Factorial vs PeopleForce (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Factorial and PeopleForce share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan, and PeopleForce starts cheaper, at $2.50 a month for each person against $8 a month for each person.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Factorial grades higher on value for money and features. PeopleForce grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Factorial
HR, time, shifts, expenses and IT for small firms, quoted by module
PeopleForce
Modular HR software for small and mid-size companies
Which one is for you
Pick Factorial if
- Fits if your staff work shifts and clock in by QR code or location
- Works for firms that want HR, expenses and company devices in one place
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a full price on the page, as only $8 and up is published
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as no trial is on record
- Pricey if you add lots of modules, since each one is quoted on top
- Watch out: monthly plans bill for everyone on staff at the start of each month
- Watch out: the site gives both 12 and 120 customer countries and doesn't list where payroll works
Pick PeopleForce if
- Fits if you have 50 or more people and want to add HR modules one at a time
- Works for teams that want hiring, performance and time under one login
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have under 50 people: billing starts at 50 employees, $125 a month
- Tight if you need hiring, performance or time tracking, as all are extra modules with no prices shown
- Watch out: eSignature, API access and single sign-on need the $3 Professional tier
- Skip it if you want to start alone: the trial begins after a demo session
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFactorialFair | 2.0GPAPeopleForceFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFactorial starts at $8 a user a month, so a ten-person company pays $80 and up, right on this category's middle. That's for Core, with records, onboarding, payslips and e-signatures; any modules you add are quoted on top. | D$125 a month is the floor, because billing starts at 50 employees; one person pays that, and a team of five pays $25 each against a $5 category middle. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan, and the trial links on its pages led to a missing page, so no trial is on record. | C14-day trial with no card, but it starts after a demo call, not by signing up yourself. No free plan. |
| Features | BRecords, documents and e-signatures, time off, clock-ins by location or QR code, shift planning, hiring, reviews, training, expenses and device management. The whole job, with a fair bit more besides. | CDirectory, leave, onboarding and reports in Core HR. Recruiting, performance, time and surveys are separate modules with no published price. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and picking modules with sales, then setting up shifts and policies, takes a while. | CNo store rating on record. Modules each need switching on and setting up, so it is a C. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Google Workspace, Zapier, DATEV, Sage 200, Okta and Power BI. No desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Google Calendar and eRecruiter listed. No desktop app. |
| Best for | shift-based teams wanting HR and rotas together | HR modules for companies of 50 or more |
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: Factorial and PeopleForce. How we grade
Price against what you get
Factorial starts at $8 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PeopleForce starts at $2.50 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Factorial scores higher, and starts $5.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other HR software on the chart, none scores higher than Factorial for less, and none scores higher than PeopleForce for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Factorial also covers time tracking, expense tracking and shift scheduling.
- PeopleForce also covers surveys and time clock.
At a glance
| Factorial | PeopleForce | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8 per user / month and up, by quote | $2.5 per employee / month (Core HR Standard, billing starts at 50 employees) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial after a demo call, no card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Factorial | PeopleForce |
| Price read from | factorial.com | peopleforce.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Factorial
- Only the $8 starting figure is published; the real price comes in a quote that depends on the modules and the headcount.
- Monthly plans bill for the employees present at the start of each month; annual plans bill extra only in months above the agreed count.
- Offices are in Spain, Germany and Mexico; the about page says both 12 and 120 countries for its customers and does not list where payroll works.
- The free-trial links on its pages lead to a missing page, so a trial could not be confirmed.
PeopleForce
- Only Core HR has a published price; Recruit, Perform, Pulse, Time and Desk are quoted through sales.
- Billing starts at 50 employees, so smaller teams pay for 50.
- The pricing page shows monthly prices, and an Annually -20% toggle is offered; the annual figures are not shown.
- The free trial starts after a demo session, not by self-signup.
Key features
Factorial
- Core HR and documents
- Every plan has the employee directory, onboarding and offboarding, payslip distribution, bulk document sending, fillable PDFs and legal e-signatures.
- Time off and time tracking
- Unlimited time-off policies and custom absence types, plus clock-ins by geolocation or QR code with overtime compensation.
- Shift planning
- Build shifts in bulk, set rotating patterns or generate them automatically, and share the schedule with staff.
- Recruiting, reviews and training
- Post jobs to several boards with AI CV parsing, run 360-degree performance reviews, track goals and manage training with certificates.
- Expenses, projects and IT
- Read receipts with OCR, route expenses through multi-step approvals, log hours to projects, and manage devices and SaaS licenses.
- One, the AI assistant
- An AI agent that searches and analyzes company data, builds reports and prepares policies, contracts and payroll documents for review.
PeopleForce
- Employee records and leave
- A directory, org chart and employee profiles with self-service, plus leave policies, requests and approvals on a timeline.
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Pre-boarding, onboarding and offboarding task flows, with document templates and asset tracking in Core HR.
- Recruit module
- An applicant tracking system with a Kanban hiring process, career site, scorecards, interview scheduling and offer letters, sold as an add-on.
- Perform module
- One-on-ones, 180 and 360 degree reviews, OKRs and KPIs in a separate performance product.
- Time and Pulse modules
- Time covers timesheets, clock-in and out and attendance policies; Pulse runs engagement and eNPS surveys.
- Desk module
- A case queue for employee requests and complaints, including an anonymous reporting channel.
Plans
Factorial
Tailored plan$8
per user / month and up
Factorial Core (directory, onboarding, payslip delivery, bulk documents, e-signature) plus the modules chosen. Quoted and sold through sales.
PeopleForce
Core HR Standard$2.5
per employee / month, billing starts at 50 employees
Directory, org chart, leave, onboarding, basic automation, documents and reports. The page shows $125 a month for 1 to 50 employees.
Core HR Professional$3
per employee / month, billing starts at 50 employees
Everything in Standard plus advanced automation, request forms, eSignature, API access, webhooks and SAML single sign-on.
Ways to pay less
Factorial
No public discounts listed.
PeopleForce
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page offers an Annually -20% option beside monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Factorial or PeopleForce?
As of Nov 12, 2026, PeopleForce is cheaper to start with: $2.50 a month for each person, against $8 a month for each person for Factorial. Factorial starts at $8 per user / month and up, by quote, and PeopleForce starts at $2.5 per employee / month (Core HR Standard, billing starts at 50 employees).
Which has a free plan, Factorial or PeopleForce?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Factorial nor PeopleForce has a free plan. PeopleForce 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.