to effectively retain your company’s most valuable talent.

Now, let’s dig into their features.

15Five Features

Tired of disconnected performance reviews and engagement tools?

15Five features provide an integrated solution for performance management and employee engagement, designed to boost team effectiveness. Here are the five main 15Five features that drive human-centered leadership.

1. Engagement Surveys

Struggling to understand what employees really feel?

Without clear insights into employee sentiment, it’s hard to create a workplace where everyone thrives. This can lead to disengagement and turnover.

15Five’s psychometrically validated engagement surveys offer actionable insights, complete with benchmarking and eNPS. From my testing, the dynamic heatmaps and filterable data are incredibly helpful for identifying specific areas for improvement. This feature helps you quickly pinpoint disengagement drivers.

This means you can make data-informed decisions that genuinely improve the work environment and ensure employees feel heard.

2. Performance Reviews (Best-Self Review®)

Are performance reviews just a dreaded formality?

Many review processes feel like a “box-ticking” exercise rather than a chance for real growth. This often stifles continuous feedback and development.

The Best-Self Review® facilitates comprehensive 360° feedback, competencies, and a talent matrix. What I love about this approach is how it supports co-creating career paths and plans, making reviews more meaningful. This feature fosters open dialogue and continuous improvement.

The result is your team gets a clear path for growth, transforming reviews into powerful development conversations.

3. OKRs & Goal Management

Is your team struggling to stay aligned with company goals?

Without clear objectives and visible progress, individual and team efforts can become misaligned. This makes it hard to achieve company-wide priorities.

15Five enables organization-wide OKR and goal tracking, allowing users to set and manage professional and personal goals. This is where 15Five shines: goal progress updates can integrate with Slack and other tools, keeping everyone informed. This feature ensures alignment across the entire organization.

This means you can clarify and track objectives for everyone, ensuring your team is always focused on what truly matters.

4. Manager Tools & Enablement

Are your managers equipped to truly lead their teams?

Many managers lack the specific tools and training to build strong relationships and drive performance effectively. This often impacts team morale and productivity.

15Five provides a suite of tools like check-ins and 1-on-1 meeting agendas, plus a “Best-Self Kickoff.” From my testing, the AI-powered coaching and on-demand learning through “Transform” are game-changers for upskilling managers. This feature significantly improves manager effectiveness.

So, as a leader, you can empower your managers to drive high performance and engagement across their teams effortlessly.

5. Recognition (High Fives)

Does your company culture lack daily appreciation?

When good work goes unnoticed, morale can dip, and employees might feel undervalued. This often weakens company culture over time.

15Five’s “High Fives” feature allows employees to publicly recognize peers for going above and beyond. These digital high fives are published publicly within the app, which I found genuinely boosts morale. This feature promotes appreciation and strengthens company culture.

This means you can cultivate a more positive and appreciative work environment where everyone feels seen and valued for their contributions.

You’ll appreciate how these 15Five features work together to create a cohesive performance and engagement platform, rather than a collection of separate tools.

15Five Pricing

Worried about hidden software costs?

15Five pricing is clear and tiered, based on user count and billed annually, making it straightforward to understand your investment for performance and engagement.

Plan	Price & Features
Engage	$4/user/month (billed annually) • Engagement surveys • Benchmarking & eNPS • Custom assessments • AI-powered predictive impact • Automated onboarding/exit surveys
Perform	$10/user/month (billed annually) • All Engage features • AI-assisted performance reviews (360° feedback) • OKRs & Goal Management • Check-ins & 1-on-1 agendas • Recognition (High Fives)
Total Platform	$16/user/month (billed annually) • All Engage & Perform features • HR Outcomes Dashboard • Select “Transform” microlearnings • Manager Effectiveness Indicator
Manager Products (Add-on)	$49/user/month (billed annually) • On-demand learning library • Courses from experts
Kona (AI Coach Add-on)	$29/user/month (billed annually) • Personalized AI-powered coaching • Meeting insights & leadership nudges (Requires Total Platform)

1. Value Assessment

Smart value for your money.

