BambooHR vs HourSquare: which fits your team?
BambooHR is an established HRIS with published prices, a native mobile app, an applicant tracking system, and payroll for US employees. HourSquare is a self-serve HR platform that is free for now with every module included, and runs payroll with tax packs for 24+ countries. Short version: a US company that hires regularly and wants payroll, benefits, and recruiting from one vendor is better served by BambooHR. A team of any size that runs payroll outside the US and wants to set up without a sales cycle is better served by HourSquare. The sections below show the facts behind that call so you can disagree with it.
Who this is for: Teams that are paying the BambooHR flat rate for a handful of seats, run payroll outside the US, or want time tracking and scheduling without add-on fees.
- Pricing
- Free for now, every module included
- Free tier
- Free for now, every module, no card to sign up, no trial expiry
- Team size
- Any size, from 1 employee up
- How you buy
- Self-serve signup
- Hosting
- EU-hosted
- Pricing
- USD 10 per employee/month (Core)
- Free tier
- No free tier
- Team size
- small and mid-sized companies
- How you buy
- Not published
- Hosting
- Choice of region
Vendor facts as published on 2026-09-05. (source)
Choose HourSquare if…
You want every module free for now, instead of paying BambooHR's USD 250/month flat rate. You run payroll outside the US and want it in the same system (tax packs for 24+ countries). You want to sign up today and set it up yourself, without a demo. You need an anonymous reporting channel and a full audit log out of the box. You want EU hosting by default, with no minimum seats and no annual commitment.
Choose BambooHR if…
You run US payroll and benefits and want them from the HRIS vendor. You hire steadily and need an applicant tracking system. You need performance reviews and 1:1s now (Pro tier or higher). You need an open API or one of its 150+ prebuilt integrations. Your team needs a native mobile app today.
US-based small and mid-sized companies that want an established HRIS with US payroll and published pricing.
Side by side
Every BambooHR cell links to the page it was read from. HourSquare cells describe what ships today — nothing on our roadmap counts.
Pricing & buying
People & records
Time off & time
Payroll
Engagement & insight
Access & security
Platform
Vendor facts for BambooHR were checked on 2026-09-05. If something has changed, email support@hoursquare.com and we will fix it within a day.
About BambooHR
US-based HRIS for small and mid-sized companies with published per-employee tiers and US-only payroll/benefits add-ons.
Where BambooHR is genuinely strong
Published per-employee prices for all three tiers, with a flat-rate option under 25 employees. Broad module set in one product: ATS, onboarding, time off, eNPS, performance, time and attendance. Choice of US, Canada, or Ireland data hosting with SOC 2 Type 2 audits. Large integration marketplace (150+) plus an open API. Native iOS/Android app covering employee self-service.
Where it tends to fall short for our typical buyer
Native payroll and benefits administration are US-only add-ons. Time tracking and scheduling cost extra on top of the base tier. Performance management requires the Pro tier (USD 17/employee/month). Small teams under 25 pay a flat USD 250/month minimum regardless of headcount. No whistleblowing/anonymous reporting channel found.
Public reviews: G2 4.57/5 (1776) · Capterra 4.2/5 (source)
Pricing reality
BambooHR publishes its prices: Core at USD 10 per employee per month, Pro at USD 17, and Elite at USD 25. Companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate from USD 250 per month instead, so a 6-person team pays the same as a 25-person team. The pricing page does not state an annual commitment requirement, and it does not mention a free tier or a free trial. Time and Attendance and US payroll are paid add-ons, and performance management starts at Pro. HourSquare is free for now with every module included. There is no minimum seat count and no annual commitment.
Where BambooHR is stronger
- Applicant tracking: a full ATS is part of the core platform. HourSquare has no ATS; onboarding starts at the signed contract.
- Performance reviews and 1:1s from the Pro tier. HourSquare has no performance-review module today.
- An open API and a marketplace of 150+ prebuilt integrations. HourSquare has a public REST API for time clocks, employees and time entries, plus calendar (ICS) feeds and exports, but no integration marketplace.
- A native iOS and Android app. HourSquare is a responsive web app with a phone layout and has no native app.
- US payroll and benefits administration from the same vendor, and a choice of US, Canada, or Ireland hosting.
Where HourSquare is stronger for a self-serve team
- Price: free for now with every module, against a USD 250/month flat rate for 25 or fewer employees at BambooHR.
- Payroll beyond the US: pay runs, payslips, and payment and accountant exports with tax packs for 24+ countries. BambooHR runs native payroll for US employees only.
- Time tracking and shift scheduling are included and feed payroll; at BambooHR they are a paid add-on.
- An anonymous reporting channel with two-way conversation; no equivalent was found on BambooHR pages.
- An audit log of sensitive-data reads and changes to employee records and settings; BambooHR does not describe one on its platform or security pages.
- Self-serve signup and setup with no demo; BambooHR does not publish whether self-serve signup exists or how long a typical implementation takes.
Migrating from BambooHR
BambooHR has customizable reports and an open API, so getting your employee records out as a CSV is straightforward. Bring that export to HourSquare and set up your people, departments, and leave policies from it. If you later want to leave HourSquare, the reports hub and the employee list export CSV and XLSX, and each person's data can be exported or erased from the product. Plan the switch around a payroll cutoff so time entries and balances are settled in one system before they start in the other.
How to decide
- Count your people. HourSquare is free for now, whatever your team size. At 25 or fewer, BambooHR costs at least USD 250 a month.
- Check where you run payroll. US only: BambooHR can do it natively. Anywhere else, or several countries: HourSquare has tax packs for 24+ countries and a blank schedule with your own pay items for the rest.
- List the modules you will use this year. If recruiting or performance reviews are on the list, that favors BambooHR.
- Decide how you want to buy. If you want to sign up and be running today, HourSquare is built for that; if you want a large integration marketplace and an open API, BambooHR is.
Frequently asked
Is BambooHR pricing published?
Where is BambooHR data hosted, and is it GDPR compliant?
How do I switch from BambooHR to HourSquare?
Does HourSquare replace the BambooHR ATS?
Other comparisons
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