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All industries · head to head

BambooHR vs Expensify

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

From
$10/month per employee
Rated
-
Expensify logo

Expensify

All industries

Expense management for receipts, bills & more

From
$5/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • 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; Expensify minimal offline expense entry capabilities hamper use in areas with unstable internet
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Expensify covers SmartScan receipts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Expensify actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Expensify differ
AttributeBambooHRExpensify
Starting price$10/month per employee$5/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries), founded (2008).

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 Expensify

  • SmartScan receipts
  • Expense reports
  • Corporate cards
  • Reimbursements
  • Travel booking
  • Mileage tracking
  • Multi-currency
  • Real-time syncing

Both cover

  • Slack
  • QuickBooks
  • 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 Expensify
  • Time off tracking and approvalsnot Expensify
  • Applicant tracking and onboardingnot Expensify
  • Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot Expensify
  • Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot Expensify

Expensify

  • Expense reportingnot BambooHR
  • Receipt managementnot BambooHR
  • Travel expensesnot BambooHR
  • Corporate card managementnot BambooHR
  • Reimbursementsnot 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

Expensify

  • Minimal offline expense entry capabilities hamper use in areas with unstable internet
  • OCR receipt data extraction requires manual review and correction for accuracy
  • Per-user pricing model increases costs for larger organizations

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Expensify

$5/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Expensify review.

Which should you pick?

Choose BambooHR if

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

Choose Expensify if

  • You need smartscan receipts.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense reports.

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Expensify better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Expensify at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Expensify?
BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Expensify at $5/month.
Does BambooHR or Expensify run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Expensify runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Expensify is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Expensify cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Expensify covers SmartScan receipts, Expense reports, Corporate cards, Reimbursements. Both handle Slack, QuickBooks, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Expensify: How does Expensify capture receipts?

Expensify uses SmartScan technology with OCR to automatically extract data from receipt images, reducing manual data entry. Users can photograph receipts with their phone to quickly create expense entries.

Source
Expensify: What reimbursement methods does Expensify support?

Expensify supports ACH reimbursement via direct deposit after setting up a direct deposit account. Next-day reimbursement is available, or standard processing takes 3-5 business days.

Source
Expensify: How does Expensify offline mode work?

Expensify has limited offline capabilities. Users can capture receipts offline, but data syncs when internet connectivity is restored. Full functionality requires online access.

Source

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