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Software · head to head

Breathe HR vs SmartRecruiters

Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

Software

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SmartRecruiters logo

SmartRecruiters

Software

Talent acquisition suite for hiring success

From
On request
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; SmartRecruiters no native video interviewing tool; requires third-party solution
  • They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, SmartRecruiters covers Applicant Tracking.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Breathe HR and SmartRecruiters differ
AttributeBreathe HRSmartRecruiters
Starting price£13/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded20122010

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
  • Google Workspace
  • Xero

Only in SmartRecruiters

  • Applicant Tracking
  • CRM
  • Recruiting Marketing
  • AI Matching
  • Onboarding
  • Analytics
  • Marketplace
  • LinkedIn

Both cover

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

SmartRecruiters

No use cases recorded yet. See the SmartRecruiters 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

SmartRecruiters

  • No native video interviewing tool; requires third-party solution
  • Reporting tools lack advanced customization; creating custom reports is difficult
  • Mobile app functionality is limited compared to desktop version
  • Integration with external HR systems can be unreliable with synchronization problems
  • Limited customization options to capture position-specific information
  • Subscription fees locked during contract term even if company headcount decreases

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

SmartRecruiters

On request
  • SmartRecruiters$undefined/month
    • ATS
    • CRM
    • Recruiting Marketing

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 SmartRecruiters if

  • You need applicant tracking.
  • You also want crm.
SmartRecruiters review

Questions people ask

Is Breathe HR or SmartRecruiters better?
Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and SmartRecruiters at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or SmartRecruiters?
Breathe HR starts at £13/month and SmartRecruiters at On request.
Does Breathe HR or SmartRecruiters run on more platforms?
Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. SmartRecruiters runs on 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 SmartRecruiters is typically brought in for.
What can Breathe HR do that SmartRecruiters cannot?
Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. SmartRecruiters covers Applicant Tracking, CRM, Recruiting Marketing, AI Matching. Both handle Slack, Microsoft 365, Web support, Ios support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SmartRecruiters: Does SmartRecruiters have a free tier?

No. As of 2026, SmartRecruiters discontinued the free SmartStart tier. The platform requires a demo and evaluation call; entry-level Essential tier pricing starts around $15,000 per year.

Source
SmartRecruiters: How does SmartRecruiters billing work?

SmartRecruiters charges by total company headcount, not by recruiter seats. Subscription fees cannot decrease during a contract term even if headcount shrinks mid-contract.

Source
SmartRecruiters: What integrations does SmartRecruiters support?

SmartRecruiters integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and offers a Slack marketplace integration for sending interview notifications and scheduling updates directly to channels.

Source
SmartRecruiters: What are SmartRecruiters' core features?

SmartRecruiters offers end-to-end recruiting including Winston AI talent matching, job distribution, career site builder, applicant tracking, interview scheduling, analytics, and onboarding tools.

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