COMPARISON · FACTS CHECKED 2026-09-05

HiBob vs HourSquare: which fits your team?

HiBob is a mid-market HR platform with an engagement layer, native US and UK payroll, a public API, and a native mobile app, sold through a demo and a custom quote. HourSquare is a self-serve HR platform that is free for now with every module, and runs payroll with tax packs for 24+ countries. Short version: a company with a people team, a hiring pipeline, and budget for a sales-led rollout is better served by HiBob. A team of any size that wants to sign up today without a demo and run payroll outside the US and UK in the same system is better served by HourSquare. The facts are below.

Who this is for: Teams that cannot get a price from HiBob without a demo, are below the size it positions for, or run payroll outside the US and UK.

HourSquare

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

HiBob (Bob)

Pricing: Quote only
Free tier: Not published
Team size: mid-market employers
How you buy: Demo required
Hosting: EU-hosted

Vendor facts as published on 2026-09-05. (source)

Choose HourSquare if…

You want every module for free, with no demo and no quote.
You want to be set up today rather than after an implementation project.
You run payroll outside the US and UK and want it in the same system (tax packs for 24+ countries).
You need shift scheduling built in, not through a third-party integration.
You want native 2FA and passkeys and a readable audit log without an enterprise SSO setup.

Choose HiBob (Bob) if…

You have a people team and budget for a sales-led rollout, and want a mid-market HCM with an engagement layer.
You want an engagement layer with clubs, shoutouts, and surveys as a core reason to buy.
You need hiring and performance management in the same platform.
You need a public API with webhooks or a native mobile app today.
You run US or UK payroll and want it from the HR vendor, or sync to ADP, CloudPay, or Paylocity.

Mid-sized, culture-focused companies in the UK/US with budget for a sales-led HCM and add-on modules.

Side by side

Every HiBob (Bob) cell links to the page it was read from. HourSquare cells describe what ships today — nothing on our roadmap counts.

7 rows HourSquare leads14 even4 rows HiBob (Bob) leads

IncludedPartialNot offeredNot published

Pricing & buying

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Free tier	Free for now, every module, no card to sign up, no trial expiry	Not published
Published pricing	Free for now, every module included	Quote only — no public price list
Self-serve signup	No demo or sales call needed	Demo / sales call required
Setup time	Typical setup: self-serve, no implementation project	Not published
Team size fit	Any size, from 1 employee up	mid-market employers
Hosting & GDPR	EU — GDPR-native: EU hosting, audit log of sensitive-data reads and record changes, personal-data export and erasure built in	EU — Primary hosting AWS Ireland, backup AWS Germany; ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27018, SOC 2 Type II; GDPR stated.

People & records

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Employee records & directory	One employee record, departments, positions, workplaces, self-service profile	Core HR with people data and profiles.
Org chart	Live org chart from reporting lines	Org charts and clubs.
Documents & contracts	Company documents and per-employee files, contracts included	Centralized document hub; eSign valid under eIDAS.
Onboarding	Templates, auto-start when the employee is added, tasks for IT / manager / new hire	Preboarding/onboarding task lists and workflows.
Offboarding	Templates, contract termination, automatic login disable	Customizable offboarding workflows.

Time off & time

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Leave & time off	Policies in days or hours with half days, accrual, your own leave year and part-time pro rata; balances, approvals, team calendar; personal ICS feed of your time off and holidays	Leave management in Time and Attendance.
Time tracking	Timesheets and manager approval, feeds payroll	Clocking, timesheets, work cycles.
Schedules & shifts	Work schedules and shift patterns	Via Deputy marketplace integration; native scheduling not found.

Payroll

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Native payroll	Pay runs, payslips, payment and accountant exports in your own layout	Native US Payroll and UK Payroll modules; others via partners.
Payroll country coverage	Tax packs for 24+ countries; a blank schedule with your own pay items anywhere else	2 native (US, UK); Payroll Hub syncs to ADP, CloudPay, Paylocity.

Engagement & insight

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Surveys & engagement	Surveys, recurring pulse surveys, announcements	Surveys and engagement tools.
Anonymous whistleblowing	Anonymous channel with two-way conversation; the case stores no reporter name or account	Your Voice: anonymous reporting module.
Performance reviews	No performance-review module today	Performance Management module.
Recruiting (ATS)	No applicant tracking; onboarding starts at the signed contract	Hiring module: job openings, hiring approvals.
Reporting	Reports hub with CSV/XLSX export; no AI summaries yet	People analytics with KPI dashboards.

Access & security

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Roles & permissions	Roles, per-employee permissions, access levels	Role-based access control configured by admin.
Audit log	Sensitive-data reads and changes to employee records and settings are logged	API audit logs in system settings; general audit log referenced in AI guide.
Single sign-on (SSO)	Per-company SSO (Okta, Microsoft Entra, Google) with enforce mode	Native auth and/or enterprise SSO.
Two-factor / passkeys	2FA and passkeys	Vendor recommends 2FA via enterprise SSO; native 2FA not confirmed.

