HR software comparison · 14 systems

Compare HR software for your team. 14 systems, every claim sourced.

Compare what HR systems actually offer, how pricing works and what to verify. Build a shortlist you can explain, without handing over your email.

By HourSquareWritten Research checked How we put this together

Starting small

Look beyond the trial.

Check whether a free option continues, what the headcount cap means and which workflows it includes.

Compare access models →

Connecting the work

Follow a real request.

Compare employee records, time off, approvals and the steps between them, not just a long feature list.

Read the profiles →

Working across borders

Separate HR from employment.

HR records, local payroll and employer-of-record are different services. Verify each country and contract.

Understand the scope →

HourSquare publishes this page and is included in the comparison. Official-source research; no universal ranking, review score or paid placement.

Make it your comparison

Start with the work you need to do.

Filter the directory, then select up to four systems. There is no hidden score or sponsored order.

Access model

14 of 14 systems match

Alphabetical directory · Up to 4 selected
Choose up to four systems to compare (alphabetical)

The documented-capability filter lists systems whose capability is Documented or Scope dependent and leaves out Verify scope ones. It does not mean a listed capability is included in the starting price, and it does not mean a vendor left out lacks the capability. Filters never remove your existing selections.

Comparing 3 of 4

This hides capabilities that have the same status label across your selection. An identical label does not mean identical scope: package conditions can still differ, so turn it off to read every note. Pricing and access rows always stay visible.

  • Documented · official product evidence
  • Scope dependent · plan, add-on, country or partner conditions
  • Verify scope · not established; not a claim of absence
Published scope, not an all-inclusive package. Checked 25 October 2026.
Your shortlist HourSquare Publisher’s own product BambooHR Zoho People
Pricing & accessFree for nowEvery available module. Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams.No card to sign up. No trial expiry. No sales call. If the offer for larger teams changes, HourSquare will tell you first.No seat minimum. Future plan details for larger teams have not been specified.
Free plan
Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams

Free forever for teams of up to 10 people. Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first.

Pricing evidence (2)
Published rates differ; confirm a written quoteCurrency: USDper employee per month above 25 employees; flat monthly packages at 25 or fewerMonthly or extended terms; volume discounts; add-on prices require a quote.Flat-rate band is published for 25 or fewer; do not extrapolate an all-in floor from headline PEPM.

Its own pages disagree. The headline and FAQ rates differ for the same plan. Ask for a written quote; do not pick whichever looks lower.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Public trial documented (duration not stated)

No card required; trial ends automatically. Duration was not stated on the checked signup page. No ongoing free paid-product plan established.

Published rates (3)
  • Core: Headline rate: $10 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $10.25 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $250 per month
  • Pro: Headline rate: $17 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $17.50 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $425 per month
  • Elite: Headline rate: $25 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $25 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $650 per month
Pricing evidence (1)
EUR view: from €1.25/user/month, billed annuallyCurrency: EURper user per month; checked European pricing viewRates verified in the live EUR view with Yearly active. Monthly billing is also offered; local taxes are extra. These are not universal USD prices.Published non-US comparison lists a five-user paid minimum; verify the selected regional edition. Above 500 users, request a quote.
Free plan
Ongoing free option documented
Trial
Public trial documented (30 days)

Checked EUR view offers an ongoing free edition for up to five users and a 30-day trial. Allowance varies by regional edition; confirm your local signup.

Published rates (4)
  • Essential HR: Per user, billed annually: €1.25 per month
  • Professional: Per user, billed annually: €2 per month
  • Premium: Per user, billed annually: €3 per month
  • Enterprise: Per user, billed annually: €4.50 per month
Pricing evidence (1)
How to startSelf-service: Google or an e-mail code, then a 3-step company setup

Review pricing & start

self-service trial plus demo/quote

Start Free Trial

self-service trial plus demo

Start free trial

People recordsDocumented

Directory, employee records and organization structure.

Evidence (1)
Documented

Employee records and reporting.

Evidence (1)
Documented

Employee records, organization data and self-service.

Evidence (1)
Time offDocumented

Leave requests, balances, policies and calendars.

Evidence (1)
Documented

Policies, requests and calendars in HR plans.

Evidence (1)
Documented

Leave policies, balances and requests.

Evidence (1)
Time & attendanceDocumented

Attendance, schedules and time tracking.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

Time & Attendance is an add-on.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

Attendance, timesheets and shifts depend on the selected edition.

Evidence (1)
PayrollScope dependent

Payroll workflows and payslips; country-specific filing, remittance and service scope must be confirmed.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

Native add-on is US-only; international payroll uses partners.

Delivery: native US / partner international

Evidence (2)
Scope dependent

Zoho Payroll is a separate application in the wider suite; country coverage and inclusion vary.

Delivery: separate application / regional

Evidence (1)
Workflows & approvalsDocumented

Unified approvals, onboarding/offboarding, tasks and process templates.

Evidence (1)
Documented

HR workflows and approvals.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

HR automation and approval allowances vary by edition.

Evidence (1)
EngagementDocumented

Surveys, announcements and employee communication.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

Satisfaction tools in Core; wider performance/community tools vary by tier.

Evidence (2)
Scope dependent

Engagement and performance capabilities depend on edition.

Evidence (1)
RecruitingVerify scope

A full applicant-tracking suite was not established by this review.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

ATS is listed with plan-specific opening allowances.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

Talent acquisition is delivered through the broader People Plus / Recruit suite.

Delivery: separate application

Evidence (1)
IT managementVerify scope

Equipment records exist; full device provisioning and identity automation were not established.

Evidence (1)
Verify scope

Confirm device-management and access-provisioning needs; HR integrations alone do not establish a full IT suite.

Evidence (1)
Verify scope

Suite collaboration or password tools do not establish full device and application administration.

Evidence (1)
Employer of recordVerify scope

Employer-of-record service was not established by this review.

Evidence (1)
Scope dependent

Remote-powered EOR; payroll and benefits handled in Remote.

Delivery: partner

Evidence (1)
Verify scope

An employer-of-record entitlement was not established in the reviewed People sources.

Evidence (2)

Publisher’s own product

HourSquare

Pricing & access
Free for nowEvery available module. Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams.No card to sign up. No trial expiry. No sales call. If the offer for larger teams changes, HourSquare will tell you first.No seat minimum. Future plan details for larger teams have not been specified.
Free plan
Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams

Free forever for teams of up to 10 people. Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first.

