In the late 90s and early 00s, intranet software solutions were nothing more than clunky digital dumping grounds. Eager to make the post out of these platforms, organisations posted thousands upon thousands of communications without much consideration for UI, UX and employee engagement. They were nice to have but difficult to use; fun to create but garish to look at.
Needless to say, we’ve come a long way since then.
The intranets of today are not only slick in design and brimming with innovative features: they’re a fundamental keystone of the digital workplace. They underpin processes, facilitate collaboration, nurture connections, and breathe life into your culture and strategic goals.
They’re no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a must-have. That’s why, when shopping around for a new platform, you shouldn’t make your decision lightly. With so much riding on this one solution, it’s important you choose the best option for your business – one that truly empowers your people and processes.
To help you make this decision, we’ve compiled a comparison list of 15 of the top employee intranets on the market today.
Setting expectations: Which standard intranet features should you expect?
Before we jump into product comparisons and pros and cons, let’s first discuss feature fundamentals. If you’re new to the world of intranets – or you’re about to make a vendor switch – it’s important to understand what you should expect from your new platform.
While all solutions differ (and some will offer more than others), most platforms will contain the following intranet features in their base packages:
Communication and social networking
Internal communications
UI and design functionality
Document management
Automated workflows and processes
Employee engagement and productivity
User permissions and data security
Tangible usability statistics
Comparing the 15 best intranet software solutions
Now, let’s get stuck into what you’re really here for: the product overviews.
In the following list, we’ll introduce you to 15 of the top intranet platforms on the market. Beneath each entry, we’ll feature a list of pros and cons to help you make your comparison. In the spirit of being as unbiased as possible, we’ve sourced these insights from trusted G2 customer reviews.
1. Claromentis
This next contender has been delivering intranet solutions to businesses across the globe for 25 years. Available on-premise or in the cloud, Claromentis is a highly secure digital workplace solution with a comprehensive API. It consists of four impressive platforms:
Each platform includes a wealth of powerful employee experience, internal communications, compliance and productivity features, with further generative AI capabilities in the works.
The Claromentis team also provides a range of additional services to help you get the most from your investment. This includes; specialised custom application development; Claromentis University learning materials; and full localisation support.
Pros
Claromentis users love the quality, range and impact of features available within the solution, from the powerful automated e-forms to the detailed reporting. They also highly rate the platform’s intuitive customisation, flexible deployment options, and supportive customer service team.
Cons
Some users have experienced difficulties with filtering content, searching for specific discussion threads, and finding platform support information.
As a company, we take all feedback seriously and strive to deliver a stellar user experience for every customer. Our multiple Best Support and High Performer G2 badges are a testament to this commitment.
2. Workvivo
Owned by Zoom, Workvivo is one of the most well known employee experience platforms on the market. It contains many of the features typical of an employee intranet with a few Zoom-inspired features, such as Workvivo TV.
For those of you who are migrating from Meta’s Workplace, this corporate intranet software is the official partner of choice. (However, we suggest you research other vendors before committing blindly.)
Pros
Users praise the platform’s user experience and range of communication features.
Cons
Conversely, many reviews criticise Workvivo’s slow application performance, complicated integrations, and lack of mobile compatibility. Some users also claim that the interface is confusing for anyone who isn’t tech savvy.
3. Guru
Guru is a knowledge base and wiki platform with intranet capabilities. It allows organisations to create, share and translate content across distributed teams.
Pros
G2 users praise Guru for its centralised knowledge base features, which encourage information sharing, regular content updates, and process standardisation.
Cons
The most cited disadvantage of Guru is its poor searchability. Specifically, users express frustration with finding specific information when entering a topic or query. The platform struggles to locate drafts and will sometimes recommend unrelated content.
4. Simpplr
Defined as an employee experience platform, Simpplr places heavy emphasis on cultivating a sense of belonging and wellbeing. Unlike some other platforms in this comparison list, the software contains automation and AI functionality.
Pros
Simpplr users praise the platform’s ease of use and collaboration features.
Cons
The biggest downside to Simpplr is its limited functionality and lack of features, with many users expressing frustration with expensive add ons. Some small to mid-size companies also criticise the company’s poor customer support and inflexible onboarding approaches.
5. Microsoft SharePoint
A well known name in the intranet landscape, Microsoft SharePoint is a content management platform with the ability to create and distribute intranet pages. It’s included in most Microsoft 365 plans, making it a convenient option for many businesses.
Pros
The platform is easy to use and enables collaboration. As you might expect from Microsoft, it also contains a number of data management and security features.
Cons
Microsoft SharePoint is priced higher than many other competitors. In addition to this, users claim the platform lacks customisation and suffers from inefficient searchability and performance. One common issue amongst G2 customers is the fact that only one person can access a file at any given time.
