Most people searching for another tool aren't unhappy with EOS. They are unhappy with a price at their headcount, a feature on a higher plan, or the feeling that the software covers only leadership meetings. So the first split is whether you are keeping the method.
If you are, three of the products below will feel familiar, and switching is mostly a data job. If you aren't, you are changing how the company runs, and software is the smaller part of that decision. We read each vendor's own site for this list. EOS® is a trademark of EOS Worldwide, and we use the term only to identify the method.
Why people look at Ninety alternatives
We can only support reasons that show up in Ninety's own published terms, so we have left out anything based on reviews or hearsay. Four stand out.
- Tiers gate the newest tools. Essentials at $12 gets you L10s, Scorecards and Rocks. Maz AI, process documentation, custom assessments and API access appear only on Thrive at $16. A 30-person team paying for Thrive just to get process docs adds $120 a month over Essentials.
- Per-user cost grows with you. At $16 a user, 50 active participants cost $800 a month. Observers view for free, which softens this, but owners, admins, managers and direct reports who actively take part need paid seats.
- Annual terms are firm. Annual plans get 10%, but unused licences and cancellations aren't refunded.
- The scope is the operating rhythm. Its pages centre on running EOS. Investors, cash and pipeline records aren't listed, so a startup founder still needs other systems for those.
None of these means Ninety is a poor product. They are simply the points where a different option may fit better.
The options at a glance
| Option | Built around | Price | Trial or entry | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EOS One | EOS, from EOS Worldwide | First user free, then $10 a user | 30-day trial, no card | EOS teams wanting one plan and low seat cost |
| Strety | EOS plus people tools | About $13 a user, lower past 30 users | 30-day trial, no card | EOS teams that want reviews and surveys in one tool |
| Bloom Growth | Its Growth System, and EOS, Scaling Up, Pinnacle | $299, $499 or $999 flat, unlimited users | "Try for free" button, no length given | Larger teams, or anyone wanting a coach |
| Rhythm Systems | Its Think Plan Do method | Not published | Talk to their team | Mid-market leadership teams |
| Wave (ourwave.io) | AI agents and company tools, no named framework | $20, $50, $150 | Trial stated as 7 days on pricing page | Small teams focused on customers and outbound |
| Nautis | Startup records with an AI Chief of Staff, no framework | $49, $99, $129 | 14-day trial, no card | Founder-led startups up to 25 people |
If you are keeping EOS
EOS One
This is EOS Worldwide's own software, from the team behind the Traction book. There is one plan with no feature tiers: V/TO, Accountability Chart, L10s, quarterly and annual planning, Scorecards, Rocks, Issues, To-Dos, Headlines, People Analyzer, 1-on-1s, process docs and surveys. Its AI, called Atlas, is on every seat, and it works inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Copilot through MCP.
A 20-person team pays $190 a month, because the first user is free. It's the first thing to price if your complaint about Ninety is cost or tiering. Observers are free here as well. Ask how long it has been on the market and what your implementer thinks, since we can't judge maturity from a pricing page.
Strety
Strety says it is officially licensed by EOS Worldwide, and it bundles more around the core: Projects, Performance, Surveys, Check-ins and Playbooks are all in the one seat price. Its pricing page says there's no premium tier to upgrade into. If you are currently paying for Ninety plus a separate performance review tool, this is where a consolidation could pay for itself.
Its integration list includes ConnectWise, HaloPSA, Autotask and BrightGauge, which makes it a natural look for managed service providers. The BrightGauge Software integration is billed separately. See Nautis vs Strety if you are also weighing a non-EOS route.
Bloom Growth
Bloom Growth's platform began on EOS and now says any business OS can run on it, with terms you can rename. Its fee is flat, so the sums work differently: it matches Ninety's Thrive at about 19 paid users and Essentials at about 25. Beyond that, each added person costs nothing.
The product is also sold as an ecosystem, with community access on each tier and a coach available from +$2,500 a month. If what you really need is outside pressure on the leadership team, this is the option built around that. Its AI meeting prep and pattern detection start at Scale, $499.
If you want a different method
Rhythm Systems calls itself the strategy operating system for mid-market CEOs, typically companies with about $10M to $500M in revenue. It combines software, coaching and a method called Think Plan Do, running from annual strategy to quarterly priorities to weekly adjustments. Its AI layer writes plans and goals with success criteria, owners and Red, Yellow and Green thresholds. Prices aren't published, and the route in is a conversation with its team, so it isn't a quick swap. A company that wants a heavier planning method with coaching attached may find it worth the call. A company under $10M in revenue probably sits below its stated target.
