Software · head to head
Breathe HR vs CharlieHR
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Breathe HR pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50; CharlieHR limited payroll integration capabilities compared to dedicated payroll platforms
- They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Absence Management, CharlieHR covers Time Off Management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Breathe HR and CharlieHR actually diverge.
| Attribute | Breathe HR | CharlieHR |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | £13/month | £5/month |
| Pricing model | subscription | Unknown |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android | Web, Mobile (iOS/Android) |
| Founded | 2012 | 2015 |
Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Breathe HR
- Absence Management
- Document Storage
- HR Reporting
- Performance Management
- Training
- Xero
- QuickBooks
Only in CharlieHR
- Time Off Management
- Onboarding
- Performance Reviews
- Team Engagement
- Company Directory
- Zapier
Both cover
- Employee Database
- Slack
- Google Workspace
- Microsoft 365
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Breathe HR
- Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot CharlieHR
- Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot CharlieHR
- Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot CharlieHR
CharlieHR
No use cases recorded yet. See the CharlieHR review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Breathe HR
- Pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
- Plans are capped by band up to 151 to 200 people, so it is not sold to organisations above that range on the published ladder
- The free trial is 14 days
- Health and safety, e-learning and other modules are sold as add-ons on top of the core HR plan
- Pricing is quoted in pounds and the product is marketed to UK SMEs
CharlieHR
- Limited payroll integration capabilities compared to dedicated payroll platforms
- Pricing structure geared toward UK and Europe, with limited localization for other regions
- Add-on services like Charlie Recruit and Charlie Advice incur additional costs
- Smaller employee base (approximately 30 people) compared to enterprise HR competitors
Pricing, plan by plan
Breathe HR
£13/month- Core$13/month
- Employee Database
- Absence Management
- Documents
- People Management$18/month
- All Core features
- Performance
- Goals
CharlieHR
£5/month- Core HR (Teams 1-4)$5/month
- Employee onboarding
- Time off management
- Document storage
Which should you pick?
Choose Breathe HR if
- You need absence management.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want document storage.
Choose CharlieHR if
- You need time off management.
- You work on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android).
- You also want onboarding.
Questions people ask
- Is Breathe HR or CharlieHR better?
- Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and CharlieHR at £5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or CharlieHR?
- Breathe HR starts at £13/month and CharlieHR at £5/month.
- Does Breathe HR or CharlieHR run on more platforms?
- Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. CharlieHR runs on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android).
- What is Breathe HR best used for?
- Breathe HR is most often used for holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business, storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures, performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teams. Of those, holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business and storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures are not what CharlieHR is typically brought in for.
- What can Breathe HR do that CharlieHR cannot?
- Breathe HR covers Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting, Performance Management. CharlieHR covers Time Off Management, Onboarding, Performance Reviews, Team Engagement. Both handle Employee Database, Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
CharlieHR: Does CharlieHR offer a free plan?
CharlieHR does not have a free plan, but offers a 7-day free trial without requiring a credit card. Pricing starts at £5/month for teams of 1-4 employees.
SourceCharlieHR: What are CharlieHR's core features?
Core features include employee onboarding, time off tracking, performance reviews, document storage, employee engagement tools, and benefits management with access to 30,000+ discounts.
SourceCharlieHR: Does CharlieHR integrate with payroll systems?
CharlieHR integrates with major HR tech stacks and offers add-on services like Charlie Recruit for hiring automation. Payroll integration capabilities depend on the specific payroll provider you use.
SourceCharlieHR: Is CharlieHR GDPR compliant?
Yes. CharlieHR is GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001-certified, providing strong data security and privacy compliance for European businesses.
SourceCharlieHR: Does CharlieHR support multi-currency?
CharlieHR's pricing is primarily in GBP (British Pounds). International users can access the platform but currency and localization options may be limited.
Source