If you're considering Simpplr, you've probably noticed how much it leans into AI. The platform uses AI-powered search and conversational agents to help employees find updates, policies, and answers across your intranet. That approach can work when your team is comfortable using AI, but it also complicates everyday workflows in ways that slow progress down.
Employees want information to be obvious and immediately accessible. If reading an update, finding a policy, or looking up a colleague requires prompting an agent instead of direct navigation, adoption tends to slow down.
AI doesn't fix content problems either. When ownership is unclear, or information falls out of date, employees lose trust in what they're getting back and fall back to asking teammates, searching email, or giving up entirely.
If you want a simpler way for employees to find what they need with confidence, keep reading. We’ve put together the best Simpplr alternatives to consider for your organization’s employee hub.
Jostle gives teams one go-to place for company updates, essential resources, and the people they need to reach—without relying on AI to find what they need. It works across the web platform and native iOS and Android apps, with JostleTV extending key content to shared screens in spaces like break rooms and factory floors to help keep everyone in the loop.
Publishers post official announcements and critical updates in Jostle’s News feed, targeting the post to one or more groups—department, location, and roles—so employees only see what applies to them. These posts can also require sign-offs to confirm they’ve been read, and, if critical, teams can use Notify to push a notification to all employees who can see the items.
For everyday communication, the Activity feed makes quick updates, cross-team visibility, and recognition easy to see and engage with. This includes Shout-Outs and milestones that help keep culture visible in the flow of work without cluttering the News feed.
To help employees stay informed without constantly checking in, Weekly Digests pull together a personalized recap of what matters most. Each employee’s Digest reflects what’s relevant to them based on who they are and where they work, placing targeted News, Activity highlights, and recent Library updates into a single catch-up view.
The Library stays trustworthy over time through clear ownership and permission controls, allowing Librarians to own and manage their Volumes to keep information current. Teams can also sync documents from Google Drive or OneDrive and control visibility in Jostle, so access stays up to date as people change teams or roles without constant manual permission cleanup.
When someone uses JostleAI “Ask a Question,” answers come only from up-to-date Library content that the employee already has permission to see. Context, like employees’ department or location, keeps responses relevant, helping avoid mistakes without turning AI into the primary way employees navigate basic tasks.
People and Teams views help answer “who can help me with this?” faster and more accurately: Profiles show who someone is, what they do, and how to reach them, while org charts clarify reporting lines and ownership across the organization.
In multi-tool organizations, Links and Custom Views save time by allowing for embedded external tools, dashboards, and web pages within Jostle. That means employees don’t have to bounce between systems as often, keeping them close to essential updates and more involved in the community.
While Simpplr leans into agent-led workflows and conversational interfaces for basic tasks, Jostle focuses on clarity to help users find what they need. Employees can read updates, find policies, and look up colleagues through a clear structure, with AI supporting discovery and self-serve answers in the background rather than forcing its way into every workflow. That balance drives faster adoption and keeps long-term upkeep manageable as content grows.
Jostle pricing is based on user count and plan level, with add-ons available on top of the core plans. Each plan builds on the same core experience, and teams select the level of structure and flexibility they need as they grow.
For 500 users:
Optional capabilities include Tasks, Teams (org charts), Events, Listings, and JostleTV.
All plans also include guided onboarding, mobile apps, integrations with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, SSO and provisioning, APIs and data sync, analytics, governance controls, and built-in AI features.
G2: (4.5/5) – Based on 217 reviews
Capterra: (4.4/5) – Based on 73 reviews
Workvivo is popular with organizations whose employees aren’t at their desks all day. It’s designed for people who move between locations, work in the field, or rely on their phone to stay connected, focusing on interaction and visibility instead of the more rigid structure traditional intranets emphasize.
Communication in Workvivo revolves around a social-style feed. Updates appear alongside comments, reactions, and recognition, so people can respond in the moment instead of just reading and moving on. Teams use the feed for a mix of short updates, longer posts, live video, and day-to-day appreciation through kudos and peer recognition, which keeps communication and culture visible in the same place.
The tradeoff is that posts naturally fade as new ones take their place, so when someone needs to look up a past policy note or a “how do I…?” update, it can take more digging than a structured hub.
