Softwr

HR & Recruiting · head to head

Breathe HR vs Oyster

Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

HR & Recruiting

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Oyster logo

Oyster

Payroll & Benefits

Hire globally, compliantly

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Oyster 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; Oyster employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
  • They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Oyster covers Global Employment.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Breathe HR and Oyster differ
AttributeBreathe HROyster
Starting price£13/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
CategoryHR & RecruitingPayroll & Benefits
Founded20122020

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), 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
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365

Only in Oyster

  • Global Employment
  • Payroll
  • Benefits
  • Compliance
  • Contractor Management
  • Time Off
  • Expenses
  • BambooHR

Both cover

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

Oyster

  • Hiring employees abroad without setting up a local legal entitynot Breathe HR
  • Onboarding and paying international contractorsnot Breathe HR
  • Getting country specific employment compliance advice for distributed teamsnot 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

Oyster

  • Employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
  • A refundable deposit is required before an EOR engagement starts
  • Contractor management is free for 30 days then $29 per contractor per month
  • HR advisory through People Partner Services is billed at $300 per hour on top of the subscription
  • A currency conversion fee applies when you pay Oyster in a currency other than the contract currency
  • Payments are accepted only by direct debit or wire in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD

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

Oyster

Free
  • Contractor$29/month
    • Contractor Payments
    • Compliant Contracts
    • Invoicing
  • Employee$599/month
    • Global Employment
    • Payroll
    • Benefits

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 Oyster if

  • You need global employment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want payroll.
Oyster review

Questions people ask

Is Breathe HR or Oyster better?
Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Oyster at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or Oyster?
Oyster has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £13/month for Breathe HR and Free for Oyster.
Does Breathe HR or Oyster run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Oyster for free?
Yes. Oyster 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 Oyster is typically brought in for.
What can Breathe HR do that Oyster cannot?
Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Oyster covers Global Employment, Payroll, Benefits, Compliance. Both handle Slack, QuickBooks, Web support, Ios support.
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