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All industries · head to head

BambooHR vs Slack

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

All industries

HR software with heart

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

Slack

All industries

Where work happens

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Slack 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; Slack 90-day message history limit on free plan results in important conversations disappearing
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Slack covers Channels.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Slack actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Slack differ
AttributeBambooHRSlack
Starting price$10/month per employeeFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux
Founded20082009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).

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 Slack

  • Channels
  • Direct messaging
  • Voice & video calls
  • Screen sharing
  • File sharing
  • Search
  • Workflow builder
  • Slack Connect

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • ISO27001

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

Slack

  • Team communicationnot BambooHR
  • Project coordinationnot BambooHR
  • Customer supportnot BambooHR
  • Remote worknot BambooHR
  • Cross-functional collaborationnot 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

Slack

  • 90-day message history limit on free plan results in important conversations disappearing
  • Per-user pricing becomes expensive quickly for larger teams
  • Notification overload with 78% of employees feeling overwhelmed by notifications
  • Mobile app performance issues including lag and slow syncing
  • Huddles limited to 50 people and cannot be recorded
  • Requires dedicated video conferencing service for formal meetings and webinars

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Slack

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Slack 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 Slack if

  • You need channels.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want direct messaging.
Slack review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Slack better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Slack at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Slack?
Slack has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month per employee for BambooHR and Free for Slack.
Does BambooHR or Slack run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Slack runs on Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux.
Can I use Slack for free?
Yes. Slack 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 Slack is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Slack cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Slack covers Channels, Direct messaging, Voice & video calls, Screen sharing. Both handle SOC2, ISO27001.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Slack: Does Slack have a free plan?

Yes, Slack offers a free plan indefinitely with no credit card required. Free users get 90-day message history, up to 10 app integrations, and 1:1 huddles.

Source
Slack: What are Slack's pricing plans?

Slack offers Free, Pro ($7.25/user/month with annual billing), Business+ ($12.50/user/month), and Enterprise Grid (custom pricing). Monthly billing costs approximately 20% more than annual.

Source
Slack: Does Slack support offline use?

Slack is a cloud-based platform and does not support robust offline work. Internet connectivity is required to access messages and collaborate.

Source
Slack: What integrations does Slack support?

Slack integrates with 43+ apps on average per team, including Google Drive, ChatGPT, Vercel, Asana, GitHub, and many others through their app marketplace.

Source
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Related pages

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