15Five and Small Improvements serve distinct needs in the performance management space. 15Five is better suited for larger organizations requiring comprehensive performance analytics, sophisticated goal management, and extensive customization options. Its robust metrics tracking and detailed OKR framework make it ideal for companies with dedicated HR teams and complex organizational structures. Small Improvements, conversely, excels for SMBs and startups prioritizing user experience and straightforward implementation, offering superior 1:1 functionality and an exceptionally intuitive interface, though with more limited analytical capabilities.
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15Five vs Small Improvements - Comparison 2025
15Five vs. Small Improvements
Last updated on
Reviewed by Paddy Stobbs
Stackfix Co-Founder & CEO
Advantages of 15Five
15Five is significantly more comprehensive in performance metrics tracking than Small Improvements
15Five offers superior goal management and OKR framework implementation compared to Small Improvements
15Five has stronger customization capabilities than Small Improvements
Advantages of Small Improvements
Small Improvements has superior customer support compared to 15Five
Small Improvements provides a more intuitive and polished user interface than 15Five
Small Improvements offers superior 1:1 meeting functionality compared to 15Five
15Five is best for
- Businesses with comprehensive performance management needs seeking an intuitive, automation-rich platform
- Businesses with a strong focus on continuous feedback and development through 1:1s and reviews
- Who need to automate and schedule sophisticated review cycles
- And/or who need to align individual performance with organizational goals through OKRs
Small Improvements is best for
- Businesses with lean teams seeking an intuitive, manager-driven performance management platform
- Businesses with managers who need to handle performance reviews without dedicated HR support
- Who need an exceptional 1:1 meeting and feedback system
- And/or who need streamlined 360-degree feedback capabilities
15Five is less good for
- Businesses needing external stakeholder feedback and advanced performance improvement planning
- Businesses with complex external stakeholder feedback requirements, such as client-facing teams needing input from customers in their review cycles
- Who need advanced performance improvement planning capabilities integrated directly within employee profiles
- And/or who need AI-powered review question generation for customized feedback templates
Small Improvements is less good for
- Businesses with complex performance tracking needs requiring detailed metrics and customization
- Businesses with dedicated HR departments requiring advanced controls and comprehensive performance analytics
- Who need extensive integration capabilities with their existing tech stack
- And/or who need advanced compensation management tied to performance
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15Five
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Pricing, features & ratings
 Small Improvements |
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| Stackfix Verdict | ||
|---|---|---|
| Functionality | 9 <p>15Five provides a robust performance management solution with nearly all essential features needed in this category. Our testing revealed well-implemented functionality across the platform. The few noteworthy gaps include the inability to create or edit performance improvement plans within employee profiles, no AI assistance for question generation, lack of compensation review and benchmarking tools, and limited options for incorporating external sources in reviews.</p> | 7 <p>Small Improvements provides engaging, intuitive performance management tools well-suited for most SMBs. While it lacks features like detailed performance metrics tracking, AI-assisted analysis, compensation reviews, granular goal-to-objective linking, and performance improvement plans, it excels in usability and functionality focused on frequent manager-driven reviews rather than broad HR initiatives. Exceptionally well designed anytime feedback, 1:1 meetings, and pulse surveys features in particular aid in use by managers instead of requiring dedicated HR resources to manage.</p> |
| Ease of Use | 8 <p>We thoroughly enjoyed using this product. Between the engaging and intuitive interface as well as the easy to set up automations, we found a compellingly powerful software suite relative to its ease of use.</p><p>Using 1-2 modules should be sufficient for a user to feel confident with the platform. With the automations and templates available, we can see limited need to access the configurations of the platform. Instead, users can focus on the actual content of the site such as reviews, feedback, and acting on insights from the data suite.</p> | 9 <p>Small Improvements delivers exceptional day-to-day usability. During testing, we found the platform particularly easy and enjoyable for both employees and managers, with an interface that effectively guides users to appropriate tasks and provides clear direction when setting up new workflows.</p><p>For example, creating a new 360 review involves a simple vertical scrolling interface with distinct card sections for selecting templates, review audiences, scheduling, and other options.</p><p>The admin view proved highly intuitive—something most team managers could likely configure and manage independently when needed.</p> |
