BambooHR vs Humaans
We give BambooHR a 2.4 GPA and Humaans a 2.0, out of 4.0. BambooHR grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. Humaans grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BambooHR
HR records, hiring, time off and reviews, with US payroll as an add-on
Humaans
HR system of record for growing companies, with AI agents, by quote
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABambooHRFair | 2.0GPAHumaansFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DCore is a flat $250 a month for up to 25 employees, so a ten-person company pays $250, or $25 a head. It buys records, time off, hiring and onboarding. That's the dearest tenth of this category, where most charge $3.75 to $9 a person. | CNo price is published: Growth, Enterprise and the Athena agents are all sold through sales, and VC-backed firms can get a partner rate. So we can't say what a ten-person company pays, and with no figure to compare, it's a C. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a free trial with no card that ends on its own rather than turning into a bill. | FNo free plan and no trial on record. You go through sales. |
| Features | BRecords and reports, time off with accruals, hiring with 5 openings, onboarding with e-signatures and an AI assistant, then reviews and 1:1s on Pro. The whole job, with US payroll and benefits as add-ons. | BA people directory, documents, an org chart, time off, timesheets, onboarding and approval workflows, and pay changes tracked and exported for payroll. The whole job, though reviews are an add-on and it doesn't run payroll itself. |
| Ease of use | B4.66 from 12,758 App Store ratings, which is a lot of happy people for HR software. Just under the 4.7 that would make it an A. | CNo App Store rating on record, and wiring it to your payroll providers and other tools is part of the setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Greenhouse, Checkr, Culture Amp, Remote, Indeed and TalentLMS. No desktop app. | BWeb only, with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Okta, Docusign, Lattice, Ashby and Greenhouse, plus an API and webhooks. No phone app, only the browser. |
| Best for | small US companies leaving HR spreadsheets | venture-backed teams in several countries |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BambooHR and Humaans. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only BambooHR lists iOS and Android apps.
- BambooHR also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
- Humaans also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
At a glance
| BambooHR | Humaans | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $250 per month for up to 25 employees, then $10 per employee / month | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card required; it ends on its own | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BambooHR | Humaans Inc. |
| Price read from | bamboohr.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
BambooHR
- Small and mid-sized US companies replacing spreadsheets for HR
- Teams that want hiring, onboarding and time off in one system
- US employers that may add payroll and benefits later
Humaans
- Venture-backed companies with staff in several countries
- People teams that want a clean system of record linked to other tools
- Companies that keep a separate payroll provider in each country
Worth knowing
BambooHR
- Teams of 25 or fewer pay the flat monthly fee whatever their size; per-employee pricing, with volume discounts, starts above 25 employees.
- Payroll and benefits administration are add-ons for US employees only, and their prices are not published.
- The plan cards show $10 and $17 per employee for Core and Pro, while the FAQ on the same page says $10.25 and $17.50.
- Job openings are capped by plan: 5 on Core, 25 on Pro and 50 on Elite.
Humaans
- No prices are published: Growth, Enterprise and Athena are all sold through sales, and VC-backed firms can get a partner rate.
- Performance reviews, the AI companion, headcount planning, DE&I analytics and data tables are add-ons on top of a plan.
- It does not run payroll; it prepares changes for outside payroll providers. Its customers are in 28 countries, with staff in 106.
- There is no app-store app: the mobile version runs in a phone's browser.
Key features
BambooHR
- Employee records and reports
- One database for people data, with a custom report builder, dashboards and built-in workflows for approving changes and time-off requests.
- Hiring and onboarding
- Post jobs to job boards, track candidates, send offer letters from templates, and give new hires a packet with e-signatures and an onboarding checklist.
- Time off
- Unlimited custom time-off policies with accruals, approvals and a shared calendar of who is out.
- Performance and recognition
- On Pro and Elite, run 360-degree review cycles, schedule 1:1s, track goals and give recognition points staff can redeem for gift cards.
- Ask BambooHR
- An AI assistant answers employees' questions about time off and holidays from company data, and on higher plans about policies and benchmarks.
- Payroll, benefits and time add-ons
- Add US payroll with tax filing, benefits enrollment with carrier connections, and time tracking with shift scheduling and an iPad kiosk.
Humaans
- People directory and documents
- Employee profiles, an org chart, document storage and custom fields, with permission roles deciding who sees what.
- Absences and timesheets
- Staff request time away and managers approve it from any device, and timesheets log hours for compliance.
- Onboarding and workflow automation
- Automate onboarding and offboarding steps and route employee requests through approvals.
- Payroll-ready exports
- Tracks changes to pay, bank details, addresses and time off for each location, and sends them to payroll providers by export or SFTP.
- Athena AI agents
- Pre-built agents and a natural-language builder triage employee requests, run approvals and automate HR work, with an audit log of every action.
- Integrations and API
- Connects to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Okta, Docusign, Carta, Lattice, Ashby and Greenhouse, with an API and webhooks.
Plans
BambooHR
Core$250
per month for up to 25 employees
Records, reports, time off, hiring with 5 job openings, onboarding and the AI assistant. Above 25 employees, $10 per employee a month ($10.25 in the FAQ).
Pro$425
per month for up to 25 employees
Core plus performance reviews, 1:1s, recognition and rewards, and 25 job openings. Above 25 employees, $17 per employee a month ($17.50 in the FAQ).
Elite$650
per month for up to 25 employees
Pro plus compensation planning with Mercer benchmarks, custom dashboards, HR benchmarks and 50 job openings. Above 25 employees, $25 per employee a month.
Humaans
Pricing could not be confirmed. See humaans.io.
Ways to pay less
BambooHR
- Nonprofit
15% off for registered nonprofits
BambooHR takes an additional 15% off for registered nonprofit organizations.
- Other savings
15% off when bundling payroll and benefits
Combining the Payroll and Benefits Administration add-ons with any plan gives a 15% discount, for employees based in the US.
Humaans
No public discounts listed.
