Effy AI and ThriveSparrow represent two distinctly different approaches to performance management software. Effy AI is the clear choice for small businesses and startups seeking a lightweight, AI-powered review system, excelling in its simplicity and innovative question generation. ThriveSparrow, on the other hand, is better suited to growing organizations and enterprises requiring a comprehensive performance management suite, offering extensive customization options, goal management capabilities, and a broader feature set including pulse surveys and organizational metrics. While Effy AI focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well, ThriveSparrow provides a more complete but complex solution for organizations ready to invest in a full-featured performance management system.
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Effy AI vs ThriveSparrow - Comparison 2025
Effy AI vs. ThriveSparrow
Last updated on
Reviewed by Paddy Stobbs
Stackfix Co-Founder & CEO
Advantages of Effy AI
Effy AI is significantly easier to use than ThriveSparrow for basic performance reviews
Effy AI offers superior AI-powered review question generation compared to ThriveSparrow
Advantages of ThriveSparrow
ThriveSparrow offers superior customization options compared to Effy AI
ThriveSparrow provides significantly more comprehensive performance management features than Effy AI
ThriveSparrow excels at goal management and organizational alignment compared to Effy AI
Effy AI is best for
- Businesses with lean to no HR teams seeking AI-powered 360 reviews and feedback collection
- Businesses with minimal HR resources and limited performance management needs
- Who need AI assistance in creating and customizing review questionnaires
- And/or who need a streamlined, single-purpose 360 review tool integrated with Slack
ThriveSparrow is best for
- Businesses with complex review needs seeking highly customizable performance management
- Businesses with complex goal alignment requirements across multiple project management tools
- And/or who need AI-enhanced performance analytics and insights
- And/or who need hands-on implementation support for custom integrations
Effy AI is less good for
- Businesses needing comprehensive performance management beyond basic AI-powered reviews
- Businesses with complex performance management needs requiring goals tracking, OKRs, or detailed analytics
- Who need to schedule and manage recurring reviews or 1:1s automatically
- And/or who need extensive integrations beyond Slack for their HR tech stack
ThriveSparrow is less good for
- Businesses needing robust 1:1 management and compensation tracking capabilities
- Businesses with complex integration needs requiring native connections to multiple HR and project management tools
- Who need dedicated 1:1 meeting management outside of review cycles
- And/or who need compensation management tied to performance reviews
Gallery
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ThriveSparrow.png%2Fpublic&w=3840&q=75)
Pricing, features & ratings
 Effy AI Starting at $0Billed monthly |  ThriveSparrow Starting at $5employee / month Billed monthly |
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| Stackfix Verdict | ||
|---|---|---|
| Functionality | 4 <p>Effy AI specializes exclusively in the review cycle of Performance Management. It creates a seamless, easy feedback system where you can add employees, write reviews (or let AI generate them using natural language), and collect completed reviews. The review builder includes standard options like self-reviews and external reviewers for 360 feedback.</p><p>While Effy's natural language AI review template generation is innovative, the platform lacks all other performance management features - no 1:1s, goals, surveys, analytics, or anything else.</p> | 7 <p>ThriveSparrow stands as a well-equipped solution in the performance management category, offering a lot of features expected from a dedicated tool.</p><p>During testing, we discovered valuable capabilities such as creating action plans within reports, using AI to generate survey insights, and summarizing organizational metrics for potential review points.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We also found innovative elements like its kudos points system, an effective employee engagement add-on feature for rewarding performance. </span></p><p>One large limitation is its relatively basic analytics and reporting dashboard as well as its lack of a dedicated 1:1 scheduling functionality.</p> |
| Ease of Use | 8 <p>Effy excels at simplicity for its single feature: performance reviews and feedback. Testing showed the process is straightforward—queue a review once, let the cycle run, close it, review data, and you're done. While its minimalist approach makes daily use effortless, the tool would be even more valuable if it included basic features like advance scheduling or recurring cycles. These additions would make it a truly low-effort solution for SMBs that could run automatically in the background.</p> | 7 <p>The platform features a simple navigation system with clear tabs for tracking feedback and reviews. Ready-to-use templates make creating surveys effortless, while automated scheduling handles review cycles smoothly. Users can quickly set up and manage reviews without needing to manually repeat tasks.</p> |
