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Software · head to head

BambooHR vs Census

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

Software

HR software with heart

From
$10/month per employee
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Census logo

Census

Software

The reverse ETL infrastructure for data activation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Census has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BambooHR organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price; Census census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Census covers Reverse ETL.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Census actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Census differ
AttributeBambooHRCensus
Starting price$10/month per employeeFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Api
Founded20082020

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BambooHR

  • Employee database
  • Time-off management
  • Benefits tracking
  • Performance reviews
  • Onboarding
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management

Only in Census

  • Reverse ETL
  • Data syncing
  • Transformation
  • Real-time activation
  • Error handling
  • Monitoring
  • Analytics
  • 150+ destinations

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • GDPR

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BambooHR

  • HR system of record with employee data and documentsnot Census
  • Time off tracking and approvalsnot Census
  • Applicant tracking and onboardingnot Census
  • Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot Census
  • Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot Census

Census

  • Syncing customer data from a warehouse into marketing and sales tools (reverse ETL)not BambooHR

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BambooHR

  • Organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
  • Per-employee pricing starts at 26 employees, from $10 on Core
  • Performance management, 360 reviews and recognition all require Pro at $17 per employee per month
  • Compensation management, salary benchmarking and advanced analytics are Elite only at $25 per employee per month
  • Compliance training is rationed by tier, at 1 course on Core against 300 on Elite

Census

  • Census was folded into Fivetran Activations, per the vendor: "Previously, this was called a sync in Census", and its own pricing page redirects to Fivetran pricing rather than showing Census plans
  • Free Fivetran Activations tier caps at 3,500 monthly active rows

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Census

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic syncing
    • Limited destinations
  • Pro$250/month
    • Advanced syncing
    • Email support
  • Enterprise$1500/month
    • Unlimited syncing
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose BambooHR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want time-off management.
BambooHR review

Choose Census if

  • You need reverse etl.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want data syncing.
Census review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Census better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Census at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Census?
Census has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month per employee for BambooHR and Free for Census.
Does BambooHR or Census run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Census runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Census for free?
Yes. Census has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee.
What is BambooHR best used for?
BambooHR is most often used 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. Of those, hr system of record with employee data and documents and time off tracking and approvals are not what Census is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Census cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Census covers Reverse ETL, Data syncing, Transformation, Real-time activation. Both handle SOC2, GDPR.
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