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BambooHR vs Namely

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

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

Namely

Payroll & Benefits

The HR platform that employees love

From
$18/employee/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Namely limited customization for complex HR processes: workflows and customization options are limited compared to enterprise solutions
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Namely covers HR Management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Namely actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Namely differ
AttributeBambooHRNamely
Starting price$10/month per employee$18/employee/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb
CategoryAll industriesPayroll & Benefits
Founded20082012

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management
  • Indeed

Only in Namely

  • HR Management
  • Payroll
  • Benefits Administration
  • Time Off Management
  • Performance Management
  • Greenhouse
  • Web support
  • Ios support

Both cover

  • Onboarding
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365
  • LinkedIn

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

Namely

No use cases recorded yet. See the Namely review.

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

Namely

  • Limited customization for complex HR processes: workflows and customization options are limited compared to enterprise solutions
  • Payroll limitations: better served for less complex organizations and struggles with complex time-and-attendance or multi-FEIN scenarios
  • Missing ATS and surveys: lacks built-in applicant tracking system and pulse survey capabilities
  • Slow support response times: pod-based support model has led to slow response times for customers
  • Designed for specific market segment: best fit is mid-sized companies with 50-350 employees

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Namely

$18/employee/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Namely 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.
BambooHR review

Choose Namely if

  • You need hr management.
  • You also want payroll.
Namely review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Namely better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Namely at $18/employee/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Namely?
BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Namely at $18/employee/month.
Does BambooHR or Namely run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Namely runs on Web.
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 Namely is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Namely cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Namely covers HR Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time Off Management. Both handle Onboarding, Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Namely: Does Namely support global payroll?

Namely primarily focuses on mid-sized US-based companies with 50-350 employees. While it can handle complex payroll scenarios, it is better served for less complex organizations and does not have extensive global payroll capabilities compared to enterprise platforms.

Source
Namely: What is included in Namely's Premium pricing?

Premium plans cost $18-24 per employee per month plus implementation fees of 10-25% of annual software costs. Plans include payroll, HR, benefits administration, time management, and talent management features.

Source
Namely: Does Namely include performance management features?

Yes, Namely offers customizable performance review modules enabling dynamic, ongoing feedback rather than traditional annual-only reviews. This is one of Namely's standout features.

Source
Namely: How long does Namely implementation typically take?

Namely is designed for mid-sized companies and implementation timelines vary based on complexity. The platform includes implementation fees of 10-25% of annual software costs in addition to monthly per-employee pricing.

Source
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Related pages

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