Performance management software for companies of 200 to 2,000 people

What changes when you pass 200 people, and what stays the same

Sellers price differently as you grow. Culture Amp has one tier for 200 to 999 employees and another for 1,000 or more. Appraisd sells its Standard plan to companies of 51 to 1,000 employees and sets flexible pricing above that. Workleap tells organisations of more than 250 employees to reach out to its team. Near 1,000 people, expect to ask for a quote.

Rating review meetings matter more with many managers. Leaders hold them to review and adjust manager ratings before they are finalised. The usual name is calibration. Abarca Health calibrated 570 employees in three weeks on Betterworks, across about 40 sessions. New Leapsome templates and review rounds start with calibration switched off. Ask each seller to show the meeting for your number of managers.

If you keep staff records in a main HR system, check the link to it. 15Five refreshes its staff list from that system once a day and on request. Only one such link can be active at a time. PerformYard includes the link to your HR system and company sign-in in every plan. Ask for the link to your own system by name.

Some contract terms stay the same at any size. Several sellers make you check what the AI writes. 15Five, Culture Amp and Peoplebox put that duty on you in their terms. Lattice, ClearCompany and Windmill put the duty for human checks on you. Workleap makes you ensure that no employment decision may rest on AI output alone without qualified human review.

Staff in Europe may have a say. The EU AI Act has a list of high-risk uses. AI that evaluates the performance of people at work is on that list. Such AI counts as high risk unless an exemption applies. Under the 2026 amendment the high-risk rules apply from 2 December 2027. Employers must tell workers and their representatives before using such a system.

A works council is the elected staff body an employer must inform or consult. An employer in the Netherlands with at least 50 people must set one up. There, appraisal schemes need its consent, and a decision without it can be voided. In Germany, the works council must approve the general rules for appraisals. French law requires you to tell employees about evaluation methods before use.

What 500 people cost for a year at list price

Each yearly figure is the listed price times 500 people times 12 months. Appraisd’s figure adds up its price bands. All figures leave out tax, discounts and add-ons.

Three more sellers have prices that do not fit the table. Quantum Workplace packages start at $15,000 a year, and the base price follows total employees. Workleap starts its Standard plan at $4,999 plus $32 per manager a month. A reseller prices SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals at £2.53 per user a month for 1 to 2,000 users. That is £15,180 a year for 500 users, and support costs extra.

Culture Amp, emPerform, Trakstar, TalentGuard and Rippling quote on request. Take the 500-person figures above to each call and ask where the quote lands.

Why contract terms cost more when head count moves

Head count changes during a contract term. At the sellers in the first card, paid users cannot fall with it. A missed cancel date also costs more at this size. Most per-person plans in the table cost $24,000 or more a year.

What to ask before you sign

1. Any seller. What is the total for our head count, with every add-on, in writing? A good answer is one figure on the order form.
2. Confirm. Your listed price is for 200 people. What is it for our head count? A good answer is a written price per person at our head count.
3. TalentGuard. What is the smallest company you sell to? A good answer is a number, stated in writing.
4. Betterworks. Which support level is in the price you quoted? A good answer is a named level, and the cost of the next one.
5. Leapsome. Our HR-system link can add users. How do you stop that raising our licence count? A good answer is that you bill only for people we name.
6. 15Five. Can we start with AI drafting switched off for some managers? A good answer is that you can, by group and by person.
7. PerformYard. If our head count falls, how do you set the price at renewal? A good answer is that our current price per person carries over.
8. Workleap. At renewal you set our scope at the higher of current and actual use. Can we cap it? A good answer is a cap in the order form.
9. Workday. What would we owe if we left after year one? A good answer is a figure in writing that we can budget for.
10. Culture Amp. Can you list every export we get when we leave? A good answer is a list in the contract, with the feature each export covers.
11. Effy AI. Your team is fewer than ten people. What security documents can you give our IT team? A good answer is written documents, ready before the demo ends.
12. Appraisd. Which price list applies to us, Appraisd’s or Talos Perform’s, and is the term one year or two? A good answer is one price list and one term, written in the order form.
13. Any seller. We have staff in Europe. What do you give a works council? A good answer is a written pack on the data held, the AI parts and who can see ratings.

One more option, and where to read next

Risely’s Merlin is an AI coach. It helps managers draft performance review feedback based on their company’s standards and guidelines. A manager can also upload feedback they have already written. Merlin then coaches them on how to align it with those guidelines. Merlin also coaches managers on giving constructive feedback.

An admin sets up the company’s feedback guidelines in Risely. The manager writes the feedback and gives the rating. Merlin coaches the wording and leaves the rating to the manager. Review feedback coaching is part of Risely’s enterprise plan. Merlin does not run review rounds, so it is not one of the 33 products in this guide.

To weigh one seller against another, open the comparison of all 33 products. For the wider picture, start with the performance management software guide.