HR Software

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
4. 04Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
5. 05Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the HR Software page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Employee records, time off, onboarding and reviews in one place, with an app where staff can help themselves.

Before you choose, here are 5 things to know about HR software, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 10 HR software

   1 of them are free or have a free plan, and 4 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   8 of 10 have iPhone and Android apps

   10 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

3. 3

   The middle GPA is 2.2

   0 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Breathe, at 2.6.

4. 4

   Best free option: Zoho People

   Zoho People has the highest GPA of the free ones, 2.4. Low-cost HR records, attendance, shifts and reviews from Zoho.

5. 5

   10 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 10 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three HR software we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.4GPA

   Zoho People

   Free plan · from $3/mo

   For: Most small businesses

   Zoho People keeps staff records, onboarding, documents, time off, attendance by kiosk or biometric device, shift rosters, timesheets, goals and appraisals, on the web, iPhone and Android. It is free for up to 3 users in the US (5 elsewhere) with records, time off and documents, and Workforce, which adds attendance, is $5 a user a month billed annually ($6 monthly). Know the limits: attendance and performance reviews sit on different plans, so both need Enterprise at $8 a user, payroll and recruiting are separate Zoho products, and there is no App Store rating on record.

   The Zoho People Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.4GPA

   BambooHR

   Free trial · from $250/mo

   For: US companies that may add payroll and benefits later

   BambooHR keeps records, time off with accruals, hiring with up to 5 openings and onboarding with e-signatures in one place, on the web, iPhone and Android, and adds reviews and 1:1s on Pro. Core is a flat $250 a month for up to 25 employees, then $10 per employee a month, and the free trial needs no card. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.66 from about 12,800 ratings. It is second because a ten-person company pays $250 a month, five times Zoho People's Workforce price, and US payroll and benefits are add-ons with no published price.

   The BambooHR Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.6GPA

   Breathe

   Free trial · from £24/mo

   For: UK small businesses that want a flat monthly fee

   Breathe keeps staff records, holiday and absence, documents with e-signatures, reviews, onboarding and reports for a flat monthly fee set by company size, on the web, iPhone and Android. Micro is £24 a month for up to 10 employees and Regular £99 for up to 50, in pounds excluding VAT, with a 14-day trial of everything and no card. It is third because it is built for UK businesses: prices are in pounds only, plans stop at 200 employees, payroll is left to Xero Payroll, and add-ons such as rotas and recruitment stay on after the trial unless you turn them off.

   The Breathe Insider’s Guide

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 10 highest graded HR software, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Breathe	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
BambooHR	D	C	B	B	B	2.4
CharlieHR	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Sesame HR	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Zoho People	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Factorial	C	F	B	C	B	2.0
HiBob	C	F	B	C	B	2.0
Humaans	C	F	B	C	B	2.0
Namely	C	F	B	C	B	2.0
Personio	C	F	C	C	B	1.8

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where HR software land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 10

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every HR software we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1BreatheFree trial · from £24/mo2.6
2. 2BambooHRFree trial · from $250/mo2.4
3. 3CharlieHRFree trial · from £21/mo2.4
4. 4Sesame HRFree trial · from $3.75/mo2.4
5. 5Zoho PeopleFree plan · from $3/mo2.4
6. 6FactorialFrom $8/mo2.0
7. 7HiBobPaid2.0
8. 8HumaansPaid2.0
9. 9NamelyFrom $9/mo2.0
10. 10PersonioPaid1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 2,021

  tools graded

• 54

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries