OKR Software Guide: How to Choose the Right Tool

You're a startup or scale-up, and you know how crucial it is to keep your team aligned with your company's objectives. You've already implemented OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) but realized that managing them efficiently is a different challenge. Relying on spreadsheets and manual updates can quickly become overwhelming as your team grows and projects multiply.

That's why dedicated OKR software exists.

OKR software is designed to simplify the process of setting, tracking, and achieving objectives. But with so many tools available, how do you choose the right one for your business?

Here's what most guides won't tell you: Not all OKR software is built the same. Some tools help you track your OKRs. Others help you plan how to achieve them. Understanding this difference is the key to choosing the right tool.

This guide will help you navigate the options. Let's get right into it.

The Missing Piece: Planning vs. Tracking Tools

Before we dive into features and comparisons, you need to understand the most important distinction in the OKR software market—one that most buyers miss.

OKR Tracking Tools

Most OKR software falls into the "tracking" category. These tools are designed to:

• Show you progress dashboards
• Tell you how you're doing (red/yellow/green status)
• Focus on quarterly reviews and reporting
• Help executives see alignment across the organization

Examples: Perdoo, Weekdone, Lattice, Quantive

The problem: Tracking tools tell you how you're doing, but they don't help you figure out what to work on. You see a red status on your OKR, but you still don't know what your team should prioritize this week to fix it.

OKR Planning Tools

A newer category of OKR software focuses on planning—bridging the gap between quarterly goals and weekly work.

• Help you break down goals into weekly plans
• Tell you what to work on each week
• Focus on continuous execution, not just quarterly reviews
• Designed for teams who do the work, not just executives who review it

Example: Loach

The difference: Planning tools answer the question your team asks every Monday morning: "What should we work on this week to achieve our goals?"

What Is OKR Software?

OKR software helps organizations define, track, and manage their Objectives and Key Results. It centralizes the OKR process, allowing businesses to set clear goals, assign ownership, and monitor progress in real time.

By using OKR software, teams can align their individual goals with the company's objectives. This alignment ensures that everyone is working toward the same outcomes, helping to keep the company focused and on track.

Additionally, most OKR software automates many tedious tasks involved in manual OKR management, like progress tracking, updating key results, and setting reminders for regular check-ins.

Why Your Business Needs OKR Software

You've probably tried using spreadsheets or basic project management tools to track your OKRs. Maybe it worked for a while. But as your team grows and projects expand, you'll likely encounter some familiar problems.

The Problems with Manual Tracking

Without dedicated OKR software, managing objectives and key results becomes a hassle:

• Time-Consuming Updates: Updating OKRs across spreadsheets manually takes valuable time that could be better spent on actual progress.
• Lack of Alignment: It's hard to ensure everyone works towards the same goals when updates are scattered and team progress isn't visible in one place.
• Missed Deadlines: When teams don't have a centralized way to track progress, it's easy to lose sight of deadlines or key results that aren't on track.
• Inconsistent Follow-Ups: Without automatic reminders or check-ins, someone always has to chase after team members for updates.
• No Connection to Daily Work: Spreadsheets store OKRs, but they don't help teams know what to do each week to achieve them.

The Benefits of OKR Software

OKR software helps solve these challenges by providing an all-in-one solution to manage, track, and (in some cases) plan OKRs:

• Efficiency: No more chasing team members for updates. OKR software automates much of the process.
• Alignment: Everyone can see how their work contributes to the bigger picture.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Monitor progress in real time instead of waiting for the next quarterly review.
• Visibility: Leaders and team members can see exactly where they stand.
• Scalability: OKR software grows with you, whether you're a team of five or 200.

Key Features to Look for in OKR Software

With so many OKR software solutions in the market, which one do you choose? Here are the key features to prioritize when evaluating OKR software:

1. Easy-to-Use Interface

A complicated tool can be a barrier to getting started. Look for OKR software that's intuitive and simple to use so your team can jump right in without a steep learning curve.

