Culture Amp

Culture Amp Engage is a full survey platform with a large benchmark base. Managers get action plans, and staff without email can answer. Before you sign, settle who can see answers and how its AI uses your data. Culture Amp publishes no price, and the contract renews unless you give 90 days’ notice.

By Ashish Manchanda Published 28 Oct 2026 Last updated 28 Oct 2026

Culture Amp Engage is a full survey platform with no published price

In one line

Culture Amp Engage is a survey platform with benchmarks, driver analysis and action plans. It publishes no price, and its privacy and AI settings need choices from you.

Buy it if

You want annual, pulse, onboarding and exit surveys in one place. You want your scores set against other employers’ scores. You will agree privacy settings before each survey and ask for a quote.

Do not buy it if

You need every AI feature switched off. Some AI analysis cannot be turned off. You need all survey types anonymous by default. Onboarding and exit surveys are non-confidential by default.

Price

Culture Amp publishes no figure. Fees depend on employee count, product and service tier, billed annually. SMS is included at no extra cost, subject to future monitoring.

The survey is the easy part, and the AI and exports need choices

The survey is the easy part of Engage. The harder choices come with the AI tools and with who can open the exports.

Engage has more than 40 ready-to-use survey templates. They include a 57-question engagement survey, onboarding and exit surveys, and a diversity, equity and inclusion survey. One template lets managers collect feedback from the people who report to them. Pulse surveys are shorter and run more often than the annual survey. You choose who receives each pulse.

Reports show benchmarks and a driver analysis. The driver analysis compares answers on the engagement questions with answers on every other question. That reveals which topics move with engagement. It needs a survey setting called Index Factor and at least 25 responses. An account administrator can add closed-cycle performance ratings as a filter on engagement and lifecycle reports. Decide who gets that filter.

The AI tools need choices. Comment summaries sort comments into positive, negative and neutral by question. Comment comparisons set the comments of top and bottom scoring groups side by side. You can switch both on or off for each survey. Text analytics breaks comments into sentiments, topics and trends. AI follow-ups add a question after a rating or free-text answer, and employees never have to answer. AI Coach talks managers through their results. It can help leaders draft action plans and messages for different audiences. It is on for everyone by default. Administrators can limit it to pilot groups or deactivate it.

An AI follow-up conversation counts as a comment. Culture Amp treats it like any other comment, including in exports and the raw data extract. AI comment summaries leave these conversations out. The follow-up carries an AI label in the survey and in reporting. It is designed to stop when a sensitive topic or identifier appears. Decide who can open exports before you switch follow-ups on.

Connections to other systems need decisions too. Culture Amp has integration guides for BambooHR, Namely, Personio, Workday, Gusto and HiBob. These often need coordination with your IT department. The API lets other systems read data out of Culture Amp, not send data in. Users can connect Claude or ChatGPT to ask about engagement results. That connection is read-only for survey results. Open-text comments are not available through it yet. An Account Administrator can turn it off for all users.

Several limits decide who you can reach and in which language. Language coverage depends on the language, the product and the survey type. AI features follow the AI model’s skill in a language, not the survey’s coverage. AI follow-ups work best in English. An account can install Slack or Teams, not both. SMS works only on attributed surveys.

What the benchmark and study figures measure

Each figure counts something different. The 311% return belongs to a modelled company, not a customer.

More than 1 billion responses sit behind the benchmarks

Culture Amp’s benchmarks cover over 1 billion survey responses. Industry benchmarks include a minimum of 20 companies and 20,000 people. New benchmark sets come out twice a year, in January and July. Benchmarks are also published by job function. They use real company data with a response rate well over 80%.

More than 6,000 companies use it, by its own count

Culture Amp reports that more than 6,000 companies use it. Ask how many of those run Engage.

Cronbach Alpha of .80 to .90 for the index

Cronbach Alpha measures whether the questions in a set move together. A higher figure means the questions track one another more closely. Culture Amp reports .80 to .90 for its Engagement Index.

A Forrester study reports a 311% return over three years

Culture Amp commissioned the study and Forrester Consulting conducted it. The 311% belongs to a composite organisation of 3,000 employees with $500 million of revenue a year. The study also reports a net present value of $2.3 million for that composite. It models a composite, not a named customer.

Reach for every employee, plans for managers and a choice of data region

Staff without email can answer

Kiosk mode serves employees without email or a computer. They use a code on a shared device. The kiosk guide suggests turning the survey link into a QR code. SMS invitations and reminders come with Engage at no extra cost, subject to future monitoring. A Slack or Teams app sends invitations, reminders and announcements.

Managers get an action plan to fill in

A manager creates an action plan from a survey report. Each plan has items, owners and due dates, and managers track progress. Culture Amp also offers an Inspiration Engine of action ideas. The Focus agent highlights the questions it recommends tackling first.

Summaries can be shared without comments

An administrator can share AI comment summaries without sharing the comments. Summaries are off by default in shared reports until an administrator switches them on. Comment Summaries does not use identity fields such as name, email address or employee ID.

