As a startup leader, you know just how important data and goal-setting are for your scrappy business. You might be small today, but with the right metrics and processes on your side, you’ll grow into something mighty in no time.
Funding and talent make a big difference, but you need software to measure your objectives and key results (OKRs), too. The right OKR tool tracks all of your company goals, performance metrics, and company stats to hold you accountable for doing great things.
But which OKR and performance management software is best suited to the needs of startups? You’re a David taking on a lot of Goliaths, so you’ve got to make the most of your resources.
Don’t worry—we’ve got your back. In this guide, we’ll show you what to look for in OKR software for startups, plus the 10 best OKR software for small businesses in 2024.
What Should You Look for In OKR Software?
OKR is a goal-setting framework that backs up qualitative goals with quantitative metrics. There are a lot of OKR tools on the market for measuring this data—but what’s the best OKR tool for startups?
You’re free to choose the option that works best for your biz, but in our humble opinion, a solid OKR tool should come with:
- An intuitive user experience: As a small business, you don’t have the luxury of spending weeks training your team on OKR software. You need something that supports employee performance right out of the box. Look for OKR software that offers free trials so you can assess how user-friendly it really is before you commit
- Real-time information: Startups have to make decisions at the drop of a hat, so a real-time OKR tool is a must. Look for OKR tools that bring in data from multiple sources without delays
- Helpful integrations: Chances are, your startup is using project management software like Asana or Jira, and chat tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams. Streamline your workflows by going with OKR software that easily integrates with your current tech stack
The 10 Best OKR Software to Use in 2024
OKR software gives small businesses a much-needed leg up. Picking the right software helps small startup teams come together and execute their ambitious goals.
If you’re on the hunt for the right software, these are the best OKR software for startups in 2024.
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is the only productivity software powerful enough to consolidate your work across apps into one dynamic platform so there’s no need to worry about double data entry or rework. Everything lives in your Workspace, so your team spends less time looking for information and more time doing work that moves the needle.
Startups are agile, which means you need every advantage you can get your hands on. Instead of asking team members to switch between project management tools, documents, templates, and OKR, bring everything into the same place with ClickUp Goals.
ClickUp Goals connects with your tasks to monitor progress on related goals. The system even groups Goals together and visualizes progress percentages in one view. If you need a single view of how well your startup is doing, ClickUp’s your best bet. Track performance in terms of numbers, monetary performance, and even task Targets. Whether you’re setting Targets for deadlines, sprints, and weekly sales—ClickUp tracks it all for you. 🎯
Best of all, ClickUp is packed with hundreds of flexible features for tracking key metrics, a vast Template Library, and over 1,000 integrations to streamline any process.
ClickUp best features
- ClickUp templates: ClickUp Templates make it a cinch to generate documents and reports in zero time, flat. Copy ClickUp goal-setting templates to create common goals with your team, use ClickUp status report templates to impress your boss, or use the ClickUp OKR Folder Template to outline the basic structure for OKR development
- Integrated goal tracking: ClickUp is a solid goal-tracking app for startups thanks to its integrated Goal tracking. Pull all organizational Goals into one place with folders for tracking OKRs, employee scorecards, sprint cycles, and much more
- Built-in CRM: ClickUp connects your startup’s customer relationship management (CRM) software to your OKRs. If you’re heavily involved in sales, ClickUp’s integrated tools and workflows make progress tracking as easy as pie
ClickUp limitations
- Some ClickUp features are only available to paid subscribers
- ClickUp has a lot of features rolled into it, so there may be a learning curve for some users
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Business Plus: $19/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
2. Quantive
Quantive acquired the OKR platform formerly known as Koan. This folded OKRs into Quantive’s already impressive suite of tools, so if you’re already a Quantive user, its OKR tool is a no-brainer.
This highly visual OKR software for startups is highly configurable, so if you need advanced features like OKR limits per owner or key result progress caps, Quantive has you covered.
Quantive best features
- Monitor projects and tasks in a Kanban board-style dashboard
- Link individual tasks to business-wide OKRs
- Generate automatic OKR progress reports in real time
Quantive limitations
- Quantive doesn’t offer one-on-one check-ins
- The team and company views are very similar, so some users find the platform confusing
Quantive pricing
- Essentials: Free
- Scale: $18/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Quantive ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (180+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (80+ reviews)
3. Paycor
As the name suggests, Paycor is more suited to finance and money management, but it does have OKR features. Small businesses use Paycor for:
- Payroll processing
- HR
- Recruiting
- Managing employee performance
- Expense management
- Small business time tracking
This is ideal if you have full-time workers but aren’t quite sure how to pull off payroll, benefits, and taxes on your own.