Pricing evidence (2)
How to start
Self-service: Google or an e-mail code, then a 3-step company setup

Review pricing & start

People records
Documented

Directory, employee records and organization structure.

Evidence (1)
Time off
Documented

Leave requests, balances, policies and calendars.

Evidence (1)
Time & attendance
Documented

Attendance, schedules and time tracking.

Evidence (1)
Payroll
Scope dependent

Payroll workflows and payslips; country-specific filing, remittance and service scope must be confirmed.

Evidence (1)
Workflows & approvals
Documented

Unified approvals, onboarding/offboarding, tasks and process templates.

Evidence (1)
Engagement
Documented

Surveys, announcements and employee communication.

Evidence (1)
Recruiting
Verify scope

A full applicant-tracking suite was not established by this review.

Evidence (1)
IT management
Verify scope

Equipment records exist; full device provisioning and identity automation were not established.

Evidence (1)
Employer of record
Verify scope

Employer-of-record service was not established by this review.

Evidence (1)
All sources for HourSquare (4)

Selected system

BambooHR

Pricing & access
Published rates differ; confirm a written quoteCurrency: USDper employee per month above 25 employees; flat monthly packages at 25 or fewerMonthly or extended terms; volume discounts; add-on prices require a quote.Flat-rate band is published for 25 or fewer; do not extrapolate an all-in floor from headline PEPM.

Its own pages disagree. The headline and FAQ rates differ for the same plan. Ask for a written quote; do not pick whichever looks lower.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Public trial documented (duration not stated)

No card required; trial ends automatically. Duration was not stated on the checked signup page. No ongoing free paid-product plan established.

Published rates (3)
  • Core: Headline rate: $10 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $10.25 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $250 per month
  • Pro: Headline rate: $17 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $17.50 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $425 per month
  • Elite: Headline rate: $25 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $25 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $650 per month
Pricing evidence (1)
How to start
self-service trial plus demo/quote

Start Free Trial

People records
Documented

Employee records and reporting.

Evidence (1)
Time off
Documented

Policies, requests and calendars in HR plans.

Evidence (1)
Time & attendance
Scope dependent

Time & Attendance is an add-on.

Evidence (1)
Payroll
Scope dependent

Native add-on is US-only; international payroll uses partners.

Delivery: native US / partner international

Evidence (2)
Workflows & approvals
Documented

HR workflows and approvals.

Evidence (1)
Engagement
Scope dependent

Satisfaction tools in Core; wider performance/community tools vary by tier.

Evidence (2)
Recruiting
Scope dependent

ATS is listed with plan-specific opening allowances.

Evidence (1)
IT management
Verify scope

Confirm device-management and access-provisioning needs; HR integrations alone do not establish a full IT suite.

Evidence (1)
Employer of record
Scope dependent

Remote-powered EOR; payroll and benefits handled in Remote.

Delivery: partner

Evidence (1)
All sources for BambooHR (4)

Selected system

Zoho People

Pricing & access
EUR view: from €1.25/user/month, billed annuallyCurrency: EURper user per month; checked European pricing viewRates verified in the live EUR view with Yearly active. Monthly billing is also offered; local taxes are extra. These are not universal USD prices.Published non-US comparison lists a five-user paid minimum; verify the selected regional edition. Above 500 users, request a quote.
Free plan
Ongoing free option documented
Trial
Public trial documented (30 days)

Checked EUR view offers an ongoing free edition for up to five users and a 30-day trial. Allowance varies by regional edition; confirm your local signup.

Published rates (4)
  • Essential HR: Per user, billed annually: €1.25 per month
  • Professional: Per user, billed annually: €2 per month
  • Premium: Per user, billed annually: €3 per month
  • Enterprise: Per user, billed annually: €4.50 per month
Pricing evidence (1)
How to start
self-service trial plus demo

Start free trial

People records
Documented

Employee records, organization data and self-service.

Evidence (1)
Time off
Documented

Leave policies, balances and requests.

Evidence (1)
Time & attendance
Scope dependent

Attendance, timesheets and shifts depend on the selected edition.

Evidence (1)
Payroll
Scope dependent

Zoho Payroll is a separate application in the wider suite; country coverage and inclusion vary.

Delivery: separate application / regional

Evidence (1)
Workflows & approvals
Scope dependent

HR automation and approval allowances vary by edition.

Evidence (1)
Engagement
Scope dependent

Engagement and performance capabilities depend on edition.

Evidence (1)
Recruiting
Scope dependent

Talent acquisition is delivered through the broader People Plus / Recruit suite.

Delivery: separate application

Evidence (1)
IT management
Verify scope

Suite collaboration or password tools do not establish full device and application administration.

Evidence (1)
Employer of record
Verify scope

An employer-of-record entitlement was not established in the reviewed People sources.

Evidence (2)
All sources for Zoho People (3)

Save your shortlist with sources and questions for each vendor. No email address required. Prices are not normalised across countries or currencies.

A short guide

How to choose HR software for a small or mid-sized team.

Six checks that work for any of the 14 systems. None of them needs a demo; all of them need the vendor's own pricing page and one real request of yours.

  1. Start from the work, not the feature list.

    Write down the three things that go wrong today: a missed leave balance, a late payslip, an onboarding step nobody owns. Those are your must-have workflows; everything else is nice to have.

  2. Separate the price from the starting price.

    Ask for the complete monthly bill at your headcount: base fees, seat minimums, add-ons for time tracking or payroll, implementation and country services. A low per-employee rate can hide a minimum of 15 or 25 seats.

  3. Tell a free plan from a trial.

    A free plan continues; a trial ends. Check the headcount cap, what the free plan includes and what happens at the first hire above the cap. Three systems here document an ongoing free option; use the access filter to see them.

  4. Check the countries you actually pay people in.

    HR records, local payroll and employer-of-record are different services. For each country, ask who files, who pays and what the setup fee is. "Global" on a homepage rarely means every module in every country.

  5. Test with a real request before you invite the team.

    Create a fictional employee, submit a time-off request, decide it as a manager and run a joiner checklist. Try it on a phone. Note every manual step; that is your real implementation cost.

  6. Know how you leave.

    Before you load your records, find the exports for people, time and pay data. A system you cannot leave is a price you have not seen yet.

Want one vendor at a time? The head-to-head pages put HourSquare next to BambooHR, Personio, Deel, Rippling and others with the same rows and sources, and the free HR software roundup covers teams under 10. Leaving spreadsheets? Start with when to switch and what a move involves.

