HR & People · 12 tools ranked
Best People Analytics Software in 2026
Visier ranks first in people analytics software, followed by One Model and Crunchr. People analytics software joins HR, payroll, recruiting and survey data to measure turnover, cost, collaboration and engagement, with privacy rules applied.
The top three
How this list is ordered: by our editorial assessment of fit for organizations of 50 to 1,000 people. Vendors can pay for more visibility; paid placements are labeled and explained in our disclosure. No commission is earned on clicks or purchases, and we do not work as an affiliate.
1. VisierVisier leads because workforce analytics is its whole business: it unifies HR, recruiting, payroll and finance data and applies user-level permissions before any answer is computed.
2. One ModelOne Model is second because its Data Mesh layer joins HR sources into one model, a natural-language assistant sits on top, and security certifications are stated.
3. CrunchrCrunchr takes third place for pairing five analytics modules with compliance reports for pay transparency, CSRD workforce figures and works councils, a niche most rivals skip.What is people analytics software?
People analytics software combines data from HR, recruiting, payroll, survey and work tools to measure the workforce: headcount, turnover, pay, collaboration and engagement. It applies access and anonymization rules, then presents results as dashboards, reports, forecasts or answers from an AI assistant, so HR and finance leaders can decide with evidence.
How we ranked these
Most HR teams do not lack data. They lack one version of it: headcount in the HRIS, pay in payroll, hiring in the ATS and sentiment in a survey tool, each with its own definition of an employee.
People analytics software exists to join those sources and answer questions such as who is leaving and why. This ranking is written for companies of 50 to 1,000 people.
We judged each product on the five tests below: setup, real price, data portability, independence from the vendor and fit. Listed prices and facts come from the vendors' own pages.
The list mixes three kinds of product on purpose: workforce analytics platforms, tools that study how work happens, and survey or suite products with analytics built in. Where a product is mainly something else, we say so and rank it accordingly.
The order is the verdict.
Setup: how long until the first useful answer?
The honest measure is time to the first trusted number, such as headcount that matches payroll. We asked how data gets in, who builds the connections and what the vendor's own pages say about the first weeks. Specialists such as Visier and One Model start with a data model, so the first months are a project, while Polinode and Worklytics can show a first view from a free plan or a short survey.
Suites like Workday and SuccessFactors need no extra setup if they already hold your records. Products that hide their connector list rank lower, because the buyer cannot judge the work in advance.
The real price: quotes, seats and what a pilot costs
Only three of the twelve products publish a price: Worklytics, Polinode and Insightful. Worklytics is free up to 100 users and then $2,500 a month for 200 users, Polinode runs $0 to $80 a month per user, and Insightful starts at $8 per seat. The rest sell by quote, often by edition or module, and ChartHop counts contractors in team size.
Ask what a 400-person company pays with every data source connected, whether benchmark data is extra and whether implementation help is billed. A free pilot is worth more than a discount.
Getting your data out: models, exports and history
You can leave an analytics product only if you can take the model with you, not only the charts. Ask for the metric definitions, the history that has been loaded and a bulk export before you sign. Some vendors deliver governed data to warehouses and BI tools, which keeps your analysis portable, while others keep it inside their dashboards.
Survey-based products should allow raw response export. Check that anonymization thresholds and access rules can be exported or documented, because you will need them if a regulator or works council asks how a figure was produced.
Independence from the vendor: neutrality across your HR systems
A people analytics tool earns trust by reading data from several systems without favoring one. Visier, One Model and ChartHop list sources from multiple HR, recruiting and payroll vendors, which keeps you free to change the system of record. Workday and SuccessFactors analyze their own data best and reach other sources with more effort.
Survey platforms such as Culture Amp and Qualtrics feed on survey results first. Also read ownership: Perceptyx bought Humu in 2023, so product direction can shift after a deal.
Ask for a price cap at renewal and a written exit clause.
Who it's for: analysts, HR leaders and works councils
The twelve products serve four groups. Workforce analytics platforms (Visier, One Model, Crunchr) suit a company with an analyst and several HR systems. Planning tools (ChartHop) suit finance and people leaders sharing headcount.
Behavior and network tools (Worklytics, Polinode, Insightful) answer how work happens. Survey and suite products (Culture Amp, Perceptyx, Qualtrics, Workday, SuccessFactors) suit buyers who want analytics inside a system they already run.
