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BambooHR vs Notion

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

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

Notion

Technology

All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Notion 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; Notion free plan limited to 1,000 blocks for 2+ member workspaces, restricting team usage
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Notion covers Rich text editing with blocks.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Notion actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Notion differ
AttributeBambooHRNotion
Starting price$10/month per employeeFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryAll industriesTechnology
Founded20082016

Identical on both: 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
  • Onboarding
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management

Only in Notion

  • Rich text editing with blocks
  • Customizable databases
  • Kanban boards and calendars
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Template library
  • File attachments
  • Web clipper
  • API access

Both cover

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

Notion

  • Project managementnot BambooHR
  • Knowledge base creationnot BambooHR
  • Note-taking and documentationnot BambooHR
  • Team collaborationnot BambooHR
  • Content planningnot 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

Notion

  • Free plan limited to 1,000 blocks for 2+ member workspaces, restricting team usage
  • Free tier only includes trial AI capabilities; full Notion AI requires paid plan
  • Page history limited to 7 days on free plan
  • Per-member pricing increases costs for teams compared to flat-rate competitors
  • Limited automation capabilities compared to dedicated workflow platforms

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Notion

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1000 block limit (2+ members)
    • 7-day page history
    • 5MB file upload cap
  • Plus$10/month
    • Unlimited blocks
    • 30-day page history
    • Unlimited file uploads
  • Business$20/month
    • All Plus features
    • Notion Agent
    • AI Meeting Notes
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • All Business features
    • Advanced controls
    • Audit logs

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 Notion if

  • You need rich text editing with blocks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want customizable databases.
Notion review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Notion better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Notion at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Notion?
Notion has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month per employee for BambooHR and Free for Notion.
Does BambooHR or Notion run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Notion runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Notion for free?
Yes. Notion 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 Notion is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Notion cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Notion covers Rich text editing with blocks, Customizable databases, Kanban boards and calendars, Real-time collaboration. Both handle Slack, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Notion: What are Notion's pricing tiers?

Notion offers four plans: Free ($0/member/month), Plus ($10/member/month), Business ($20/member/month recommended), and Enterprise (custom pricing). All paid plans include Notion AI and identical features with no per-feature charges.

Source
Notion: What is included in Notion's free plan?

The free plan includes databases with limited collaborative blocks, trial AI capabilities, basic forms, basic sites, Notion Calendar, and file uploads. For workspaces with 2+ members, there is a 1,000-block limit.

Source
Notion: How much does Notion AI cost?

Notion AI is included with Plus ($10/mo), Business ($20/mo), and Enterprise plans. Free and Plus plans include limited AI trial capabilities. Custom Agents cost $10 per 1,000 monthly credits after free trial.

Source
Notion: Can guests access Notion workspaces without payment?

Yes. Guests are free of charge on all plans including the free tier. Free tier allows 10 guests; paid plans include unlimited guests. Guests can only access individual pages they are invited to.

Source
Notion: Does Notion integrate with other apps?

Yes. Notion integrates with 100+ third-party apps including Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, Google Calendar, Trello, Jira, Zapier, and many others. Native integrations are available plus additional connections via Zapier.

Source
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Related pages

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