Fortunately, Spaces can help prevent everything from blending into one company-wide stream. Teams and locations get their own areas, so what matters in one region doesn’t drown out everyone else, and interest groups have a clear place to participate. That’s where Workvivo tends to feel strongest: ongoing conversation and recognition that stays close to the people it’s meant for.
For organizations that want communication, participation, and recognition to live side by side, Workvivo is a safer choice than Simpplr. But if structure is priority #1, it may fall flat.
Workvivo uses quote-based pricing and is generally sold to mid-sized and large organizations.
G2: (4.8/5) – Based on 2,573 reviews
Capterra: (4.7/5) – Based on 134 reviews
Gartner: (4.7/5) – Based on 127 reviews
Unily is most often chosen by large organizations where employees already work across many systems and locations. It’s used as a central intranet when teams need a consistent place to access company information, tools, and updates without asking people to hunt across platforms.
Integration is a core reason it works in those environments. In Microsoft 365–heavy setups especially, Unily brings content and actions from familiar tools into one experience, and it commonly connects with systems like ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Workday. With it, employees spend less time switching between apps or guessing where a task lives, which matters when daily work depends on several systems working together.
Publishing offers a similar level of structure and control. Central teams set rules around approvals and standards, while regional or functional teams publish updates that apply to their audience. That makes it easier to keep communication consistent without blocking local teams, especially during onboarding, change initiatives, or large internal programs that run over weeks or months.
AI features support that scale without becoming the main interface. Translation and summarization help content reach broader audiences, and recommendations help surface relevant information, but employees still navigate through a structured intranet rather than relying on prompts or agents to get oriented.
Unily works best when there’s clear ownership and a willingness to manage it over time. It’s for organizations that need—and can support—a deeply integrated, governed intranet. But it’s not built to be a social platform, so teams looking mainly for lightweight updates or informal interaction should look elsewhere.
Unily uses quote-based pricing with a modular setup that’s designed for large organizations. Instead of a single all-in plan, teams choose the pieces they need based on how big and complex their intranet and comms program will be.
Packages are usually grouped into four areas:
There are also optional add-ons, including branded mobile apps, in-platform chat, higher-tier support, extra identity connectors, and additional security features.
G2: (4.5/5) – Based on 32 reviews
Capterra: (4.6/5) – Based on 23 reviews
Gartner: (4.4/5) – Based on 3 reviews
Teams choose Staffbase when their internal communication has to reach employees, no matter how they communicate. It shows up in organizations with many locations, mixed work environments, and uneven access to corporate email, where leadership still needs confidence that important messages reach the right people.
At the center of the platform is coordinated distribution. Communication teams can prepare an update once and publish it across multiple channels, including an employee app, an intranet experience, and email, with options like SMS or shared screens when visibility really matters. That approach reduces duplication, saving time while keeping messaging consistent across roles and regions.
Where Staffbase stands out for many enterprises is how closely it fits into Microsoft 365. Updates can appear directly in tools employees already use throughout the day. Instead of asking people to check another destination, communication shows up in Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and Viva—alongside the work they’re already doing.
Audience targeting helps keep that reach from turning into clutter and noise. Messages can be tailored by role, location, or other employee details, and engagement data shows what gets opened or missed. Larger organizations often rely on local publishing as well, allowing sites or regions to share their own updates while still operating within a common framework for consistency.
Staffbase also supports planned communication on top of as-needed mass messages. Editorial planning, campaign-style measurement, and automated sequences help manage recurring needs like onboarding, operational changes, or ongoing HR and IT communication. Its generative AI features make outbound messaging even easier, helping with digests, search, and content preparation, rather than reshaping how employees navigate the platform.
Overall, Staffbase stays focused on communication delivery and measurement at scale. It’s a strong fit when reach, consistency, and visibility are the primary goals, but less effective for teams seeking high-adoption social engagement or a highly customized intranet experience.
Staffbase uses a quote-based model and is packaged by product area rather than a single bundled plan. Organizations typically license one or more core products, with options that scale from Business to Enterprise depending on size and complexity.
The main product areas include:
Additional functionality is available as add-ons, including Screens for digital signage, EX Boosters for extended engagement features like surveys, Q&A, and recognition, and SMS for urgent messaging (may require additional subscription for texting).