Three data regions to choose from

Culture Amp offers three data regions, US, EU and AU. The organisation elects which one to use. An account defaults to the US data centre when it gives no preference. Culture Amp aims to process AI data in your chosen region. In some cases data may be transmitted internationally for transient processing.

Security reports and incident notice

Its Data Processing Addendum commits to tell you about a security incident without undue delay. Where feasible that means within 48 hours. Culture Amp announced on 22 October 2025 that it is certified under ISO 42001, a standard for managing AI. The platform has annual third-party penetration testing. Its trust page reports SOC 2 certification and CSA STAR Level 1 membership. Its pricing FAQ reports a recently acquired SOC II Type I. Its enterprise page reports SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance. Ask which report you can read.

Set-up help for every customer

Culture Amp recommends planning 6 to 12 weeks for a first-time implementation. Implementation services are available to all customers. It also offers People Science Consulting, described as HR expertise and analytics.

Customers on its own site run from 70 to 125,000 employees

Culture Amp sells a service tier for small and medium-sized organisations under 200 employees. Another tier is for enterprise organisations of 1,000 or more employees. Central Surveys lets a parent organisation design one survey while subsidiary teams handle rollout. The customers below come from its own site.

Coffee Circle has 70 people and Bank First has 250

Coffee Circle employs 70 people from its headquarters in Berlin. Its head of HR reports that it had started to use Culture Amp for engagement purposes. Bank First has 250 employees. Its team designed and implemented engagement surveys, manager evaluations and improvement plans with tools powered by Culture Amp.

Moorabool Shire Council moved off two-yearly surveys

Moorabool Shire Council employs approximately 320 people. It moved from SurveyMonkey surveys every two years to Culture Amp. It reports 82% favourable answers on its Management factor in 2026, a 12% increase since 2022.

OLX Group ran a short survey every two months

OLX Group has 2,800 or more employees. It ran mini pulse surveys every two months plus an annual engagement survey. It reports its overall engagement score rose 11% by March 2024. OLX calls Culture Amp’s consulting services invaluable.

On and Coles employ thousands of people each

On has 2,500 or more employees globally. It used annual engagement surveys and analysis in Culture Amp’s Employee Engagement solution. It reports that 83% of its employees agree they can be their authentic selves at work. At Coles, with 125,000 employees, the Head of Culture and Capability oversees engagement surveys and action plans on Culture Amp.

Who sees answers, how its AI uses your data and who you buy from

Three things decide whether Engage fits. They are who can see answers, how its AI uses your data and who you are buying from.

Surveys are confidential, not anonymous

Culture Amp’s surveys are confidential, not anonymous. An attributed survey ties each response to an employee record. A raw data extract contains fully identifiable line-by-line results, and a Survey Data Analyst can open it. You can only enable the extract before a survey launches. An unattributed survey has no connection to any individual.

Smallest group shown

The reporting group minimum is the smallest group you can filter to in reporting. Most surveys default to 5, and it is usually 5 but may vary. You can set it to 0, labelled no protection. Confidentiality settings cannot be changed after launch, and respondents see them. Indirect identification protection has three options, none, basic and strong. New surveys start on basic. In leader-based reports, basic hides a group unless it has 2 or more responses.

Onboarding and exit surveys are non-confidential by default

Administrators and assigned interviewers can view individual responses in these surveys. The locked defaults are a reporting group minimum of 0 and “No protection” ticked. No indirect protections apply, and the raw data extract is enabled.

Some AI analysis always runs

Comment Topics and Sentiment Classification are one core AI feature that cannot be disabled. Sensitive comment identification uses AI too. It is automatic and cannot be switched off, while redaction is manual. Culture Amp answers no to whether customers can opt out of its AI features. It calls AI an integral part of the platform. Administrators can enable or disable generative features such as AI Coach and Comment Summaries. Text goes to the AI models as written, without redaction of personal data.

AI training on your data

Culture Amp may train its AI on your data in aggregated or de-identified form. You agree to this as Training Purposes in the Data Processing Addendum. Culture Amp answers no to opting out of that use. It never uses identifiable customer data to train AI models. Its AI FAQ answers are guidance only and are not part of any contractual agreement. A customer using an AI feature warrants it has the consents Culture Amp and its other data handlers need.

Turnover risk is in early access

Retention Insights is open to all Engagement customers. Culture Amp’s product page calls it a way to predict who is at risk of leaving. Its help article covers exits that have already happened. Turnover risk looks forward and sits in Multi-signal Intelligence, a closed early access programme. It identifies groups more likely to see departures over the next 12 months. The model calculates a risk score for each individual employee. Risk appears at group level only, never as certainty about a named person. Ask which of these you get, and who can see it.

Layoffs and a new CEO

Capital Brief reported 70 job cuts at Culture Amp on 26 June 2026. Startup Daily reported losses of A$91.5 million across FY2024 and FY2025. Culture Amp announced on 13 January 2026 that Caroline Rawlinson became CEO. Founder Didier Elzinga became Executive Chairman. Ask who supports your account and what the roadmap holds.

