Softwr

HR & Recruiting · head to head

Breathe HR vs CouchDB

Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

HR & Recruiting

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
CouchDB logo

CouchDB

Database & Data Management

Seamless multi-master sync with Apache CouchDB

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CouchDB has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; CouchDB append-only storage model may have performance implications for certain workloads with high update rates
  • They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, CouchDB covers Multi-master Replication.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Breathe HR and CouchDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Breathe HR and CouchDB differ
AttributeBreathe HRCouchDB
Starting price£13/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidDocker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry Pi
CategoryHR & RecruitingDatabase & Data Management
Founded20121999

Identical on both: 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 Breathe HR

  • Employee Database
  • Absence Management
  • Document Storage
  • HR Reporting
  • Performance Management
  • Training
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace

Only in CouchDB

  • Multi-master Replication
  • HTTP/JSON API
  • MapReduce Views
  • ACID Semantics
  • Offline-first
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Fauxton UI
  • PouchDB

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 CouchDB
  • Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot CouchDB
  • Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot CouchDB

CouchDB

  • Offline-first applications requiring seamless replication across mobile and server environmentsnot Breathe HR
  • Multi-master deployments where data consistency eventually resolves across regionsnot Breathe HR
  • IoT and edge computing scenarios with intermittent connectivitynot Breathe HR

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

CouchDB

  • Append-only storage model may have performance implications for certain workloads with high update rates
  • Requires network synchronisation for cluster data consistency; can introduce latency in multi-master scenarios
  • No explicit support for complex joins; MapReduce queries may be inefficient compared to relational databases

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

CouchDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the CouchDB review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Breathe HR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want absence management.
Breathe HR review

Choose CouchDB if

  • You need multi-master replication.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Docker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry Pi.
  • You also want http/json api.
CouchDB review

Questions people ask

Is Breathe HR or CouchDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and CouchDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or CouchDB?
CouchDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £13/month for Breathe HR and Free for CouchDB.
Does Breathe HR or CouchDB run on more platforms?
Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. CouchDB runs on Docker, Windows (x64), macOS, Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS), Raspberry Pi.
Can I use CouchDB for free?
Yes. CouchDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Breathe HR starts at £13/month.
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 CouchDB is typically brought in for.
What can Breathe HR do that CouchDB cannot?
Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. CouchDB covers Multi-master Replication, HTTP/JSON API, MapReduce Views, ACID Semantics.
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