G2: (4.6/5) – Based on 244 reviews
Capterra: (4.7/5) – Based on 79 reviews
Gartner: (4.6/5) – Based on 226 reviews
Blink is considered when communication needs to be fast, obvious, and reliable. It’s built for organizations where updates affect daily operations—shift changes, safety notices, location-specific instructions—which frontline teams need those messages to stay in the loop.
Updates run through a straightforward feed built for visibility. Teams share operational messages, company news, and campaigns, and they can push a notification when timing matters. When confirmation is required, Blink can prompt employees to acknowledge a message, which removes the guesswork that often follows critical communication.
It also keeps everyday participation close to where updates live. People can react, comment, and message teammates in the same place, so coordination doesn’t require a separate tool. Recognition, communities, stories, and quick surveys sit alongside updates, which makes it easier to sustain engagement without turning it into a side project.
Access is where Blink stands out from other options. Blink SSO and its app marketplace are designed to make the platform a convenient launchpad for accessing HR systems, scheduling, payslips, and other operational tools. Employees can sign in and use each “integration” from the same app, without hopping between logins all day. That’s especially important in organizations where employees use personal devices or shared terminals, helping to prevent password friction that may slow adoption.
Blink fits best when clarity and reach come first, and when the day-to-day experience needs to stay simple. Teams that require complex intranet structures, detailed event management, or highly granular audience rules—or mostly just work in office spaces—generally look elsewhere.
Blink publishes starting pricing for its Business tier and sells Enterprise through a quote-based process.
G2: (4.7/5) – Based on 257 reviews
Capterra: (4.7/5) – Based on 127 reviews
Gartner: (4.8/5) – Based on 48 reviews
Firstup is usually adopted by organizations that treat internal communication as an ongoing system of workflows rather than a series of one-off announcements. It’s most common in large enterprises where these campaigns, like onboarding, benefits enrollment, safety programs, and change initiatives, need to run the same way every time, across many roles and locations.
Instead of publishing a single update, teams design repeatable communication flows. A new hire might receive a sequence of messages over several weeks. A benefits change might trigger reminders only for employees who haven’t acted yet. What someone sees next depends on who they are, where they work, and how they interacted with earlier steps, which helps reduce blanket blasts while still keeping programs on track.
Those workflows also aren’t tied to one channel. Messages can be delivered through the mix each organization already relies on—email, a mobile app, intranet placements, screens, and Microsoft entry points—so each step shows up where the employee is most likely to notice it. That flexibility is especially useful when different parts of the workforce consume information in very different ways.
Because delivery and engagement are connected, teams can see how each step performs and adjust as they go. If a sequence stalls or a channel underperforms, they can change the timing and placement without rebuilding the entire program. Over time, those refinements help build better workflow strategies that don’t need to be reinvented for every initiative.
But those workflows require more setup and ongoing maintenance than social-first platforms or announcement-focused intranets. Messages only work as intended when employee data, delivery rules, and integrations stay accurate, which turns communication into something teams actively manage over time rather than set and forget.
That level of investment usually makes sense for enterprises running repeatable programs where timing, follow-up, and consistency matter more than speed of setup.
Firstup uses quote-based pricing on annual agreements and typically sells into enterprise deployments. Packaging is tiered, with capabilities expanding by level.
Because inclusions can shift by tier and add-on, teams should confirm what’s included for journeys, advanced analytics, intranet surfaces, and AI features before treating the platform as a single “all-in” solution.
G2: (4.4/5) – Based on 203 reviews
Gartner: (4.8/5) – Based on 27 reviews
Haiilo makes the most sense for communications teams who need clearer control over planned campaigns from start to finish. Teams use it to decide what goes out, who should see it, and how they’ll judge whether it worked, rather than relying on one-off posts or informal updates.
That focus shows up in how the platform is used day to day. Communication is planned ahead of time, scheduled against a calendar, and shaped for different audiences so employees receive a more coherent set of messages instead of a constant stream of disconnected updates. Once content goes out, reporting helps teams see what actually landed, then adjust timing, format, or targeting before the next campaign runs.
Haiilo also extends that approach beyond internal messaging. When organizations want employees to share approved stories externally, the advocacy component gives comms teams a way to guide what’s shared and see how employees participate. That visibility makes it easier to learn what content travels further and what tends to stall, so advocacy stays intentional instead of fading into the background.
