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BambooHR vs Pilot

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

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

Pilot

Recruitment & ATS

Bookkeeping, CFO, and tax for startups

From
$29/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; Pilot the Essentials bookkeeping plan at $99 per month covers up to $100,000 in monthly expenses, and is cash-basis only using bank and credit card data
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Pilot covers Bookkeeping.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Pilot actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Pilot differ
AttributeBambooHRPilot
Starting price$10/month per employee$29/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb
CategoryAll industriesRecruitment & ATS
Founded20082017

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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
  • Onboarding
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management

Only in Pilot

  • Bookkeeping
  • CFO services
  • Tax preparation
  • R&D tax credits
  • Financial reporting
  • Stripe
  • Brex
  • Gusto

Both cover

  • QuickBooks

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

Pilot

  • Outsourced monthly bookkeeping for startups and small businessesnot BambooHR
  • Federal, state and Delaware franchise tax filing for US companiesnot BambooHR
  • Fractional CFO support for financial planning and fundraisingnot 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

Pilot

  • The Essentials bookkeeping plan at $99 per month covers up to $100,000 in monthly expenses, and is cash-basis only using bank and credit card data
  • A dedicated US-based bookkeeper, accrual-basis books and phone support require the Core plan, which is contact sales and billed annually
  • Core caps bill management at 10 vendor bills per month
  • Keeping an existing QuickBooks account with historical data requires the Custom plan
  • Accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll administration and CFO advisory are Custom plan only
  • Monthly reports arrive on the 10th business day on Core and the 6th business day only on Custom
  • Tax filing is sold separately, starting at $1,000 per year for single member LLCs and $2,000 per year for partnerships and S-Corps, billed annually
  • The tax service must be purchased together with Pilot Bookkeeping
  • Partnership and S-Corp tax filing includes up to 25 1099-NEC filings

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Pilot

$29/month
  • Core$599/month
    • Bookkeeping
    • Accrual basis
    • Monthly close
  • Plus$849/month
    • CFO support
    • Custom reporting
    • Board deck

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 Pilot if

  • You need bookkeeping.
  • You also want cfo services.
Pilot review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Pilot better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Pilot at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Pilot?
BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Pilot at $29/month.
Does BambooHR or Pilot run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Pilot 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 Pilot is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Pilot cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Pilot covers Bookkeeping, CFO services, Tax preparation, R&D tax credits. Both handle QuickBooks.
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