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HR & Recruiting · head to head

CharlieHR vs PlanetScale

CharlieHR logo

CharlieHR

HR & Recruiting

HR software built for small businesses

From
£5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Database & Data Management

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CharlieHR limited payroll integration capabilities compared to dedicated payroll platforms; PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • They diverge on capability: CharlieHR covers Employee Database, PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CharlieHR and PlanetScale actually diverge.

Attributes where CharlieHR and PlanetScale differ
AttributeCharlieHRPlanetScale
Starting price£5/month$15/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (iOS/Android)Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
CategoryHR & RecruitingDatabase & Data Management
Founded20152018

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 CharlieHR

  • Employee Database
  • Time Off Management
  • Onboarding
  • Performance Reviews
  • Team Engagement
  • Company Directory
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace

Only in PlanetScale

  • Database Branching
  • Non-blocking Schema Changes
  • Insights
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Caching
  • Automatic Backups
  • Global Replication

Both cover

  • Web 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.

PlanetScale

  • MySQL database hosting with automatic failover and replicationnot CharlieHR
  • Vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasetsnot CharlieHR
  • Cloud provider flexibility across AWS, GCP, Azure with 60+ regionsnot CharlieHR
  • Cost-effective database clusters using ARM64 architecture optionsnot 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

PlanetScale

  • EBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • EBS Non-HA single-node option lacks redundancy and automatic failover
  • Pricing varies by cloud provider and region, requiring queries for specific rates
  • ARM64 architecture only available on EBS tier, not Metal deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

CharlieHR

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

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Which should you pick?

Choose CharlieHR if

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

Choose PlanetScale if

  • You need database branching.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
  • You also want non-blocking schema changes.
PlanetScale review

Questions people ask

Is CharlieHR or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. CharlieHR starts at £5/month and PlanetScale at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharlieHR or PlanetScale?
CharlieHR starts at £5/month and PlanetScale at $15/month.
Does CharlieHR or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
CharlieHR runs on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android). PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
What can CharlieHR do that PlanetScale cannot?
CharlieHR covers Employee Database, Time Off Management, Onboarding, Performance Reviews. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Both handle Web support.

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
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Related pages

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