Name your first three questions before you demo anything, because they point to one group quickly.
Compared at a glance
| # | Product | Best for | Pricing | Free option | HQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visier | Companies with an analytics owner | Quote only | None | Canada |
| 2 | One Model | Teams building a people data model | Quote only | None | United States |
| 3 | Crunchr | HR teams reporting to CFO and works council | Quote only | None | Netherlands |
| 4 | ChartHop | People and finance leaders planning headcount | Quote only | None | United States |
| 5 | Worklytics | Teams measuring collaboration and AI use | Tiered, published | Free plan | United States |
| 6 | Polinode | Consultants and small analytics teams | Per user / month | Free plan | Australia |
| 7 | Culture Amp | Firms linking survey results to reviews | Quote only | None | Australia |
| 8 | Perceptyx | Large firms with an analytics team | Quote only | None | United States |
| 9 | Qualtrics Employee Experience | Research-minded HR analysts | Quote only | None | United States |
| 10 | Workday HCM | Companies already on Workday | Quote only | None | United States |
| 11 | SAP SuccessFactors | Companies standardized on SAP | Per user / month | None | Germany |
| 12 | Insightful | Ops teams measuring utilization | Per seat / month | Free trial | United States |
The 12 tools, reviewed
How this list is ordered: by our editorial assessment of fit for organizations of 50 to 1,000 people. Vendors can pay for more visibility; paid placements are labeled and explained in our disclosure. No commission is earned on clicks or purchases, and we do not work as an affiliate.
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Dedicated analyticsQuote onlyBenchmarks
Why #1: Visier leads because workforce analytics is its whole business: it unifies HR, recruiting, payroll and finance data and applies user-level permissions before any answer is computed.
- Best for
- Companies with an analytics owner
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Key features
- Workforce Context Engine, Workforce Insights, Workforce planning and org design, Prebuilt and custom agents, MCP access for third-party agents
- Falls short
- The vendor's own pages describe a data and AI governance stack more than a single ready-made dashboard, so the first months are a data project.
- Wrong for
- Companies without a data or analytics owner, and small firms that want a finished dashboard on day one.
Full assessment of Visier
Visier is the product we would shortlist first for a 600-person company that has a named person who owns people data and wants one governed model behind every headcount, attrition and planning question. It pulls from HCM, recruiting, payroll and finance systems, applies permissions per user before answers are calculated, and can pass the same governed data to BI tools, warehouses and AI agents.
Benchmarks against comparable enterprises add context that a single company cannot build alone. It takes first place because nothing else here is so squarely about people analytics.
Where it falls short
The vendor's own pages describe a data and AI governance stack more than a single ready-made dashboard, so the first months are a data project. No price is published and there is no self-serve trial, which makes comparison harder.
Smaller teams may find the scope larger than their questions.
Wrong for
Companies without a data or analytics owner, and small firms that want a finished dashboard on day one. Those buyers should test Worklytics or Polinode for a narrower question, or use the reporting inside their HR system.
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Data layerISO 27001SOC 2 Type II
Why #2: One Model is second because its Data Mesh layer joins HR sources into one model, a natural-language assistant sits on top, and security certifications are stated.
- Best for
- Teams building a people data model
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- One AI platform, Data Mesh, Natural-language assistant, Data Stories, MCP connections for AI tools
- Falls short
- The entry Essentials edition leaves out data augmentation, embedding of Data Stories and the One AI features, so the product a demo shows may not be the one the cheapest...
- Wrong for
- Teams that want only the cheapest edition with no integration work, or buyers who need a published price before a call.
Full assessment of One Model
One Model suits a company of several hundred people whose HR data lives in a mix of systems and whose analysts are tired of rebuilding the same joins. The Data Mesh edition unifies sources such as SuccessFactors, Workday, Qualtrics and Greenhouse, Data Stories turn analysis into interactive storyboards, and forecasting covers hiring, attrition and workforce cost.
The company, founded in 2014, lists ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II. It sits second, a step behind Visier on planning depth and benchmark context.
Where it falls short
The entry Essentials edition leaves out data augmentation, embedding of Data Stories and the One AI features, so the product a demo shows may not be the one the cheapest quote buys. No price is published.
