5 Best BambooHR Alternatives for 2023

As an HR professional, it's essential to have a comprehensive HR management system that can meet all of your business’s needs while also keeping costs down. With so many options available on the market, reviewing each one can be an overwhelming task. That's why we've done the hard work for you by compiling this list of leading BambooHR alternatives.

Are you looking for a Human Resources Management System which is efficient and secure? In today's competitive market, there are various options available for small businesses as well as large enterprises.

We think about it, one option that comes straight to many minds is BambooHR - and for an obvious reason; it’s a well-known software. But while it may be regarded as a top-tier product by many, it may not suit all kinds of businesses.

As reported by many existing users, the primary issue is its high pricing. The software comes at a price enough to burn a hole in the pockets of small business owners or startups. Another problem with BambooHR is limited integration with other HR software systems. Besides, many users complained about its reporting functionality, which is not so user-friendly and can be tedious for less tech-savvy users.

Thankfully, there are some good alternatives to BambooHR that provide a better set of features at more affordable prices in 2023. Here we explore 5 of the best BambooHR alternatives currently on the market for those wanting more from their HR software solutions without breaking their budget. 

1. Grove HR

Best alternative to BambooHR for startups and small & medium sized companies.

Grove HR is a cloud HR software for small businesses who aim to empower employees to bring their authentic selves to work and express their full potential. Companies can manage their whole employee lifecycle in one single system and deploy a more Agile, Mobile, and Social way to do HR.

This HR software is a single central platform that allows you to manage everything from recruitment to onboarding, time tracking, employee records, performance review, and more. Grove HR is heavy on results and light on the pocket.

Automated hiring and onboarding

Grove HR's Recruitment and Onboarding features offer companies a dedicated career page, hiring pipeline, and onboarding checklist that simplifies and automates the overall hiring and onboarding process. These features are perfect for companies who need mass automated yet customized onboarding processes when scaling up, which makes it the best BambooHR alternative.

Employee Management

Employee management with manual methods like Google Sheets or Excel is time-consuming. With Grove HR, you can manage employee data, company documents, employee time off, and attendance. All in one place. Another plus is their customization features, as you can create custom fields, custom time-off policies, and more which reduces the effort required.

Goals/OKRs and Performance Management

With the change in workforce dynamics, annual performance review practice is proving to be irrelevant and ineffective. Employees want to move away from ‘being graded’ to ‘growing.’

With Grove HR performance enablement features, employees and managers can perform 360 performance reviews to focus on developing employees themselves. Companies can conduct reviews across various dimensions - self, manager, peer, based on projects and organizational level. Conducting reviews is also made easier with the pre-designed review templates.

So, If you want to recruit and retain a modern workforce, this is a one-of-a-kind and must-have resource.

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is essential for long-term success. Grove's engagement app - Sprynkl is a digital workplace for peer-to-peer engagement. This tool allows companies to build a single company-wide newsfeed, interest groups, polls & pulse surveys, and peer feedback & recognition to encourage casual ideas and conversations.

Employee Mobile App

An on-the-go platform that allows employees to manage their data anytime and anywhere. From managing time-off requests, clock-in/out to accessing company directory, company news, document, and payslip, everything is available on the employee’s phone in just a few clicks.

Grove HR mobile app enables employees to perform self-service and self-onboarding, making data management automated, flawless, and convenient. It lets you manage all things HR round the clock.

💰Price

 Free for companies up to 50 employees.

After that, it starts from

Essentials: $3 / employee/month
Perform: $4 / employee/month
Engage: $6/ employee/month

No extra costs. No hidden fees. No implimentation fees.

2. Freshteam

Update August 2023: Freshteam is currently not accepting new sign-ups. Only existing users can access the platform. Please visit their website for updates.

Freshteam is a cloud-based HR solution by Freshworks that helps you manage hiring, onboarding, employee data, time-off, and HR workflows – all in one place. Recruiters can use it as an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to find, screen, schedule, and employ candidates.

