Softwr

HR · head to head

BambooHR vs Sesame HR

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

HR

HR software with heart

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

Sesame HR

HR

Spanish HR and time recording platform built around the legal obligation to record daily working hours

From
On request
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; Sesame HR there is no payroll calculation, so the payroll relationship stays with an external gestoria or payroll system and Sesame is only feeding it data.
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Sesame HR covers Time and attendance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Sesame HR actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Sesame HR differ
AttributeBambooHRSesame HR
Starting price$10/month per employeeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2008Unknown

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

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
  • Slack

Only in Sesame HR

  • Time and attendance
  • Legal time reports
  • Shift planning
  • Absence management
  • Expenses
  • Performance
  • Payroll export

Both cover

  • Document management

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

Sesame HR

  • A Spanish employer that must produce daily working time records for a labour inspectionnot BambooHR
  • A company with shift workers across several sites that needs rota planning and real clock-in data in one placenot BambooHR
  • A business whose gestoria wants clean hours and absence data each month instead of emailed spreadsheetsnot BambooHR
  • A Latin American subsidiary of a Spanish group standardising on the same attendance systemnot 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

Sesame HR

  • There is no payroll calculation, so the payroll relationship stays with an external gestoria or payroll system and Sesame is only feeding it data.
  • The product is built around Spanish and Latin American regulation, so a buyer employing in northern Europe gets attendance tracking without the local statutory logic that made the product valuable in the first place.
  • Modules beyond time and attendance are noticeably shallower, and companies expecting the performance or recruitment features to replace dedicated tools are usually disappointed.
  • Support, documentation and legal templates are Spanish-first, and English-language material lags behind, which slows adoption in mixed-language organisations.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across module tiers, so a company that only wants compliant time recording still pays a headcount-scaled fee for a suite it uses a fraction of.

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Sesame HR

On request
  • Sesame HR$undefined/year
    • Priced per employee per month with module-based tiers
    • Time and attendance in the base tier
    • Shift planning, performance and expenses as higher tiers or add-ons

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 Sesame HR if

  • You need time and attendance.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want legal time reports.
Sesame HR review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Sesame HR better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Sesame HR at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Sesame HR?
BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Sesame HR at On request.
Does BambooHR or Sesame HR run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Sesame HR 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 Sesame HR is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Sesame HR cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Sesame HR covers Time and attendance, Legal time reports, Shift planning, Absence management. Both handle Document management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BambooHR: Does BambooHR offer a free trial?

Yes, BambooHR offers a free trial available at bamboohr.com/signup/.

Source
Sesame HR: Why is time recording mandatory in Spain?

Royal Decree-Law 8/2019 requires every employer to record daily start and finish times for all employees and to retain those records for four years for labour inspection.

BambooHR: How is BambooHR pricing calculated?

Pricing varies depending on the number of employees at your organization and the features you select. Contact BambooHR at 1-866-387-9595 for a free price quote specific to your company size.

Source
Sesame HR: Does Sesame HR run payroll?

No. It exports hours, absences and variable pay to a gestoria or payroll system such as A3 or Sage.

BambooHR: Is payroll included in the core plan?

Payroll and time tracking are offered as separate add-on solutions, not included in the base HR modules. The payroll add-on provides seamless data flow, comprehensive reporting, full-service tax filing, and dedicated customer support.

Source
Sesame HR: Does it work outside Spain?

It is used across Latin America and Portugal. Outside those markets you get the tooling without the country-specific legal logic.

BambooHR: In which countries can I use BambooHR?

BambooHR is available in 150+ countries worldwide.

Source
Sesame HR: Can it handle shift workers across multiple sites?

Yes. Kiosk and QR clock-in with geolocation is designed for exactly that, and rota planning sits on top of the same data.

Share

Related pages

More on BambooHR

More on Sesame HR

Keep looking

Other head to heads