| Look and feel | 8 <p>Effy features a slick, modern interface with clear navigation, consistent design, and efficient workflows. While the site has limited functionality, its contemporary design is appealing, even if it feels somewhat template-based throughout.</p> | 7 <p>ThriveSparrow presents a clean, modern interface that feels surprisingly lightweight despite its extensive feature set.</p><p>During testing, we found the light blue theme in the admin console particularly well-designed, offering comfortable use and navigation.</p><p>The platform features efficient module navigation through a top bar that triggers a pop-up side column for additional options. Each module page and feature demonstrates thoughtful design attention to usability.</p> |
| Customisability | 2 <p>Other than the questions portion which offers Google Forms level customisability, nothing else on the platform can be changed. This omits branding changes, form layout changes, visualisation dashboard changes, and more.</p> | 9 <p><span style="color: hsl(var(--foreground));">ThriveSparrow provides excellent customisation options precisely where needed. Their performance feedback form creation stands out with a powerful block builder supporting all standard question formats and review flows. </span></p><p><span style="color: hsl(var(--foreground));">The platform offers granular control over form branding, content integration including images, and automatic translation across 20 languages. The ability to access pre-tested question banks and combine existing forms as templates significantly accelerates survey and form development.</span></p><p>We also appreciated the Notion-style block builder in the Performance Plan feature, enabling quick creation of detailed, well-structured feedback forms.</p><p>The platform also allows basic site customization and branding options, including logo and name changes to align with company identity.</p> |
| Ease of Setup | 9 <p>Effy's setup process is straightforward, mainly due to its limited connectivity and minimal feature set. Testing showed you only need to add team members (via email invites or Slack integration) and create a review by either prompting a question, specifying a use case, or using an existing template. We missed the ability to bulk import data via CSV—currently only available by contacting their team directly. Most users can master the platform in under 30 minutes and begin sending reviews within 2 hours of implementation.</p> | 7 <p>ThriveSparrow offers an intuitive setup and onboarding process thanks to its well-designed interface and excellent support throughout a free trial period.</p><p>During testing, we found the initial sales call sufficient to navigate our account effectively, with additional support available through a dedicated customer success manager and accessible help resources.</p><p>Getting started on ThriveSparrow should take around a day to get set up on the platform, with another half day to get your first review cycles sent out.</p> |
| Customer Support | 7 <p>Effy AI has a relatively responsive chatbot, and we got a response within 20 minutes of our first contact with them. Effy claims personalised support from their founders, and we found a personalised contact point from their CEO himself offering a tour and to reach out with any questions regarding the platform.</p> | 9 <p>ThriveSparrow offers outstanding customer support through multiple channels. Their chat system connects users to live agents within 2 minutes, with complex inquiries resolved through escalation to specialists. The support team demonstrates thoroughness by providing prompt responses (within 5 minutes) and following up via email the next day through dedicated account managers.</p> |
| Integratability | 2 <p>Other than their native integration with Slack, there are no integrations available. The useful connection with Slack is the only saving grace in a segment that typically has HRIS, Communications, and some calendar functionality.</p> | 5 <p>ThriveSparrow provides basic integrations with common business apps. While their native integration options are limited, they offset this by offering custom integration development, typically completed within one month. Their customer success team supports the implementation process, including manager training, to ensure effective platform adoption.</p> |
| Ease of Migration | 4 <p>You can export results via CSV and that's it, missing the option often available at full suite products like PDF, XML, and more.</p> | 4 <p>ThriveSparrow provides most standard data export options found in comprehensive suites, including CSV, PDF, API, and others. The platform scores slightly lower in this area due to its limited native integrations, which may require custom engineering support from their dedicated success team to extract data through channels beyond the currently available options.</p> |
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