Value depends on connecting data sources, which takes effort from your side.
Wrong for
Teams that want only the cheapest edition with no integration work, or buyers who need a published price before a call. A lighter tool such as Polinode or Worklytics fits a narrow question better.
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NetherlandsCompliance reportsQuote only
Why #3: Crunchr takes third place for pairing five analytics modules with compliance reports for pay transparency, CSRD workforce figures and works councils, a niche most rivals skip.
- Best for
- HR teams reporting to CFO and works council
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- Netherlands
- Key features
- Talent acquisition analytics, Engagement and performance drivers, Turnover and retention, Workforce structure and cost, Pay gap and EU pay transparency reports
- Falls short
- The vendor's page names only Slack as an integration, so buyers must ask which HRIS and payroll connectors exist and who builds them.
- Wrong for
- Companies that need a long list of prebuilt HRIS connectors on day one, and firms with no European reporting duties, who gain less from the compliance modules.
Full assessment of Crunchr
Crunchr is a good fit for an HR team that is asked to produce pay gap, CSRD and works council figures on a deadline and would rather not rebuild them in spreadsheets each year. Five modules run from recruiting sources through turnover to workforce cost, with anonymisation, role-based access and a GDPR audit trail described on the vendor's page.
SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 are cited. It ranks third because it is strongest for European reporting duties and a little narrower elsewhere.
Where it falls short
The vendor's page names only Slack as an integration, so buyers must ask which HRIS and payroll connectors exist and who builds them. No price is published.
The legal entity behind the brand is not shown on its contact page.
Wrong for
Companies that need a long list of prebuilt HRIS connectors on day one, and firms with no European reporting duties, who gain less from the compliance modules. Visier or One Model may suit them better.
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Headcount planningOrg chartsSOC 2 Type 2
Why #4: ChartHop ranks fourth because it joins org charts, headcount plans, pay review and goals on top of whichever HRIS you already run, with analytics as one layer.
- Best for
- People and finance leaders planning headcount
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Org charts, Headcount planning, Compensation review cycles, Performance and goals, Engagement
- Falls short
- Pricing is assembled per organization from a base platform and add-ons, and counts contractors, so the final figure is hard to predict.
- Wrong for
- Buyers who want a fixed published price before a demo, and analysts who need a dedicated modelling workbench rather than planning and org charts.
Full assessment of ChartHop
ChartHop is the pick for a growing company where the CFO and the head of people argue over the same headcount spreadsheet. It reads from HR and payroll systems such as ADP, Workday, SuccessFactors, UKG, Gusto and BambooHR, plus recruiting tools like Greenhouse and Ashby, and puts org charts, hiring plans and pay cycles in one place.
Its AI assistant answers questions in plain language, and an access feature limits what people and assistants can see. It sits fourth because analytics is one module among several.
Where it falls short
Pricing is assembled per organization from a base platform and add-ons, and counts contractors, so the final figure is hard to predict. Deep statistical analysis and benchmarking are not what the pages lead with.
The site does not state where the company is based.
Wrong for
Buyers who want a fixed published price before a demo, and analysts who need a dedicated modelling workbench rather than planning and org charts. Visier or One Model go deeper on analysis.
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Free tierPublished pricesAI adoption
Why #5: Worklytics is fifth as the one product here with a free plan and a published business tier, measuring how teams use work tools, including AI.
- Best for
- Teams measuring collaboration and AI use
- Pricing
- Tiered, published
- Free option
- Free plan
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Workplace Insights dashboards, Work data pipeline, Benchmarks against other organizations, Data dictionary, AI adoption and AI ROI
- Falls short
- The Business card says three months of data history while the comparison table says twelve, so confirm the figure in writing.
- Wrong for
- Teams whose core source is HRIS data such as headcount, pay and attrition.
Full assessment of Worklytics
Worklytics answers a different question from an HRIS dashboard: how people actually work. It reports on meetings, collaboration, manager effectiveness, hybrid patterns and how widely AI tools are used, built from existing work data and aggregated at group level with pseudonymization.
The free plan for up to 100 users with calendar data makes a pilot cheap, and the Business tier is published in dollars. It lands fifth because it complements, rather than replaces, a workforce analytics system.