For OKR purposes, Paycor’s workforce management features control costs, save time, and manage everyone’s schedules. Not only can you use Paycor for tracking time, but its robust analytics also optimize labor distribution.
Paycor also includes corporate goal-setting and individual goal-setting—plus dashboards for managers to monitor everything—so it’s ideal for startups that need to manage workflow data and goals in the same place.
Paycor best features
- It includes time and attendance tracking as well as employee scheduling
- Employee experience features include morale surveys and a learning management system for training
Paycor limitations
- Paycor focuses on HR, labor, and finances more than a traditional OKR system
- You still need a separate task management system for executing work
- You have to contact Paycor for any pricing information
Paycor pricing
- Basic: Contact for pricing
- Essential: Contact for pricing
- Core: Contact for pricing
- Complete: Contact for pricing
Paycor ratings and reviews
- G2: 4/5 (650+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (2,600+ reviews)
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4. Microsoft Viva Goals
Microsoft acquired Ally.io and rebranded it as Microsoft Viva Goals, which is an offshoot of the Microsoft Viva tool. This is a solid OKR software for startups that are already all-in on Microsoft products.
Viva Goals has a simple three-step process for OKR tracking: align your team on goals, focus daily work on those goals, and integrate Viva Goals with your other Microsoft tools to boost visibility.
Viva Goals simplifies progress reports, check-ins, and reminders via Microsoft Teams. It even includes OKR templates for reporting your team’s progress to the head honchos, whether that’s your boss or a team of investors.
Viva Goals best features
- If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, Viva Goals is already included
- Viva Goals integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools
Viva Goals limitations
- You need the upgraded subscription to access Viva Insights, Viva Topics, and Viva Learning
Viva Goals pricing
- Microsoft Viva in Microsoft 365: Included
- Microsoft Viva Goals: $6/month per user
- Microsoft Viva Suite: $12/month per user
Viva Goals ratings and reviews
- G2: N/A
- Capterra: 4.1/5 (8+ reviews)
5. Weekdone
Weekdone is one of the best OKR software tools for startups thanks to its sleek look and intuitive dashboard. Just plug in your organizational goals and Weekdone builds a framework for execution.
It automatically generates weekly progress reports, so you don’t have to hound your team for constant project updates. Weekdone also combines tasks and projects in the same platform, which makes it easy to track projects and team contributions.
Weekdone’s pricing is startup-friendly, too. All accounts come with the same level of access, so you pay based on the number of seats needed. Since your biz probably doesn’t have a lot of users, this keeps costs nice and low.
Weekdone best features
- Weekdone supports continuous OKR management with one-on-one feedback options
- Generate pulse surveys to gather feedback from the team
- Link OKRs to KPIs, projects, and initiatives
Weekdone limitations
- The Weekdone app can be a bit slow
- Some users report sluggish or nonexistent customer support
Weekdone pricing
- Free for up to three users
- 15-user package: $9.07/month per user, for a max of 15 users
- 30-user package: $9.60/month per user, for a max of 30 users
Weekdone ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.1/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (50+ reviews)
6. Inspire
Inspire is equal parts OKR software, a performance management tool, and a leadership development platform. It’s ideal if you want to track goals, manage agile teams, or coach managers.
Inspire has no-frills UX, but that makes the platform pretty easy to navigate. Use the OKR Builder to design your company’s most important OKRs. The platform supports OKR coaching conversations—plus on-demand learning for OKRs—so it’s ideal for teams that need regular feedback. For example, it would be a great fit for data-driven sales teams.
Inspire best features
- Inspire connects your OKRs to Continuous Performance Management (CPM) so managers hold employees accountable for results
- Inspire has a relationship with OKRs Training, which trains leaders on how to manage OKR methodology
Inspire limitations
- Inspire has very few reviews, so it’s relatively unproven
- Inspire only offers annual contracts instead of monthly subscriptions
Inspire pricing
- Contact for pricing
Inspire ratings and reviews
- G2: N/A
- Capterra: 5/5 (1 review)
7. Hirebook
Hirebook brings tasks, goal management, and individual contributions together. You can either build OKRs and create tasks within them, or convert daily activities into key results.
Hirebook knows managers are busy, so it automates OKR accountability for you. The system tells employees about their OKR progress so you don’t need to remind everyone about their goals. It even includes employee milestone alerts so you never forget to celebrate your team’s big wins.