The long view

14 systems. Different reasons to choose them.

HourSquare, our own product, appears first and is marked. The other systems follow alphabetically. This order is not a ranking. The same source and scope checks apply to every profile.

HourSquare · Publisher’s own product

HourSquare

HourSquare brings people records, time off, time tracking, payroll workflows, employee processes and reporting into one workspace. Free forever for teams of up to 10 people, with every available module; free for now for larger teams, and HourSquare tells you first if that changes. No card is needed to sign up. You start with Google or an e-mail code, finish the existing three-step company setup, add people by hand or by CSV import with a preview, and invite them when you are ready. A shared approvals page gives authorized reviewers a place to act on requests, and the support centre accepts feature requests. A practical option for everyday HR administration; confirm country-specific payroll, integration and permission requirements before depending on them. Employer-of-record services and a recruiting suite are not established by this review.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Teams seeking connected everyday HR, including small teams evaluating an ongoing free option.

Free for nowEvery available module. Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams.No card to sign up. No trial expiry. No sales call. If the offer for larger teams changes, HourSquare will tell you first.No seat minimum. Future plan details for larger teams have not been specified.
Free plan
Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams

Free forever for teams of up to 10 people. Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first.

Pricing evidence (2)

Consider it when

  • Consider it for connected employee records, leave, time and everyday approvals.
  • Use the actual product tour and company setup preview before opening an account.
  • If EOR, advanced recruiting or full IT provisioning are essential, evaluate specialist options alongside it.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Confirm payroll country, filing and payment scope; do not assume global tax services.
  • Check the exact integration, role permissions, import fields and any migration work.
  • Future plan details for larger teams have not been specified. Do not read the free-forever commitment as a promise about today’s full set of modules.

Free access or trial
Free forever for teams of up to 10 people. Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

Sources (4) (4)
Review pricing & startExplore actual product screens

Official-source profile

ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now organizes payroll and HR into Select, Plus and Premium packages, with further add-ons. The reviewed US offer includes payroll and tax services in the base package; Plus adds benefits administration, and Premium adds workforce management with time collection and leave requests. Recruiting appears under add-ons, even where a comparison-table cell can look like an inclusion. Employee engagement surveys and onboarding are also described in the core package. Pricing is quote-led, with self-guided demonstrations available, so a walkthrough should not be mistaken for a free subscription. For a payroll-led evaluation, confirm tax jurisdictions, pay frequency, implementation charges, minimums, benefits connections and optional modules. Global HR records alone do not establish identical payroll or employment services in every country.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Midsized and larger employers; this review covers the US-oriented Workforce Now offer. Confirm country-specific services rather than extrapolating global HR records to local payroll.

Custom quote: Select, Plus or PremiumConfigured employer package; no public base subscription unit establishedGet an itemized quote for payroll processing, tax scope, implementation, benefits, time and add-ons.No product purchase minimum verified in the reviewed package page; confirm with the quote.

Quote only. No complete price is published, so none is shown, ranked or totalled.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Not established by this research

Self-guided demo and sales quote available. No free plan or time-limited product trial established in the reviewed pages.

Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when US payroll and HR administration are the primary buying requirement.
  • Evaluate Plus or Premium when benefits administration or time/leave operations are needed.
  • Keep recruiting and other add-ons explicit in the configured proposal.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Request a total quote including payroll frequency, setup, tax jurisdictions, minimums and optional modules.
  • Read the add-on headings as well as table cells; recruiting is not automatically core inclusion.
  • Verify local payroll and benefits delivery for every location and required integration.

Free access or trial
Self-guided demo and sales quote available. No free plan or time-limited product trial established in the reviewed pages.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • The Add-Ons heading controls interpretation of recruiting despite repeated Included cells in extracted tables.
  • Do not substitute ADP RUN or third-party estimated prices for Workforce Now pricing.
  • A US package evidence set is not a promise of the same services in other countries.
Sources (2) (2)
Get Pricing (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

BambooHR

BambooHR brings employee records, hiring, onboarding, time off and people reporting into one HR platform. Its package structure separates the HR foundation from payroll and time-and-attendance additions, which matters when comparing a complete operating cost. The current pricing page is internally inconsistent: headline Core and Pro rates differ from its FAQ, so a written quote is the dependable next step. International teams can use its HR tools, while native payroll is marked for US employees and global employment uses partners, including Remote. A public trial signup is available without a card and ends automatically; that is different from an ongoing free subscription. Evaluate the actual approval paths, hiring limits and country-specific payroll handoffs with your own requirements.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): HR teams managing employees domestically or internationally. Native payroll and benefits administration are explicitly US-employee services; global employment uses localized partners. No invented headcount recommendation.

Published rates differ; confirm a written quoteCurrency: USDper employee per month above 25 employees; flat monthly packages at 25 or fewerMonthly or extended terms; volume discounts; add-on prices require a quote.Flat-rate band is published for 25 or fewer; do not extrapolate an all-in floor from headline PEPM.

Its own pages disagree. The headline and FAQ rates differ for the same plan. Ask for a written quote; do not pick whichever looks lower.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Public trial documented (duration not stated)

No card required; trial ends automatically. Duration was not stated on the checked signup page. No ongoing free paid-product plan established.

Published rates (3)
  • Core: Headline rate: $10 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $10.25 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $250 per month
  • Pro: Headline rate: $17 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $17.50 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $425 per month
  • Elite: Headline rate: $25 per employee per month; Rate in its own FAQ: $25 per employee per month; Flat package at 25 or fewer employees: $650 per month
Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when employee administration and hiring should share one HR record.
  • Include its US payroll add-on or global partners only when those services match your locations.
  • Use the trial for workflow evaluation; compare the written package total before deciding.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Resolve Core/Pro price discrepancies and obtain an itemized add-on quote.
  • Confirm native US payroll versus partner handling in each worker country.
  • Test approval rules, open-job allowances, imports and export requirements.

