Factorial vs Sesame HR
We give Factorial a 2.0 GPA and Sesame HR a 2.4, out of 4.0. Sesame HR 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.
Factorial
HR, time, shifts, expenses and IT for small firms, quoted by module
Sesame HR
Modular HR from Spain built around clock-ins, time off and shifts
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFactorialFair | 2.4GPASesame HRFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CEssential is $3.75 an employee a month on yearly billing, but with a 15-employee minimum, a ten-person company pays at least $56.25 a month, for time tracking, time off and shifts. That's under this category's middle, and smaller firms are sent to sales. |
| 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. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no commitment. |
| 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. | BClock-ins with overtime and remote work, time off, shifts, documents, onboarding, contracts and e-signatures on every plan, then recruiting, surveys and reviews higher up. The whole job, with a lean towards time tracking. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and picking modules with sales, then setting up shifts and policies, takes a while. | CNo App Store rating on record, and setting up shifts, clock-in rules and overtime takes time. |
| 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 an API on Scale or a custom plan. No integrations are on record, and there's no desktop app. |
| Best for | shift-based teams wanting HR and rotas together | teams that must record working hours |
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 Sesame HR. How we grade
Where they differ
- Factorial starts at $8 per user / month and up, by quote. Sesame HR starts at $3.75 per employee / month, billed annually ($5.25 billed monthly), 15-employee minimum.
- Factorial also covers time tracking and expense tracking.
- Sesame HR also covers time clock.
At a glance
| Factorial | Sesame HR | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8 per user / month and up, by quote | $3.75 per employee / month, billed annually ($5.25 billed monthly), 15-employee minimum |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial, no commitment |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Factorial | Sesame Labs, S.L. |
| Price read from | factorial.com | sesamehr.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Factorial
- Small and mid-sized firms in Spain, Germany or Mexico, where it has offices
- Businesses with shift workers that need time tracking and rotas
- Teams wanting HR, expenses and IT devices in one system
Sesame HR
- Companies with 15 or more staff that must record working hours
- Teams that plan shifts and need clock-in records
- Employers in Spain, Latin America or elsewhere in Europe
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.
Sesame HR
- Billing is per active employee with a 15-employee minimum; smaller companies are asked to contact sales.
- It has country sites for the US, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Spain, France, the UK, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal.
- The API and single sign-on come only with Scale or a custom plan; prices exclude taxes.
- On monthly billing Essential costs more per employee ($5.25) than Connect ($5.00), as the page shows.
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.
Sesame HR
- Time tracking and clock-ins
- Employees clock in and out from the web or app, with overtime management and remote-work tracking, kept for legal compliance.
- Time off and shifts
- Holiday and leave requests with approvals, and shift planning for teams on rotas, included from the cheapest plan.
- Core HR
- Every plan has a 3 GB document manager, org chart and directory, onboarding and offboarding, contract management, team chat and desk booking.
- Digital signature
- Core includes one signature per employee a month for contracts and documents.
- Recruitment, surveys and performance
- Higher plans add a recruiting pipeline, internal communication, employee surveys and performance reviews.
- Payroll data and Sesame AI
- Gathers absences, advances and incentives for payroll and sends payslips to the app; Enterprise tiers add AI, automations and advanced permissions.
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.
Sesame HR
Essential$3.75
per employee / month, billed annually ($5.25 billed monthly)
Core plus time tracking, time off and holidays, and shifts. Minimum 15 employees ($56.25 a month).
Connect$4.25
per employee / month, billed annually ($5.00 billed monthly)
Essential plus tasks, recruitment and internal communication. Minimum $63.75 a month.
Growth$6.25
per employee / month, billed annually ($6.75 billed monthly)
Enterprise tiers of Core, time tracking and time off, plus culture and performance modules. Minimum $93.75 a month.
Scale$7.00
per employee / month, billed annually ($8.00 billed monthly)
Growth with Enterprise internal communication and performance, single sign-on and the API. Minimum $105 a month.
Custom planCustom
Pick the modules and add-ons you need with an adviser, and pay only for those.
Ways to pay less
Factorial
No public discounts listed.
Sesame HR
- Annual discount
Lower per-employee price with annual billing
The page labels annual billing as saving 20%; the gap varies by plan, from $3.75 against $5.25 on Essential to $6.25 against $6.75 on Growth.