Platform

Feature	HourSquare	HiBob (Bob)
Mobile app	Responsive web app with a phone layout; no native iOS/Android app	iOS and Android apps.
API & integrations	Public REST API (API keys, OAuth 2.0 client credentials) for time clocks, employees and time entries; ICS feeds and exports; no webhooks or chat integrations yet	Public API, webhooks, marketplace.

Vendor facts for HiBob (Bob) were checked on 2026-09-05. If something has changed, email support@hoursquare.com and we will fix it within a day.

About HiBob (Bob)

Mid-market HCM platform with culture and engagement features, US/UK native payroll, sold through demos and custom quotes.

Where HiBob (Bob) is genuinely strong

Engagement layer: surveys, clubs, shoutouts, Your Voice anonymous reporting.
Native US and UK payroll plus Payroll Hub syncing to ADP, CloudPay, Paylocity.
EU hosting (AWS Ireland/Germany) with ISO 27001, ISO 27018, SOC 2 Type II.
Public API with webhooks and API audit logs.
eIDAS-valid e-signature and workflow-driven onboarding/offboarding.

Where it tends to fall short for our typical buyer

No public pricing; demo request required to learn cost.
Positioned for mid-market employers rather than very small teams.
Shift scheduling relies on a Deputy integration.
Native payroll covers only US and UK.
Third-party reviews report implementation fees and weaker custom reporting.

Public reviews: G2 4.5/5 (2282) · Capterra 4.6/5 (source)

Pricing reality

HiBob does not publish prices. Its pricing page is a demo-request form with no tiers, trial, or numbers; self-serve signup is not offered, and a demo is required. Third-party reviews report implementation fees on top. HiBob describes itself as a platform for mid-market employers, so a small team should expect a sales process shaped for a larger buyer. HourSquare is free for now with every module included. There is no demo, no minimum seat count, and no annual commitment.

Where HiBob is stronger

Engagement: surveys plus clubs and shoutouts on top of the anonymous Your Voice channel. HourSquare has surveys, pulse surveys, announcements, and an anonymous channel, but no social layer.
Hiring and performance: a hiring module with job openings and approvals, and a performance management module. HourSquare has neither.
A public API with webhooks and a marketplace; HourSquare has a public REST API for time clocks, employees and time entries, calendar (ICS) feeds and exports, but no webhooks yet.
Native iOS and Android apps; HourSquare is a responsive web app with a phone layout and no native app.
Native US and UK payroll, and a Payroll Hub that syncs to ADP, CloudPay, and Paylocity for other providers.

Where HourSquare is stronger for a self-serve team

Price and buying: free for now with every module, self-serve signup and setup. HiBob requires a demo and does not publish a price or a typical implementation time.
Payroll coverage: tax packs for 24+ countries with payment and accountant exports, against two native countries at HiBob.
Shift scheduling is built in; HiBob relies on a Deputy integration.
Two-factor authentication and passkeys are native. HiBob recommends 2FA through enterprise SSO, and native 2FA is not confirmed.
A readable audit log of sensitive-data reads and changes to employee records and settings. HiBob documents API audit logs; a general audit log was only referenced indirectly.

Migrating from HiBob

HiBob has people analytics, a public API, and webhooks, so exporting your employee records as CSV is a reasonable expectation; confirm what your plan allows and when your term ends before you start. Bring the export to HourSquare and set up people, departments, and leave policies from it. If you leave HourSquare later, the reports hub and the employee list export CSV and XLSX, and each person's data can be exported or erased from the product.

How to decide

Count your people. HourSquare is free for now; HiBob positions itself for mid-market employers.
Decide whether you can get a price without a demo. If not, and you need to compare numbers this week, that answers it.
Check payroll. US or UK only: HiBob runs it natively. Elsewhere, or several countries: HourSquare has tax packs for 24+ countries and a blank schedule with your own pay items for the rest.
List what you need this year. Hiring, performance reviews, a public API with webhooks, or a native mobile app favor HiBob; both sides have EU hosting, SSO, surveys, an anonymous channel, and onboarding and offboarding workflows.

Frequently asked

Is HiBob pricing published?

No. As of 2026-09-05 the HiBob pricing page is a demo-request form with no tiers, trial, or prices, and self-serve signup is not offered. Third-party reviews report implementation fees. HourSquare is free for now, with every module.

Where is HiBob data hosted, and is it GDPR compliant?

HiBob states primary hosting on AWS in Ireland with backup in Germany, holds ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27018, and SOC 2 Type II, and states GDPR compliance. HourSquare is hosted in the EU, logs sensitive-data reads and changes to employee records and settings, and offers personal-data export and erasure in the product. On hosting, both are a reasonable choice for an EU company.

How do I switch from HiBob to HourSquare?

Check your contract end date, export employee data from HiBob as CSV, and set up people, departments, and leave policies in HourSquare. Choose a payroll cutoff so balances and time entries close in one system before they start in the other. HourSquare has no minimum term, so you can run both for one cycle.

Does HourSquare have hiring or performance reviews like HiBob?

No. HourSquare has no applicant tracking and no performance-review module; onboarding starts at the signed contract. If you need either, HiBob covers both, or pair HourSquare with a separate tool.

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Free for now · GDPR-native · EU-hosted