No figure to budget with, a 12-month renewal and an export window to check

Your tier sets the price, and the contract fixes more than the price. It sets renewal, what you can recover and how you leave.

Culture Amp gives no price for Engage. Pricing depends on employee count, product and service tier, and it is billed annually. Fees are based on the number of users in a tier. Going over the tier can bring extra fees. Invoices go out in advance and are payable within 30 days unless the order sets other terms. You can buy Engage on its own as a plan named Engage only. SMS and API access come with an Engage subscription. The AI is free for all users right now. Ask what happens when “right now” ends.

The renewal is automatic. The agreement renews for 12 months unless notice is given 90 days before the term ends. Updated General Terms apply from the next renewal unless you agree otherwise in writing. Your contracting entity and governing law depend on where your business is based. In the United States or Canada that is Culture Amp Inc., under Delaware law. In the United Kingdom the law is England and Wales. In Germany, Austria or Switzerland, German law applies.

Some terms limit what you can recover or rely on. Each party’s total liability is limited to the fees paid or payable in the 12 months before the event. Liability for breach of the Data Processing Addendum is capped at five times those fees. Culture Amp may withdraw early-access and beta features at any time. Suppose you object to a new subprocessor, a company that handles your data for Culture Amp. If nothing is agreed, your sole remedy is to end the order for the affected service.

Leaving is where Culture Amp’s own documents differ. Under its terms you can export data using the product’s functions for 30 days after termination. Its help centre puts it differently. Account access ends when the subscription does. After the 30 days Culture Amp may delete your data. Reasonable transition assistance is offered in those 30 days. More help is by separate agreement and fees. A signed Data Transfer Agreement may be required before a transfer to a third party. Transfers follow the survey’s confidentiality settings.

You could also run survey steps with agents built on your own systems. We have mapped what that looks like. The HR Agent Map

Ten questions to put to Culture Amp before you sign

Which of our surveys should be attributed and which unattributed, and who can open the raw data extract? Good answer: A written format for each survey and a named list of roles.
What reporting group minimum and indirect identification level will each survey use? Good answer: Settings agreed in writing before each launch.
Which AI features run on our account today, and who can switch each one off? Good answer: A list by feature, with the always-on tools marked.
Will you limit use of our de-identified data for AI training in the order form? Good answer: A clause in the order form, or a written no for our legal team.
Which SOC 2 report do you hold, Type I or Type II, and from what date? Good answer: One named report with its date.
How long can we export our data after the contract ends, and in which formats? Good answer: A window and file formats written into the contract.
What extra fee applies if we pass our tier, and when is it set? Good answer: A per-user rate in the order form.
Which data region will our account use, and when can you confirm it? Good answer: A named region in the order form before the first survey.
Which of our HR systems sync without our IT department? Good answer: A named system and a named person who does the work.
What must we set for driver analysis to run on our survey? Good answer: A named setting and a named person who sets it.

Alternatives to Culture Amp, including buying nothing

Two points where Culture Amp may not suit you are AI training on your data and a 12-month automatic renewal. Perceptyx and BambooHR answer them differently. Buying nothing is a third route.

Culture Amp may train its AI on your data in aggregated or de-identified form. It answers no to opting out. Perceptyx warrants that neither it nor its third-party generative AI vendors will use customer data to train their base models. Its generative AI features are opt-in. Its Internal AI is a foundational component of the service, and using the service is consent to it. Perceptyx may also gather aggregated statistics from your use. It uses them for product improvement, machine learning algorithms and anonymous benchmarking. Ask Perceptyx what Internal AI covers.

Culture Amp renews automatically for 12 months unless you give notice 90 days before the term ends. BambooHR is an HR system, and its survey comes with that system. BambooHR sells two kinds of subscription. Month-to-month subscribers may terminate at any time, effective the last day of the subscription month. For month-to-month subscriptions, BambooHR’s terms let it change the price on at least 60 days’ notice. Extended Term subscriptions auto-renew for 12-month terms unless 60 days’ notice is given. They are non-cancelable until the end of the Term, and fees are non-refundable. Ask which kind your quote is on. Its surveys are an eNPS survey and a Wellbeing survey, run on different cadences.

Buying nothing means giving up Culture Amp’s routes to staff without email. They include kiosk codes, SMS and a Slack or Teams app. In return you skip the 6 to 12 weeks Culture Amp recommends for a first rollout. If you already pay for an HR system, our guide for HR system owners covers that route. Our guide to employee engagement software covers how the kinds of product differ.

More in this guide

The Employee engagement guide
Compare the 40 researched products how each asks staff, who sees the answers, what it costs and the contract terms.
Mid-market companies which engagement products suit 200 to 2,000 people, what they cost and what to ask.
Enterprise companies which engagement products suit 2,000 people or more, what they cost, how contracts run and what to ask.
Companies whose HR or performance system already runs surveys what the survey part of an HR or performance system covers, what it costs and what else exists.