Where it falls short
The Business card says three months of data history while the comparison table says twelve, so confirm the figure in writing. The homepage names no integrations.
It does not hold headcount, pay or turnover records, so those questions need another tool.
Wrong for
Teams whose core source is HRIS data such as headcount, pay and attrition. They should look at Visier or One Model first.
Works councils may also want to review the data collection before any pilot.
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Network analysisPublished pricesFree tier
Why #6: Polinode takes sixth as the cheapest specialist here: organizational network analysis from surveys and email or calendar data, with published plans from $0 to $80 a month.
- Best for
- Consultants and small analytics teams
- Pricing
- Per user / month
- Free option
- Free plan
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Key features
- Network visualization, Active network surveys, Passive email and calendar analysis, Embedded network analysis, AI networks chat
- Falls short
- The free plan has no private networks and only six basic metrics, and survey respondents are billed at $2 each on top of the plan.
- Wrong for
- Teams that want an HRIS-linked dashboard of headcount, salary or attrition.
Full assessment of Polinode
Polinode maps who works with whom, either through short surveys or from email and calendar metadata, and shows the result as a network you can filter and measure. That suits an HR lead who wants to see silos, bottlenecks or the people holding two departments together before a reorganization.
Connections include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Teams and Slack, and the vendor lists SOC 2. Published plans start at $0, so a first map costs almost nothing.
It ranks sixth because the scope is one technique.
Where it falls short
The free plan has no private networks and only six basic metrics, and survey respondents are billed at $2 each on top of the plan. It is a network tool, so there are no headcount, pay or turnover dashboards.
The site names the company only as Polinode Pty Ltd, with no head office address.
Wrong for
Teams that want an HRIS-linked dashboard of headcount, salary or attrition. Visier, One Model or Crunchr fit that.
Organizations unwilling to analyze email metadata should stay with survey-only mapping.
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EngagementBenchmarkingQuote only
Why #7: Culture Amp is seventh because survey, review and AI comment tools feed analysis of engagement drivers, though it is an engagement product first.
- Best for
- Firms linking survey results to reviews
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Key features
- Engagement surveys, Pulse surveys, Benchmarking, AI comment summaries, Reviews with calibration
- Falls short
- Prices are not published and vary by band and tier, so buyers negotiate without a reference point.
- Wrong for
- Companies whose questions are about headcount, cost and workforce planning rather than survey results.
Full assessment of Culture Amp
Culture Amp earns a place for companies that treat people analytics as the study of how employees feel and perform, rather than a headcount model. Surveys come with templates and benchmarking, AI summarizes written comments, and the performance side adds reviews, calibration and goals, so low-scoring groups can be compared with their review outcomes.
The vendor's privacy page says servers sit in the US, Europe and Australia, and survey data can be exported as CSV. It ranks seventh because its analytics stay close to survey results.
Where it falls short
Prices are not published and vary by band and tier, so buyers negotiate without a reference point. Workforce planning, cost modelling and organizational network views are not part of the pitch.
Teams wanting a standalone analytics warehouse will find it narrower than Visier.
Wrong for
Companies whose questions are about headcount, cost and workforce planning rather than survey results. A data-first tool such as Visier or Crunchr will suit them better.
Full Culture Amp profile · Culture Amp alternatives · Visit website
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ListeningAI agentsEnterprise
Why #8: Perceptyx comes eighth: a listening and analytics platform with AI agents and workforce insights, strongest in large organizations with a dedicated analyst team.
- Best for
- Large firms with an analytics team
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Engagement surveys, Listening module, Nudges in Teams and Slack, AI agents, Narrative analysis
- Falls short
- No price is published and the platform has grown into learning and AI tooling that a mid-sized company will not use.
- Wrong for
- A company of 150 people with one HR generalist should not buy it.
Full assessment of Perceptyx
Perceptyx fits an organization of 2,000 or more people that runs several survey programs and has analysts to interpret them. Its Discover, Activate and Develop modules cover listening, nudges to managers in Teams and Slack, and learning.
The vendor lists AI agents for comment analysis, coaching and workforce insights, and connections to Workday, UKG and SAP SuccessFactors. It acquired Humu in August 2023, according to its own announcement.
It sits eighth because the depth is aimed above this ranking's core buyer.
