Softwr

Software · head to head

CharlieHR vs Breathe HR

CharlieHR logo

CharlieHR

Software

HR software built for small businesses

From
£5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

Software

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CharlieHR limited payroll integration capabilities compared to dedicated payroll platforms; 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
  • They diverge on capability: CharlieHR covers Time Off Management, Breathe HR covers Absence Management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where CharlieHR and Breathe HR differ
AttributeCharlieHRBreathe HR
Starting price£5/month£13/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (iOS/Android)Web, Ios, Android
Founded20152012

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 CharlieHR

  • Time Off Management
  • Onboarding
  • Performance Reviews
  • Team Engagement
  • Company Directory
  • Zapier

Only in Breathe HR

  • Absence Management
  • Document Storage
  • HR Reporting
  • Performance Management
  • Training
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks

Both cover

  • Employee Database
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

CharlieHR

No use cases recorded yet. See the CharlieHR review.

Breathe HR

  • Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot CharlieHR
  • Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot CharlieHR
  • Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot CharlieHR

Where each one falls short

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

CharlieHR

  • Limited payroll integration capabilities compared to dedicated payroll platforms
  • Pricing structure geared toward UK and Europe, with limited localization for other regions
  • Add-on services like Charlie Recruit and Charlie Advice incur additional costs
  • Smaller employee base (approximately 30 people) compared to enterprise HR competitors

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

Pricing, plan by plan

CharlieHR

£5/month
  • Core HR (Teams 1-4)$5/month
    • Employee onboarding
    • Time off management
    • Document storage

Breathe HR

£13/month
  • Core$13/month
    • Employee Database
    • Absence Management
    • Documents
  • People Management$18/month
    • All Core features
    • Performance
    • Goals

Which should you pick?

Choose CharlieHR if

  • You need time off management.
  • You work on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android).
  • You also want onboarding.
CharlieHR review

Choose Breathe HR if

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

Questions people ask

Is CharlieHR or Breathe HR better?
Neither clearly leads. CharlieHR starts at £5/month and Breathe HR at £13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharlieHR or Breathe HR?
CharlieHR starts at £5/month and Breathe HR at £13/month.
Does CharlieHR or Breathe HR run on more platforms?
CharlieHR runs on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android). Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What can CharlieHR do that Breathe HR cannot?
CharlieHR covers Time Off Management, Onboarding, Performance Reviews, Team Engagement. Breathe HR covers Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting, Performance Management. Both handle Employee Database, Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CharlieHR: Does CharlieHR offer a free plan?

CharlieHR does not have a free plan, but offers a 7-day free trial without requiring a credit card. Pricing starts at £5/month for teams of 1-4 employees.

Source
CharlieHR: What are CharlieHR's core features?

Core features include employee onboarding, time off tracking, performance reviews, document storage, employee engagement tools, and benefits management with access to 30,000+ discounts.

Source
CharlieHR: Does CharlieHR integrate with payroll systems?

CharlieHR integrates with major HR tech stacks and offers add-on services like Charlie Recruit for hiring automation. Payroll integration capabilities depend on the specific payroll provider you use.

Source
CharlieHR: Is CharlieHR GDPR compliant?

Yes. CharlieHR is GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001-certified, providing strong data security and privacy compliance for European businesses.

Source
CharlieHR: Does CharlieHR support multi-currency?

CharlieHR's pricing is primarily in GBP (British Pounds). International users can access the platform but currency and localization options may be limited.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on CharlieHR

More on Breathe HR

Keep looking

Other head to heads