The 10 Best Microsoft Viva Alternatives and Competitors to boost employee experience

Why look for a Microsoft Viva alternative?

Microsoft Viva is a big name in employee experience, especially for companies already deep in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. But it’s far from a one-size-fits-all solution.

Here’s why teams start searching for Microsoft Viva alternatives:

• Disjointed experience – Viva is made up of multiple standalone apps, which can lead to a fragmented and clunky user journey.
• Low engagement – Adoption can lag, especially among frontline and hybrid workers who need intuitive, mobile-first tools.
• IT-heavy setup – Getting started (and staying up and running) often requires ongoing support from your IT team. Not ideal for lean orgs.
• Not built for frontline use cases – Viva struggles to meet the needs of non-desk workers or dispersed teams who need simple, fast access on mobile.
• Hidden costs – While Viva may seem low-cost, core features like Glint, Pulse, and Engage come with extra licensing fees.
• Lacks depth in culture and comms – If you're looking for native tools for recognition, community, or vibrant culture-building, Viva leaves gaps.

That’s why many are comparing Microsoft Viva vs Workvivo and other platforms that offer a more unified, user-friendly, and engaging experience.

Top 10 Microsoft Viva alternatives in 2025

Whether you need stronger engagement, simpler UX, or better mobile access, these 10 alternatives offer standout solutions. From Workvivo to emerging challengers, here are the top platforms worth considering this year.

1: Workvivo

Workvivo stands as a revolutionary employee experience platform (EXP) that transforms internal communication and fosters exceptional employee engagement. Designed to meet the needs of the digital-first workplace, Workvivo aims to empower individuals and create a strong sense of connection among team members.

With its intuitive, user-friendly design and familiar social experience, Workvivo ensures seamless onboarding and effortless adoption. By prioritizing communication and engagement, Workvivo drives improved retention rates, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity.

Pros:

• Streamlined collaboration: Workvivo consolidates all communication and engagement tools into a unified platform, serving as the central hub for your employees.
• Direct leadership connection: Enable direct communication between leaders and staff, fostering a deep sense of belonging and eliminating barriers.
• Interactive engagement: Workvivo empowers employees to share, engage, and interact through open two-way communication, fostering inclusivity and driving overall engagement.

Cons:

• Advanced features: If your organization requires a basic internal social media-style communication tool, the extensive capabilities of Workvivo may exceed your requirements.
• Size considerations: For smaller organizations with fewer than 100 employees, cost considerations and resource availability may impact the feasibility of adopting Workvivo.

Workvivo is best for:

• Revolutionizing internal communication and fostering exceptional employee engagement
• Enhancing employee retention, hiring, and productivity
• Cultivating a thriving company culture and driving improved performance

Key features of Workvivo:

• Streamlined communications: Centralize employee conversations through various channels, including posts, articles, mobile notifications, newsletters, podcasts, and live streams.
• Employee engagement: Foster engagement with feedback collection tools, pulse surveys, recognition shoutouts, milestone celebrations, and “say hi” intro videos for new hires.
• Digital hub (Intranet): Utilize Workvivo as a comprehensive digital hub for storing and sharing documents and resources, integrating with other tools in your tech stack, creating collaborative wiki pages, and launching external apps.
• Data analysis: Leverage Workvivo’s robust analytics capabilities to track and measure employee usage data, enabling data-driven decision-making for effective performance management.

Final Verdict:

Workvivo empowers organizations to revolutionize internal communication and foster exceptional employee engagement.

G2 review: Read the comprehensive Workvivo reviews on G2. Spoiler alert: users rate us with 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Pricing: Workvivo offers a subscription-based pricing model billed per user, per month (annually).

2: Workday

Workday provides cloud-based HR and financial management software. Its employee experience platform includes tools for learning, development, and engagement.

Pros:

• Robust HR and finance capabilities: Great for managing core HR functions and enterprise-level workflows.
• Scalable for large organizations: Designed to support global workforces and complex structures.
• Strong analytics and reporting: Offers advanced tools for workforce planning and insights.

Cons:

• Not built for engagement: Lacks native tools for culture, recognition, or community building.
• Complex and costly to implement: Long rollout times and high setup costs can be a barrier.
• Clunky user experience: The interface can feel dated and unintuitive for employees.

Workday is best for:

Enterprise HR teams focused on compliance, payroll, and workforce management, not employee connection.

G2 Review: Workday review

Pricing: Pricing Page

3: Poppulo

Poppulo offers tools for targeted internal communication, employee surveys, and measurement of communication effectiveness.

Pros:

• Strong internal comms focus: Great for pushing out messages across email, digital signage, and intranet.
• Advanced analytics: Tracks open rates, click-throughs, and employee engagement with comms.
• Omnichannel reach: Designed to unify messaging across multiple internal channels.

Cons:

• One-way communication: More of a broadcast tool—limited employee interaction or community-building.
• Not built for engagement or culture: Lacks native features for recognition, social interaction, or belonging.
• Complex setup: Requires time and IT involvement to get up and running across systems.

Poppulo is best for:

Internal comms teams at large enterprises focused on top-down messaging, not two-way engagement or culture.

G2 Review: Poppulo Review

Pricing: Poppulo pricing

4: SocialChorus

SocialChorus is an employee communication platform that helps organizations reach and engage employees with targeted messaging.

Pros:

• Centralized comms platform: Helps unify internal messaging across channels.
• Strong mobile access: Designed to reach deskless and frontline workers via mobile.
• Campaign management tools: Built-in tools for targeting, scheduling, and tracking comms.

Cons:

• Not built for culture or community: Lacks social features for peer recognition or bottom-up engagement.
• Limited personalization: Feels more like a corporate broadcast tool than a people-first platform.
• Integration challenges: Can be complex to connect with HR tools or broader digital workplace ecosystems.