AVA AI supports this workflow by reducing friction. It helps comms teams draft and edit content faster, and it helps employees catch up by summarizing missed updates and improving search across intranet content. For people who are often on the move, those same summaries can also be listened to in audio form, which makes staying informed easier when reading isn’t practical.
Overall, Haiilo fits organizations that treat communication as something to plan, measure, and improve over time, with advocacy available when external sharing matters. If your primary goal is simply a lightweight place to post updates, it may feel like more process than you need.
Haiilo uses quote-based pricing with modular packaging, targeted at organizations with 500 or more licenses.
Most buyers license one or more pillars based on their needs:
Costs typically depend on license volume, selected pillars, and add-ons.
Common add-ons include AVA (AI), Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace integrations, HR integrations, enterprise search, premium branding (white-label and custom domain), and private cloud deployment options.
G2: (4.6/5) – Based on 289 reviews
Capterra: (4.3/5) – Based on 29 reviews
Gartner: (4.1/5) – Based on 50 reviews
MangoApps is considered when teams want to consolidate multiple employee tools into one platform. It combines an intranet and employee communications layer with collaboration features and operational workflows, which can fit frontline-heavy or regulated environments.
For communications and knowledge, MangoApps supports targeted updates, surveys, and structured spaces for policies and SOPs. Role-based dashboards can uncover content and links from other systems, which helps when information sits across several tools.
MangoApps also includes work execution features. Teams get collaboration spaces with chat, tasks, files, and project-style coordination, plus self-service areas for HR, IT, and operations content. That breadth can reduce tool sprawl, but it can also overlap with systems you already run for collaboration or HR.
Frontline workflows are a major part of the product scope. The platform highlights scheduling visibility, shift changes, time-off requests, and clock-in/clock-out, with optional controls like geofencing. It also positions onboarding and training journeys alongside broader HR-oriented capabilities, which can complement (or overlap with) dedicated HR platforms.
Where teams often slow down is deciding how much of the platform to use. Because MangoApps spans intranet, communications, collaboration, and HR-adjacent workflows, it can grow beyond the original use case. Organizations frequently have to choose between adopting MangoApps’ built-in workflows and continuing to rely on existing systems.
That breadth also increases rollout and ownership complexity. Different parts of the platform tend to involve different stakeholders, which makes governance and change management more involved over time.
For teams that mainly want a clear communications hub and source of information, MangoApps can feel larger to administer than necessary.
MangoApps offers published pricing for its Workplace plans, alongside a separate Enterprise option for larger deployments. Pricing scales by plan and user count, with each plan including 25 users, then a per-user rate beyond that.
MangoApps also offers optional add-ons and services, such as an enhanced intranet home experience, onboarding and implementation support, and industry-specific requirements (for example, healthcare compliance).
G2: (4.2/5) – Based on 126 reviews
Capterra: (4.4/5) – Based on 150 reviews
Gartner: (4.4/5) – Based on 41 reviews
If you're evaluating Simpplr alternatives because AI-first navigation feels like it adds more friction than it removes, you need a platform where the core workflows are effective and intuitive, without requiring employees to learn how to prompt effectively.
The alternatives in this guide address that in different ways. Some prioritize social engagement and participation over structured knowledge management. Others emphasize multi-channel reach or enterprise-scale orchestration. The common thread is that they don't make AI agents the default path for everyday tasks. They use structure, feeds, or channels to help employees find what they need.
Jostle works best when you need a hub that drives consistent adoption without requiring complex configuration or heavy ongoing administration. Updates stay visible through targeting so employees see what applies to them, while policies and resources stay organized in maintained knowledge areas where they can be found again when needed. Finding people and accessing tools works the same way—direct navigation shows you what you're looking for without needing to search or prompt an agent.
AI improves discovery and helps with self-serve answers in Jostle, but it supports the experience rather than driving it. Employees can complete everyday tasks, like reading updates, finding policies, and looking up colleagues, through clear structure and navigation.
That approach drives faster adoption and makes long-term maintenance simpler, which matters when you need a hub that works consistently without constant oversight.
If you want a clear employee hub that:
Give Jostle a try.
Schedule a demo to see how Jostle fits your organization.