HR · alternatives
Alternatives to BambooHR
24 hr tools sit alongside BambooHR in this directory. Below is what separates each from BambooHR on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 3
- Cheaper to start
- 4
- BambooHR starts at
- $10/month per employee
Why people look past BambooHR
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the BambooHR entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for BambooHR carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 3 of the 24 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR
- Sold on a quote model rather than subscription.
Build a better workplace with employee experience data
Priced and rated the same as BambooHR on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Smart HR software for growing businesses
- Can be used without paying; BambooHR cannot.
- Starts $10 a month cheaper, at Free.
The employee voice platform
- Starts $5 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
Australian HR, payroll and recruitment platform for employment management
- Can be used without paying; BambooHR cannot.
- Starts $189 a month dearer, at 199/month.
Employee recognition that builds culture
- Can be used without paying; BambooHR cannot.
- Starts $5 a month cheaper, at $5/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Every BambooHR alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BambooHR (this page) | $10/month per employee | Subscription | - | |
| WorkdayEnterprise cloud applications for finance and HR | On request | Quote | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| Culture AmpBuild a better workplace with employee experience data | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| FreshteamSmart HR software for growing businesses | Free | Subscription | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| TINYpulseThe employee voice platform | $5/month | Subscription | 2 | vs BambooHR |
| Employment Hero | Free, then 199/month | Subscription | 5 | vs BambooHR |
| Bonusly | Free, then $5/month | Freemium | 7 | vs BambooHR |
| Talkspace for Business | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Spring Health | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Unmind | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Guild | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Humaans | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Sesame HR | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Cezanne HR | On request | Quote | 1 | vs BambooHR |
| Insperity | On request | Quote | 2 | vs BambooHR |
| Multiplier | $40/month | Subscription | 2 | vs BambooHR |
| Officevibe | $4999/year | Subscription | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| Motivosity | $3000/year | Quote | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| Darwinbox | On request | Quote | - | vs BambooHR |
| Nectar | $2.75/month | Subscription | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| Oyster HR | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| Achievers | On request | Subscription | 3 | vs BambooHR |
| Breathe HR | £13/month | Subscription | 2 | vs BambooHR |
| greytHR | 2495/month | Subscription | 2 | vs BambooHR |
| HiBob | On request | Subscription | 1 | vs BambooHR |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the BambooHR badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (3)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Freshteam , Free
- Employment Hero , Free, then 199/month
- Bonusly , Free, then $5/month
What you would be giving up
BambooHR is most often brought in for hr system of record with employee data and documents, time off tracking and approvals, applicant tracking and onboarding, performance reviews and 1:1s on the pro tier, compensation planning and benchmarking on elite. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If BambooHR is broadly right and the question is cost, the BambooHR pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the HR category lists everything the directory holds, and best hr tools ranks them.
BambooHR runs on web, ios, android, api. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about BambooHR alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to BambooHR?
- 24 other hr tools are listed in this directory, led by Workday, Culture Amp, Freshteam, TINYpulse. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to BambooHR?
- 3 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Freshteam, Employment Hero, Bonusly.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to BambooHR?
- Yes. 4 of the alternatives below start under BambooHR's $10/month per employee: Freshteam at Free, TINYpulse at $5/month, Bonusly at Free, then $5/month, Nectar at $2.75/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to BambooHR?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from BambooHR?
- BambooHR is most often brought in for hr system of record with employee data and documents, time off tracking and approvals, applicant tracking and onboarding, performance reviews and 1:1s on the pro tier, compensation planning and benchmarking on elite. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to BambooHR?
- None of the hr tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these BambooHR alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, HR, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare BambooHR against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against BambooHR covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every hr tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the HR category, 24 tools beside BambooHR. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.