Plus, Hirebook has a Fair Pricing Policy, which means it follows a simple and affordable pricing structure that’s perfect for startups. If your biz grows over time, Hirebook also offers an Enterprise subscription that comes with more firepower.
Hirebook best features
- Hirebook integrates with everything from Excel to Jira to Salesforce
- View progress on company objectives in a single OKR dashboard via the Hirebook dashboard, mobile app, or email
Hirebook limitations
- The platform can be a bit buggy and slow to load
- Hirebook makes regular updates to the platform, so you may need to wait for certain key features that are standard with other OKR software
Hirebook pricing
- Business: $10/month subscription, plus $15/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Hirebook ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.9/5 (300+ reviews)
- Capterra: 5/5 (2 reviews)
8. Lattice
Fully remote companies rely on Lattice to wrangle remote employees while driving business results. Lattice has a lot of features, but its OKRs & Goals tools integrate business objectives into your team’s daily workflow.
Never bulk-send Slack messages to your team asking for progress reports again. Just log into Lattice to see real-time data about your team’s progress and how it translates into your organizational goals. Instead of setting goals and forgetting about them, Lattice’s flexible setup makes it easy to continuously guide your team’s work.
Lattice best features
- Lattice is highly customizable, so feel free to buy just the OKR software or upgrade your account for more bells and whistles
- Lattice integrates with Salesforce to add more context to your OKR data
Lattice limitations
- Lattice doesn’t offer a free trial or free version
- Lattice has limited OKR templates
- It doesn’t include other tools, like chat, so you still need to flip between different software to do your work
Lattice pricing
- Performance Management + OKRs & Goals: $11/person per month
- Engagement: $4/month per person
- Grow: $4/month per person
- Compensation: $6/month per person
Lattice ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (3,700+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (100+ reviews)
9. AchieveIt
AchieveIt makes it possible for startups to optimize performance in two areas: organizational goal-setting and employee engagement. It follows a simple three-step process: set OKRs, manage progress, and assess performance.
Create different areas of focus for all of your teams (or just one team, if you’re still a super small startup) and start collecting status updates. AchieveIt automatically sources updates from your team, generates reports, and builds dashboards. Just set it up once and watch the insights roll in.
AchieveIt best features
- AchieveIt is easily one of the most automated OKRs on the market, which makes it one of the best OKR software for startups
- AchieveIt comes with several styles and templates
- For an extra fee, AchieveIt offers consulting help for strategy and OKRs
AchieveIt limitations
- You have to contact AchieveIt for pricing
- Some features, like single-sign-on and onsite training, are only available for upgraded plans
AchieveIt pricing
- Core: Contact for pricing
- Plus: Contact for pricing
- Pro: Contact for pricing
AchieveIt ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (90+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (20+ reviews)
10. 15Five
15Five isn’t just an OKR software: It’s also an employee engagement and retention tool for startups. It tracks OKRs, employee goals, tasks, projects, and engagement data.
Use 15Five to conduct data-driven performance reviews, clarify job roles, and even align your team’s strengths with their jobs. If you’re trying to build a swoon-worthy corporate culture, 15Five provides the data you need to turn things around.
For OKRs, 15Five automatically sends weekly progress reports in the dashboard or via integrations with Slack, Salesforce, and Jira. Specify company-wide objectives and employee-specific goals, measure timelines, and monitor project progress within the slick dashboard.
15Five best features
- Motivate your team with parent-child OKRs and follow updates in real-time
- Set organizational, team, and individual goals
- Review all OKR progress in real-time
15Five limitations
- If you want all of 15Five’s features, you need to upgrade to the Total Platform package
- Some users wanted more agency for administrators and features for comparing employee progress
15Five pricing
- Engage: $4/month per user, billed annually
- Perform: $8/month per user, billed annually
- Focus: $8/month per user, billed annually
- Total Platform: $14/month per user, billed annually
15Five ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (1,700+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (880+ reviews)
Track Progress With All-In-One Management Software
If you’re looking for the best OKR software for startups, the 10 options on this list are industry mainstays. But there’s just one little problem.
These software solutions monitor team performance, but few can pair tasks and projects with your company’s OKRs. And even fewer blend robust, powerful templates into your workflow software.
When it’s time to streamline your startup with a solid platform that does everything, go with ClickUp. Save time by bringing all of your work and performance data into the same intuitive platform.
But don’t take our word for it: Create a ClickUp Workspace now for free—no credit card required.
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