What are the main alternatives to SmartHR?

24 other hr tools are listed in this directory, led by BambooHR, Workday, Culture Amp, Freshteam. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.

What is the best free alternative to SmartHR?

3 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Freshteam, Employment Hero, Bonusly.

Why do people look for an alternative to SmartHR?

On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.

Is there an open-source alternative to SmartHR?

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 SmartHR 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 SmartHR against one of these directly?

Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against SmartHR 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 SmartHR. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.

HR · alternatives

Alternatives to SmartHR

24 hr tools sit alongside SmartHR in this directory. Below is what separates each from SmartHR 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: -
SmartHR starts at: On request

Why people look past SmartHR

Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the SmartHR entry measured against the tools listed beside it.

There is no free tier

The record for SmartHR 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.

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

HR software with heart

Publishes an entry price of $10/month per employee, where SmartHR does not.
Sold on a subscription model rather than quote.

SmartHR vs BambooHR BambooHR review

Workday

On request

Enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR

Priced and rated the same as SmartHR on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.

SmartHR vs Workday Workday review

Culture Amp

On request

Build a better workplace with employee experience data

Sold on a subscription model rather than quote.

SmartHR vs Culture Amp Culture Amp review

Freshteam

Free

Smart HR software for growing businesses

Can be used without paying; SmartHR cannot.
Publishes an entry price of Free, where SmartHR does not.
Sold on a subscription model rather than quote.

SmartHR vs Freshteam Freshteam review

Employment Hero

Free, then 199/month

Australian HR, payroll and recruitment platform for employment management

Can be used without paying; SmartHR cannot.
Publishes an entry price of 199/month, where SmartHR does not.
Sold on a subscription model rather than quote.

SmartHR vs Employment Hero Employment Hero review

Bonusly

Free, then $5/month

Employee recognition that builds culture

Can be used without paying; SmartHR cannot.
Publishes an entry price of $5/month, where SmartHR does not.
Sold on a freemium model rather than quote.

SmartHR vs Bonusly Bonusly review

Every SmartHR alternative at a glance

A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.

HR alternatives to SmartHR
Tool	Entry price	Model	Tiers	Head to head
SmartHR (this page)	On request	Quote	-
BambooHRHR software with heart	$10/month per employee	Subscription	-	vs SmartHR
WorkdayEnterprise cloud applications for finance and HR	On request	Quote	3	vs SmartHR
Culture AmpBuild a better workplace with employee experience data	On request	Subscription	3	vs SmartHR
FreshteamSmart HR software for growing businesses	Free	Subscription	3	vs SmartHR
Employment Hero	Free, then 199/month	Subscription	5	vs SmartHR
Bonusly	Free, then $5/month	Freemium	7	vs SmartHR
Talkspace for Business	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Spring Health	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Unmind	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Guild	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Humaans	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Sesame HR	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Cezanne HR	On request	Quote	1	vs SmartHR
Insperity	On request	Quote	2	vs SmartHR
Multiplier	$40/month	Subscription	2	vs SmartHR
Officevibe	$4999/year	Subscription	3	vs SmartHR
Motivosity	$3000/year	Quote	3	vs SmartHR
Darwinbox	On request	Quote	-	vs SmartHR
Nectar	$2.75/month	Subscription	3	vs SmartHR
Oyster HR	On request	Subscription	3	vs SmartHR
Achievers	On request	Subscription	3	vs SmartHR
Breathe HR	£13/month	Subscription	2	vs SmartHR
greytHR	2495/month	Subscription	2	vs SmartHR
HiBob	On request	Subscription	1	vs SmartHR

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 SmartHR 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

SmartHR is most often brought in for reducing combined processing time by 88% across hr functions, centralizing employee information through onboarding to offboarding, distributing payroll and salary statements via mobile app, automating document distribution and employee communications, integrating with 120+ external systems for extended functionality. 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 SmartHR is broadly right and the question is cost, the SmartHR 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.

SmartHR runs on not recorded. 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 SmartHR alternatives

What are the main alternatives to SmartHR?: 24 other hr tools are listed in this directory, led by BambooHR, Workday, Culture Amp, Freshteam. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
What is the best free alternative to SmartHR?: 3 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Freshteam, Employment Hero, Bonusly.
Why do people look for an alternative to SmartHR?: 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 SmartHR?: SmartHR is most often brought in for reducing combined processing time by 88% across hr functions, centralizing employee information through onboarding to offboarding, distributing payroll and salary statements via mobile app, automating document distribution and employee communications, integrating with 120+ external systems for extended functionality. 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 SmartHR?: 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 SmartHR 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 SmartHR against one of these directly?: Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against SmartHR 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 SmartHR. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.