Free access or trial
No card required; trial ends automatically. Duration was not stated on the checked signup page. No ongoing free paid-product plan established.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • Do not publish a single unqualified Core or Pro starting price while the official page contradicts itself.
  • Do not equate international HR coverage with native payroll in every country.
Sources (4) (4)
Start Free Trial (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

CharlieHR

CharlieHR focuses on small-company HR administration: employee information, onboarding, leave, performance reviews and engagement. Its standard subscription is priced by company headcount bands rather than a single per-employee rate. The current pricing page starts at twenty-one pounds per month for one to four people, excluding UK VAT; older promotional snippets should not replace that checked price. Charlie Recruit and the Charlie Grow advisory service extend the offering at additional cost. Payroll and timesheet needs involve named integrations, so include those systems in the evaluation. A seven-day trial is available without a card, but Grow and Recruit are not automatically included. Compare the complete headcount band, partner tools and advisory requirements against the HR work your team needs to perform.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Small companies; the reviewed UK offer uses GBP headcount bands and excludes UK VAT. Confirm local applicability for international workers.

From £21/company/month for 1–4 people, excluding VATCurrency: GBPcompany per month, by employee headcount bandMonthly headcount-band price, updated on the next invoice when the band changes. Excludes UK VAT (page states +20%). Recruit starts at £55/month and requires a core subscription.Smallest published band is 1–4 team members. Add-ons are extra; do not divide the headline into a universal per-user rate.
Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Public trial documented (7 days)

Seven-day trial, no card required. Grow and Recruit are not automatically included. No ongoing free plan established.

Published rates (10)
  • 1–4 people: Company price: £21 per month
  • 5–9 people: Company price: £47 per month
  • 10–14 people: Company price: £47 per month
  • 15–29 people: Company price: £108 per month
  • 30–49 people: Company price: £185 per month
  • 50–99 people: Company price: £323 per month
  • 100–149 people: Company price: £431 per month
  • 150–199 people: Company price: £539 per month
  • 200–249 people: Company price: £646 per month
  • 250+ people: Company price: £754 per month
Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it for small-company HR where records, leave and engagement are central.
  • Evaluate advisory support and recruiting as separate additions to the core cost.
  • Keep payroll and timesheet partners in the comparison when those operations are required.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Use current headcount bands and VAT; do not rely on expired search-snippet promotions.
  • Include Recruit/Grow and separate payroll or timesheet partner costs where needed.
  • Test leave rules, onboarding handoffs and which integration owns each employee field.

Free access or trial
Seven-day trial, no card required. Grow and Recruit are not automatically included. No ongoing free plan established.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • Current direct pricing is used instead of older cached £5/first-six-month promotion snippets.
  • Grow hero and table values differ in extracted content, so no unqualified Grow price is presented.
  • Third-party integrations are labelled as partner delivery, not native modules.
Sources (4) (4)
Book a free demo (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Deel

Deel serves organizations combining direct employees, contractors and employer-of-record workers across countries. Its current HRIS page describes a paid Core foundation for profiles, time off, time tracking and workflows, followed by higher tiers for talent and planning. That makes older blanket descriptions of free Deel HR unsafe to reuse. Global payroll, contractor services, EOR, recruiting and IT have their own commercial scope; their starting prices are not interchangeable with an HR subscription. Deel IT documents device logistics, access and lifecycle operations, which may matter for distributed teams. Evaluate each employment model and country separately, including who is the legal employer and what the quoted fee covers. The public journey offers demos and a direct contractor-start link.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Distributed and international organizations with direct employees, contractors and EOR workers. HR country coverage and each employment service have different scope; validate target countries individually.

HR Core $5/person/month; employment services priced separatelyCurrency: USDperson/worker/contractor/employee per month according to productPublic pricing FAQ describes flexible monthly terms; applicable order form governs service-specific commercial terms.Country, scope, minimum commitments and non-platform employment costs must be confirmed; no universal minimum verified.
Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Not established by this research

Current HR pages publish paid tiers. Free demo verified; no ongoing free-HRIS entitlement established. Terms allow discretionary trial/preview features, which is not a universal trial promise.

Published rates (8)
  • HR Core: Per person: $5 per month
  • HR Advanced: Per person: $19 per month
  • HR Elite: Per person: $29 per month
  • Contractor management: Starting price: $49 per contractor per month
  • Contractor of Record: Starting price: $325 per contractor per month
  • US PEO: Starting price: $125 per employee per month
  • EOR: Starting price: $599 per employee per month
  • Find talent: Starting price: $14 per worker per month
Pricing evidence (3)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when international employment models are a central operational requirement.
  • Evaluate HR tiers separately if you only need people records and everyday workflows.
  • Include IT services when device logistics and access across locations are part of the brief.
What the sources show
  • HR data can represent employees, contractors and EOR workers together. Deel HRIS
  • Employment services have explicit product-specific entry rates. Deel pricing
  • IT scope includes hardware logistics and access operations. Deel IT
What to check before choosing
  • Separate HR subscription, contractor administration, EOR and payroll costs.
  • Confirm supported country, employer entity, benefits and employment obligations for each worker type.
  • Verify which HR tier, recruiting add-on and IT services the quote includes.

Free access or trial
Current HR pages publish paid tiers. Free demo verified; no ongoing free-HRIS entitlement established. Terms allow discretionary trial/preview features, which is not a universal trial promise.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • Old free-HR or differently named plan claims must not override the freshly checked official HRIS page.
  • Platform service fees do not mean wages, employer contributions and all employment costs are included.
Sources (5) (5)
Book a demo (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Factorial

Factorial combines people administration with time, talent, finance and IT products. Its Core package includes directory, onboarding, documents and payslip distribution, while a tailored selection adds capabilities such as attendance, recruiting or engagement. The US-facing pricing page advertises a starting monthly per-user amount, so it should be treated as a package entry point rather than an all-inclusive quote. Payroll documentation includes provider connections and preparation workflows; buyers should establish the exact local processing service. The main entry route is a demo. Trial access is discretionary and market-specific, and a current European AI promotion has explicit eligibility and expiry conditions. Evaluate it when operational HR, scheduling and adjacent business tools need to be assessed together, with country and module requirements clearly listed.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Official UK content explicitly addresses small and growing businesses; the platform offers localized markets and industry solutions. No global employee-size recommendation is inferred.

US-facing page: from $8 per user/monthCurrency: USD on US-facing page; confirm quote currencyper user per monthBilling commitment, selected modules and tax treatment need confirmation.No public numerical minimum verified. Terms bill at least the contracted seat quantity; confirm committed seats in the proposal.
Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Discretionary, market-specific trial terms

Terms allow market-specific trials, ordinarily no more than 15 calendar days, with exceptions at Factorial discretion. Free personal AI capacity exists but does not establish free full HR access.

Restricted promotion, not an ongoing offer: AI Reset. Eligible new companies in Spain, Italy, France, Germany or Portugal with 20–1,000 staff; apply and complete process by October 31, 2026. Eligible AI-plan access free through December 31, 2026; conditions apply.

