Price the exact perimeter
Model headcount, Core/Pro/Elite, add-ons, tax, discounts and whether the quote is month-to-month or extended term.
SOURCE-LED BambooHR alternatives · facts checked 18 July 2026
Five BambooHR alternatives, after you map the suite jobs you actually use.
BambooHR Core already combines records, reporting, hiring, onboarding, e-signatures, time off, employee experience and an AI assistant. Pro and Elite add performance, community, compensation and deeper analytics; mobile, UK time and attendance, payroll connections, API, webhooks and 150+ integrations widen the perimeter. Count those jobs before treating the £200 small-company floor as waste.
Competitor facts checked 18 July 2026. Spotted a change?
BambooHR replacement perimeterFACTS CHECKED
COUNT THE ACTIVE DEPENDENCIESWhat would still need to work on the Monday after you move?
CoreHiring + signPerformanceAPI + apps
01
Focused core onlyRecords, straightforward leave and files
REOPEN02
One specialist jobChoose the supplier that ships that job
MATCH03
Several suite jobsBreadth may be saving more than it costs
KEEPMobile, 150+ integrations and developer routes belong in the count.
The short answer
What are the best BambooHR alternatives for a UK small team?
There is no universal best BambooHR alternative. HollyHR can fit a very small team that wants a narrow HR core, current controlled-early-access Free/£2 pricing and a bounded self-serve archive. Breathe HR fits established UK-SME core plus mobile and workforce add-ons; CharlieHR fits startup culture, reviews, perks and optional advice or recruitment; Sage HR fits mobile-first modular HR and Sage adjacency; PeopleHR is the closest option here when mobile, signing, performance, time, workflows, API or payroll adjacency must survive the move.
Keeping BambooHR can be the best answer. Its current UK Core, Pro and Elite plans span far more than HollyHR, it publishes 150+ integrations and a mature API/webhook surface, and its mobile, hiring, reporting, performance, compensation, analytics and payroll connections may carry real work. Replace it only when a measured price, operating-model, contract or exit mismatch outweighs migration risk—not because a smaller product has a nicer headline price.
HollyHR is on this list and publishes it. That conflict is a reason for more evidence, not less disclosure.
Shortlist method
Four questions before the feature grid.
These decide whether a product difference will matter after the demo.
Name the suite jobs
Hiring, e-signatures, reports, performance, compensation, time and mobile are operating dependencies—not decorative ticks.
Trace the ecosystem
Inventory every marketplace app, payroll handoff, API client, webhook, identity route and implementation responsibility.
Prove the leaving set
Take representative reports and files before notice; the 30-day post-termination window is a fallback, not a migration plan.
Five credible options
The shortlist, with the awkward bit included.
“Best for” is a fit statement. Every card also names the price shape, the trade-off and the first-party source.
Focused core
HollyHR
Best for A very small UK team that mainly needs a focused HR core, controlled early-access pricing and an inspectable—rather than unlimited—exit.
People records, straightforward leave and sickness records, effective-dated contracted working patterns, private profile files, manually launched onboarding, fixed reports and a bounded organisation archive.
Price shape
For invited early-access teams: Free is £0 for up to 10 active people; Standard is £2 per active person per month before tax when offered. Every active person counts on Standard.
- Current Free plan is not a time-limited trial, although joining the list does not create an account
- Fourteen named archive areas with eligible files, manifests, caps and explicit exclusions
- Approved organisation-scoped beta API access with OpenAPI and a TypeScript SDK
Watch for
Controlled early access with a young track record. No native mobile app, ATS, e-signatures, custom report builder, performance, compensation, time clock, payroll integration or connector marketplace. MCP customer-data use is not yet approved.
Established UK core
Breathe HR
Best for A UK SME that wants an established core, employee mobile access and a menu of workforce add-ons without buying BambooHR's full suite shape.
Core HR, leave, documents, performance and reporting sit beside paid rota/time, learning, recruitment, expenses and health-and-safety add-ons.
