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Performance management · September 2026 Edition

HiBob vs Small Improvements

One of twelve models named HiBob first on the direct prompt; zero named Small Improvements. HiBob was named by eleven of the twelve models and Small Improvements by ten and HiBob carries 23 labels and Small Improvements 11, so the shares are not directly comparable.

HiBob

accepted challenger

Named in sixteen categories this edition.

Small Improvements

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

First-choice share7%7%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%9%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#5A position in a field of 14; printed, not drawn.
Labels2311A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, HiBob reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Lattice was named alongside these two in twelve of the twelve direct answers. Lattice vs HiBob · Lattice vs Small Improvements · PerformYard vs HiBob

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the performance management page.

By framing

How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
HiBobFirst choices, of twelve modelsSmall Improvements
Direct10
Paraphrase20
Comparative00
Budget-constrained031 against Small Improvements
Scale-constrained00
Negative00
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.

Every model, every framing

The seventy-two answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where HiBob and Small Improvements stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.1 Fast
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
HiBob Small Improvements first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, HiBob on the left and Small Improvements on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where HiBob and Small Improvements stood in it.

HiBob first, Small Improvements not the choice

1 of 12 modelsSmall Improvements was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Llama 4 MaverickBetterworks, HiBob, Lattice

Neither was the first choice, one was named

6 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Claude Haiku 4.5Lattice alternatives: 15Five, Betterworks, Culture Amp, HiBob, Leapsome, PerformYard
Gemini 3.5 FlashLattice alternatives: 15Five, Betterworks, HiBob, Leapsome
Perplexity SonarLattice alternatives: 15Five, Betterworks, HiBob, Leapsome
Grok 4.1 FastLattice alternatives: 15Five, HiBob, Leapsome, Paylocity
Qwen 3.7 FlashLattice alternatives: 15Five, Betterworks, HiBob
GLM 4.7 FlashXLattice alternatives: 15Five, Culture Amp, HiBob, Leapsome, Rippling

Neither was named

5 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
GPT-5.4 miniLattice alternatives: Mitratech Perform
Mistral SmallLattice alternatives: 15Five, Culture Amp
DeepSeek V4 FlashLattice alternatives: 15Five, Betterworks, Culture Amp, Leapsome, PerformYard
Kimi K2Lattice alternatives: 15Five, Culture Amp, Leapsome, PerformYard
MiniMax M2.5Lattice alternatives: Engagedly, Paylocity

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
HiBob is not named for this buyer.
Small Improvements6%#7 of 10
HiBobnot named
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
HiBob7%#4 of 14
Small Improvements7%#5 of 14
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
HiBob0%#– of 9
Small Improvements0%#– of 9
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about HiBob

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. One of one in this category shown.

“Best for mid-sized teams running structured reviews... a smart, modern choice if you want to level up reviews without adding another separate tool” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice

What the models said about Small Improvements

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.

“Cheapest credible option (but has seat minimums)” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · soft negative
“The best performance management software for a company with a limited budget is Small Improvements, which is the cheapest credible performance appraisal software” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“Often cited as the best value for money, Small Improvements strikes a balance between robust features and affordability.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Often cited as the cheapest credible option at $3/user/month, making it ideal for small businesses” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.