The best goal tracking software for startup leadership teams in 2026
Eleven options compared honestly, from OKR tools and people platforms to EOS software and AI: what each is best for, what it costs to run, and how to choose
The short answer
For a startup leadership team, the right goal tracking software depends on the job. If you want AI to keep the leadership team aligned on a few goals and what’s holding them back, that’s what we built Clearahead for. If you want OKRs, Perdoo and Tability are the best-known lighter tools. If you need performance reviews too, Lattice, Leapsome or 15Five, or Zensai if you live in Microsoft Teams. If you run EOS, Ninety. Enterprise platforms like WorkBoard, now home to Quantive, are built for much larger organisations. And a spreadsheet is fine until it goes stale.
What goal tracking software does
Goal tracking software helps a company write down what it’s trying to achieve, see whether it’s getting there, and keep everyone working on the same things. For a startup leadership team, that usually means a handful of company goals, such as revenue, a launch or a raise, with the founders, the heads of department and sometimes the board all needing the same picture.
The category is broad, and the tools that come up when you ask an AI assistant for “the best goal tracking software” do quite different jobs. Some are OKR tools, built to score objectives and key results. Some are people platforms, where goals feed into performance reviews. Some are software for a particular operating system, like EOS. And a newer group, including Clearahead, uses AI to do the updating and the asking for you.
This guide is written for leadership teams at startups and growing companies, roughly 4 to 200 people. We make Clearahead, so it’s on the list, but we’ve tried to be fair about where each of the others fits better. Where we’ve written a full, side-by-side comparison, each option links to it.
Goal tracking software at a glance
| Option | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Clearahead | Leadership teams that want to align on a few goals and what’s holding them back, with AI doing the upkeep | No OKR scoring, task management or people tools |
| Perdoo | Teams committed to OKRs who want KPIs and strategy maps alongside | You have to adopt OKRs properly; per-user pricing on paid plans |
| Tability | Lightweight OKRs with a weekly check-in habit | Check-ins capture a number and a confidence score, not the story; no permanent free plan |
| Lattice | Companies with a people team that want goals and performance reviews together | Goals sit inside a people platform and tend to become individual targets |
| Leapsome | European companies that want HR, performance and goals in one platform | Annual contracts; built for people teams |
| 15Five | A weekly check-in between every person and their manager | Updates go to managers, not across the leadership team |
| Zensai (Perform365) | Microsoft 365 companies that want goals, reviews and learning inside Teams | An HR suite with goals inside; pricing on request |
| Ninety | Companies running EOS that want it in software | Still EOS: weekly Level 10 Meetings and manual updates |
| Profit.co | A broad OKR suite with KPIs, tasks and performance in one platform | Lots to configure; pricing on request |
| WorkBoard (now including Quantive) | Large enterprises rolling strategy and OKRs across many business units | Enterprise sales and rollout; far more than a startup needs |
| A spreadsheet and a weekly meeting | Very small teams with no budget | Someone has to chase the updates, and the sheet goes stale |
The best goal tracking software for startup leadership teams
1. Clearahead
Clearahead is AI goal tracking software for companies. Each goal gets a workspace with the constraints holding it back, in the order your team chooses, and the moves that clear them, each with an owner. People update AJ, the AI inside Clearahead, in a sentence; AJ keeps the model current, logs the evidence and writes This week from AJ, with the wins and up to three things that need a decision. Free for up to three people and one workspace; then £297 a month for the whole company, with up to 10 workspaces. Read how Clearahead works as goal tracking software.
2. Perdoo
Berlin-based Perdoo is one of the most-recommended OKR tools for growing companies, with strategy maps, OKRs, KPIs, meetings, dashboards and an AI coach. Its free plan covers up to five users, which makes it a low-risk way for a small leadership team to try OKRs.
3. Tability
Tability keeps OKRs simple: quick weekly check-ins, often in Slack, AI that drafts goals and summarises progress, and strategy maps and dashboards. Low per-user pricing and free read-only seats make it popular with startups that want OKRs without a heavy rollout.
4. Lattice
Lattice is a people management platform with reviews, 1:1s, feedback, engagement, growth and compensation, plus OKRs and goals. It appears in most AI answers about goal tracking, and it does track goals well, but it’s built for managing people. Choose it if you need a people platform; see our Lattice alternatives roundup for others.
