The Ciphr Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Ciphr in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Ciphr
The Insider’s Guide
UK HR and payroll suite for organisations of 200 to 2,000 staff
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among HR software, read from Ciphr’s own pages.
Made by Ciphr · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Ciphr’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Ciphr’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
1.8
GPA, above 13 of the 63 other HR software we grade
Ciphr sells cloud HR software, UK payroll, recruitment, learning and an employee benefits platform that can be bought separately or as one connected suite. It is built for UK organisations with roughly 200 to 2,000 employees and is priced by quote, not by published plan.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Ciphr, taken from its own pages and our grades.
A suite this size is bought by quote and set up with implementation scoped inside it.
- 1
Best for UK organisations of 200 or more staff
Ciphr is a UK HR suite covering central HR, payroll, recruitment, learning and benefits.
- 2
Paid plans start at about $6.70 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: £5 per employee / month and up (125 employees, three-year term).
- 3
It runs on Web
Web.
- 4
Central HR
Cloud HR with absence, performance, documents, employee self-service and reporting, plus an AI assistant.
- 5
UK payroll
Payroll built around HMRC rules, including RTI and auto-enrolment, with UK-based expert support.
- 6
Recruitment
Hiring from vacancy to offer, connected to Ciphr HR so a new hire flows into onboarding without re-keying.
- 7
A 1.8 GPA, above 13 of 63
That is against the other HR software we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
To replace Ciphr 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.
Ciphr at a glance
- Pricing
- Paid, from £5 per employee / month and up (125 employees, three-year term)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Ciphr
- Category
- HR Software
- Our grade
- 1.8 GPA, weak
The report card
Best for UK organisations of 200 or more staff
Ciphr is a UK HR suite covering central HR, payroll, recruitment, learning and benefits. The only figure on record is 'from £5' per employee a month, which assumes 125 employees on a three-year term. It is built for UK rules and for organisations of 200 or more, so small teams are outside its stated range.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | From £5 per employee a month, about $6.50, but only for 125 employees on a three-year minimum term. No plan prices are published. |
| Free plan and trial | F | No free plan and no trial is on record in the listing or on its pricing page. |
| Features | B | Central HR, UK payroll, recruitment, learning, benefits and analytics. The listing names no gap in the core HR work. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record. A suite this size is bought by quote and set up with implementation scoped inside it. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Web only, with no integrations list or apps on record. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Ciphr is for
- 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
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- UK organisations with 200 to 2,000 employees
- Teams that want HR and payroll from one provider
- Employers that need UK payroll rules handled in the product
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
~$6.70
A month to start, for each person
Ciphr is a paid product, starting at £5 per employee / month and up (125 employees, three-year term).
No free plan and no trial is on record in the listing or on its pricing page.
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.
Read from ciphr.com on Nov 12, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
UK HR and payroll suite for organisations of 200 to 2,000 staff. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, reports, payroll, applicant tracking, employee records, time off.
Central HR, UK payroll, recruitment, learning, benefits and analytics.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
Its own pages name no integrations.
Ciphr is made by Ciphr.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
13/63
Other HR software it is graded above
Ciphr's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 13 of the 63 other HR software we grade, and level with 16.
It stands best on features (B, above 41 of 63) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at about $6.70 a month for each person, against a middle price of $5.36 for the category: 20 of the 36 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 64 HR software we grade, cut by the letter each got. Ciphr’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 63
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 63
- BFeaturesAbove 41 of 63
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 63
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 63
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 38 HR software. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Ciphr is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Ciphr 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.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 34 of the 63 other HR software grade higher. It costs $80.39 a year.
What you could make
- Employee records, applicant tracking, time off and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- 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. Ciphr’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.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Cezanne HR, BrightHR, Breathe, Personio and BambooHR
The 5 tools Ciphr is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.0GPA
Cezanne HR
Paid
Modular HR system for mid-sized organisations, quoted by headcount.
- Only Cezanne HR lists iOS and Android apps.
- Ciphr also covers reports.
- Cezanne HR also covers time tracking and surveys.
- 2.0GPA
BrightHR
From £16.67/mo
HR software with holiday, rota and absence tools and advice lines.
- Only BrightHR lists iOS and Android apps.
- Ciphr also covers applicant tracking.
- BrightHR also covers shift scheduling and time clock.
- 2.6GPA
Breathe
Free trial · from £24/mo
UK HR software for small firms, priced per business, not per person.
- Only Breathe lists iOS and Android apps.
- Ciphr also covers payroll.
- Breathe also covers expense tracking, shift scheduling and time clock.
- 1.8GPA
Personio
Paid
European HR platform for records, absences, time and recruiting.
- Only Personio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Ciphr also covers reports and payroll.
- Personio also covers time tracking.
- 2.4GPA
BambooHR
Free trial · from $250/mo
HR records, hiring, time off and reviews, with US payroll as an add-on.
- Only BambooHR lists iOS and Android apps.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
11
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Ciphr free?
No. Ciphr is a paid product, starting at £5 per employee / month and up (125 employees, three-year term).
How much does Ciphr cost?
Ciphr lists one plan. Quote-based suite: £5 per employee / month and up, three-year term.
What platforms does Ciphr work on?
Ciphr is available on Web.
Does Ciphr have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Ciphr is listed for Web.
Does Ciphr have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Ciphr is listed for Web.
Is Ciphr open source?
Ciphr is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Who makes Ciphr?
Ciphr is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Ciphr?
The closest alternatives to Ciphr in our directory are Cezanne HR, BrightHR, Breathe, Personio and BambooHR.
How does Ciphr compare with other HR software?
Ciphr's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 13 of the 63 other HR software we grade, and level with 16.
Is Ciphr good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Ciphr C for value for money. Its paid plans start at about $6.70 a month for each person, against a middle price of $5.36 for the category: 20 of the 36 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Ciphr?
To replace Ciphr you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Ciphr’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Ciphr's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Ciphr. Prices change, so check ciphr.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
5,038
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
5,038
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Ciphr, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/ciphr
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Ciphr: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/ciphr
Know someone choosing between HR software?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/ciphr/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded HR software after Ciphr, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- HR Software Insider's GuideEvery one of the 64 HR software we grade, compared
- Breathe Insider's GuideUK HR software for small firms, priced per business, not per person2.6 GPA
- Leave Dates Insider's GuideAnnual leave planner and absence tracker for small teams2.6 GPA
- TalentHR Insider's GuideHR records, time off, hiring and reviews for small teams2.6 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Ciphr’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Ciphr is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Ciphr. Prices and plans change: check ciphr.com before you buy.