BambooHR
HR records, hiring, time off and reviews, with US payroll as an add-on
Our verdict
Second of our top three HR software
For: US companies that may add payroll and benefits later
BambooHR keeps records, time off with accruals, hiring with up to 5 openings and onboarding with e-signatures in one place, on the web, iPhone and Android, and adds reviews and 1:1s on Pro. Core is a flat $250 a month for up to 25 employees, then $10 per employee a month, and the free trial needs no card. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.66 from about 12,800 ratings. It is second because a ten-person company pays $250 a month, five times Zoho People's Workforce price, and US payroll and benefits are add-ons with no published price.
See all three and how we rankBambooHR report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 18, 2026
Best for small US companies leaving HR spreadsheets
BambooHR is the HR system plenty of small US companies grow into: records, time off, hiring and onboarding in one place, with a phone app people rate well. But below 25 people you pay a flat $250 a month whatever your size, which is a lot for a team of ten.
Who BambooHR is for
- Great if you're done keeping staff details in spreadsheets
- Handy when you want hiring, onboarding and time off in one system
- Good for US companies that may add payroll and benefits later
Who BambooHR is not for
- Pricey if you're well under 25 people, as you pay the full $250 a month anyway
- Tight if you hire a lot on Core, which allows 5 job openings
- Skip it if you need payroll outside the US, as the add-on is US only
Why BambooHR gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyCore is a flat $250 a month for up to 25 employees, so a ten-person company pays $250, or $25 a head. It buys records, time off, hiring and onboarding. That's the dearest tenth of this category, where most charge $3.75 to $9 a person.
- CFree plan and trialNo free plan, but a free trial with no card that ends on its own rather than turning into a bill.
- BFeaturesRecords and reports, time off with accruals, hiring with 5 openings, onboarding with e-signatures and an AI assistant, then reviews and 1:1s on Pro. The whole job, with US payroll and benefits as add-ons.
- BEase of use4.66 from 12,758 App Store ratings, which is a lot of happy people for HR software. Just under the 4.7 that would make it an A.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Greenhouse, Checkr, Culture Amp, Remote, Indeed and TalentLMS. No desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from BambooHR's own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make BambooHR? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/bamboohr#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/bamboohr.svg" alt="BambooHR: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where BambooHR stands among HR software
BambooHR's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 5 of the 9 other HR software we grade, and level with 3.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 9 of 9) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $10 a month for each person, against a middle price of $9 for the category: 4 of the 6 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 10 HR software we grade, cut by the letter each got. BambooHR’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 9
- CFree plan and trialAbove 5 of 9, level with 4
- BFeaturesAbove 1 of 9, level with 8
- BEase of useAbove 9 of 9
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 9, level with 9
Keep BambooHR, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace BambooHR you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $120 a year.
What you could make
- Employee records, time off, applicant tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Slack, Greenhouse and Checkr among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. BambooHR’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is BambooHR?
BambooHR is an HR system for small and mid-sized companies that keeps employee records, time off, hiring and onboarding in one database. Higher plans add performance reviews, recognition and compensation planning, and payroll, benefits administration and time tracking are sold as add-ons. Teams of 25 or fewer pay a flat monthly fee; larger ones pay per employee.
BambooHR is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $250 per month for up to 25 employees, then $10 per employee / month. See every plan
Good for
- Small and mid-sized US companies replacing spreadsheets for HR
- Teams that want hiring, onboarding and time off in one system
- US employers that may add payroll and benefits later
Worth knowing
- Teams of 25 or fewer pay the flat monthly fee whatever their size; per-employee pricing, with volume discounts, starts above 25 employees.
- Payroll and benefits administration are add-ons for US employees only, and their prices are not published.
- The plan cards show $10 and $17 per employee for Core and Pro, while the FAQ on the same page says $10.25 and $17.50.
- Job openings are capped by plan: 5 on Core, 25 on Pro and 50 on Elite.
Key features
- Employee records and reports
- One database for people data, with a custom report builder, dashboards and built-in workflows for approving changes and time-off requests.
