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HR & Recruiting · head to head

CharlieHR vs Productive

CharlieHR logo

CharlieHR

HR & Recruiting

HR software built for small businesses

From
£5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Productive logo

Productive

Professional Services

Run projects, budgets and resources in one place

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: CharlieHR limited payroll integration capabilities compared to dedicated payroll platforms; Productive essential plan is capped at 5 account-level custom fields and 1 CRM pipeline versus 15 fields and 3 pipelines on Professional

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CharlieHR and Productive actually diverge.

Attributes where CharlieHR and Productive differ
AttributeCharlieHRProductive
Starting price£5/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (iOS/Android)Web
CategoryHR & RecruitingProfessional Services
Founded2015Unknown

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 Productive

Nothing recorded that CharlieHR does not also cover.

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

Productive

  • Essential plan is capped at 5 account-level custom fields and 1 CRM pipeline versus 15 fields and 3 pipelines on Professional
  • Ultimate tier for complex organizations is quote-only, listed as Let's talk with no published price

Pricing, plan by plan

CharlieHR

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

Productive

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Productive 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 Productive if

Nothing in the data separates Productive from CharlieHR on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Productive review

Questions people ask

Is CharlieHR or Productive better?
Neither clearly leads. CharlieHR starts at £5/month and Productive at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharlieHR or Productive?
CharlieHR starts at £5/month and Productive at On request.
Does CharlieHR or Productive run on more platforms?
CharlieHR runs on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android). Productive runs on Web.
What can CharlieHR do that Productive cannot?
CharlieHR covers Employee Database, Time Off Management, Onboarding, Performance Reviews.

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

More on CharlieHR

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