Where it falls short
No price is published and the platform has grown into learning and AI tooling that a mid-sized company will not use. The vendor's site names no headquarters address, so Temecula comes from press releases.
Setup effort is higher than for lighter tools.
Wrong for
A company of 150 people with one HR generalist should not buy it. Those buyers are better served by a survey tool with built-in follow-up, or by Polinode for a single analysis question.
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Research-gradeSurveysRetention analytics
Why #9: Qualtrics Employee Experience sits ninth as a research-grade survey platform with retention analytics, powerful for analysts and heavy for everyone else.
- Best for
- Research-minded HR analysts
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Engagement surveys, Pulse library of 290+ questions, AI comment themes, Onboarding and exit surveys, 360 development
- Falls short
- Prices are by quote and based on employee count, with no free trial, so comparing it with others means a sales process.
- Wrong for
- A company with no in-house analyst should skip it.
Full assessment of Qualtrics Employee Experience
Qualtrics suits an HR team with someone comfortable building surveys, models and dashboards, because the platform lets analysts slice results by almost any attribute. The engagement page lists a pulse library of more than 290 questions, pulses sent weekly, fortnightly or monthly, AI grouping of comments into themes, and retention analytics, with HR system integrations for the demographic data.
It ranks ninth because the breadth exceeds what most mid-sized teams use and because it starts from surveys, not workforce records.
Where it falls short
Prices are by quote and based on employee count, with no free trial, so comparing it with others means a sales process. It needs an analyst to get value, and the survey-first design means headcount, cost and planning views must come from another system.
Wrong for
A company with no in-house analyst should skip it. Culture Amp or a dedicated analytics product such as Crunchr gives a more guided route to answers.
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EnterpriseAnalyticsSkills Cloud
Why #10: Workday HCM ranks tenth because its reporting and analytics run on live HR records and Skills Cloud, which makes sense only if you already run Workday for core HR.
- Best for
- Companies already on Workday
- Pricing
- Quote only
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Human resource management, Talent management, Talent acquisition, Workforce management, Payroll
- Falls short
- Reaching Workday for analytics means buying a full HCM suite, with a partner-led implementation and a contract measured in years.
- Wrong for
- Companies that run another HR system and want analytics only.
Full assessment of Workday HCM
Workday belongs on this list for one reason: if the HR system of record is already Workday, its analytics and reporting use the same live data, with no export step and security roles that follow the org structure. Skills Cloud adds a skills view across the workforce, and the suite covers talent, recruiting, workforce management and payroll.
For a company expecting to pass several thousand employees, the argument gets stronger. For others it is too large a decision for analytics alone.
Where it falls short
Reaching Workday for analytics means buying a full HCM suite, with a partner-led implementation and a contract measured in years. No price is published, and AI features are billed through a separate credits arrangement.
Questions across non-Workday sources need extra integration work.
Wrong for
Companies that run another HR system and want analytics only. They should shortlist Visier or One Model, which read from several sources, instead of replacing the system of record.
Full Workday HCM profile · Workday HCM alternatives · Visit website
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EnterpriseSAP ecosystemGlobal rules
Why #11: SAP SuccessFactors lands eleventh: its Employee Central and talent modules feed analytics inside the SAP landscape, a draw only for existing SAP customers.
- Best for
- Companies standardized on SAP
- Pricing
- Per user / month
- Free option
- None
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Key features
- Employee Central core HR, Employee Central Payroll, Position management, Performance and goals, Learning
- Falls short
- The vendor's pricing page requires a certified partner for implementation, and projects often cost more than the licence.
- Wrong for
- Organizations under 1,000 staff that are not committed to SAP.
Full assessment of SAP SuccessFactors
SuccessFactors makes sense for a group that already runs SAP for finance and operations and wants workforce reporting in the same landscape. Employee Central handles many legal entities and country rules, and the talent modules for performance, learning and succession add data worth analyzing.
One Model and ChartHop both list SuccessFactors as a source, so a specialist tool can sit on top when built-in reporting is not enough. It ranks eleventh for any buyer not committed to SAP.
Where it falls short
The vendor's pricing page requires a certified partner for implementation, and projects often cost more than the licence. The interface differs between modules, and changes after go-live usually need specialist help.