Why it matters: If the tool is hard to use, your team won't use it. And OKRs only work when everyone uses the system consistently.

2. Weekly Planning Capabilities

This is the feature most buyers overlook—and it's the most important one.

Questions to ask:

• Does the tool help you break down quarterly OKRs into weekly priorities?
• Can team members see what they should work on each week?
• Does it bridge the gap between strategic goals and daily tasks?

3. Real-Time Progress Tracking

The ability to monitor progress in real time is crucial. Good OKR software will allow you to instantly see how far along you are with each objective and whether key results are on track, off track, or at risk.

4. Goal Alignment and Cascading

One of the main benefits of OKRs is aligning individual, team, and company-wide objectives. Look for OKR software that offers cascading goals, meaning higher-level objectives are broken down into smaller, actionable key results for teams and individuals.

5. Automated Check-Ins and Reminders

No one wants to chase after team members for updates constantly. Your OKR software should automate the process by sending reminders for regular check-ins and prompting team members to update their progress.

6. Integration with Other Tools

If your team already uses project management, communication, or task-tracking tools like Slack, Asana, Jira, or Google Workspace, find OKR software that integrates seamlessly with them.

7. Affordable Pricing

This is worth considering: Many OKR tools charge €8-15 per user, which adds up quickly and creates barriers to full team adoption.

Pricing Model	What Happens
Expensive per-user pricing (€8-15/user)	Creates mental barriers: "Do we really need to add this person?" Discourages full team adoption.
Affordable per-user pricing (€2-4/user)	Low barrier to entry. Free tiers let you start without commitment. Scales affordably as you grow.

8. Analytics and Reporting

To get the most out of your OKR process, you need the ability to track performance over time. Advanced OKR software includes built-in analytics and reporting features so you can measure how well teams perform against their objectives.

Comparing Popular OKR Software Options

With so many OKR software options available, choosing the right one for your business can be difficult. Here's a comparison of some of the most popular OKR tools on the market:

Planning Tools vs. Tracking Tools

Tool	Type	Best For	Weekly Planning	Pricing Model
Loach	Planning	Teams that need execution help	✅ Yes	Free up to 5 users, then €2.99/user
Perdoo	Tracking	Enterprises needing dashboards	❌ No	Per user (€6-10/user)
Weekdone	Tracking	Weekly reporting	⚠️ Partial	Per user (~€10/user)
Tability	Tracking	AI goal writing	❌ No	Per user ($4/user)
Lattice	Tracking	HR/Performance integration	❌ No	Per user (enterprise)

Loach

Loach is designed specifically for startups and scale-ups that struggle with the translation gap—knowing what to work on each week to achieve quarterly goals.

Unique Features:

• AI-guided decomposition of quarterly OKRs into weekly focus areas
• Weekly planning view that shows strategic priorities
• Check-ins that take 5-10 minutes, not an hour
• Built-in initiative tracking that connects goals to daily work
• Free tier to get started without commitment

Pricing: Free for up to 5 users. After that, just €2.99 per user per month—one of the most affordable OKR tools on the market.

Best for: Teams that have OKRs but struggle with execution. Teams that want to know what to work on every Monday morning. Startups looking for an affordable way to get OKRs right.

Perdoo

Perdoo is a well-established OKR platform that focuses on aligning strategy and execution through goal management. It's designed to help companies set and track OKRs and cascade them throughout the organization.

Unique Features:

• Roadmaps and KPIs alongside OKR tracking
• OKR coaching and learning materials
• Custom OKR templates

Pricing: Free plan for up to 5 users, paid plans starting at around €6.40 per user per month (minimum 10 users).

Best for: Larger companies looking for a comprehensive tracking tool that includes broader strategic alignment features like roadmaps and KPIs.

Limitation: Focuses on tracking and reporting rather than weekly planning. Teams still need to figure out what to work on each week.