5. Leapsome
Leapsome combines core HR with reviews, engagement surveys, goals and OKRs, learning and compensation, with EU data hosting. A strong all-in-one choice if you have a people team and want goals connected to reviews and development.
6. 15Five
15Five pairs OKRs and goals with weekly check-ins, 1:1s, reviews and manager development. It’s excellent at catching people problems early; the leadership team still has to assemble the company picture from many conversations.
7. Zensai (Perform365)
Zensai, from Denmark, builds learning, engagement and performance software into Microsoft 365. Its Perform365 product runs OKRs, goals, check-ins, 1:1s and reviews inside Teams, with AI that suggests goals, and it’s become a common home for companies leaving Microsoft Viva Goals. Choose it if your company lives in Teams and your HR team wants one suite.
8. Ninety
If your leadership team runs on EOS, Ninety brings Rocks, the Scorecard, Issues, To-Dos and the Level 10 Meeting into one place. It’s goal tracking inside a full operating system, so it’s only the right pick if you want that system. See our EOS alternatives roundup.
9. Profit.co
Profit.co covers the OKR lifecycle with a large library of predefined KPIs, task management, performance and engagement modules and an AI assistant. Good if you want one configurable platform and have someone to run it.
10. WorkBoard (now including Quantive)
WorkBoard acquired Quantive, formerly Gtmhub, in May 2025, bringing together two of the best-known enterprise OKR platforms. Both are built for big organisations with strategy teams. Startups are almost always better served by a lighter tool.
11. A spreadsheet and a weekly meeting
Plenty of startups track goals in a spreadsheet or a Notion page and go round the table once a week. It’s free and flexible, and fine while someone keeps it current. It rarely stays current once the team passes a handful of people.
How to choose goal tracking software
Do you want OKRs?
If the team likes objectives and key results and will check in every week, choose an OKR tool like Perdoo or Tability. If OKRs have turned into form-filling before, choose something built around a different model.
Do you need performance reviews?
If you need reviews, 1:1s and engagement surveys as well as goals, a people platform like Lattice, Leapsome or 15Five makes sense. If not, don’t pay for one.
Who keeps it current?
Every goal tool goes stale when nobody updates it. Pick one your team will actually keep up, or one where AI does most of the updating from what people already say.
What happens when a goal slips?
Most tools will tell you a goal is off track. Ask whether the tool will also show you why, who owns the fix and what’s been tried.
Who needs to see it?
If investors, advisers or the board should follow along, check how each tool prices read-only access. Per-seat pricing can make it expensive to include everyone.
Our honest read
Most goal tracking software is good at one thing: telling you whether you’re on track. That’s useful, and for some teams it’s enough. The tools above differ mainly in what they wrap around that: OKR scoring, performance reviews, an operating system, or enterprise reporting.
What most startup leadership teams actually struggle with is different. The goal is usually clear. What’s missing is a shared, honest view of what’s holding it back, who’s moving on it, and what needs a decision this week, kept current without someone chasing everyone for updates. That’s the gap we built Clearahead to fill, and it’s why AJ asks why until you reach a cause your team can change.
Whatever you choose, pick the tool that matches the job, keep it light, and make sure it stays current. For more on where goal tracking ends and running the whole company begins, read Goal tracking vs a business operating system.
Questions about goal tracking software
What is goal tracking software?
Goal tracking software helps a company set goals, see progress towards them and keep the team working on the same priorities. It ranges from OKR tools and people platforms with goals built in to AI tools like Clearahead that keep the picture current from what people tell them.
What is the best goal tracking software for a startup leadership team?
It depends on the job. For AI-led alignment on a few goals and what’s holding them back, Clearahead. For OKRs, Perdoo or Tability. For goals plus performance reviews, Lattice, Leapsome or 15Five. For EOS, Ninety.
Is there free goal tracking software?
Yes. Clearahead is free for up to three people and one workspace with full access to AJ, and Perdoo has a free plan for up to five users. Others offer free trials rather than free plans.
What is the difference between goal tracking software and OKR software?
OKR software is one kind of goal tracking software, built around objectives and key results. Other goal tracking tools use different models, such as EOS Rocks or, in Clearahead’s case, the constraints holding each goal back and the moves that clear them.
Is Clearahead the same as the Clearahead budgeting app?
No. Clearahead at clearahead.ai is AI goal tracking software for companies and leadership teams, made by Clearahead Ltd in the UK. It isn’t connected to the personal budgeting app with a similar name.