Published rates (1)
  • Starting tailored package (US-facing English page): Per user: $8 per month
Pricing evidence (2)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when HR, workforce time and adjacent business operations overlap.
  • Evaluate the specific country payroll connection rather than assuming worldwide native payroll.
  • Use any promotion only after checking eligibility, included products and renewal pricing.
What the sources show
  • Time off, attendance and document approvals have explicit product workflows. Factorial features
  • IT catalog includes device, inventory and SaaS management. Factorial IT
  • Core and optional tools are described separately. Factorial pricing
What to check before choosing
  • Confirm the market-specific price, billing term and exact paid module bundle.
  • Distinguish payslip distribution/payroll preparation from local tax filing and payments.
  • Check trial eligibility and promotional expiry; obtain the ordinary post-offer price.

Free access or trial
Terms allow market-specific trials, ordinarily no more than 15 calendar days, with exceptions at Factorial discretion. Free personal AI capacity exists but does not establish free full HR access.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • The former factorialhr.com pricing URL redirected to factorial.com/pricing.
  • Personal AI free capacity and a restricted promotion must not become a free-HR-plan badge.
  • No competitor claims from Factorial comparison articles were imported.
Sources (9) (9)
Book a free demo / Request a tailored quote (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Gusto

Gusto is a payroll-led option for US employers, with HR records, hiring, onboarding, benefits and people tools around that foundation. Its published plans make the base monthly charge and per-person charge visible, while separating single-state payroll from higher-tier multi-state needs. Time tracking, surveys, directory features and software provisioning depend on plan or add-on choices. Creating an account is free, but that should not be presented as a permanent free payroll subscription. International contractor payments are distinct from employer-of-record employment. Notably, the current onboarding guide says new customers from May 2026 are referred directly to Remote for EOR, even though general marketing still mentions Gusto Global. Confirm the current route before promising an integrated international employee service.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Small businesses and teams without a dedicated HR department are explicitly addressed. Payroll operates across all 50 US states; plan choice differentiates single- and multi-state needs.

Simple $49 + $6/person/month; Plus $80 + $12; Premium $180 + $22Currency: USDmonthly base plus per active person; contractor billing rules differMonth-to-month; cancellation available. Add-ons and benefits can change the total.Published base applies; no additional employee minimum verified.
Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
General trial not established (an add-on trial is advertised separately)

Free account setup is explicit. A Time & Attendance Plus trial is advertised separately; do not portray that as a general free payroll plan.

Base subscription estimate. Simple $109 per month ($49 + 10 × $6); Plus $200 per month ($80 + 10 × $12); Premium $400 per month ($180 + 10 × $22). USD for 10 people. Base subscription estimate only, excluding add-ons, benefit premiums and service-specific charges.

Published rates (3)
  • Simple: Base fee: $49 per month; Per person: $6 per month
  • Plus: Base fee: $80 per month; Per person: $12 per month
  • Premium: Base fee: $180 per month; Per person: $22 per month
Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when US payroll is the main buying requirement.
  • Compare higher tiers when time tracking, employee feedback and HR organization features matter.
  • Treat international contractor payment and EOR as different service decisions.
What the sources show
  • Published base-plus-person prices support a bounded subscription estimate. Gusto pricing
  • Payroll, hiring, onboarding and HR tasks can share a platform. Gusto HR
  • Detailed support documentation specifies provisioning limits. Gusto app provisioning
What to check before choosing
  • Choose the tier for state coverage, attendance, surveys and onboarding requirements.
  • Confirm benefit, expedited-pay, compliance and other add-on charges.
  • For new international employees, resolve the Remote referral route and contracting party before purchase.

Free access or trial
Free account setup is explicit. A Time & Attendance Plus trial is advertised separately; do not portray that as a general free payroll plan.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • Current support guidance narrows the general marketing reference to Gusto Global; flag this conflict for international buyers.
  • A free account or trial of one add-on is not an ongoing free payroll plan.
Sources (7) (7)
Create free account / Get started (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

HarmonyHR

HarmonyHR combines employee administration, onboarding, leave calendars, surveys and performance reviews, with a separately priced applicant tracking product. Its public positioning includes both hosted and on-premise deployment, making deployment ownership a useful evaluation question. Pricing starts at a published employee rate, but the page’s sample calculator does not reproduce that starting rate; obtain a written configuration and billing quote. The recruiting product uses a different unit: recruiter seats rather than employee records. A demo is the visible entry point, and the reviewed material does not establish an ongoing free plan or trial. Check approval rules, reporting, implementation responsibilities and the precise payroll or attendance connections needed in each country before treating the broader HR toolkit as a complete operating stack.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): International HR teams considering SaaS or on-premise deployment. Country-specific payroll and employment services must be checked separately.

HRIS + Survey from $5/employee/month; confirm configurationCurrency: USDHRIS per employee/month; ATS per recruiterPage advertises 20% annual savings; the HRIS starting-rate billing basis is not unambiguously tied to the sample calculator. ATS also publishes $390/recruiter/year.Not established in reviewed public pages; confirm employee/recruiter minimums.
Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Not established by this research

Demo offered; reviewed pages do not establish a free subscription or trial entitlement.

Published rates (2)
  • HRIS + Survey: Starting price: $5 per employee per month
  • ATS Only: Displayed price: $32.50 per recruiter per month; Annual price: $390 per recruiter per year
Pricing evidence (2)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when deployment ownership is part of the HR selection criteria.
  • Price employee administration and recruiter seats separately for the required team.
  • Use the demo to inspect your approval and onboarding paths, then confirm operational integrations.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Resolve the HRIS headline versus the 100-employee $700/month sample and confirm the annual billing basis.
  • Define hosting, maintenance, data migration and support responsibilities in the quote.
  • Verify actual time-clock, payroll, country coverage and integration contracts; a calendar is not proof of those capabilities.