Tability

Tability is a lightweight OKR and goal-tracking tool that simplifies the goal-setting process. It stands out by using AI to assist in writing clear and actionable OKRs.

Unique Features:

• AI-Generated Goals for better goal writing
• Daily standups for quick check-ins
• Progress snapshots for visual tracking

Pricing: Starts at $4 per month per seat (minimum 10 seats). 14-day free trial available.

Best for: Small to mid-sized teams looking for AI help with goal writing and daily check-ins.

Limitation: AI helps with writing OKRs, but doesn't help with decomposing them into weekly work.

Weekdone

Weekdone focuses on weekly reporting and progress tracking, making it easier to see what teams accomplished and where they're headed.

Unique Features:

• Weekly status reports
• Team dashboards
• Quarterly planning templates

Pricing: Around €10.80 per user per month.

Best for: Teams that want structured weekly reporting on OKR progress.

Limitation: Reports on what happened, but doesn't guide what should happen next.

How to Choose the Right OKR Software for Your Business

Choosing the right OKR software isn't a one-size-fits-all decision. Each business has unique goals, team size, and operational challenges. Here are the key factors to consider:

1. Define Your Problem

Before looking at features, be clear about what problem you're trying to solve:

• "We don't have OKRs yet" → You need a tool that helps you set and track OKRs (any of the above will work)
• "We have OKRs but don't make progress on them" → You need a planning tool that helps teams know what to work on each week
• "We need executive dashboards and reporting" → You need a tracking tool with strong analytics

2. Consider Your Team Size and Growth Plans

Your company's current size and projected growth are important factors when choosing OKR software.

If you're a small team, you'll want a tool that's easy to set up and use without much complexity. As you grow, your needs will change. Look for OKR software that can grow with you.

Watch out for per-user pricing traps: A tool that costs €8/user seems cheap for a 5-person team (€40/month). But when you grow to 20 people, that's €160/month. And you'll hesitate to add new team members because it increases your bill.

3. Look for Ease of Use

The best OKR software should be easy for your entire team to adopt and use—not just your managers. Tools with clean dashboards, clear instructions, and minimal setup time will ensure higher user engagement.

The real test: Will your team actually use this every week? If it's complicated, they won't.

4. Evaluate Weekly Usage vs. Quarterly Usage

Here's a telling question: How often do teams actually use the tool?

Tool Type	Typical Usage	What This Means
Tracking tools	Monthly/Quarterly	Teams log in for reviews, then forget about it
Planning tools	Weekly	Teams use it every Monday to plan their week

If your current OKR tool sits unused between quarterly reviews, that's a sign you need a planning tool instead.

5. Test It

Finally, always test the software before committing. Most OKR platforms offer free trials, so you can get a feel for how the tool works before deciding.

During your trial, ask:

• Did my team know what to work on this week?
• Did we make progress on our OKRs?
• Did the tool feel like it added value or added work?

Conclusion

Choosing the right OKR software can make all the difference in keeping your team aligned, tracking progress effectively, and driving meaningful results for your business.

But here's the key insight most buyers miss: There's a difference between tracking OKRs and planning how to achieve them.

Tracking tools tell you how you're doing. Planning tools tell you what to do next.

If your team has OKRs but struggles with "What should we work on this week?", you don't need another dashboard. You need a tool that bridges the gap between quarterly goals and weekly execution.

By understanding your team's needs, evaluating whether you need planning or tracking, and testing various options, you can select an OKR software that truly supports your goals.

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Related resources:

• What Are OKRs? — OKR fundamentals before choosing a tool
• Weekly OKR Execution — The planning methodology behind Loach
• Free OKR Tools Guide — Budget-friendly options

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Ready to turn your OKRs into weekly action plans?

With Loach, you can manage your OKRs and initiatives in one place, get AI-guided decomposition of quarterly goals, and give your team clarity every Monday morning. Free for up to 5 users.

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