| Look and feel | 9 <p>15Five is fantastic at consistently executing a modern and engaging user interface across all its modules and pages. This looks and feels like a platform that has been meticulously bult as a cohesive whole.</p><p>In our own usage, we particularly liked the warm feeling imparted by the UI, and the only thing holding this back from a perfect score could be occasional pops of colour or visual variance to make this comfortable to use for days on end.</p> | 10 <p>Small Improvements features excellent design with an intuitive user experience. Its attractive interface uses consistent card layouts throughout all pages, creating a polished look. The system maintains this consistency even in complex areas like surveys and reviews by using a guided approach.</p><p>The warm color palette and friendly illustrations make the platform approachable, though some larger companies might prefer a more traditional business appearance. Our only minor issue was with occasional dense text on some cards, which can be slightly harder to read.</p> |
| Customisability | 7 <p>15Five offers solid customization options with data sources, appearances, and text inputs, placing it ahead of many competitors though not at the segment's leading edge.</p><p>During testing, we found essential features like company logo uploads and custom question templates.</p><p>However, the platform lacks more granular controls for certain elements including form customization, comprehensive interface branding, and custom data visualisations.</p> | 4 <p>Small Improvements offers limited customization, with minimal options for changing branding, appearance, data visualizations, and page layouts.</p><p>While the cohesive user experience typically comes at the expense of customizability, we expected more flexibility within the platform's feature set.</p> |
| Ease of Setup | 7 <p>15Five provides a straightforward setup process, offering immediate sandbox access to begin implementation. The platform features a category leading HRIS integration list to efficiently populate your data. During actual operation, navigating the goals framework required a brief learning period (approximately half a day), but overall configuration and deployment should require no more than 2 days to complete.</p> | 10 <p>Small Improvements provides exceptional setup and onboarding. Our testing began with a generous 30-day free trial before even booking a demo. This offered immediate access to a populated sandbox with multiple employee viewpoint toggles.</p><p>After just 45 minutes exploring the sandbox, we could confidently navigate the platform, load information, and set up initial reviews within the first few hours. User onboarding is straightforward, with most organizations able to implement their first reviews and recurring surveys within a day. Becoming proficient with the platform takes only an additional day or two.</p> |
| Customer Support | 5 <p>Support access requires navigating through menus to reach an external support page. The support team operates Monday-Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM EST, with a response time target of within 2 business days for all tickets.</p> | 7 <p>We liked the clean and easy to access customer service tab on the platform, offering a chat bubble in the bottom right corner that pulled up several options.</p><p>When we opted to chat, we found a much appreciated label of when support would next be online. When prompted with a question on implementing a feature we weren't sure was available, an AI chatbot responded with some relevant resources. From there, users have the option to then connect to a human.</p><p>In testing, we got a response within an hour of opting to connect to a human.</p> |
| Integratability | 9 <p>15Five features an extensive integration library for HRIS software and connects with management tools like Jira. While custom API integration remains necessary for unlisted software, the platform's robust integration options increase the likelihood of seamlessly importing your employee data.</p> | 5 <p>Small Improvements offers a limited set of native integrations, connecting primarily with common HRIS platforms and Slack for communication. While they provide a Single-Page Application based on a REST API that allows developer teams to connect data with your HRIS, organizations seeking extensive yet ready-to-use connectivity may find integration capabilities challenging.</p> |
| Ease of Migration | 5 <p>We found the typical export functionalities of CSV and PDF within the reports, and some level of integrations with Slack amongst others to bring 15Five's data beyond the software. This is largely in line with the average exportability in the segment.</p> | 5 <p>Small Improvements offers standard data export options, including CSV and PDF formats, along with basic sharing capabilities via link, email, and Slack. There are no exceptional or standout features in its exportability functions.</p> |
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