Breathe vs Zelt (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Breathe grades higher than Zelt: 2.6 against 1.6 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, the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
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
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 Zelt if
- Fits if you are a UK company with 20 or more staff wanting HR and payroll together
- Works for teams that also want laptops and app access managed
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you have fewer than 20 people, as every module has a 20-seat minimum
- Watch out: audit trails, API access and data residency are Pro, which is sold through sales
- Tight if you stay on Core, which caps items like active jobs at 1 to 3
- Skip it if you are not in the UK, as payroll is UK-focused
- Skip it if you want an Android app, as only iOS is listed
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABreatheGood | 1.6GPAZeltWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CThe pricing page publishes no table; only its title says plans start from £5 a month. With a 20-seat minimum, the floor is higher than that. |
| 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 on record in the listing, and a money-back guarantee would not count as one. |
| 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. | CRecords, time off, payroll, expenses, attendance, hiring, reviews and device management. Core caps things like absence policies, onboarding workflows and active jobs at 1 to 3. |
| 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. An all-in-one system takes time to configure. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, linked to Xero Payroll. That's thin on integrations, and there's no desktop app. | CWeb and an iPhone app, with only Xero listed as an integration. |
| Best for | UK small businesses on a fixed monthly price | UK HR and payroll with a 20-seat minimum |
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 Zelt. How we grade
Where they differ
- Breathe also covers reports, expense tracking and shift scheduling.
- Zelt also covers surveys and payroll.
At a glance
| Breathe | Zelt | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Zelt |
| 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.
Zelt
- The pricing page publishes no price table; only its page title says plans start from £5 per month.
- Every module has a 20-seat minimum on both Core and Pro.
- Core caps items such as absence policies, onboarding workflows and active jobs at 1 to 3; Pro is unlimited.
- Audit trails, API access and data residency control are Pro features, and Pro is sold through sales.
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.
Zelt
- Employee records and time off
- The People module holds the employee and document databases, onboarding and offboarding, contract signing, a team calendar and custom approval rules.
- Payroll, expenses and benefits
- The Money module covers payroll, expenses, contractors, benefits and payments, with payroll tied to the same people data as the HR records.
- Attendance and shift planning
- Clock in and out, geo-fencing, overtime rules, pay multipliers and shift planning sit in the Attendance module.
- Hiring
- The Talent module lists automatic job board posting, custom application forms, candidate scoring, an anonymous hiring mode and custom hiring stages.
- Reviews, surveys and goals
- The Growth module includes performance reviews with 360 feedback, engagement surveys with heatmaps, and goal tracking.
- Devices and app access
- The Tech module keeps an asset register, handles device lock and wipe, and manages access to company apps when people join or leave.
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.
Zelt
Pricing could not be confirmed. See zelt.app.
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.
Zelt
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Breathe or Zelt?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Breathe starts at £24 per month for up to 10 employees, billed monthly (pounds, excluding VAT), and Zelt has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Breathe or Zelt?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Breathe nor Zelt has a free plan. Breathe has a free trial.
Which platforms do Breathe and Zelt run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Breathe lists an Android app. Both list a web app and an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.