Why Small Teams Outgrow Lattice
There’s no denying it, Lattice is good. It’s clean, polished, and packed with features. But for many small businesses, it’s like renting a skyscraper when all you need is a really good office.
If you’re a 10-, 50-, or even 150-person company, the very things that make Lattice powerful can start to feel overwhelming: too many configuration screens, too many dashboards, and let’s be honest, too high a price tag for something you might only use a few times a year.
Performance management doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. You just need a system that helps your team grow without slowing them down.
What to Look for in a Lattice Alternative
When smaller teams start looking for alternatives, they’re usually searching for three things:
- Simplicity , something people actually enjoy using.
- Predictable pricing , no “contact sales” surprises.
- Real insights , data that’s easy to understand, not just pretty charts.
And while the big HR platforms aim to cover everything, the best tools for SMBs focus on doing reviews and feedback really, really well.
Top 5 Alternatives to Lattice
1. Evalico
If you’re a small or growing business, Evalico is built exactly for you. It helps teams run self, peer, and upward reviews in minutes, without the chaos of spreadsheets or endless setup steps.
Evalico strikes the sweet spot between structure and simplicity. You can spin up guided review cycles, reuse templates, and see analytics that actually make sense: rating distributions, keyword highlights, completion heatmaps, the stuff that helps you spot real patterns, not vanity metrics.
It’s also priced transparently, seat by seat, with no enterprise gatekeeping. Everything’s accessible, from automation to analytics, right out of the box. For small teams that want Lattice-level clarity without enterprise overhead, Evalico feels like the obvious choice.
2. Leapsome
Leapsome is a strong all-rounder, offering reviews, goals, and engagement surveys. It’s flexible and mature, though smaller teams often find it takes time to configure and maintain. Pricing also scales quickly as you grow.
3. 15Five
Known for its focus on continuous feedback and weekly check-ins, 15Five helps maintain connection between managers and employees. It’s a great culture-builder, but for formal review cycles, it can feel more like an ongoing journal than a structured process.
4. PerformYard
PerformYard is all about customization. You can create nearly any kind of review structure imaginable, though the tradeoff is a more complex setup and a slightly dated interface. Still, for teams that love total control, it’s worth a look.
5. CultureAmp
CultureAmp leans heavily into engagement analytics, making it ideal for companies focused on employee sentiment and surveys. It’s a powerful platform, but the pricing and scope are better suited for mid-sized to large organizations than scrappy teams.
Final Thoughts
Lattice is a great product, it just wasn’t built with small businesses in mind. If you’re managing a tight team where every hour counts, the last thing you need is another tool that adds friction.
That’s why tools like Evalico are starting to gain traction. They give you structure, automation, and analytics without the clutter or cost.
Because performance management shouldn’t feel like project management, it should feel like progress.
