The HR tech space is growing fast, worth over $40 billion in 2024 and expected to nearly double by 2032. That’s not just a number; it shows how quickly you can rely on tools to manage productivity, engagement, and performance across remote and hybrid teams.
For you as an HR leader, the challenge isn’t just picking software; it’s finding the right fit. Some platforms excel in performance management, while others prioritize employee engagement and development. Lattice and Culture Amp are popular options, but neither covers all the features you might need.
In this guide, you’ll see how they differ and learn about a solution that combines performance and engagement in one place.
At a Glance:
- Why HR Leaders Need Better Tools: Simplify goal-setting, feedback, and engagement in hybrid workplaces.
- Lattice – Structured Performance & Feedback: Provides tools for goal alignment, performance tracking, and ongoing employee feedback.
- Culture Amp – Engagement & Insights: Provides surveys, analytics, and feedback tools to understand and act on employee sentiment.
- Tool Overload Problem: Many companies juggle multiple platforms to meet all HR needs.
- Synergita – All-in-One Solution: Combines performance management, engagement, and continuous feedback in a single platform.
Lattice vs Culture Amp: Core Strengths for HRM
Many HR teams struggle to maintain consistent performance reviews while also capturing meaningful insights into employee engagement. Some tools claim to cover both, but often lean heavily toward one side.
Lattice focuses on simplifying progress tracking and connecting individual goals to company priorities. For example, a marketing team might tie campaign objectives directly to broader business targets, making check-ins more transparent and more productive.
Culture Amp goes deeper into engagement and culture measurement, but for teams wanting straightforward performance tracking, it can feel overwhelming.
Knowing each platform’s focus helps you determine which one best suits your team’s needs.
What Makes Lattice Stand Out?
Lattice focuses on structured performance tracking and goal alignment, making it easy for teams to keep feedback, check-ins, and reviews organized and actionable.
For example, a marketing team might use Lattice to tie individual campaign goals to broader company targets, with managers giving regular check-ins and real-time feedback. That way, everyone knows how their work matters, and performance conversations stay straightforward and productive.
Here are the key features that set Lattice apart:
- Unified Platform: Combines goal management, continuous feedback, and performance reviews in one place.
- Ongoing Communication: Promotes regular manager-employee check-ins to maintain meaningful conversations.
- Goal Alignment: Tracks progress both top-down and bottom-up with live dashboards.
- Scalability: Designed to grow with medium to large companies, with strong HR and communication tool integrations.
- Flexible Reviews: Supports customizable cycles, including 360-degree feedback and self-assessments.
- User-Friendly Design: Clean interface that encourages quick adoption and reduces training needs.
What Makes Culture Amp Unique?
Culture Amp emphasizes understanding team sentiment and engagement, offering tools to turn feedback into actionable insights for retention, development, and culture. With customizable surveys and intelligent analytics, you can track metrics such as inclusion, retention, and overall satisfaction in real time.
For example, a growing tech team might conduct quarterly surveys to identify morale trends and address concerns promptly, turning feedback into actionable steps. It’s about keeping employees heard, supported, and motivated, while providing managers with the insights they need to strengthen the culture across the organization.
Key features that set Culture Amp apart include:
- Survey Capabilities: Over 40 templates covering engagement, inclusion, and employee experience.
- Feedback Analysis: AI-driven insights highlighting trends and key drivers of workforce sentiment.
- Development Planning: Tools to create personalized plans tied to survey insights.
- Integrations: Seamless connection with major HR systems and platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
- User Experience: Interface designed for diverse employee groups to encourage adoption.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Focused on improving retention and overall organizational health.
Lattice keeps performance on track. Culture Amp measures engagement. Struggling to manage both? Synergita brings them together in one platform, so you can track goals, share feedback, and monitor team sentiment without the extra hassle.
Knowing what each platform does best sets the stage; now it’s time to see how those strengths translate into features and cost.
Feature and Pricing Comparison
Choosing between Lattice and Culture Amp often comes down to what your team really needs and what fits your budget. For instance, if you’re an HR manager juggling performance reviews and goal tracking, you might lean toward Lattice to keep everything organized and streamlined.
On the other hand, if understanding employee sentiment and improving workplace culture is your top priority, Culture Amp could be a better fit. Both do a lot, but in different ways, so seeing their features and pricing side by side can make the decision much more straightforward.