From my cost analysis, what impressed me is how 15Five packages essential performance and engagement tools without forcing you into an overly complex system. The tiered pricing scales naturally with your needs, ensuring you pay for relevant features.

This means your monthly costs stay predictable as your organization evolves, aligning with your strategic HR budget.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Time to explore their offering.

15Five offers a helpful 14-day free trial, giving you ample time to explore their platform and test key functionalities before committing. What I found valuable is how this trial helps you assess feature fit directly within your team’s workflow.

This lets you validate the user experience and potential impact on your team before committing to the full pricing.

3. Plan Comparison

Choosing your ideal plan.

The Engage plan is perfect for organizations prioritizing engagement surveys, while Perform adds robust performance management tools like OKRs. What stands out is how Total Platform consolidates all features for a comprehensive HR solution, including advanced analytics.

This tiered approach helps you match pricing to actual usage requirements, ensuring your budget aligns with specific business goals.

My Take: 15Five’s pricing strategy is transparent and module-based, making it suitable for growing mid-market organizations seeking scalable performance and engagement solutions.

The overall 15Five pricing offers clear value for enhancing employee performance and engagement.

15Five Reviews

What do users actually think?

I’ve analyzed numerous 15Five reviews from various platforms to give you a clear picture of what real customers experience, providing balanced insights into their feedback.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users generally seem very content.

From my review analysis, 15Five maintains consistently high satisfaction ratings, often above 4 stars on platforms like G2. What stood out in customer feedback is how users appreciate its user-friendly interface and the positive impact it has on team dynamics.

This suggests you can expect a generally positive experience with its core features.

2. Common Praise Points

Team communication consistently impresses users.

Users frequently praise 15Five for significantly improving communication and clarity across teams, making feedback and progress sharing easier. Review-wise, I found the “High Five” feature is particularly loved for boosting morale and recognizing achievements publicly.

This means you can anticipate better team alignment and a more appreciative culture.

3. Frequent Complaints

Initial interface overwhelm sometimes arises.

While largely positive, some users found the 15Five interface a bit overwhelming at first, requiring time to navigate. What I noticed in reviews is how limited customization for reports is occasionally mentioned, desiring more flexibility for specific workflows.

These issues seem to be minor adjustments rather than significant deal-breakers for most.

Overall, 15Five reviews show a strong positive sentiment, particularly regarding communication and recognition features, with minor usability adjustments noted by some.

Best 15Five Alternatives

Which 15Five alternative is right for you?

The best 15Five alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities regarding performance management and employee engagement.

1. Lattice

Need a more holistic HR solution?

Lattice makes more sense if your company needs integrated HRIS and extensive external feedback options beyond 15Five’s performance and engagement focus. From my competitive analysis, Lattice provides broader HR functionality and external reviews, though it typically requires more setup time.

Choose Lattice when you prioritize a comprehensive HR solution with integrated HRIS capabilities.

2. Culture Amp

Seeking deeper employee sentiment analytics?

Culture Amp works better for larger enterprises or data-driven cultures needing detailed analytics on employee sentiment, going beyond 15Five’s progress trends. What I found comparing options is that Culture Amp offers more in-depth survey analytics, making it a powerful alternative for large-scale engagement initiatives.

Consider this alternative when your organization prioritizes robust reporting for detailed employee sentiment analysis.

3. Leapsome

Prioritizing customization and employee development?

Leapsome often proves superior for organizations with dedicated HR personnel who can leverage its sophisticated customization and advanced employee development features. Alternative-wise, Leapsome focuses on intuitive UX and deep customization, including external reviews and advanced scheduling, which 15Five lacks.

For your specific needs, choose Leapsome when advanced customization and development are paramount.

4. Workday Peakon

Already using Workday for enterprise HR?