To compare methods before tools, read EOS vs Scaling Up vs OKRs. If you are unsure whether you need a method at all, EOS for startups covers when it helps a young company and when it's early.
If you don't want a framework
Some founders try EOS, find it heavy for six people, and want tools that help run the company without a method attached. These two products both sell that idea, and neither should be mistaken for EOS software.
Wave (ourwave.io)
This is the AI operating system at ourwave.io, not Wave accounting. It names Goals, Scorecards, Meetings, 1-on-1s and Accountability alongside a CRM, Phone, Mail Campaigns and AI agents. Plans cover 2, 8 and 25 team members. Its pricing page shows $20 and $50 with $38 and $64 marked as billed monthly, and Elite at $150. The pages we read don't mention EOS, so it won't carry your V/TO over in any structured way.
Nautis
We make this one, so weigh our words accordingly. Nautis holds a startup's records in one workspace, including a fundraising CRM, runway, invoices, leads and task boards, and its Chief of Staff produces a ranked briefing and asks before acting. It has no EOS or OKR tooling, so a company committed to EOS should choose one of the tools above. It launched publicly in July 2026, has no plan at $0, and stops at 25 team members. Nautis vs Ninety sets out the trade in full.
What to check before you switch
- Get your history out first. List what you would lose: past L10 notes, Rock history, Scorecard data. Ask your current vendor how to export it, and ask the new vendor whether they import it. Strety and EOS One both state data export on their pricing pages.
- Check your implementer's view. If you pay an EOS Implementer, ask which tools they will work in. Strety and EOS One both offer coach seats.
- Run one full quarter's rhythm on a trial. EOS One and Strety both give 30 days, which covers four L10s. Run them for real, with the actual agenda.
- Move at a quarter boundary. Switching mid-quarter means rebuilding live Rocks. Start the new tool with the new quarter's Rocks.
- Count paid seats honestly. Work out who owns Rocks and Measurables, and who only needs to watch, and then price each option on that number.
When staying on Ninety is the better call
Stay if your team runs its L10s well and the only trouble is a small price gap. On 15 users, moving from Essentials to EOS One saves about $40 a month, which won't pay for the disruption of retraining a leadership team. Stay as well if your coach works in Ninety, or if you run one of the other systems it supports, such as Empire, Fireproof or Pinnacle.
If your issue is that Maz sits on Thrive, price the upgrade before you price a move. Going from Essentials to Thrive costs $4 a user, so 15 people pay $60 more each month and also get process documentation and API access. That's almost always cheaper than a migration.
For a wider map of this category, the business operating system software roundup groups tools by the job they do.
FAQ
What are the main Ninety alternatives for EOS companies?
EOS One, Strety and Bloom Growth are the closest. EOS One is from EOS Worldwide at $10 a user after the first user, Strety is about $13 a user, and Bloom Growth is a flat $299 a month and up, all as of October 2026.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Ninety?
On published seat prices, EOS One is the lowest of the EOS tools we read, at $10 a user with the first user free and no tiers. Ninety's own paid plans run $12 to $16 a user. For a large team, Bloom Growth's flat fee can work out lower per head.
Does Ninety have a free option?
Yes. As of October 2026 it lists a $0 plan with the V/TO, Accountability Chart, assessments, EOS Toolbox and a read-only Knowledge Portal. L10 meetings, Scorecards and Rocks start on Essentials, and there is a 30-day trial of Thrive.
Can I use a non-EOS tool instead of Ninety?
Yes, but you would be changing how you run the company as well as your software. Tools like Wave and Nautis offer goals or tasks without an EOS structure, and Nautis has no EOS tooling at all. If you are committed to EOS, stay with an EOS tool.
Disclosure: We make Nautis, which is one option on this list, so we have a stake in it. The list is based on published information, not a scored hands-on test. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Sources
- Ninety: pricing (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- Ninety: homepage (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- EOS One: homepage (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- EOS One: pricing (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- Strety: pricing (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- Strety: integrations (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- Bloom Growth: pricing (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- Rhythm Systems: homepage (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- Wave (ourwave.io): pricing (checked Oct 31, 2026)