Price shape
Headcount bands currently start at £24 a month for 1–10 employees; workforce add-ons are priced separately.
- Established UK-SME operating and customer history
- Employee app, mobile-optimised HR and performance tools
- Paid rota/time, learning, recruitment, expense and safety add-ons
Watch for
The price changes at headcount thresholds and rises with the add-ons selected; data/report exports and document retrieval use separate processes.
Culture + advice
CharlieHR
Best for A UK startup that values an approachable core, reviews, engagement and perks, with advice or recruitment available beside the software.
Core Charlie includes onboarding, time off, employee records, engagement, performance reviews, perks and key integrations; Advice and Recruit are paid additions.
Price shape
Headcount bands. The current calculator lists £20 a month for 1–4 people after its six-month offer, and £45 for 5–14; Advice and Recruit cost extra.
- Founder-friendly core HR and onboarding
- Engagement, performance reviews and perks included
- Optional one-to-one HR advice and recruitment products
Watch for
Free access is a seven-day trial; price changes at team-size thresholds, and Advice or Recruit materially changes the monthly total.
Sage ecosystem
Sage HR
Best for A team that wants native mobile HR, modular workforce tools or a buying path around an existing Sage relationship.
Core HR and leave sit beside optional performance, timesheets, shift scheduling, expenses and recruitment modules.
Price shape
Core HR plus Leave Management is currently £5 per employee per month; per-person modules and fixed-price Recruitment are extra.
- Native employee and manager mobile app
- Performance, timesheet, shift and expense modules
- Natural evaluation path for an existing Sage customer
Watch for
The price rises with every employee and selected module; the broadest setup is a different budget and operating model from focused core HR.
UK suite breadth
PeopleHR
Best for A UK employer that wants to retain mobile, e-signatures, performance, time, workflows, broad API access or payroll adjacency after BambooHR.
A four-tier Access suite: Starter covers records, documents, absence, mobile, AI and limited learning; higher tiers add onboarding, signing, expenses, performance, time, surveys, workflows and analytics.
Price shape
Published from-prices are £3 for Starter, £5.50 for Core, £8 for Pro and £9.50 for Elite+ per employee per month. Add-ons, payroll and the signed Access term need separate pricing.
- Native employee and manager mobile applications
- E-signatures, performance, time and workflow depth across the tier ladder
- Broad read/write API plus practical query and document-backup routes
Watch for
Tier, add-on, payroll and contract choices can create a materially larger commitment than focused core HR; price the exact workflow set and signed term.
Match the reason
Choose by need, not by logo recognition.
Keeping BambooHR is included because staying can be the most rational decision.
The needBest-fit shapeWhy
Focused core and the lowest current price for up to 10 active peopleHollyHR
The invited-team Free plan is £0, but it is controlled early access rather than instant self-serve signup.
Established UK-SME core, employee app and optional workforce modulesBreathe HR
It combines a mature UK core with clearly priced headcount bands and add-ons.
Startup-friendly reviews, engagement, perks, Advice or RecruitCharlieHR
Those people-service jobs sit visibly alongside CharlieHR's core product.
Native mobile, Sage adjacency or modular time, shift and expense toolsSage HR
Its app and paid workforce modules are shipped rather than roadmap promises.
UK suite breadth with mobile, signing, performance, time, workflow and APIPeopleHR
Its tier ladder preserves more of a broad BambooHR operating model.
ATS, custom reports, mobile, AI, 150+ integrations or several suite modulesKeep BambooHR
Breadth is an advantage when the team actually uses it; switching may add risk without improving fit.
The honest incumbent check
Where BambooHR may still be the right answer.
An alternatives page should be capable of recommending no change.
The current fit is doing its job.
- Core hiring, onboarding, e-signatures, custom reporting, workflows, time off, employee experience or AI answer daily questions
- Pro performance, community and recognition or Elite compensation, analytics and benchmarks carry active processes
- Native mobile, UK Time & Attendance, payroll connections, API/webhooks or marketplace apps would need to keep working
- BambooHR's mature implementation, support and global customer proof are worth the quoted package and term
A measured mismatch keeps recurring.