Contracts run for several years, which limits flexibility.
Wrong for
Organizations under 1,000 staff that are not committed to SAP. A tool that reads from the existing HRIS, such as Visier or One Model, answers analytics questions without a suite project.
Full SAP SuccessFactors profile · SAP SuccessFactors alternatives · Visit website
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UtilizationPublished pricesMonitoring add-ons
Why #12: Insightful closes the list because its main product tracks time, utilization and app use, with a newer People Intelligence module that only partly overlaps with analytics.
- Best for
- Ops teams measuring utilization
- Pricing
- Per seat / month
- Free option
- Free trial
- Headquarters
- United States
- Key features
- Workforce Analytics, People Intelligence, Process Intelligence, App and AI tool use, Utilization and attendance
- Falls short
- Screen monitoring and screenshot add-ons are sold per seat, which pulls the product toward monitoring, and the Insights tier needs 50 seats.
- Wrong for
- Organizations that want people analytics without employee monitoring, or that have a privacy-sensitive workforce or a works council.
Full assessment of Insightful
Insightful works for an operations lead who needs facts on utilization, attendance and application use, and who has already agreed with staff what will be measured. Its People Intelligence module adds workload balance, work patterns, AI maturity and key person risk, and prices are published per seat.
The vendor says it does not log keystrokes, messages or content and redacts personal data. It ranks last because workforce monitoring is its core, and that sits at the edge of people analytics.
Where it falls short
Screen monitoring and screenshot add-ons are sold per seat, which pulls the product toward monitoring, and the Insights tier needs 50 seats. It does not cover headcount, pay, turnover or planning, and the fit with people analytics is partial.
Wrong for
Organizations that want people analytics without employee monitoring, or that have a privacy-sensitive workforce or a works council. Worklytics or Polinode use group-level data and suit them better.
What the data says about this market
Of the twelve products here, seven are headquartered in the United States (One Model, ChartHop, Worklytics, Perceptyx, Qualtrics, Workday and Insightful), two in Australia (Culture Amp and Polinode, where we infer Australia from the Pty Ltd company form), and one each in Canada (Visier), the Netherlands (Crunchr) and Germany (SAP). Three publish an entry price, and two offer a permanent free plan: Worklytics and Polinode. Insightful offers a free trial.
Everything else is quote only, and the quote often depends on the edition or on which data sources are connected.
The category splits by what it counts. Workforce analytics platforms count people from HR records: headcount, turnover, cost and plans. Network and work-pattern tools count interactions: who meets whom, and which teams use which tools.
Survey platforms count opinions. Buyers get confused when a demo mixes the three. A 500-person company usually needs the first, then adds one of the others for a particular question, such as a reorganization or an AI rollout.
AI claims now appear on nearly every page, and they are worth separating. Visier and One Model offer MCP access so outside AI agents can query governed data. ChartHop lists an assistant with access controls for people and AI.
Worklytics and Insightful sell measurement of AI tool use itself. Crunchr offers an AI summary of dashboard data. In every case the questions to ask are the same: which data the assistant can see, whether permissions apply before an answer is calculated, and whether anonymization holds at small group sizes.
How to choose
1. Write down the three questions you need answered
The right product follows from the question, so write three before you book a demo. If the questions are about headcount, attrition and cost, shortlist Visier, One Model or Crunchr. If they are about plans and pay cycles, add ChartHop.
If they are about how teams collaborate or use AI, look at Worklytics or Polinode. If they are about sentiment, look at Culture Amp, Perceptyx or Qualtrics.
Add the data source each answer needs and who owns it. That page removes most of the field and shows early whether you need a product or just better reports from your HR system.
2. Test with your own messy data in a pilot
A demo uses clean data, so run the pilot on yours. Load an extract with real department changes, contractors and a few duplicate records, and check whether headcount matches payroll. Worklytics and Polinode offer free plans for a first look, and Insightful offers a trial.
For quote-based vendors, ask in writing for a sandbox or a paid proof of concept with a fixed end date. Notice who does the work: your analyst, the vendor or a partner.
Also test how the tool behaves at small group sizes, where anonymization rules should hide figures.
