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HR · head to head

Cezanne HR vs Sesame HR

Cezanne HR logo

Cezanne HR

HR

Mid-market HR system for UK and multi-country European employers, with per-country configuration and EU or UK data hosting

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sesame HR logo

Sesame HR

HR

Spanish HR and time recording platform built around the legal obligation to record daily working hours

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cezanne HR there is no payroll calculation, so every country needs its own payroll provider and an export that someone maintains when statutory formats change.; Sesame HR there is no payroll calculation, so the payroll relationship stays with an external gestoria or payroll system and Sesame is only feeding it data.
  • They diverge on capability: Cezanne HR covers Per-country configuration, Sesame HR covers Time and attendance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cezanne HR and Sesame HR actually diverge.

Attributes where Cezanne HR and Sesame HR differ
AttributeCezanne HRSesame HR

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (HR).

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 Cezanne HR

  • Per-country configuration
  • Data residency choice
  • Performance management
  • Onboarding
  • Career and succession
  • Timesheets
  • Reporting

Only in Sesame HR

  • Time and attendance
  • Legal time reports
  • Shift planning
  • Document management
  • Expenses
  • Performance
  • Payroll export

Both cover

  • Absence management

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cezanne HR

  • A UK company with subsidiaries in France, Germany and Spain that needs different absence rules under one systemnot Sesame HR
  • An organisation whose data protection assessment rules out US-hosted HR systemsnot Sesame HR
  • A mid-market employer that has outgrown a small business HR tool but will not fund an enterprise HCM programmenot Sesame HR
  • A professional services firm that needs timesheets against projects alongside HR recordsnot Sesame HR

Sesame HR

  • A Spanish employer that must produce daily working time records for a labour inspectionnot Cezanne HR
  • A company with shift workers across several sites that needs rota planning and real clock-in data in one placenot Cezanne HR
  • A business whose gestoria wants clean hours and absence data each month instead of emailed spreadsheetsnot Cezanne HR
  • A Latin American subsidiary of a Spanish group standardising on the same attendance systemnot Cezanne HR

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cezanne HR

  • There is no payroll calculation, so every country needs its own payroll provider and an export that someone maintains when statutory formats change.
  • Modules are licensed separately, so the quoted per employee price for core HR rises considerably once performance, recruitment and onboarding are added.
  • The interface is functional rather than modern, and organisations that expect employees to adopt it enthusiastically without prompting are usually disappointed.
  • The report builder is capable but has a genuine learning curve, and most customers end up with one or two people who can write reports rather than self-service across the business.
  • The mobile app covers common employee tasks but not administrative work, so HR staff are tied to a desktop for anything beyond approvals.

Sesame HR

  • There is no payroll calculation, so the payroll relationship stays with an external gestoria or payroll system and Sesame is only feeding it data.
  • The product is built around Spanish and Latin American regulation, so a buyer employing in northern Europe gets attendance tracking without the local statutory logic that made the product valuable in the first place.
  • Modules beyond time and attendance are noticeably shallower, and companies expecting the performance or recruitment features to replace dedicated tools are usually disappointed.
  • Support, documentation and legal templates are Spanish-first, and English-language material lags behind, which slows adoption in mixed-language organisations.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across module tiers, so a company that only wants compliant time recording still pays a headcount-scaled fee for a suite it uses a fraction of.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cezanne HR

On request
  • Cezanne HR$undefined/year
    • Priced per employee per month on annual terms with volume banding
    • Core people management included
    • Performance, recruitment, onboarding and timesheets licensed as modules

Sesame HR

On request
  • Sesame HR$undefined/year
    • Priced per employee per month with module-based tiers
    • Time and attendance in the base tier
    • Shift planning, performance and expenses as higher tiers or add-ons

Which should you pick?

Choose Cezanne HR if

  • You need per-country configuration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want data residency choice.
Cezanne HR review

Choose Sesame HR if

  • You need time and attendance.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want legal time reports.
Sesame HR review

Questions people ask

Is Cezanne HR or Sesame HR better?
Neither clearly leads. Cezanne HR starts at On request and Sesame HR at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cezanne HR or Sesame HR?
Cezanne HR starts at On request and Sesame HR at On request.
Does Cezanne HR or Sesame HR run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Cezanne HR best used for?
Cezanne HR is most often used for a uk company with subsidiaries in france, germany and spain that needs different absence rules under one system, an organisation whose data protection assessment rules out us-hosted hr systems, a mid-market employer that has outgrown a small business hr tool but will not fund an enterprise hcm programme, a professional services firm that needs timesheets against projects alongside hr records. Of those, a uk company with subsidiaries in france, germany and spain that needs different absence rules under one system and an organisation whose data protection assessment rules out us-hosted hr systems are not what Sesame HR is typically brought in for.
What can Cezanne HR do that Sesame HR cannot?
Cezanne HR covers Per-country configuration, Data residency choice, Performance management, Onboarding. Sesame HR covers Time and attendance, Legal time reports, Shift planning, Document management. Both handle Absence management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cezanne HR: Does Cezanne HR run payroll?

No. It holds the HR record and exports to payroll providers in each country. Payroll remains a separate contract.

Sesame HR: Why is time recording mandatory in Spain?

Royal Decree-Law 8/2019 requires every employer to record daily start and finish times for all employees and to retain those records for four years for labour inspection.

Cezanne HR: Where is our data stored?

You choose between UK and EU hosting, which is the reason many public sector, education and works-council-sensitive buyers shortlist it.

Sesame HR: Does Sesame HR run payroll?

No. It exports hours, absences and variable pay to a gestoria or payroll system such as A3 or Sage.

Cezanne HR: Can it handle different rules per country?

Yes. Absence, calendars, working patterns and documents are configured per country within a single instance rather than needing separate systems.

Sesame HR: Does it work outside Spain?

It is used across Latin America and Portugal. Outside those markets you get the tooling without the country-specific legal logic.

Cezanne HR: What size organisation is it for?

Roughly 100 to 3,000 employees. Below that it is more system than needed; above it, enterprise HCM products become competitive.

Sesame HR: Can it handle shift workers across multiple sites?

Yes. Kiosk and QR clock-in with geolocation is designed for exactly that, and rota planning sits on top of the same data.

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