CharlieHR vs Humaans
We give CharlieHR a 2.4 GPA and Humaans a 2.0, out of 4.0. CharlieHR grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CharlieHR
HR software for UK small businesses, priced by team-size bracket
Humaans
HR system of record for growing companies, with AI agents, by quote
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACharlieHRFair | 2.0GPAHumaansFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CTen people fall in the 5 to 14 bracket at £47 a month, in pounds before VAT. That buys records, onboarding, time off, reviews, surveys and perks. It sits between this category's cheaper quarter and its middle, and HR advice with Charlie Grow starts at £200 a month on top. | 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 7-day trial with no card. A week is short, and the add-ons aren't in it. | FNo free plan and no trial on record. You go through sales. |
| Features | BRecords and documents with e-signatures, self-service onboarding, time off with Slack showing who's out, scheduled reviews, engagement surveys and perks. The whole job for a small team, with payroll left to Xero or PayCaptain. | 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 | CNo App Store rating on record. New hires fill in their own details, but you'll still set up leave types and review cycles. | 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 only, linked to Xero, PayCaptain, Workable, Teamtailor, Spendesk, Hofy, Ravio and Pave. No phone or desktop app on record. | 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 | a UK small business's first HR system | 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: CharlieHR and Humaans. How we grade
Where they differ
- CharlieHR also covers surveys and applicant tracking.
- Humaans also covers workflow automation, AI agents and reports.
At a glance
| CharlieHR | Humaans | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | £21 per month for up to 4 team members (pounds, excluding VAT) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial, no credit card required (add-ons not included) | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Charlie OS Limited | Humaans Inc. |
| Price read from | charliehr.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
CharlieHR
- UK small businesses hiring their first HR system
- Founders who want HR advice alongside the software
- Teams that want a fixed monthly price for their size bracket
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
CharlieHR
- Made for UK businesses: prices are in pounds and exclude 20% UK VAT, and no other countries are named.
- Charlie Recruit costs £55 to £150 a month extra and cannot be bought on its own; Charlie Grow starts at £200 a month for up to 4 people.
- It does not run payroll; it stores payroll details and links to tools such as Xero and PayCaptain.
- No app-store app is listed on its site; Charlie is used in a browser.
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
CharlieHR
- Employee records and documents
- Stores contracts, policies, tax codes and other records on each profile, sends contracts for e-signature and files them once signed.
- Onboarding
- New hires submit their own details through a self-service onboarding flow, with checklists to track tasks and contracts sent for e-signature.
- Time-off management
- Leave requests go to the right manager, public holidays sync to the calendar, custom leave types fit company policy, and Slack shows who is off.
- Performance reviews and engagement
- Run structured reviews and appraisals on a schedule, and send engagement surveys to the team.
- Charlie Recruit
- An add-on applicant tracker with interview scheduling, e-signed contracts, best-fit analysis, blind hiring and a custom careers site.
- Charlie Grow
- An add-on with a dedicated HR adviser, the AskCharlie AI assistant, urgent support and help with compliance and policies.
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
CharlieHR
1-4 team members£21
per month for up to 4 team members
Core Charlie: records and documents, onboarding, time off, performance reviews, engagement surveys and perks.
5-14 team members£47
per month for up to 14 team members
Core Charlie for teams of 5 to 14; the page lists 5-9 and 10-14 as separate brackets at the same price.
15-29 team members£108
per month for up to 29 team members
Core Charlie for teams of 15 to 29.
30-49 team members£185
per month for up to 49 team members
Core Charlie for teams of 30 to 49.
50-99 team members£323
per month for up to 99 team members
Core Charlie for teams of 50 to 99.
100+ team members£431
per month for up to 149 team members
Core Charlie for 100 to 149 people; then £539 for 150-199, £646 for 200-249 and £754 a month for 250 or more.
Humaans
Pricing could not be confirmed. See humaans.io.