Free access or trial
Demo offered; reviewed pages do not establish a free subscription or trial entitlement.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • The supplied Harmony ranking article was inspiration only, not evidence about other vendors or a ranking to reproduce.
  • Do not reuse the vendor’s generic competitor prices, savings estimate or unsupported comparative claims.
  • No inferred absence is encoded as a negative feature verdict.
Sources (5) (5)
Get a Demo (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

HiBob

HiBob’s Bob platform starts with Core HR and extends into talent, payroll, planning and compensation. Its current Core description emphasizes shared people data, employee self-service and lifecycle workflows for growing organizations, including global teams. Time off is included in Core, while attendance is an add-on; hiring is an advertised ATS rather than merely an external integration. The pricing path builds a custom proposal from company size and selected capabilities, without publishing a numeric subscription rate. A free demo is an evaluation conversation, not evidence of a free account or trial. For a shortlist, examine the boundaries between native US or UK payroll and Payroll Hub integrations, and request module, implementation and renewal terms in writing.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Growing organizations and global businesses are explicitly addressed. Size navigation includes startup, SMB, mid-market and enterprise; do not invent a preferred employee range.

Custom per-employee quotegenerally per employee; modules and region influence proposalTerm, implementation cost and minimum spend were not published in the checked pricing page.Confirm with quote; headcount form bands are not minimum purchase thresholds.

Quote only. No complete price is published, so none is shown, ranked or totalled.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Not established by this research

Free demo and product tour verified. No public ongoing free subscription or self-service trial was established from checked pages.

Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when people operations, talent and planning need a common HR foundation.
  • Evaluate it for growing or distributed teams without assuming every payroll country is native.
  • Use a scoped demo and written proposal when a public price calculator is unavailable.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Specify native payroll countries versus Payroll Hub integrations.
  • Ask for itemized Core, talent, attendance, implementation and renewal costs.
  • Validate role permissions, localization and reporting needs in a tailored demo.

Free access or trial
Free demo and product tour verified. No public ongoing free subscription or self-service trial was established from checked pages.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • Quote form size bands are input choices, not independently verified fit recommendations.
  • No trial or free-plan absence is inferred; those remain unverified.
Sources (6) (6)
Get Custom Pricing / Get A Free Demo (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Personio

Personio combines employee records, documents, time management and workflow automation, with a strong stated focus on European and UK HR operations. Core and Core Pro provide different administrative limits, while recruiting, surveys and other specialist tools can be added. Pricing is tailored to headcount and selected apps; the published pricing page also identifies an initial setup fee. Buyers should distinguish preliminary payroll preparation from the payroll product or integrations available in their country. International employment is offered through Remote. Although the main commercial path is a demo and quote, Personio also publishes a fourteen-day trial with sample data, no credit card and automatic expiry. It is worth evaluating when local HR administration and structured workflows are central buying requirements.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Official Core HR page emphasizes Europe and the UK. The pricing FAQ says 10–10,000 employees; this is vendor positioning, not a minimum purchase requirement.

Custom quote for Core/Core Pro and appsquote depends on employee count and selected appsMonthly or annual subscriptions appear in the current terms; annual pricing FAQ says a 12-month minimum for yearly subscriptions.No minimum spend verified. One-time setup fee depends on company size.

Quote only. No complete price is published, so none is shown, ranked or totalled.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Public trial documented (14 days)

Core functions with sample data; no card or cancellation needed; automatic end after 14 days. This is not a permanent free subscription.

Pricing evidence (2)

Consider it when

  • Consider it for European or UK people operations with formal HR workflows.
  • Use the separate trial route if hands-on evaluation matters before a sales discussion.
  • Evaluate partner EOR separately from core HR and payroll preparation.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Ask which payroll service, export or integration supports each country.
  • Price the needed apps, implementation and contract term together.
  • Confirm legal-entity, e-signature, API and permission limits in the quoted tier.

Free access or trial
Core functions with sample data; no card or cancellation needed; automatic end after 14 days. This is not a permanent free subscription.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • A quote-only pricing page does not mean there is no self-service trial.
  • A vendor-stated company-size range is not an independently validated best-fit range.
Sources (6) (6)
Book a demo (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Rippling

Rippling connects HR, payroll, IT and finance through shared employee data and cross-system workflows. That breadth makes it relevant when onboarding also needs to trigger account access, equipment and other operational changes. Its product catalog includes time and attendance, recruiting, surveys and international employment, but a catalog entry does not mean every capability is included in the entry price. The official pricing FAQ currently advertises plans starting at eight dollars per employee monthly plus a base fee, followed by a custom quote. A six-month startup offer has eligibility restrictions and is not a universal free plan. Buyers should define their required applications, countries and automation rules before comparing a written total with narrower HR products.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): The platform addresses businesses of different sizes and international employment. The startup promotion is specifically limited to eligible US VC-backed companies; no general headcount recommendation is invented.

From $8 per employee/month plus a base feeCurrency: USDmost products per employee per monthFinal products, base fees and commitment require quote.A monthly base fee is mentioned, but its amount and minimum commitment are not verified.
Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Not established by this research

Demo/quote route verified. Pricing FAQ advertises six months for eligible US VC-backed startups, conditional on funding status and stage; not a universal trial or perpetual free plan.

Published rates (1)
  • Starting plan; selected products affect total: Starting rate: $8 per employee per month; Monthly base fee: not disclosed
Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when HR changes must coordinate access, equipment and financial operations.
  • Compare a defined module bundle rather than the advertised starting amount alone.
  • Treat startup incentives as eligibility-dependent offers, not standard pricing.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Obtain all platform, base, module and implementation charges together.
  • Confirm payroll/EOR countries, local services and contractual responsibility.
  • Demonstrate the exact permission and automation rules you need across applications.

Free access or trial
Demo/quote route verified. Pricing FAQ advertises six months for eligible US VC-backed startups, conditional on funding status and stage; not a universal trial or perpetual free plan.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • Do not treat $8 PEPM as an all-inclusive quote.
  • The HRIS URL redirected to an Australian URL with some UK-oriented copy; no country-coverage claim relies on that mixed localization.
Sources (6) (6)
Get my custom quote / See Rippling (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

TalentHR

TalentHR combines employee records, leave, onboarding and applicant tracking with higher-tier time tracking, performance and employee surveys. The ongoing free plan covers up to ten users, while a separate fourteen-day Premium trial exposes paid capabilities without a card. Its annual price display is straightforward, but a paid subscription starts at fifteen users and grows in blocks of five; that matters immediately after a team outgrows the free allowance. Workflow automation is currently labelled beta, and time tracking requires Premium. Asset records should not be confused with full device administration. Consider the product around the HR tasks actually needed, then validate workflow limits, hiring allowances, payroll connections and the paid-seat calculation before treating the advertised user rate as the entire cost.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Self-service HR platform marketed to startups, small and midsized teams, with multilingual and multi-location controls. Local payroll obligations require separate verification.