SocialChorus is best for:

Large organizations that prioritize top-down communication delivery over deep employee engagement or cultural connection.

G2 Review: SocialChorus review

Pricing: Pricing page

5: Beekeeper

Beekeeper is an employee communication platform that streamlines communication and improves engagement.

Pros:

• Frontline-first design: Built specifically with mobile, deskless workers in mind.
• Real-time messaging: Enables fast, direct communication across shifts and locations.
• Operational integrations: Connects with scheduling and task management tools for frontline ops.

Cons:

• Limited culture-building features: Focuses on operations more than engagement, recognition, or community.
• Not ideal for knowledge workers: Lacks robust features for hybrid or HQ-based teams.
• Basic analytics: Insights are more operational than strategic, with limited depth on engagement.

Beekeeper is best for:

Operational teams in industries like hospitality, retail, and manufacturing that need mobile comms—but less focus on company culture or deep engagement.

G2 Review: Beekeeper review

Pricing: Pricing page

6: Jostle

Jostle is a cloud-based intranet solution that improves communication and engagement among employees.

Pros:

• Straightforward intranet hub: Central place for news, documents, and announcements.
• People directory & org chart: Easy to find colleagues and understand reporting lines.
• Basic shout-out feature: A simple way to give quick recognition.

Cons:

• Dated, desktop-centric UX: Lacks the slick, mobile-first experience modern teams expect.
• Shallow integrations: Limited connectivity to HRIS, collaboration, or engagement tools—creates data silos.
• Surface-level analytics & engagement: Minimal insight into sentiment or culture; little beyond basic activity metrics.

Jostle is best for:

Small to mid-size organizations that need a lightweight intranet for top-down updates but don’t require deep engagement, culture-building, or extensive integrations—areas where Workvivo excels.

G2 Review: Jostle review

Pricing: Pricing page

7: Staffbase

Staffbase is an employee communication platform that helps organizations reach and engage employees with targeted messaging.

Pros:

• Strong internal comms platform: Solid for top-down messaging at scale.
• Custom-branded employee app: Helps boost visibility and adoption.
• Intranet & comms combined: Offers a unified place for content and company updates.

Cons:

• Limited focus on engagement & culture: More about broadcasting than two-way connection.
• Steep learning curve for editors/admins: Setup and content management can be complex without dedicated comms teams.
• Premium pricing for core features: Many essentials—like analytics or integrations—are locked behind higher tiers.

Staffbase is best for:

Enterprise internal comms teams with resources to manage content-heavy platforms. Less suited to orgs prioritizing culture, recognition, and grassroots engagement—where Workvivo leads.

G2 Review: Staffbase review

Pricing: Pricing page

8: BambooHR

BambooHR provides cloud-based HR solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Its employee experience solutions include onboarding tools, recognition programs, and a personalized HR help center.

Pros:

• User-friendly HRIS: Clean interface and easy onboarding for HR tasks.
• Centralized employee data: Great for managing PTO, benefits, and org charts.
• Basic employee self-service: Empowers staff to handle simple HR needs independently.

Cons:

• Not built for employee engagement: Lacks depth in culture, community, or internal comms.
• Limited collaboration tools: No social feeds, recognition features, or real-time comms.
• Add-ons add up: The core product is limited without purchasing extras like performance or time tracking.

BambooHR is best for:

SMBs looking for a simple HR system to manage employee data. Not ideal for teams seeking to drive connection, engagement, or vibrant culture—areas where Workvivo excels.

G2 Review: BambooHR review

Pricing: Pricing Page

9: Workplace from Meta (product sunsetted)

Workplace from Meta is a collaboration platform that enables employees to communicate, share files, and collaborate on projects.

Pros:

• Familiar social interface: Feels like Facebook, which can speed up initial adoption.
• Strong real-time comms: Includes live video, chat, and group posts for fast updates.
• Integrations with common tools: Connects with platforms like Google Workspace, Office 365, and more.

Cons:

• Not built for engagement depth: Lacks features to support recognition, surveys, or cultural rituals.
• Discontinued product: Meta is sunsetting Workplace in 2026, forcing customers to migrate.
• Security & data concerns: Some businesses hesitate due to Meta’s track record with data privacy.

Workplace from Meta is best for:

Teams that want a quick, social-style comms tool with minimal setup. But with its phase-out and limited culture features, Workplace isn’t a long-term solution.

G2 Review: Workplace from Meta review

Pricing: Pricing page

Workplace from Meta is leaving the market and has named Workvivo by Zoom as its only preferred migration partner. Learn more here.

10: Yammer

Yammer is a social networking platform designed for businesses that allows employees to communicate and collaborate in a private and secure environment.

Pros:

• Included in Microsoft 365: No extra cost for existing users makes it easy to access.
• Good for open conversations: Encourages company-wide discussions across departments.
• Integrates with Microsoft tools: Seamlessly connects with Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint.

Cons:

• Clunky, outdated UX: Feels more like a legacy forum than a modern engagement tool.
• Low usage rates: Adoption and engagement are often weak, especially among frontline teams.
• Not culture-driven: Lacks tools for recognition, storytelling, and community building.

Yammer is best for:

Organizations already embedded in Microsoft 365 that want a basic internal comms layer. But if you're serious about building culture, boosting engagement, and reaching every employee, Workvivo is the better fit.

G2 Review: Yammer review

Pricing: Pricing page

Ready to experience the future of employee engagement?

Join the growing number of companies choosing Workvivo over Microsoft Viva. See firsthand how Workvivo transforms communication, boosts culture, and drives real connection—wherever your team works.

See Workvivo in action today and discover why smarter teams are making the switch.