Emplify (15Five)

Emplify at a Glance

Emplify Pros and Cons in 2026

Where Emplify Stands Out

• Validated psychometric engagement survey methodology: Emplify's research-backed survey design now sits inside 15Five Engage at the $4 entry tier
• Integrated with 15Five Perform and Compensation: engagement, reviews, OKRs, and compensation in one platform after absorption
• HR Outcomes Dashboard: Manager Effectiveness Indicator quantifies HR impact on engagement and retention
• $4 per user per month entry pricing: lowest published entry point for survey-led engagement compared to quote-only competitors
• Manager training microlearnings: bundled at the Total Platform tier with Engage plus Perform

Where Emplify Falls Short

• Emplify standalone product no longer sold; buyers must purchase 15Five Engage instead , not a like-for-like option for legacy Emplify-only customers
• emplify.com redirects to 15five.com; brand continuity is gone for net-new buyers searching "Emplify"
• Engage tier alone lacks performance review functionality; reviews require Perform or Total Platform upgrade
• Annual billing required across all 15Five plans; no monthly option
• English-only interface limits multilingual deployments

Who Should Use Emplify?

Mid-market and enterprise people teams (250 to 5,000 employees) wanting validated engagement surveys integrated with performance reviews, OKRs, and compensation. Net-new buyers should engage 15Five sales directly given the Emplify brand consolidation. For unified people platform with HRIS, see Lattice. For deeper engagement benchmarking across 6,800+ companies, consider Culture Amp. For mid-market HRIS, see BambooHR or HiBob. For broader categories, see our employee engagement guide or HR software guide.

Emplify Product Suite in 2026

Emplify (now 15Five Engage) Modules in 2026

• Engage ($4): validated engagement surveys, eNPS, lifecycle surveys, action planning, heat maps, benchmarking
• Perform ($11): HR Outcomes Dashboard, Manager Effectiveness Indicator, performance reviews, OKRs, 360 feedback, talent matrix
• Total Platform ($16): Engage plus Perform plus manager training microlearnings
• Compensation Add-On: $9 per user per month for compensation planning ($11 with salary benchmarking)
• Kona AI Coach Add-On: $19 per manager per month for AI coaching
• Manager Products: $49 per manager per month for on-demand learning content
• Mobile App: iOS and Android 15Five app for surveys, goals, feedback, reviews

Emplify Acquisition Timeline and 15Five Integration

Emplify was founded 2014 in Indianapolis by Santiago Jaramillo and Adam Weber. 15Five acquired Emplify on April 27, 2021 for $50 million, fully absorbing the engagement-measurement product into 15Five Engage. The emplify.com domain now redirects to 15five.com. Co-founders Santiago Jaramillo and Adam Weber transitioned out of operational roles post-acquisition. The validated survey methodology continues as the core of 15Five Engage at the entry tier.

How Much Does Emplify Cost in 2026?

Emplify pricing is now 15Five pricing post-acquisition. 15Five publishes three plans: Engage at $4 per user per month (the Emplify successor tier), Perform at $11, and Total Platform at $16. All plans require annual billing. Compensation, Kona AI Coach, and manager learning content are priced as separate add-ons.

Emplify (15Five Engage) 2026 Pricing

• Engage - $4 per user per month (annual billing); Emplify's validated engagement survey methodology, eNPS, action planning, benchmarking
• Perform - $11 per user per month (annual billing); HR Outcomes Dashboard, performance reviews, OKRs, 360 feedback, career paths
• Total Platform - $16 per user per month (annual billing); Engage plus Perform plus manager training microlearnings
• Compensation Add-On - $9 per user per month (annual); $11 with salary benchmarking
• Kona AI Coach Add-On - $19 per manager per month (annual); AI coaching and skill development

Hidden Costs and Contract Gotchas to Watch For

• Annual billing only; no monthly option for teams testing the platform
• Compensation add-on $9 per user per month or $11 with salary benchmarking layered on top of Total Platform
• Kona AI Coach add-on $19 per manager per month and Manager Products $49 per manager per month stack on top of base fees
• Implementation services beyond self-serve onboarding billed separately
• Multi-year commitments common at enterprise tier with renewal terms requiring careful review

Emplify Implementation Path

Implementation runs through 15Five customer success since the Emplify product was absorbed in April 2021. Most SMB customers launch Engage self-serve within 1 to 3 weeks. Mid-market customers adopting Engage plus Perform plus Total Platform together typically take 4 to 8 weeks. The remote-first 15Five customer success team supports configuration, weekly check-in setup, and integration with HRIS providers.

Emplify vs the Alternatives

Emplify (15Five Engage) versus Culture Amp: Culture Amp is engagement-led with deeper benchmarking across 6,800+ companies and quote-only pricing. 15Five Engage offers transparent $4 per user per month with Emplify's validated survey methodology integrated with 15Five Perform.

Emplify (15Five Engage) versus Lattice: Lattice is unified people platform with HRIS, OKRs, Compensation, and Grow plus modular standalone pricing. 15Five with Emplify is performance plus engagement focused with transparent self-serve pricing.

Emplify (15Five Engage) versus standalone 15Five: These are the same product post-acquisition. Net-new buyers should evaluate 15Five directly; existing Emplify customers continue under the 15Five contract.

What Real Buyers Report About Emplify

Existing Emplify customers and net-new 15Five Engage buyers commonly point to the engagement survey methodology, the validated psychometric question library, and the $4 per user per month entry pricing. Reviewers regularly mention the integration with 15Five Perform and Compensation, the HR Outcomes Dashboard for proving HR ROI, and the Manager Effectiveness Indicator. Reviewer complaints centre on the Emplify brand consolidation that creates buyer confusion and the annual-only billing requirement. Buyers running 250 to 5,000 employees in technology, SaaS, healthcare, and financial services tend to see Emplify-now-15Five-Engage as a strong validated-survey option at the SMB and mid-market entry point.

Bottom Line: Is Emplify Right for You?

Emplify as a standalone brand no longer exists; the validated engagement survey methodology now powers 15Five Engage at $4 per user per month. The April 2021 acquisition for $50 million fully absorbed the product into 15Five's strategic performance suite alongside Perform, Total Platform, Compensation, and Kona AI Coach. For mid-market and enterprise buyers wanting validated engagement surveys integrated with performance reviews and compensation, the consolidated 15Five platform offers the strongest path forward. For deeper standalone engagement benchmarking, Culture Amp remains a primary alternative.

Emplify within the broader employee engagement and HR software ecosystem now operates as the engagement-survey product line under 15Five following the April 2021 acquisition. Net-new buyers should typically engage 15Five directly given the product consolidation under the unified Performance + Engagement + OKRs platform. Buyers wanting standalone survey-first tools should compare Culture Amp for deeper survey science depth, Lattice for the integrated performance-plus-engagement workflow, and WorkTango for the converged recognition-plus-survey play. The 15Five-backed combination brings managerial coaching workflows that pure-survey tools cannot replicate at the same depth, particularly for mid-market HR teams running quarterly engagement cycles alongside continuous performance check-ins.