Breathe vs Cezanne HR (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Breathe grades higher than Cezanne HR: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Breathe grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Breathe
UK HR software for small firms, priced per business, not per person
Cezanne HR
Modular HR system for mid-sized organisations, quoted by headcount
Which one is for you
Pick Breathe if
- Fits if you're a UK small business that wants one fixed monthly fee
- Works for teams whose main job is knowing who's off and when
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if your company is outside the UK, as it's built for UK businesses
- Skip it if you want payroll built in, since it hands that to Xero
- Pricey if you take every add-on, at £11 to £16 a month each
- Watch out: add-ons stay on after the 14-day trial and are charged unless you switch them off
- Too light for companies over 200 staff, where the plans stop, or anyone needing links beyond Xero
Pick Cezanne HR if
- Fits if you want records, absence, performance and payroll under one UK-run supplier
- Works for firms that want to add modules over time
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price first, as none is published
- Watch out: a minimum monthly fee applies and the page does not say what it is
- Pricey if your headcount swings, since the bill follows last month's average headcount
- Skip it if you want a free plan or trial, as none is listed
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABreatheGood | 2.0GPACezanne HRFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BMicro is £245 a year paid yearly, about £20 a month, in pounds before VAT, for up to 10 staff. That buys records, holiday and absence, documents and reviews. It's in the cheaper quarter of this category, though rotas and recruitment cost extra. | CNo price is published, so the figure is unknown until you ask. The fee changes monthly with modules and headcount, and there is an unstated minimum. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial of every feature and add-on with no card. Turn the add-ons off before it ends, or they're billed. | FNo free plan and no trial is on record in the listing or on its pricing page. |
| Features | BHoliday and absence, records and documents with e-signatures, reviews, onboarding and reports, with rotas, recruitment, expenses, courses and health and safety as add-ons. The whole job, with payroll left to Xero. | BCore people records, recruitment and onboarding, absence and time, performance and payroll. The listing names no gap in the core HR work. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and you'll load staff records and set holiday rules before it's any use. | CNo store rating on record. A full HR system with several modules means setup before staff use it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, linked to Xero Payroll. That's thin on integrations, and there's no desktop app. | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, in several languages. No integrations list on record. |
| Best for | UK small businesses on a fixed monthly price | UK mid-sized firms wanting one HR system |
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: Breathe and Cezanne HR. How we grade
Where they differ
- Breathe also covers reports, expense tracking, shift scheduling and time clock.
- Cezanne HR also covers time tracking, surveys and payroll.
At a glance
| Breathe | Cezanne HR | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | £24 per month for up to 10 employees, billed monthly (pounds, excluding VAT) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of every feature and add-on, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Centurion | Cezanne HR |
| Price read from | breathehr.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Breathe
- Built for UK businesses: prices are in pounds excluding VAT, data sits in a UK data centre, and plans stop at 200 employees.
- Add-ons cost extra each month: rotas and attendance from £11, health and safety £12, expenses £14, learning £15 and recruitment £16.
- Add-ons stay switched on after the trial and are charged unless you turn them off.
- There is no payroll of its own; it connects to Xero Payroll.
Cezanne HR
- No prices are published; every quote is tailored to modules and headcount.
- The pricing page says the service is subject to a minimum monthly fee but does not give it.
- The fee adjusts monthly to the modules taken and the previous month's average headcount.
- Support is run from the UK; check the pricing page for what the subscription includes.
Key features
Breathe
- Holiday and absence
- Staff book leave and report sickness, managers approve it, and a staff holiday planner shows who is off across the business.
- Records, documents and e-signatures
- Employee files, policies and contracts in one place, with documents sent out for electronic signature.
- Performance, onboarding and reports
- Performance management, dashboards and reporting come with every plan, and onboarding workflows sit among its people tools.
- Rotas, time and attendance
- An add-on builds weekly rotas, records clock-ins and clock-outs, generates timesheets, tracks overtime and lets staff swap shifts.
- Recruitment, expenses and learning
- Add-ons track applicants from application to shortlist, collect expense claims, and run bite-size courses for training and onboarding.
- Health and safety
- A newer add-on keeps risk assessments, logs accidents and near misses, and tracks safety roles and certifications.
Cezanne HR
- Core people management
- A central employee database with self-service, unlimited HR data and document storage, and an open API with exports.
- Recruitment and onboarding
- A recruitment module for attracting, managing and hiring candidates, plus onboarding for new starters.
- Absence and time tracking
- Absence management and time tracking modules, with expense management listed in the same solution set.
- Performance and development
- Performance management, pulse surveys, compensation planning, a learning management system and career and succession planning.
- Payroll
- A managed payroll service and an in-house payroll option are both listed among the solutions.
- Mobile apps and languages
- Free mobile apps for Android and iOS, and several interface languages including Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
Plans
Breathe
Micro£24
per month for up to 10 employees, billed monthly
Core HR: holiday and absence, dashboards and reports, documents and policies, and performance management. £245 a year if paid yearly.
Starter£44
per month for up to 20 employees, billed monthly
Core HR for 11 to 20 people, adding time logs. £449 a year if paid yearly.
Regular£99
per month for up to 50 employees, billed monthly
Core HR for 21 to 50 people, adding financial user permissions. £999 a year if paid yearly.
Pro£175
per month for up to 100 employees, billed monthly
Core HR for 51 to 100 people. £1,790 a year if paid yearly.
Premium£419
per month for up to 150 employees, billed monthly
Core HR for 101 to 150 people. £4,519 a year if paid yearly.
Plus£579
per month for up to 200 employees, billed monthly
Core HR for 151 to 200 people. £6,255 a year if paid yearly.
Cezanne HR
Pricing could not be confirmed. See cezannehr.com.
Ways to pay less
Breathe
- Annual discount
About 15% off core HR with yearly billing
Paying yearly saves about 15% on Micro, Starter, Regular and Pro plans and about 10% on Premium and Plus; add-ons are not discounted.
Cezanne HR
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Breathe or Cezanne HR?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Breathe starts at £24 per month for up to 10 employees, billed monthly (pounds, excluding VAT), and Cezanne HR has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Breathe or Cezanne HR?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Breathe nor Cezanne HR has a free plan. Breathe has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.