Essential $2 or Premium $4/user/month, billed annuallyCurrency: USDper user per monthLive default Annually selector is active and advertises 20% savings; monthly billing is also offered.Paid plans require at least 15 users; licenses change in increments of five users.
Free plan
Ongoing free option documented
Trial
Public trial documented (14 days)

Ongoing Free plan up to ten users; separate 14-day Premium trial, no credit card required.

Published rates (2)
  • Essential: Per user, billed annually: $2 per month
  • Premium: Per user, billed annually: $4 per month
Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when an ongoing free plan can cover a team of up to ten users.
  • Evaluate Premium when time tracking, reviews or surveys are required.
  • Use the trial to test real approval and onboarding steps before committing to paid-seat blocks.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Budget the 15-user minimum and five-user increments when moving beyond ten free users.
  • Check plan-specific hiring/workflow limits, beta status and Premium-only time tracking.
  • Confirm payroll, device provisioning and employer-of-record requirements independently of HR and asset records.

Free access or trial
Ongoing Free plan up to ten users; separate 14-day Premium trial, no credit card required.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • The annual selector was visibly active when $2/$4 rates were recorded; no monthly rates are asserted.
  • Free-plan user allowance is different from the paid minimum.
  • Beta workflow status is retained; HR asset records do not prove full IT provisioning.
Sources (4) (4)
Start free (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Workday

Workday covers core HR, talent, workforce management and payroll across a broad HCM portfolio. It serves large organizations, but its Workday GO offering also explicitly targets businesses with fewer than 3,500 employees, so an enterprise-only label would be misleading. The public pages lead to sales and demonstrations rather than a published subscription amount. Payroll reach combines native products with partners; broad country coverage is not evidence of a native payroll engine in every location. Recruiting, employee listening, time and absence should be scoped against the actual purchased modules. Evaluate organizational complexity, reporting, implementation ownership and country-specific payroll delivery together. A useful comparison starts with a configured proposal and demonstrated workflows, not an assumed per-person price or an inferred trial entitlement.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Global organizations and midsized businesses; Workday GO explicitly addresses employers with fewer than 3,500 employees. Product, implementation and country scope must be contracted.

Custom quoteConfigured product and service scope; no public unit price establishedConfirm subscription term, implementation, modules, partners and support with sales.No purchase minimum established in reviewed pages; Workday GO positioning is not a quoted minimum.

Quote only. No complete price is published, so none is shown, ranked or totalled.

Free plan
Not established by this research
Trial
Not established by this research

Request-demo and contact-sales routes are available. A demo is not an established free subscription or trial.

Pricing evidence (2)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when multiple HR domains and complex organization structures need a common platform.
  • Include Workday GO in a midsize evaluation when its published scope matches your organization.
  • Assess implementation capacity and country-level delivery alongside software capabilities.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Obtain a configured subscription plus implementation and support quote.
  • Confirm each country’s native versus partner payroll arrangement and data handoff.
  • Demonstrate module-specific absence, recruiting, employee listening and reporting requirements.

Free access or trial
Request-demo and contact-sales routes are available. A demo is not an established free subscription or trial.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • No third-party per-employee price estimates are used.
  • Global payroll coverage must not be rewritten as native payroll in every supported country.
  • No enterprise-only restriction or unsupported AI availability promise is inferred.
Sources (7) (7)
Request a Demo (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Official-source profile

Zoho People

Zoho People offers employee records and leave management, with attendance, timesheets, performance and learning expanding through its editions. It also sits inside the broader Zoho ecosystem: People Plus combines multiple applications, so recruiting and payroll should not be assumed to belong to every People subscription. The live pricing view checked for this review used euros and an annual billing selector; regional editions and free-user allowances can differ. A thirty-day trial provides a self-service evaluation route, distinct from the limited ongoing free edition. This is worth comparing when HR processes must connect to other Zoho tools. Confirm the applicable regional plan, paid-seat minimum, approval limits, payroll-country support and separate application charges before estimating a complete monthly bill.

Stated audience (vendor positioning, not a recommendation): Organizations managing HR across locations, including existing Zoho users. Regional editions, currencies, app availability and payroll jurisdictions differ.

EUR view: from €1.25/user/month, billed annuallyCurrency: EURper user per month; checked European pricing viewRates verified in the live EUR view with Yearly active. Monthly billing is also offered; local taxes are extra. These are not universal USD prices.Published non-US comparison lists a five-user paid minimum; verify the selected regional edition. Above 500 users, request a quote.
Free plan
Ongoing free option documented
Trial
Public trial documented (30 days)

Checked EUR view offers an ongoing free edition for up to five users and a 30-day trial. Allowance varies by regional edition; confirm your local signup.

Published rates (4)
  • Essential HR: Per user, billed annually: €1.25 per month
  • Professional: Per user, billed annually: €2 per month
  • Premium: Per user, billed annually: €3 per month
  • Enterprise: Per user, billed annually: €4.50 per month
Pricing evidence (1)

Consider it when

  • Consider it when a Zoho-based stack already handles related business processes.
  • Choose tiers around required attendance, performance and learning functions.
  • Use the trial to test country-specific policies and cross-application handoffs.
What the sources show
What to check before choosing
  • Select the local country/currency edition before comparing prices or free-user limits.
  • Confirm paid-seat minimums, workflow limits and which tier includes attendance or engagement.
  • Separate People from People Plus and confirm Payroll/Recruit licensing, integration and country availability.

Free access or trial
Checked EUR view offers an ongoing free edition for up to five users and a 30-day trial. Allowance varies by regional edition; confirm your local signup.

Sources & verification · checked 2026-10-25

Official pages reviewed for this profile. Product pages are evidence of advertised scope, not independent testing.

How the evidence was handled

  • The text extractor mixes regional pricing branches; live browser selection establishes the EUR numbers used here.
  • Do not merge European Essential/Professional/Premium names with differently named US editions.
  • The browser observation is stored in zoho-pricing-browser-evidence.json.
Sources (3) (3)
Start free trial (opens in a new tab)Official website ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Why consider HourSquare?

Less friction around everyday HR.

These are the differences we can show, from a company that publishes this page. Your team’s needs should decide whether they matter.

A free place to begin.

Free forever for teams of up to 10 people. Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first. Every available module, no card to sign up.

Quick to start.

Sign up with Google or an e-mail code, finish the 3-step company setup (company details, country defaults, what you need first) and invite people when you are ready. No demo, no sales call.

