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BambooHR vs Outlook Calendar

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

Software

HR software with heart

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

Outlook Calendar

Software

Professional calendar management for Microsoft 365

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Outlook Calendar 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; Outlook Calendar offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Outlook Calendar actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Outlook Calendar differ
AttributeBambooHROutlook Calendar
Starting price$10/month per employeeFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Founded20081975

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 Outlook Calendar

  • Meeting scheduling
  • Shared calendars
  • Room booking
  • Availability sharing
  • Recurring events
  • Microsoft Teams
  • OneDrive
  • SharePoint

Both cover

  • Slack

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

Outlook Calendar

  • Schedulingnot BambooHR
  • Appointment bookingnot BambooHR
  • Time trackingnot BambooHR
  • Resource managementnot BambooHR
  • Team coordinationnot 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

Outlook Calendar

  • Offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • Shared calendars and group calendars not available offline
  • Cached Exchange Mode issues can limit available offline data
  • Occasional sync conflicts when coming back online

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Outlook Calendar

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Outlook.com email and calendar
    • 50MB attachment limit
    • 1GB cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Basic$19.99/year
    • Outlook with limited features
    • Cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$99.99/year
    • Premium Outlook
    • Ad-free email
    • 100GB mailbox storage
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$6/month
    • Business-class email
    • 1TB cloud storage
    • Microsoft Teams

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 Outlook Calendar if

  • You need meeting scheduling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want shared calendars.
Outlook Calendar review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Outlook Calendar better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Outlook Calendar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Outlook Calendar?
Outlook Calendar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month per employee for BambooHR and Free for Outlook Calendar.
Does BambooHR or Outlook Calendar run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Outlook Calendar runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Can I use Outlook Calendar for free?
Yes. Outlook Calendar 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 Outlook Calendar is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Outlook Calendar cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling, Shared calendars, Room booking, Availability sharing. Both handle Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Outlook Calendar: Is Outlook Calendar free?

Outlook.com with calendar is free via a Microsoft account. Outlook Calendar also comes with Microsoft 365 Personal ($99.99/year), Family ($129.99/year), or Business plans starting at $6/user/month.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Does Outlook Calendar work offline?

Outlook Calendar has limited offline support. New Outlook caches only the past 30 days of calendar items. Shared calendars and group calendars are not supported offline. Changes sync when you reconnect.

Source
Outlook Calendar: What platforms does Outlook Calendar support?

Outlook Calendar is available on Windows (desktop and web), macOS (desktop and web), iOS, and Android. Real-time synchronization works across all devices.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Does Outlook Calendar integrate with Slack?

Yes. Outlook Calendar integrates with Slack to sync your status and receive meeting notifications. You can RSVP to invites directly in Slack and join Microsoft Teams meetings from Slack reminders.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Can you share calendars and set delegate permissions?

Yes. Outlook Calendar supports calendar sharing with delegate permissions, color categories for organization, and the Scheduling Assistant to view attendee availability for meeting times.

Source
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Related pages

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