Compare HR Software in the United Kingdom

For a small business, UK HR software typically runs £5 to £10 per employee per month, or a flat per-business fee for the smallest teams. Per-employee tools start around £5/emp/mo (Sage HR, Factorial), with Access PeopleHR around £5.50/emp/mo, and BambooHR, HiBob and Personio (quote-only) around £6 to £10. Flat-fee tools are cheapest for tiny teams: Breathe is £24/mo (up to 10) and CharlieHR is £20/mo (1-4). Both charge a flat fee per headcount band, so the cost steps up as you grow. Deel's HR module: Free up to 200. Expect setup fees on enterprise platforms (BambooHR is often £1,000 or more).

For a small UK team the strongest options are the UK-native tools: Breathe (cheapest flat pricing, built for under-50 teams), CharlieHR (low flat-fee entry from £20/mo (1-4), great for startups) and Sage HR (modular, integrates with Sage Payroll). BambooHR and HiBob are excellent but pricier and aimed higher up; Personio and Factorial suit growing UK and EU teams; Deel is best if you hire internationally, and its HR tier is Free up to 200. The best choice depends on size, budget, and whether you need native UK payroll.

Yes, a genuine free route exists: Deel HR is free for up to 200 employees, which is a full HRIS at no cost for almost any small business. CharlieHR does not have a permanent free plan (it offers a 7-day trial before its flat per-band fee starts at £20/mo (1-4)), and Breathe and most others offer a 14-day free trial rather than a permanent free plan. Spreadsheets are free but break down fast on leave tracking, compliance and data protection. For a micro team, Deel HR free is the strongest no-cost starting point.

If you have more than a handful of employees, it usually pays for itself. HR software centralises employee records (keeping that data secure is a UK-GDPR requirement), automates holiday and absence tracking, stores right-to-work documents with expiry reminders, runs onboarding, and gives staff self-service. Most UK small businesses move off spreadsheets once leave, documents and compliance become a manual burden, usually around 5 to 10 employees. A £20 to £45 a month tool removes hours of admin and reduces compliance risk.

An HRIS (Human Resources Information System) is the central system of record for your people data: employee records, leave and absence, documents, onboarding, performance and self-service. The terms HRIS and HR software are used interchangeably. Payroll is a separate function (calculating pay, tax and National Insurance, and filing RTI with HMRC). Some HRIS platforms include native UK payroll (Employment Hero, HiBob, Rippling, Deel); most UK HR tools (Breathe, CharlieHR, Sage HR, Factorial, Personio, BambooHR) instead integrate with a separate payroll product.

The HR platforms with native UK payroll (PAYE, RTI to HMRC, pension auto-enrolment) are Employment Hero (the ex-KeyPay engine), HiBob (HiBob Payroll UK, built on Pento), Rippling, and Deel (global payroll and EOR). Sage HR pairs with the separate HMRC-recognised Sage Payroll, and Access PeopleHR offers a native payroll add-on. Breathe, CharlieHR, Factorial, Personio and BambooHR do not run UK payroll themselves; they integrate with a payroll provider (BambooHR's own payroll is US-only).

Good UK HR software stores right-to-work documents with expiry reminders, and the more UK-focused tools (Personio, Sage, Employment Hero, Deel) support share-code right-to-work checks as part of onboarding. For UK-GDPR, reputable platforms use encryption, role-based access and audit logs; UK-native tools (Breathe, CharlieHR) host data on UK servers, and EU tools (Factorial, Personio) are explicitly UK-GDPR compliant. Always confirm where your employee data is hosted and that a Data Processing Agreement is in place.

Breathe is UK-native and cheaper (a flat £24/mo (up to 10) vs BambooHR's published £8.10 per employee, or a flat £200 for teams of 25 or fewer), and built around UK employment practices. BambooHR has a slicker interface, a built-in ATS and stronger reporting, but it is US-first, its native payroll is US-only (UK users need a separate integration), and support runs on US hours. For a small UK team on a budget, Breathe usually wins; BambooHR suits larger or design-led teams that do not need UK payroll built in.

Both are polished mid-market HR platforms rated around 4.6 out of 5 on Capterra. HiBob ("Bob") has standout culture, engagement and people-analytics tools, and crucially offers native UK payroll (via its 2024 Pento acquisition), making it a true HR plus payroll platform for UK teams. BambooHR is strong on core HR, onboarding and its built-in ATS, but its payroll is US-only and it is more US-oriented for European employment law. HiBob is quote-only; BambooHR publishes a UK per-employee rate card (Core from £8.10). HiBob fits UK scale-ups wanting payroll in one place; BambooHR fits teams prioritising ease of use and ATS.

Both target UK and Ireland mid-market teams. Personio is GDPR-first with a strong built-in ATS and explicit UK right-to-work and share-code tooling, but uses payroll integration rather than native UK payroll. HiBob leads on engagement, analytics and native UK payroll. Pick Personio if recruiting and EU-wide compliance matter most; pick HiBob if you want HR and UK payroll in one platform with best-in-class analytics. Both are quote-only at roughly £6 to £12 per employee per month.

Move when manual admin starts costing real time or creating risk, usually around 5 to 10 employees, or sooner if you struggle to track holiday accurately, store right-to-work and contract documents securely (a UK-GDPR obligation), run consistent onboarding, or produce HR reports. Spreadsheets have no audit trail, no self-service and no compliance reminders. A £20 to £45 a month tool such as Breathe, CharlieHR or Sage HR typically pays back within the first month of saved admin.

BambooHR is popular and GDPR-compliant, but it is built for the US market. The main UK drawbacks are no native UK payroll (its payroll is US-only, so you need a separate integration), support on US hours, and a relatively rigid fit for UK employment law. It remains a strong choice for core HR, onboarding and its built-in ATS, especially for design-conscious or international teams. UK-first buyers who want payroll built in should also shortlist HiBob, Employment Hero, or a UK-native tool like Breathe or Sage HR.

The cheapest legitimate free route is Deel HR, free for up to 200 employees. Among paid tools, Sage HR and Factorial (£5/emp/mo) and Access PeopleHR (£5.50/emp/mo) are the cheapest per-employee plans, while Breathe (£24/mo (up to 10)) and CharlieHR (£20/mo (1-4)) are cheapest for very small teams on a flat fee. Per-employee tools become cheaper than flat-fee tools as your headcount rises.