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HR · head to head

CharlieHR vs Sesame HR

CharlieHR logo

CharlieHR

HR

HR software built for small businesses

From
Free
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

  • Only CharlieHR has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CharlieHR starter plan price increases to £20/month after 6-month promotional period; 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: CharlieHR covers Employee Database, 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 CharlieHR and Sesame HR actually diverge.

Attributes where CharlieHR and Sesame HR differ
AttributeCharlieHRSesame HR
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Mobile (iOS/Android)Web, iOS, Android
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: 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 CharlieHR

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

Only in Sesame HR

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

What people use each for

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

CharlieHR

  • HR management for small to large teamsnot Sesame HR
  • Employee onboarding and time off managementnot Sesame HR
  • Performance reviews and employee engagementnot Sesame HR

Sesame HR

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

Where each one falls short

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

CharlieHR

  • Starter plan price increases to £20/month after 6-month promotional period
  • Pricing based on team headcount brackets, not per-user
  • Add-ons (Charlie Recruit, Charlie Advice) cannot be purchased standalone
  • Charlie Advice and Recruit require base Charlie subscription
  • Prices shown exclude 20% UK VAT

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

CharlieHR

Free
  • Starter (1-4 team members)$5/month
    • Introductory rate for first 6 months
    • Then £20/month
  • Small (5-14 team members)$45/month
    • Covers 5-14 employees
  • Medium (15-29 team members)$105/month
    • Covers 15-29 employees
  • Large (30-99 team members)$180/month
    • Covers 30-99 employees

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 CharlieHR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android).
  • You also want time off management.
CharlieHR 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 CharlieHR or Sesame HR better?
Neither clearly leads. CharlieHR starts at Free and Sesame HR at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CharlieHR or Sesame HR?
CharlieHR has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CharlieHR and On request for Sesame HR.
Does CharlieHR or Sesame HR run on more platforms?
CharlieHR runs on Web, Mobile (iOS/Android). Sesame HR runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use CharlieHR for free?
Yes. CharlieHR has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sesame HR starts at On request.
What is CharlieHR best used for?
CharlieHR is most often used for hr management for small to large teams, employee onboarding and time off management, performance reviews and employee engagement. Of those, hr management for small to large teams and employee onboarding and time off management are not what Sesame HR is typically brought in for.
What can CharlieHR do that Sesame HR cannot?
CharlieHR covers Employee Database, Time Off Management, Onboarding, Performance Reviews. Sesame HR covers Time and attendance, Legal time reports, Shift planning, Absence management.

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
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.

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
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.

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
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.

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
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.

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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