Ciphr vs Personio (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Ciphr and Personio share a 1.8 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about features, where Ciphr grades higher, or platforms, where Personio does.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ciphr
UK HR and payroll suite for organisations of 200 to 2,000 staff
From £5/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Ciphr if
- Fits if you are a UK organisation of 200 or more that wants HR and payroll together
- Works for HR teams that also want learning and benefits in the same suite
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you have a small team, as it is built for 200 or more
- Tight if you can't commit: the £5 figure assumes a three-year minimum term
- Skip it if you are outside the UK, as it is built for UK compliance
- Skip it if you want a free plan or trial, as none is listed
Pick Personio if
- Fits if you're a European company that wants HR, payroll and hiring together
- Works for teams that already use a separate shift planner
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price before talking to sales
- Not for you if you want to plan shifts inside your HR tool, as that needs a partner app
- Tight if managers mostly work from their phones, as setup and most workflows need the web
- Watch out: the pages we read don't list the countries where its payroll works
- Watch out: the listing shows no performance reviews or onboarding, so ask before you buy
How we grade them
| 1.8GPACiphrWeak | 1.8GPAPersonioWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFrom £5 per employee a month, about $6.50, but only for 125 employees on a three-year minimum term. No plan prices are published. | CWe couldn't read a price: Personio's pages turned our reader away, so plans and prices aren't on record and we can't say what a ten-person company pays. With no figure to compare, it's a C. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is on record in the listing or on its pricing page. | FNo free plan or trial on record. Its pages turned our reader away, so a trial may exist that we couldn't confirm. |
| Features | BCentral HR, UK payroll, recruitment, learning, benefits and analytics. The listing names no gap in the core HR work. | CRecords and documents, time off, working hours, an approvals inbox, recruiting and payroll, with an API and webhooks. The basics are there, but the listing shows no reviews or onboarding, and shifts need a partner app. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A suite this size is bought by quote and set up with implementation scoped inside it. | CNo App Store rating on record. The app covers absences, hours, approvals and documents, and everything else, setup included, happens on the web. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no integrations list or apps on record. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with a public API, webhooks and more than 200 integrations. No desktop app. |
| Best for | UK organisations of 200 or more staff | European firms wanting HR and payroll together |
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: Ciphr and Personio. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ciphr also covers reports and payroll.
- Personio also covers time tracking.
In commonWebApplicant trackingEmployee recordsTime off
At a glance
| Ciphr | Personio | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | £5 per employee / month and up (125 employees, three-year term) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ciphr | Personio SE & Co. KG |
| Price read from | ciphr.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ciphr
- No plan prices are published; the vendor quotes by modules, headcount and support level.
- The 'from £5' figure assumes 125 employees on a three-year minimum term.
- It is built for UK compliance and for organisations of 200 or more staff, so small teams are outside its stated range.
- Implementation is scoped inside the quote, so setup is not a separate published price.
Personio
- Prices could not be confirmed: personio.com and its help center answered with a bot check, so plans, prices and any trial are not recorded.
- It presents itself as built for Europe; the pages read do not list the countries where its payroll works.
- The mobile app covers absences, time, approvals and documents; other workflows and set-up need the web app.
- Shift planning comes through partner apps that sync with Personio, where shifts are created and changed.
Key features
Ciphr
- Central HR
- Cloud HR with absence, performance, documents, employee self-service and reporting, plus an AI assistant.
- UK payroll
- Payroll built around HMRC rules, including RTI and auto-enrolment, with UK-based expert support.
- Recruitment
- Hiring from vacancy to offer, connected to Ciphr HR so a new hire flows into onboarding without re-keying.
- Learning management
- An LMS and eLearning courses, off the shelf or bespoke, that update the learner's record on completion.
- Benefits platform
- An employee benefits platform that shows take-home pay impact and connects to payroll.
- HR analytics
- Dashboards and reports across HR, payroll, learning and recruitment data.
Personio
- Employee records and documents
- One place for employee data and HR documents, which staff can open, download or share from the mobile app.
- Absences and time off
- Employees request time off and see their balance, and can check upcoming absences and team availability where the company allows it.
- Working-time tracking
- Staff record and review their hours on the web or phone, and approved times from partner apps can be sent back into Personio.
- Inbox for approvals
- Managers see open requests and tasks in one inbox and approve or decline them, including from the mobile app.
- Recruiting
- Applicants can be passed into Personio's recruiting module through its Recruiting API, alongside core HR and payroll.
- API, webhooks and marketplace
- Custom integrations read employees, attendance, absences and documents through the API, and webhooks push changes in real time.
Plans
Ciphr
Quote-based suite£5
per employee / month and up, three-year term
Standard HR software for 125 employees on a three-year minimum term. Final price depends on modules, headcount and support.
Personio
Pricing could not be confirmed. See personio.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ciphr or Personio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Ciphr starts at £5 per employee / month and up (125 employees, three-year term), and Personio has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Ciphr or Personio?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Ciphr nor Personio has a free plan.
Which platforms do Ciphr and Personio run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Personio lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web 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.