Softwr

Software · head to head

Breathe HR vs Pleo

Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

Software

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pleo logo

Pleo

Software

Smart company cards for forward-thinking teams

From
£9.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Pleo card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas
  • They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Pleo covers Company cards.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Breathe HR and Pleo differ
AttributeBreathe HRPleo
Starting price£13/month£9.5/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidiOS, Android, Web
Founded20122015

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

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

Only in Pleo

  • Company cards
  • Receipt capture
  • Expense categorization
  • Spend limits
  • Accounting sync
  • Sage
  • NetSuite
  • PCI DSS

Both cover

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

Pleo

  • Employee expensesnot Breathe HR
  • Spending autonomynot Breathe HR
  • Expense automationnot 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

Pleo

  • Card delays and transaction limits impact usability, with limited regional acceptance in some areas
  • Receipt capture OCR inaccuracies and upload lag/glitches complicate expense categorization
  • Limited expense categories and tags reduce flexibility for complex accounting structures
  • Transaction approval workflows have minimal customization options
  • Lacks in-built forecasting tools and reporting is basic, providing limited insights into trends

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

Pleo

£9.5/month
  • Starter$9.5/month
    • Company cards
    • Real-time expense tracking
    • Automated reports
  • Essential$39/month
    • Reimbursements
    • Mileage and per diem
    • Vendor cards
  • Advanced$89/month
    • Cashback
    • Budgets
    • Multi-entity management
  • Beyond$179/month
    • Spending insights
    • Sub-wallets
    • Dedicated success manager

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 Pleo if

  • You need company cards.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want receipt capture.
Pleo review

Questions people ask

Is Breathe HR or Pleo better?
Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Pleo at £9.5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or Pleo?
Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Pleo at £9.5/month.
Does Breathe HR or Pleo run on more platforms?
Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. Pleo runs on iOS, Android, Web.
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 Pleo is typically brought in for.
What can Breathe HR do that Pleo cannot?
Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Pleo covers Company cards, Receipt capture, Expense categorization, Spend limits. Both handle Xero, QuickBooks, Web support, Ios support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pleo: What are Pleo's pricing tiers?

Pleo offers four pricing tiers: Starter (GBP 9.50/month), Essential (GBP 39.00/month), Advanced (GBP 89.00/month), and Beyond (GBP 179.00/month). Annual billing provides equivalent of two free months.

Source
Pleo: Does Pleo have a free tier?

No, Pleo does not offer a free tier or permanent free plan. All plans require payment with a free trial available for evaluation.

Source
Pleo: What integrations does Pleo support for accounting?

Pleo integrates directly with Xero and QuickBooks, plus Sage 200, Sage 50, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Datev, and Visma e-conomic. Zapier integrations are also available.

Source
Pleo: What platforms can access Pleo?

Pleo is accessible via iOS and Android mobile apps, and through a web interface. Physical and virtual cards are issued for spending.

Source
Pleo: Does Pleo support multiple currencies?

Yes, Pleo supports multi-currency spending and transactions. The platform is particularly strong for European teams with local payment methods.

Source
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