Workday Peakon is the ideal choice if you are a large organization already invested in the Workday ecosystem and require deeply integrated employee listening. I found that Workday Peakon integrates seamlessly with existing Workday HRIS, providing a more unified approach than a standalone alternative like 15Five.

You would choose Workday Peakon if you need integrated employee experience within your Workday environment.

The best 15Five alternatives depend on your specific business size and integration needs rather than just core features.

15Five Setup

Is 15Five implementation a major undertaking?

15Five implementation is surprisingly straightforward, with many users praising its intuitive design and immediate sandbox access. This 15Five review section sets realistic expectations for your deployment.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Expect a quick, efficient rollout.

15Five offers a streamlined implementation process, which can be completed rapidly for basic setups. What I found about deployment is that many organizations achieve go-live within days, especially HR teams eager to deploy quickly.

You’ll primarily focus on populating data and familiarizing your team, rather than extensive technical configuration.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Minimal technical hurdles to clear.

As a cloud-based SaaS, 15Five has minimal technical requirements, accessible via web browsers and mobile apps. From my implementation analysis, seamless integration with popular HRIS and collaboration tools simplifies data flow significantly.

Your IT team will appreciate the light lift, primarily ensuring proper account provisioning and integration configurations.

3. Training & Change Management

Adoption is intuitive, but preparation helps.

15Five’s user-friendly interface reduces the learning curve, with self-service training modules readily available. From my analysis, high adoption rates are common due to ease of use, but some users note initial feature overwhelm.

Plan for focused introductions to key features and champion a positive culture around continuous feedback for best results.

4. Support & Success Factors

Reliable support smooths your journey.

15Five receives high reviews for its customer support and implementation guidance. What I found about deployment is that their knowledgeable support staff actively assists clients, ensuring a successful adoption process from the start.

Leverage their expertise and dedicated support during business hours to navigate any questions and ensure a smooth rollout.

Overall, your 15Five setup is designed for efficiency and ease, emphasizing quick deployment and high user adoption for immediate value.

Bottom Line

Is 15Five the right choice for your team?

This 15Five review synthesizes my comprehensive analysis, offering a decisive final assessment and clear recommendations on who should use this performance management software.

1. Who This Works Best For

Mid-sized and growing companies prioritizing people-first leadership.

15Five is ideal for organizations that value continuous performance management, employee engagement and strong manager-employee relationships. What I found about target users is that HR leaders seeking actionable dashboards for engagement and retention will find immense value, as will managers needing tools for check-ins and feedback.

You’ll succeed if your company aims to cultivate a positive work environment and high-performing culture through continuous feedback.

2. Overall Strengths

Unmatched focus on continuous feedback and manager development.

The software succeeds by offering intuitive weekly check-ins, robust goal tracking, and unique “High Fives” recognition, fostering a culture of continuous development. From my comprehensive analysis, its manager enablement programs are a standout feature, directly upskilling leaders and improving team performance.

These strengths will translate into improved communication, clearer accountability, and a more engaged workforce for your organization.

3. Key Limitations

Not a comprehensive HRIS solution for all your needs.

While excellent for performance and engagement, 15Five lacks core HR functionalities like applicant tracking or benefits administration. Based on this review, you may need additional integrations with HRIS systems if you’re looking for an all-in-one platform covering full HR processes.

I’d say these limitations are manageable trade-offs for its specialized focus, rather than fundamental flaws in its core offerings.

4. Final Recommendation

15Five is a highly recommended solution for its target audience.

You should choose this software if your priority is building a human-centered, high-performing culture through continuous feedback, recognition, and manager development. From my analysis, this solution shines for companies dedicated to employee growth and strong organizational alignment.

My confidence level is high for mid-sized and growing companies seeking a dedicated performance and engagement platform.

From my comprehensive 15Five review, this platform offers strong value for fostering continuous feedback and manager effectiveness within your organization, but consider its specialized focus.