- Most use stops at straightforward records, leave, documents and simple onboarding
- The £200 monthly floor for 25 or fewer people is disproportionate to the jobs you use
- You can name a simpler UK product that solves the actual mismatch without recreating several modules
- You have tested reports, files, permissions and integrations and can reconcile every retained dependency
A fair practical test
Give every supplier the same 60-minute exam.
Ask for evidence you can keep. Score roadmap answers separately from shipped behaviour.
SMALL-TEAM SOFTWARE TEST5 jobs · same data · written evidence
Price the signed package
Price Core, Pro or Elite, exact headcount, add-ons, tax and discounts. Record whether the quote is month-to-month or an extended term and who owns the renewal date.
A 12- and 36-month total plus contract datesRun the suite job
Hire and onboard a candidate, sign a document, build a report or complete the higher-tier workflow that would disqualify a focused replacement.
Saved outputs, roles, notifications and failure pathsTrace one connected day
Use mobile, one payroll handoff, one marketplace connection and one API or webhook flow with the roles your team actually has.
A field-level dependency and recovery mapTest the UK boundary
Reconcile part-time leave, sensitive visibility, data location, support hours and the exact UK payroll route rather than assuming US features transfer unchanged.
Written supplier answers and actual role outputsTake the leaving set
Generate representative reports, list and download employee files through supported routes, and record what ATS, signature, performance, analytics and audit state still needs separate retention.
Sample data, files, omissions and an accountable ownerIf HollyHR makes the shortlist
Switch from BambooHR without pretending it is one click.
The current importer is a focused people-data start, not a complete BambooHR migration.
1. Record the commercial dates
Capture the signed plan, add-ons, subscription type, renewal date, notice route and any negotiated terms. BambooHR publishes month-to-month and extended-term options; the signed order governs your case.
2. Draw the replacement perimeter
List records, leave, hiring, onboarding, signatures, reports, mobile, performance, compensation, time, payroll, integrations, API clients, webhooks, permissions and support dependencies.
3. Preserve evidence before notice
Run saved reports and supported API/file-download routes while the account is live. BambooHR's current terms provide 30 days to download Customer Data after ordinary expiry or termination, but do not publicly promise one complete account-and-files archive.
Keep signatures, ATS records, performance evidence, integration configuration and any specialist module state until their completeness is proven.4. Map a separate people file
Prepare a suitable people CSV or .xlsx file, then manually map HollyHR's supported 12-field shape. The generic importer accepts 1–500 mapped rows per apply; there is no BambooHR adapter.
Managers, working patterns, pay and bank data, leave balances and history, documents, signatures, applicants, performance, time and integrations need separate handling.5. Rebuild and parallel-run
Assign an owner to every retained BambooHR job, then reconcile identities, roles, working days, balances, sensitive visibility, requests, reports, integrations and files before changing the system of record.
There is no honest universal migration time. Keep BambooHR available until the evidence and permission checks pass.HOLLYHR · CURRENT BOUNDARY
What you would not be buying.
A shortlist is only useful if the disqualifiers are as easy to find as the headline price.
