Is 15Five or Balsamiq Wireframes better?

Neither clearly leads. 15Five starts at $4/month and Balsamiq Wireframes at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, 15Five or Balsamiq Wireframes?

15Five starts at $4/month and Balsamiq Wireframes at On request.

Does 15Five or Balsamiq Wireframes run on more platforms?

15Five runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Balsamiq Wireframes runs on Web.

What is 15Five best used for?

15Five is most often used for running engagement surveys with heat maps and benchmarking, performance reviews and continuous feedback cycles, setting and tracking okrs, 360 degree feedback and talent matrix reviews. Of those, running engagement surveys with heat maps and benchmarking and performance reviews and continuous feedback cycles are not what Balsamiq Wireframes is typically brought in for.

What can 15Five do that Balsamiq Wireframes cannot?

15Five covers Weekly check-ins, 1-on-1 meetings, OKRs & goal tracking, Performance reviews.

HR & Recruiting · head to head

15Five vs Balsamiq Wireframes

15Five

HR & Recruiting

Performance management that drives results

From: $4/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Balsamiq Wireframes

Design Tools

Low-fidelity wireframing that keeps focus on structure and content

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: 15Five split across three tiers, so performance reviews, OKRs and 360 feedback need Perform at $11 per user per month rather than the $4 Engage tier; Balsamiq Wireframes starter plan is capped at 10 projects and costs $16 per editor per month ($192/year)

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which 15Five and Balsamiq Wireframes actually diverge.

Attributes where 15Five and Balsamiq Wireframes differ
Attribute	15Five	Balsamiq Wireframes
Starting price	$4/month	On request
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android, Api	Web
Category	HR & Recruiting	Design Tools
Founded	2011	Unknown

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in 15Five

Weekly check-ins
1-on-1 meetings
OKRs & goal tracking
Performance reviews
High fives recognition
Engagement surveys
Pulse surveys
Manager effectiveness

Only in Balsamiq Wireframes

Nothing recorded that 15Five does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

15Five

Running engagement surveys with heat maps and benchmarkingnot Balsamiq Wireframes
Performance reviews and continuous feedback cyclesnot Balsamiq Wireframes
Setting and tracking OKRsnot Balsamiq Wireframes
360 degree feedback and talent matrix reviewsnot Balsamiq Wireframes
Compensation review cycles as a paid add-onnot Balsamiq Wireframes

Balsamiq Wireframes

No use cases recorded yet. See the Balsamiq Wireframes review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

15Five

Split across three tiers, so performance reviews, OKRs and 360 feedback need Perform at $11 per user per month rather than the $4 Engage tier
Manager training microlearnings are only in Total Platform at $16 per user per month
Compensation is a paid add-on at $9 per user per month, rising to $11 with benchmarking
The Kona meeting assistant is a further $2 per employee per month and Kona Coach $19 per manager per month
Advertised prices are the annual rates

Balsamiq Wireframes

Starter plan is capped at 10 projects and costs $16 per editor per month ($192/year)
Teams plan raises the cap to only 100 projects at $24 per editor per month; even Enterprise tops out at 400 projects
AI credits are metered per editor per month (500 on Starter, 1,000 on Teams, 2,500 on Enterprise), so AI features have a hard usage ceiling beyond the base seat price

Pricing, plan by plan

15Five

$4/month

Engage$4/month
- Engagement surveys
- Pulse surveys
- Action planning
Perform$10/month
- Weekly check-ins
- 1-on-1s
- Performance reviews
Total Platform$16/month
- Everything in Engage & Perform
- Career paths
- Competencies

Balsamiq Wireframes

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Balsamiq Wireframes review.

Which should you pick?

Choose 15Five if

You need weekly check-ins.
You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
You also want 1-on-1 meetings.

15Five review

Choose Balsamiq Wireframes if

Nothing in the data separates Balsamiq Wireframes from 15Five on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Balsamiq Wireframes review

Questions people ask

Is 15Five or Balsamiq Wireframes better?: Neither clearly leads. 15Five starts at $4/month and Balsamiq Wireframes at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, 15Five or Balsamiq Wireframes?: 15Five starts at $4/month and Balsamiq Wireframes at On request.
Does 15Five or Balsamiq Wireframes run on more platforms?: 15Five runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Balsamiq Wireframes runs on Web.
What is 15Five best used for?: 15Five is most often used for running engagement surveys with heat maps and benchmarking, performance reviews and continuous feedback cycles, setting and tracking okrs, 360 degree feedback and talent matrix reviews. Of those, running engagement surveys with heat maps and benchmarking and performance reviews and continuous feedback cycles are not what Balsamiq Wireframes is typically brought in for.
What can 15Five do that Balsamiq Wireframes cannot?: 15Five covers Weekly check-ins, 1-on-1 meetings, OKRs & goal tracking, Performance reviews.

15Five vs Balsamiq Wireframes

15Five

Balsamiq Wireframes

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in 15Five

Only in Balsamiq Wireframes

What people use each for

15Five

Balsamiq Wireframes

Where each one falls short

15Five

Balsamiq Wireframes

Pricing, plan by plan

15Five

Balsamiq Wireframes

Which should you pick?

Choose 15Five if

Choose Balsamiq Wireframes if

Questions people ask

Related pages

More on 15Five

More on Balsamiq Wireframes

Keep looking

Other head to heads