OKR software: pros, cons and an alternative
Tools like Perdoo and Tability make OKRs easier to run. Clearahead runs a different model: the goal and what’s in the way
The short answer
OKR software, from tools like Perdoo and Tability, takes the spreadsheets out of OKRs: setting objectives and key results, aligning them across teams, weekly check-ins, dashboards and, increasingly, AI help. Clearahead isn’t OKR software. It holds one goal, the constraints holding it back and the moves that clear them, with AI keeping it current. If your company is committed to OKRs, a dedicated OKR tool is the right buy. If your goals are clear but keep slipping, and you want to know why, Clearahead is built for that.
Weighing up other options too? See OKR alternatives compared.
What is OKR software?
OKR software is built to run objectives and key results, the goal-setting framework popularised by Intel and Google. Most tools in the category do the same core things: help you write objectives and key results, link team goals to company goals, collect regular check-ins on progress and confidence, and turn it all into dashboards and reports.
Two examples show the range. Perdoo describes itself as a strategy execution platform: OKRs and KPIs alongside strategy maps, check-ins, 1:1 meetings, performance reviews and an AI assistant, with a free plan for small teams. Tability focuses on keeping goals current: weekly check-ins, a strategy map, asynchronous stand-ups and an AI agent that writes check-ins and summarises results. Companies that ran OKRs in Microsoft Viva Goals, which Microsoft retired at the end of 2025, often look at Zensai’s Perform365, which keeps OKRs inside Teams. There are many others, and features change quickly, so it's worth checking each vendor's site.
Where OKR software came from
For years, OKRs lived in spreadsheets and slide decks. As the framework spread, especially after John Doerr's book Measure What Matters in 2018, a wave of dedicated tools appeared to take the admin out of it. More recently, many have added AI to help write goals and check-ins, recognising that the hardest part of OKRs is keeping them current.
We've covered the framework itself, its history and its strengths and weaknesses, in OKRs vs Clearahead. This page is about the software.
OKR software pros and cons
What OKR software does well, and where it struggles.
Where OKR software shines
- They make OKRs far easier to run than spreadsheets and slides.
- Alignment views and strategy maps show how team goals connect to company goals.
- Regular check-ins and automatic reports keep progress visible.
- Many now include AI to help draft goals, write check-ins and summarise progress.
- Many offer free tiers for small teams and per-user pricing as you grow.
Where OKR software struggles
- They inherit OKRs’ weak spots: key results show whether you’re on track, not why you aren’t.
- Check-ins still need people to update numbers and confidence every week.
- Alignment trees can grow large and hard to read in a growing company.
- Some combine OKRs with performance reviews, which can make people set safer goals.
- They assume you’ve adopted OKRs, which is a commitment in itself.
OKR software vs Clearahead: side by side
| OKR software | Clearahead | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Software for setting, aligning and tracking OKRs and KPIs | Software for one company goal: the constraints holding it back and the moves that clear them |
| Examples | Perdoo, Tability and many others | Clearahead |
| The question it answers | Are our key results on track? | What is holding the goal back, and who is clearing it? |
| Structure | Objectives, key results and initiatives across company, team and individual levels | One goal per workspace, constraints in your order, moves with one owner and a due date |
| Keeping it current | Regular check-ins, increasingly helped by AI | Owners tell AJ in a sentence; AJ updates the model and logs the evidence |
| AI | Varies: drafting goals, writing check-ins, summarising progress | AJ sets up the goal with you, keeps the model current and writes a weekly brief |
| Cost | Often a free tier for small teams, then priced per user | Free for up to 3 people and 1 workspace; £297/month or £2,997/year for the whole company |
How OKR software and Clearahead differ in practice
OKR tools make a framework easier to run. Clearahead runs a different framework. The difference shows up in what you look at every week.
Key results, or constraints
In an OKR tool, the main view is a set of key results and how they're tracking. In Clearahead, the main view is the goal and the constraints really holding it back, in the order your team chooses, with the moves under each. It's built on the Theory of Constraints, so when progress stalls, you can see what's in the way rather than just a number going amber.
Alignment trees, or one shared model
OKR tools are good at showing how many team goals ladder up to company goals. That's valuable in a big organisation, but a smaller company often needs the opposite: fewer goals, one picture, everyone in it. In Clearahead, there's one goal per workspace, heads of department own constraints, their teams own moves, and the board and advisers follow along as Viewers at no extra cost.
AI for check-ins, or AI that runs the model
Several OKR tools now use AI to draft check-ins and reports. In Clearahead, AI is the way the whole thing works: you set the goal by talking to AJ, update it by telling AJ in a sentence, and AJ writes This week from AJ, with up to three things that need a decision.
What Clearahead doesn't do
Clearahead doesn't score key results, build alignment trees, track KPIs or run performance reviews. If you need those, a dedicated OKR tool is the better choice.
Should you choose OKR software or Clearahead?
Choose OKR software if
- You’re committed to OKRs and want them out of spreadsheets.
- You need to align goals across many teams and report on them consistently.
- You want KPIs and OKRs side by side in one tool.
- Your board or investors expect OKR reporting.
Choose Clearahead if
- You know the goal, but not what’s stopping it.
- Your OKR check-ins have become a weekly form to fill in.
- You’re a smaller company that needs focus more than an alignment tree.
- You want the whole company, including advisers, looking at one simple picture.
Our honest read
If your company has committed to OKRs, buy an OKR tool; you'll get more from software built for the framework than from one built for something else. The leading tools are good and getting better.
If you're not sure OKRs are working, though, better OKR software won't settle it. The question to ask is whether your problem is setting goals or reaching them. If it's reaching them, and nobody can say exactly what's in the way, Clearahead is built for that, and it works happily alongside the goals you already have.
Questions about OKR software
Is Clearahead OKR software?
No. Clearahead doesn’t score key results or build alignment trees. It focuses on one goal and what’s holding it back. Many teams use their top objective as the goal and their key results as how they’ll know they’ve got there.
Can you use OKR software and Clearahead together?
Yes. Keep your OKRs in your OKR tool. For the objectives that matter most, use a Clearahead workspace to find the constraints holding them back and track the moves that clear them.
Which OKR tool should I choose?
It depends on your size and how deeply you use OKRs. Perdoo combines OKRs with KPIs, strategy maps and performance reviews; Tability focuses on check-ins and AI help. Check each vendor’s current features and pricing, as they change often.