See the full shipped-product map →- HollyHR is controlled early access: joining the list does not create an account or trial, onboarding is handled one team at a time, and the operating history is far younger than BambooHR
- There is no native connector marketplace and no native mobile app, ATS, e-signature flow, employee community, recognition, performance, compensation, advanced analytics, time clock or payroll engine
- Leave supports straightforward dated whole/half-day requests, current working-pattern-aware duration and opt-in inclusive calendar-day starter/leaver proration from employment dates, composed with current FTE; it does not automate statutory entitlement, historical or blended FTE, irregular-hours rules, carry-over, holiday pay, final pay or multi-step approvals
- Sickness is a leave-category workflow, not case management: there is no retrospective entry, self-certification, fit-note, return-to-work, trigger, SSP or occupational-health workflow, and aggregate charts can reveal patterns in a tiny team
- Profile documents are private to the employee and HR/System Admin, but there is no e-signature, immutable version or digest evidence, reminder delivery, provider sync, unified library or custom per-file ACL
- Onboarding is manually launched without automatic enrolment, reminders, escalation or provisioning; future starters default to invited/non-default and are hidden from ordinary-member shared projections, while selected-manager involvement and audited pre-start login are deliberate HR/System Admin choices
- The importer accepts CSV or .xlsx with 1–500 mapped rows per apply, manually maps 12 people fields, and does not import BambooHR files, balances, histories, patterns, onboarding, custom fields or specialist module state
- The 14-area archive is broad rather than a complete round trip; eligible files are capped at 25 MB each and 100 MB total, while working-pattern configuration and history, onboarding, leave-policy and balance ledgers, custom fields, full compliance state and audit history are excluded
- Reporting is limited to three fixed families with browser CSV/PDF; there is no arbitrary-field, saved or scheduled report builder, benchmark analytics or public reports API
- REST/OpenAPI, the TypeScript SDK and signed webhooks are beta, scope- and event-bounded, and require the relevant entitlement; default projections omit high-sensitivity payroll and demographic domains, while separate elevated scopes can expose personal profiles and custom fields. Document bytes and reports are not exposed
- The MCP endpoint is a developer preview with synthetic/read-only proof; production customer-data access awaits controller/DPO approval and writes remain disabled by default
- Durable records use UK/EU regions but supporting providers can process in the EU or US; HollyHR has no ISO 27001, SOC 2 or Cyber Essentials certification, external penetration-test claim, SCIM or public uptime/response-time SLA
Method and sources
Check the source, then run the test yourself.
Product and price facts were checked on 18 July 2026. Offers and modules change; each card links to the provider rather than asking you to trust a copied table forever.
BambooHR UK pricing and plans
Core, Pro and Elite scope, £8.10 headline, £200 small-company floor, discounts and contract options.
Open source BambooHR UK platformUK product breadth, customer proof, mobile applications and suite positioning.
Open source BambooHR UK termsSubscription boundaries, support, customer-data ownership and the 30-day download window.
Open source BambooHR trialNo-card trial and automatic end position.
Open source BambooHR marketplace150+ pre-built integrations across payroll, performance, ATS, time, learning and benefits.
Open source BambooHR API guideAuthentication, permission model and public REST platform.
Open source BambooHR webhooksGlobal and permissioned webhook models, monitored fields and signed payload guidance.
Open source BambooHR report APICurrent paginated retrieval route for a saved custom report by ID.
Open source BambooHR SDK support statusMaintained official PHP SDK, unmaintained official .NET and Java SDKs, and community-maintained Python, Ruby and Perl libraries.
Open source BambooHR employee-file APIPermissioned employee-file download route used to bound the leaving-set discussion.
Open source BambooHR payroll boundaryUS-native payroll scope and UK/local payroll connection routes.
Open source BambooHR securityPublic security controls, trust-centre route and US, Canada or Ireland hosting options.
Open source Breathe plansCurrent UK headcount bands, core features, mobile and paid workforce add-ons.
Open source CharlieHR pricingCurrent UK core bands, reviews, engagement, perks and Advice/Recruit add-ons.
Open source Sage HR product and pricingMobile HR, core price and modular performance, time, shift, expense and recruitment options.
Open source PeopleHR pricing and plansFour published UK tiers, add-ons, mobile and wider workflow scope.
Open source PeopleHR APIPublished read/write API breadth across people, absence, documents and specialist domains.
Open source PeopleHR Offline Backup ToolDocumented query-driven employee-document backup route and signature preservation.
Open source HollyHR pricing boundaryControlled early-access Free and Standard terms, active-person counting and buyable scope.
Open source HollyHR developer documentationApproved beta REST/OpenAPI, TypeScript SDK, scopes, events and access boundaries.
