Culture Amp vs Small Improvements (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Culture Amp if

• Fits if you run regular engagement surveys and want results next to reviews
• Works for mid-sized firms that want survey science help from the vendor

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a price before a sales call, as none is published
• Not for you if you need payroll or employee records
• Watch out: everything is billed annually
• Tight if you are small, as onboarding and support depth follow company size

Pick Small Improvements if

• Fits if you run reviews for 20 or more people and already have an HR system
• Works for teams that want 360 feedback and 1:1s in one tool

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you have fewer than 20 people, since every plan has a user minimum
• Pricey if you need 360 feedback, 1:1s or pulse surveys, which start on Grow at $6
• Watch out: volume discounts start at 200 users on Elevate or 1,000 on Grow
• Too light for HR records, as it syncs with an HR system rather than replacing it

Culture Amp

• No prices are published; the pricing page leads to a quote form, so the cost is unknown until you ask.
• The pricing FAQ says all products are billed annually.
• It does not cover payroll or core employee records; it is a survey and performance product.
• Onboarding and support depth depends on the service tier, which follows company size.

Small Improvements

• Every plan has a minimum user count: 20 users on Launch and Grow, 30 on Elevate.
• 360 feedback, 1:1 meetings and pulse surveys need Grow ($6) or Elevate; Launch covers essential reviews and praise only.
• Volume discounts are offered only for 200 or more active users on Elevate, or 1,000 or more on Grow.
• It is a performance and engagement tool, not an HRIS: it syncs with HR systems such as BambooHR, Personio and Workday instead of replacing them.

Culture Amp

Engagement surveys

Ready-to-use surveys, pulse surveys, onboarding and offboarding surveys, AI comment summaries, benchmarking and action plans.

Performance reviews and calibration

Review cycles with calibration, continuous feedback, goal management and performance insights in the Perform module.

1-on-1s and development

1-on-1 conversations with templates, employee development plans and a skills coach, which the pricing FAQ says are included for every customer.

AI Coach

An assistant built into Engage and Perform that surfaces themes in results and suggests next steps and action plans.

People Science Consulting

An add-on to Engage and Perform with advisory work from the vendor's people scientists, quoted separately.

Small Improvements

Performance reviews

Review cycles launch from included templates with automated notifications. Calibration can be added to compare ratings across teams.

360 and anytime feedback

Teammates can be asked for feedback as part of a cycle, and people can also give feedback outside review periods. Both sit on the Grow plan and above.

Objectives

Objectives can cascade from company to team to individual, and an AI Objectives Coach helps turn feedback into objectives.

1:1 meetings

Managers and employees share an agenda and track action items between meetings. 1:1s sync with Google Calendar or Office 365.

Pulse surveys

Confidential surveys with heatmaps and trend reports to show which teams need attention.

AI features

AI drafts and summarizes in several areas, including insights across reviews, and the vendor says any AI feature can be turned off.

Culture Amp

Pricing could not be confirmed. See cultureamp.com.

Small Improvements

• Launch$3

  per user / month, billed annually

  Essential performance reviews, praise, a company directory, HRIS integrations and Google sign-in. Minimum of 20 users.

• Grow$6

  per user / month, billed annually

  Everything in Launch plus 360 and anytime feedback, essential objectives, 1:1 meetings, pulse surveys and the Slack integration. Minimum of 20 users.

• Elevate$9

  per user / month, billed annually

  Everything in Grow plus all features, all integrations, all customizations and advanced analytics. Minimum of 30 users.