6. Axero
Axero is one of the smaller intranet vendors on the market. As well as providing internal communication applications, the solution also contains a number of enterprise social networking capabilities, including social media embedding and instant messaging.
Pros
Customers like that the platform offers a range of features, including content segmentation and personalisation.
Cons
Users criticise the platform’s steep learning curve for new users, poor application design, and slow feature updates. There are also some accuracy issues with the platform’s search feature.
7. Viva Engage (Yammer)
In 2023, Microsoft rebranded Yammer to Microsoft Viva Engage. (Though many still refer to the platform by its old name!) The platform specialises in enterprise social networking features, allowing employees to message one another, set up virtual town halls, and connect with leadership teams.
Pros
Viva Engage provides ample opportunities for employees to share knowledge, achievements, updates and more. In particular, users favour its intuitive social media functionality.
Cons
Many users describe the platform as clunky and outdated. Viva Engage also has issues with content filtering and excessive notifications, both of which can impede employee productivity and engagement.
8. ThoughtFarmer
ThoughtFarmer contains a range of employee engagement, content management, communication and collaboration tools. The platform also offers some personalisation and customisation options.
Pros
G2 customers compliment the platform’s ease of use and intuitiveness.
Cons
The downsides of ThoughtFarmer include limited customisation, complicated analytics, and some back end design issues. According to some customers, customisations beyond those included in the out-of-the-box package are priced at a high hourly fee.
9. Happeo
Like many other intranet platforms in our list, Happeo comes ready-made with a suite of internal comms, employee experience, reporting and document management features. The platform also integrates well with Google Workspace.
Pros
Users compliment the platform’s simplicity, engaging content and ease of use.
Cons
The product features can be stiff, certain intranet features aren’t included in the base purchase, and some users cite frustration with non-real time analytics.
10. Unily
Unily offers the typical features you would expect from an employee experience platform, including internal comms and communication tools. Unlike some other solutions on the market, they provide some interesting gamified experiences, such as voting-based ideation.
Pros
Users enjoy the platform’s customisation, ease of use and ability to request new features.
Cons
Additional features, such as branded mobile apps, come at an added price. Some users also cite problems with customer support and long ticket resolution times.
11. Bonzai Intranet
Bonzai Intranet is an intranet solution for SharePoint and Microsoft 365. The out-of-the-box platform comes ready-made with pre-built templates and predictive navigation.
Pros
Some users enjoy the easily replicable templates on offer, which help to streamline the implementation and build process.
Cons
As to be expected from an out-of-the-box solution, Bonzai Intranet limits the amount of customisation businesses can achieve.
12. Jive
Jive is an employee engagement and cloud VoIP platform, created by software developers IgniteTech. The platform contains a range of communication, collaboration, engagement and analytics tools.
Pros
The platform is accessible from anywhere – including traditional phones when using a LAN adaptor. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface.
Cons
The platform suffers from slow development cycles and new features are few and far between. Some customers experience slow loading times and lag.
13. Staffbase
Staffbase is an intranet, employee communications and internal comms app, built to drive engagement and nurture digital communities.
Pros
Staffbase customers frequently praise the timeliness and quality of the customer support team and onboarding process.
Cons
The platform has limited drag and drop functionality, making it difficult for users to rearrange and resize content. Some users believe the UX is clunky and find the platform complicated to use.
14. Haystack
The four core pillars of the Haystack intranet are: communication, directory, knowledge and events. Predominantly, the software aims to bring teams together and improve knowledge distribution.
Pros
Customers like the platform’s UI and find it easy to locate resources.
Cons
Content can be crowded and overwhelming for some customers. There are also some limitations with certain features, such as reporting, search and live document editing.
15. Igloo
Igloo aims to connect, engage and upskill workers across frontline and office environments. As such, they specialise in providing intranets for industries with deskless employees, such as hospitality and retail.
Pros
The platform is easy to set up and encourages collaboration across dispersed teams.
Cons
There are a limited number of page layouts and customisations. Some users struggle with searching for files and find the login process vexing.
Choosing your best intranet software: Why Claromentis should make your shortlist
We know what you’re thinking. Okay, so which intranet software is the best?
Unfortunately, that’s a question only you can answer.
Much like any investment, what’s best for one company may not be the best for another. Therefore, you need to find an intranet that you believe will make a tangible, profitable difference to your business. This requires plenty of soul searching, independent research and platform demoing.
That being said, we can say this with confidence: none of the intranets in this blog provide the same quality and breadth of features as Claromentis.
That’s because Claromentis isn’t just an employee intranet.
Our solution contains four powerful platforms, included in every package at no additional cost. With these extra project management, BPA and e-learning features in your toolkit, you can:
So, if you’re looking for an intranet solution that goes the extra mile and outperforms the rest, look no further.
If you’d like to see Claromentis in action – and learn more about our range of features and pricing – book a tailored demo with our team today. We’d love to show you around.