3. Settle privacy, ownership and price before you sign
People data is among the most sensitive a company holds, so involve your data protection lead and, if you have one, the works council early. Ask where data is stored, which sub-processors have access, what the certification reports cover, and how deletion works at contract end. Then price the full setup: sources, benchmarks, extra users and implementation help.
Compare a three-year total, and ask for a renewal cap and an export of metric definitions. A tool that cannot answer these in writing is not ready for your staff data.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best people analytics software in 2026?
Visier is the best people analytics software for most companies of 50 to 1,000 people that have an analytics owner, because it is built only for workforce analytics and planning and applies permissions before answers are computed. One Model is the better pick when you want to build your own data model across several HR systems, and Crunchr when European pay transparency and works council reporting drive the purchase. Worklytics is the cheapest way to start, since it has a free plan.
What is people analytics software?
It is software that turns HR, recruiting, payroll and work-tool data into measures of the workforce, such as headcount, turnover, cost, collaboration and engagement. It joins data from several systems, applies access rules and shows results in dashboards, reports or answers from an AI assistant. The aim is to answer questions about people with evidence instead of anecdotes, for example why one team loses staff faster than another.
How much does people analytics software cost?
Most vendors here sell by quote, so no public price exists for Visier, One Model, Crunchr, ChartHop, Culture Amp, Perceptyx, Qualtrics, Workday or SuccessFactors. Published prices are Worklytics at $0 for up to 100 users and $2,500 a month for 200 users, Polinode from $0 to $80 a month per user, and Insightful from $8 per seat. Expect extra costs for data sources, benchmarks and implementation help.
Is there free people analytics software?
Two products here have a permanent free plan. Worklytics is free for up to 100 users with calendar data only, and Polinode is free for one user with no private networks and six basic metrics. Insightful offers a free trial.
Free plans suit a pilot or a single question, not a full workforce analytics program, because HR system connections and history sit on paid tiers.
Do we need people analytics software, or are HRIS reports enough?
HRIS reports are enough while your questions concern one system and current records. A dedicated tool pays off when data sits in several systems, when you need history and planning, or when finance and HR must agree on one set of numbers. If your questions can be answered with a monthly spreadsheet from payroll, wait.
A company of 100 people rarely needs more than that.
What is organizational network analysis?
It is a method that maps who works with whom, using survey answers or the metadata of email and calendar entries. The result shows connectors, silos and bottlenecks that an org chart hides. Polinode is built around it, and Worklytics offers a free network analysis tool.
Because it uses communication data, check local rules and involve your works council or employee representatives first.
Can people analytics tools respect employee privacy?
Yes, when they aggregate and anonymize by design. Worklytics describes group-level aggregation and a pseudonymization proxy, Crunchr lists anonymisation and audit trails, and Visier applies user-level permissions before answers are computed. Ask each vendor for the minimum group size, the sub-processor list and the certification report.
Products centered on screen monitoring, such as Insightful's add-ons, need a clear policy agreed with staff.
Which products help with EU pay transparency and CSRD reporting?
Crunchr is the one that names these duties on its own site, with compliance reporting for pay gap and EU pay transparency, CSRD workforce figures and works council reports. ChartHop covers compensation review cycles, and Visier and One Model provide the workforce data that reports draw on. Confirm in a demo that the specific report you must file is supported, rather than relying on the module list.
How long does implementation take?
Tools that start from a data model, such as Visier and One Model, take weeks to months because sources must be connected and checked against payroll. Polinode and Worklytics can show a first result within days on a free plan. Suites like Workday and SuccessFactors need a partner-led implementation if you do not use them yet.
Ask each vendor for a dated plan and who does each step.
Should we choose a standalone tool or the analytics in our HR suite?
Choose the suite's analytics if one system holds nearly all your people data and your questions are standard. Choose a standalone tool if data sits in several systems, if you plan to change your HRIS, or if finance wants its own view. Visier, One Model and ChartHop list sources from several vendors, which keeps analytics independent of the system of record.
Which product is wrong for a company of 100 people?
Enterprise-scale platforms such as Perceptyx, Qualtrics, Workday and SuccessFactors are too heavy for a company of 100, and quote-only analytics platforms need an owner. Start with the reports in your HR system, then try a free plan from Worklytics or Polinode for one specific question. Move to Visier, One Model or Crunchr when headcount passes a few hundred and data sits in several tools.