One place for the everyday work.

People, time off, working time, approvals and pay in one system: one record per person, one Approvals inbox for the requests your role can decide, timesheets that feed payroll.

Works with what you have.

CSV import with a preview, personal calendar feeds, company sign-in with Okta, Microsoft Entra or Google, a public REST API, and payment and accountant exports in your own layout.

Still being built, in the open.

Since June 2026: recurring pulse surveys, an approval engine with configurable flows, company SSO, API keys, an expenses module, a rebuilt approvals inbox. We say what shipped; we do not promise dates.

Your feedback has a route.

Send a feature request through the in-product support centre. Submission does not guarantee delivery or a response time.

Inside the actual product

One approvals workspace. More context for a decision.

See who is asking, the dates and the available details. What each person can review follows the company’s setup and their permissions.

Explore the product
The Approvals page of the HourSquare Hub: three pending leave requests from fictional employees, and the selected request with its dates, leave balance and Approve and Reject buttons.
Real Hub · desktopReal Hub · tabletReal Hub · phoneFictional company data, owner view. What each person can review depends on their role and the company setup.

Fictional company data, owner view. What each person can review depends on their role and the company setup.

Put HourSquare on the shortlist if…

  • Records, time off, working time and requests need a shared home.
  • Your small team wants a free option.
  • You want to explore the actual interface before creating an account.
  • You prefer a self-service start with a way to ask for help.

Evaluate other options alongside it if…

  • Employer-of-record or multi-country tax filing is central to the purchase.
  • You require a full applicant-tracking or device-provisioning suite.
  • You need country, certification or integration guarantees that have not been verified.
  • A complex enterprise rollout requires a contracted implementation service.
Review pricing & startSee the product tour

A comparison you can inspect

Method, sources and limits.

Published by HourSquare, a product in this comparison. This is official-source desk research, not an independent award or a hands-on test of every vendor. We did not use the other products. This page has no affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid ordering, and we do not assign a universal winner, a score or a rating.

What we checked

Vendor product, pricing, trial and service pages. Each profile links to its evidence and keeps the scope conditions visible. Starting prices are not total cost: base fees, seat minimums, billing terms, modules, implementation and country services can change the bill. Conflicting official prices are flagged rather than silently resolved, a quoted price is never read as free or zero, and prices are never converted between currencies.

How to read the comparison

  • Documented means a vendor describes the capability. It does not promise inclusion in every package.
  • Scope dependent means an identified plan, module, service, country or partner condition applies.
  • Verify scope means this research did not establish your requirement. It is not a “no”.
  • Filters are literal filters, not recommendations or quality scores. The documented-capability filter keeps Documented and Scope dependent records and leaves out Verify scope ones; that does not mean those vendors lack the capability.
  • Showing only different capability statuses hides rows whose status label is the same across your selection. The same label does not mean the same scope, so read the notes.

Order and selection

The picker lists all 14 systems alphabetically. The profile directory lists HourSquare first because it is the publisher’s own product, then the alternatives alphabetically. Your selection lives in this page session only: it is not saved, shared or sent anywhere, and it resets when you reload.

HourSquare evidence

The product screens come from the current Hub, using a fictional company; the product tour shows them with their limits. The feature-request claim describes the in-product support request category: a request channel, not a public voting board or a promise of delivery. The "still being built" list names features that shipped between June and October 2026, as recorded in the product's own change history; it is not a roadmap.

“Free forever for teams of up to 10 people.” is the owner’s standing commitment, stated separately from the current offer for larger teams (Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first.). It is not a billing rule. Future plan details have not been specified.

Keep the decision current

Research checked 25 October 2026 (Asia/Tbilisi). Each source shows its own check date. Reconfirm prices, country coverage and contractual obligations with each vendor before buying. This page is a starting point for evaluation, not a substitute for a security review or legal advice.

Found something wrong?

If a price, a capability or a source on this page is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will check it against the vendor's own pages and correct it.

Report a correctionInspect the actual Hub screens

Questions that make the shortlist better.

Which HR system is best?

The right system depends on the work, countries, team and service you need. Start with must-have workflows, then compare the complete package and test it with realistic examples. This comparison does not assign a universal winner.

Is HourSquare free?

Free forever for teams of up to 10 people. Free for now for larger teams. If that changes, we'll tell you first. Every available module is included, with no card to sign up and no trial expiry. Future plan details have not been specified.

Which HR software is free for a small business?

Of the 14 systems here, three document an ongoing free option on their own pages: HourSquare, TalentHR (up to 10 users, with a 15-user minimum on paid plans) and Zoho People (up to 5 users). Several others offer a trial, which ends. Use the "Ongoing free option documented" filter above and read the caps in each profile.

What is the difference between a free plan and a free trial?

A free plan continues for as long as you stay within its limits (usually a headcount cap or a feature cap). A trial gives full access for a fixed number of days and then asks you to pay. Vendors use "free" for both, so check which one a pricing page means before you evaluate it.

How long does it take to set up HR software?

It depends on the system and on how much you bring. For HourSquare we can describe the path, not a time: sign up with Google or an e-mail code, complete the 3-step company setup, import people from a CSV with a preview, then set leave policies and approvers and invite the team when you are ready. Other vendors publish an implementation path of their own; some involve a sales or onboarding call.

Does a check mean the feature is included in the price?

No. “Documented” means the vendor describes the capability. “Scope dependent” flags known package, add-on, country or partner conditions. Read the notes and request an itemized quote.

Why are some prices missing or qualified?

Some vendors require a quote. Other pages contain regional differences, conditional starting rates or conflicting figures. We preserve those limits instead of estimating a price that may be wrong.

How should I test an HR system?

Use a fictional employee, a time-off request, a manager decision and a joiner checklist. Test roles, mobile use, exports and your actual country requirements. Record what works and what needs a manual step.

Can I move all my data automatically?

Do not assume that a people import also transfers policies, opening balances, historical requests, payroll records, documents or integrations. Define and validate each data type before inviting the team.

A useful next step

Make a decision you can explain.

Understand

See what deserves attention.

Turn current HR research into a practical action and a measure for your team.

Explore the evidence →Prepare

Know what to do first.

Leave with a setup checklist based on your team and the work you need to organize.

Build your plan →Try it

Review HourSquare pricing.

Free forever for teams of up to 10 people; free for now for larger teams. Read the current offer before you decide to start.

Review pricing & start →
HOURSQUARE · EST 2026 HR you run yourself.