- Hiring and onboarding
- Post jobs to job boards, track candidates, send offer letters from templates, and give new hires a packet with e-signatures and an onboarding checklist.
- Time off
- Unlimited custom time-off policies with accruals, approvals and a shared calendar of who is out.
- Performance and recognition
- On Pro and Elite, run 360-degree review cycles, schedule 1:1s, track goals and give recognition points staff can redeem for gift cards.
- Ask BambooHR
- An AI assistant answers employees' questions about time off and holidays from company data, and on higher plans about policies and benchmarks.
- Payroll, benefits and time add-ons
- Add US payroll with tax filing, benefits enrollment with carrier connections, and time tracking with shift scheduling and an iPad kiosk.
BambooHR pricing
- Starts at
- $250 per month for up to 25 employees, then $10 per employee / month
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- Free trial, no credit card required; it ends on its own
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $250per month for up to 25 employees | Records, reports, time off, hiring with 5 job openings, onboarding and the AI assistant. Above 25 employees, $10 per employee a month ($10.25 in the FAQ). |
| Pro | $425per month for up to 25 employees | Core plus performance reviews, 1:1s, recognition and rewards, and 25 job openings. Above 25 employees, $17 per employee a month ($17.50 in the FAQ). |
| Elite | $650per month for up to 25 employees | Pro plus compensation planning with Mercer benchmarks, custom dashboards, HR benchmarks and 50 job openings. Above 25 employees, $25 per employee a month. |
Read from bamboohr.com on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with BambooHR before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Nonprofit15% off for registered nonprofits
BambooHR takes an additional 15% off for registered nonprofit organizations.
Stated on bamboohr.com - Other savings15% off when bundling payroll and benefits
Combining the Payroll and Benefits Administration add-ons with any plan gives a 15% discount, for employees based in the US.
Stated on bamboohr.com
How people rate the BambooHR app
4.7
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars85%
- 4 stars7%
- 3 stars2%
- 2 stars1%
- 1 star5%
12,758 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 18, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Works with
- Slack
- Greenhouse
- Checkr
- Culture Amp
- Remote
- Indeed
- TalentLMS
BambooHR alternatives
- BambooHR vs Zoho People
Free plan · from $3/mo
- BambooHR vs Namely
From $9/mo
Common questions
Is BambooHR free?
No, BambooHR is a paid product, but you can try it first. Free trial, no credit card required; it ends on its own.
How much does BambooHR cost?
BambooHR lists 3 plans. Core: $250 per month for up to 25 employees. Pro: $425 per month for up to 25 employees. Elite: $650 per month for up to 25 employees. Prices were read from bamboohr.com on Oct 18, 2026.
What platforms does BambooHR work on?
BambooHR is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does BambooHR offer any discounts?
BambooHR publicly lists the following: 15% off for registered nonprofits; 15% off when bundling payroll and benefits.
How is BambooHR rated?
BambooHR's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 12,758 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.
Does BambooHR have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. BambooHR is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does BambooHR have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. BambooHR is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is BambooHR open source?
BambooHR is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does BambooHR integrate with?
BambooHR's listing names Slack, Greenhouse, Checkr, Culture Amp, Remote, Indeed and TalentLMS. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes BambooHR?
BambooHR is made by BambooHR. It dates from 2008.
What are the alternatives to BambooHR?
The closest alternatives to BambooHR in our directory are HiBob, Zoho People, Namely, Rippling and Personio. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with BambooHR.
How does BambooHR compare with other HR software?
BambooHR's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 5 of the 9 other HR software we grade, and level with 3. It stands best on ease of use (B, above 9 of 9) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Is BambooHR good value for money?
ToolGPA grades BambooHR D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $10 a month for each person, against a middle price of $9 for the category: 4 of the 6 others that charge start lower. On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Could I make my own version of BambooHR?
To replace BambooHR you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $120 a year. What you could not make: Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. It plugs into other products, Slack, Greenhouse and Checkr among them. This is a judgement from its listing. We have not built one.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.