Below is a concise comparison of key features and pricing to help navigate these differences.
| Feature / Pricing | Lattice | Culture Amp | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Focus | Structured performance tracking, goal alignment, and continuous feedback | Engagement, culture insights, and continuous feedback | Lattice leans toward performance cycles; Culture Amp excels in engagement |
| Goal & Feedback Tools | Goal alignment, continuous feedback, 360 reviews | Survey creation, pulse surveys, sentiment analysis | Lattice is better for ongoing check-ins; Culture Amp offers deeper survey options |
| Analytics & Reporting | Real-time dashboards, progress tracking | Advanced engagement analytics, DE&I insights | Culture Amp offers more advanced cultural metrics |
| Pricing (per user/month) | Starts around $11; minimum approx. $4,000/year | Starts $9–$14; custom enterprise pricing | Culture Amp pricing varies by headcount and modules; Lattice has set tiers |
Please note: The pricing for both Lattice and Culture Amp can vary based on the size of your team, the features you select, and any custom agreements.
Looking for a simpler, more budget-friendly way to manage performance and engagement? Check Synergita’s pricing to see how it combines the core features of both platforms without the premium cost.
Now, price and features set expectations, but the real difference shows up in how people actually use the tools.
User Experience and Ideal Use Cases
For HR teams, the real challenge isn’t just having features; it’s getting people actually to use them. A platform that makes performance reviews simple and keeps goals visible can save managers hours every week. At the same time, having clear insights into engagement, culture, and retention helps spot issues before they become bigger problems.
So it really comes down to what your team needs most right now: keeping performance conversations on track, understanding employee sentiment, or ideally, both.
1. Lattice for Streamlined Performance Management
HR professionals on G2andSoftware Advice often describe Lattice as a straightforward tool for keeping performance conversations on track. Their feedback points to several common themes:
- User-friendly: Easy for both managers and employees to pick up, with a clean interface for goals, feedback, and reviews.
- Keeps performance structured: Helps connect individual goals to company priorities, making check-ins more meaningful and effective.
- Supports ongoing feedback: Encourages regular conversations instead of relying only on annual reviews.
- Some friction with 360 feedback: Users say multi-rater reviews can feel cumbersome at times.
- Limited customization: Offers fewer options for tailoring compared to platforms like Culture Amp.
- Best fit: Ideal for mid-sized and larger organizations seeking a reliable and scalable performance management system.
2. Culture Amp for Employee Engagement and Insights
HR professionals on Capterra often highlight Culture Amp’s role in helping organizations listen more closely to their people. Their feedback frequently centers on these points:
- Strong focus on engagement: Widely praised for surveys that capture detailed employee sentiment.
- Depth in people analytics: Offers insights into diversity, equity, inclusion, and overall organizational health.
- Flexible survey design: HR teams value the ability to customize questions and run continuous listening programs.
- Steeper learning curve: Some note that the setup and analysis can feel more complex compared to simpler performance tools.
- Best fit: Often chosen by organizations that prioritize culture, retention, and data-backed engagement strategies over purely performance-focused systems.
Struggling to keep everyone on the same page across teams? Read this article to see how Synergita helps set, track, and align OKRs for complete team alignment.
Wrapping Up
The most challenging part of choosing an HR platform is matching it to what your team actually struggles with.
If managers are stuck chasing review cycles and aligning goals across departments, Lattice can bring structure without adding more admin. If the bigger pain point is understanding employee sentiment, tackling retention risks, or delving into cultural data, Culture Amp provides the depth you need.
The right fit depends less on features in a list and more on which problems you need solved first. And if you’re looking for an all-in-one option, Synergita combines goal tracking, continuous feedback, and analytics into one platform. It’s built to support teams that want clarity around performance while keeping engagement at the forefront.
See it in action: book a demo and find out how it fits your team!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What’s the main difference between Lattice and Culture Amp?
Lattice focuses on performance management, goal tracking, check-ins, and reviews, while Culture Amp emphasizes employee engagement, culture, and analytics.
2. Is Lattice or Culture Amp better for a growing team?
When headcount rises fast, Lattice helps keep performance reviews organized, while Culture Amp shows you how engagement shifts as the team scales.
3. How much do Lattice and Culture Amp cost?
Lattice typically starts at around $11 per user/month, with a minimum annual spend of approximately $4,000. Culture Amp ranges from $9 to $14 per user/month, but pricing depends on headcount and the modules selected.
4. How do Lattice and Culture Amp handle employee feedback differently?
Lattice uses feedback to guide one-on-one growth and performance, while Culture Amp focuses on surveys that reveal patterns across teams and culture.
5. What if I want a balance of performance management and engagement tools?
If you’re looking for both in one place, Synergita combines goal tracking, continuous feedback, and employee engagement features to cover both sides without needing separate platforms.