Open source HollyHR export boundaryFourteen archive areas, eligible-file treatment, permissions, caps and exclusions.
Open sourceQuestions people ask
What is the best BambooHR alternative for a UK small team?
It depends on the active jobs. HollyHR fits a narrow core and controlled early-access Free/£2 pricing; Breathe fits established UK-SME core and add-ons; CharlieHR fits startup culture and optional services; Sage HR fits mobile modular HR; PeopleHR preserves more suite breadth. Keep BambooHR when hiring, signing, reports, mobile, performance, compensation, time, API or marketplace integrations carry real work.
Is HollyHR a direct replacement for BambooHR?
Only for a very small team whose needs fit HollyHR's focused shipped core and manual migration boundary. HollyHR is not equivalent for BambooHR's ATS, e-signatures, custom reports, native mobile, performance, employee community, compensation, analytics, time tracking, payroll connections, 150+ integrations, mature API surface or complete migration of histories, files and specialist state.
How much does BambooHR cost in the UK?
BambooHR currently advertises plans from £8.10 per employee per month. Companies with 25 employees or fewer pay a flat monthly rate starting at £200; larger teams are priced per employee with automatic volume discounts. The exact Core, Pro or Elite quote, add-ons, tax, discount and contract option depend on the buying case.
Does BambooHR offer a free trial or monthly contract?
BambooHR advertises a free trial that requires no card and ends automatically. Its UK pricing page offers flexible month-to-month or extended-term options. Neither statement proves the terms of a particular customer's signed order, so record the subscription type, renewal and notice route in writing.
What is included in BambooHR Core, Pro and Elite?
Core includes records, reports, workflows, hiring and onboarding, e-signatures, time off, benefits tracking, employee experience, HR insights, basic compliance training and an AI assistant. Pro adds performance, community, recognition and deeper policy answers. Elite adds compensation, custom analytics, benchmarks, broader training, premium services and more analytical AI.
Is BambooHR suitable for UK companies and UK payroll?
Yes. BambooHR sells a UK product, publishes a UK Time & Attendance add-on, supports UK GDPR transfer safeguards and lists UK payroll connections such as Xero Payroll in its marketplace. BambooHR Payroll itself is designed for US employees, so verify the exact UK provider, fields, support owner and failure route you would use.
How do the BambooHR and HollyHR developer routes compare?
BambooHR publishes OAuth 2.0, a broad REST API, a maintained official PHP SDK, unmaintained official .NET and Java SDKs, community Python, Ruby and Perl libraries, and global or permissioned HMAC-signed webhooks, alongside 150+ integrations. HollyHR's REST/OpenAPI, TypeScript SDK and webhooks are a narrower approved beta with bounded scopes, fields and events. Its MCP endpoint is a developer preview awaiting controller/DPO approval for production customer data, not a current parity claim or automatic advantage.
Can HollyHR import our BambooHR account?
No. HollyHR has no BambooHR adapter. A System Admin can import CSV or .xlsx with 1–500 mapped rows per apply, preview the first five mapped rows and manually map 12 supported people fields. Managers, patterns, pay and bank details, leave balances and history, files, signatures, applicants, performance, time, reports, integrations and configuration require separate retention or rebuilding.
Can we export everything from BambooHR before switching?
BambooHR supports custom reports, saved-report API retrieval and permissioned employee-file listing and download. Its terms provide 30 days to download Customer Data after ordinary expiry or termination. Public evidence does not establish that one action captures every file, signature, ATS record, performance object, integration setting and audit event, so test and document the complete leaving set before notice.
How long does switching from BambooHR to HollyHR take?
There is no honest universal time. It depends on data quality and how much hiring, signature, reporting, mobile, performance, compensation, time, payroll, integration, API and file state must be retained or rebuilt around HollyHR's 12-field people import. Keep BambooHR available until the parallel run and permission checks pass.
THE HOLLYHR OPTION
Try the awkward record before you move the real one.
Join early access, bring a realistic scenario and decide whether the focused core is enough. If it is not, the shortlist above should still help.