The software also allows you to create employee profiles, storing all employee information. With the Employee Self-Service Portal, employees can raise requests for leaves, which will give managers a consolidated view of all upcoming leaves.  

Recruiters can customize the functionality to add custom questions to application forms to make candidate screening more accessible. Freshteam also makes it easy to keep track of and manage applicant dialogues, which numerous people may access.

💰Price

Free for up to 50 employees.

$1/employee/month + $59 platform fee/month : For up to 200 active employees. Includes all features of the Free plan, plus additional features such as job boards integration, candidate sourcing, and recruiting automation.

$2/employee/month + $99 platform fee/month: For up to 1,000 active employees. Includes all features of the Growth plan, plus additional features such as offer management, HR reports, and analytics.

$4/employee/month + $169 platform fee/month: For unlimited active employees. Includes all features of the Pro plan, plus additional features such as custom branding, single sign-on, and dedicated customer support.

3. Zoho People

Zoho is probably most popular for their customer relationship management tool but they also have HR software system, called Zoho People. It provides you with an exhaustive list of features – ranging from onboarding, storing employee data to tracking attendance, and gathering 360-degree feedback.

The timesheet tracking and chat groups allow faster conflict resolutions. The Employee Self-Service portal gives freedom to employees to view and modify their records. With this HR software, recruiters can set goals and track their progress.

💰Price

Free plan is forever free for up to 5 users. It includes basic HR functions such as employee database, timesheet management, and leave management.

Essential HR plan starts at $0.83 per employee per month when billed annually. It includes all the features of the Free plan, plus additional features such as payroll, benefits administration, and performance management.

Professional plan starts at $1.66 per employee per month when billed annually. It includes all the features of the Essential HR plan, plus additional features such as recruiting, onboarding, and training.

Premium plan starts at $2.5 per employee per month when billed annually. It includes all the features of the Professional plan, plus additional features such as compliance management, analytics, and reporting.

You can also add on add-on features to any plan, such as:

Employee Profiles to store employee records and information

Extra Forms to create custom forms for your organization

Extra Storage to store documents and files

4. Zenefits

Zenefits is a modern HRIS that handles end-to-end HR administration for small and medium enterprises. It aids businesses in streamlining HR operations, onboarding functions, payroll, and benefits, among other things. The easy setup makes it a perfect choice for small organizations.

The platform promises a speedy onboarding process — less than 10 minutes! All an HR needs to do is fill up five fields for new hires, and the employees can electronically sign the documents. Goal setting, 1:1 meetings, and performance evaluations are all techniques for enhancing employee performance.

💰Price

Essentials is their most basic plan and starts at $8 per employee per month. It includes features such as payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, and HR compliance.

Growth is their mid-tier plan and starts at $14 per employee per month. It includes all the features of the Essentials plan, plus additional features such as recruiting, onboarding, and performance management.

Zen is their most comprehensive plan and starts at $21 per employee per month. It includes all the features of the Growth plan plus additional features such as employee engagement, learning management, and succession planning.

5. Rippling

Rippling is another versatile HR management system designed to streamline HR operations and IT management. It is the first HR management software that integrates with IT. It allows you to onboard new hires in 90 seconds and manages payroll, benefits, workflows, and IT – all in one place.

The software can be integrated with over 500 apps like Slack, T Sheets, Office365, etc., to automate administrative tasks, saving you 70+ hours per month. Rippling also has a mobile app where employees can request time off and manage their profiles. All data from this app automatically gets synced with the rest of the systems. Another great BambooHR alternative businesses can try.

💰Price

Unity is their most basic plan and starts at $35 per month plus $8 per month, per employee. It includes features such as payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, and HR compliance.

Core is their mid-tier plan and starts at $55 per month plus $10 per month, per employee. It includes all the features of the Unity plan, plus additional features such as recruiting, onboarding, and performance management.

Growth is their most comprehensive plan and starts at $75 per month plus $12 per month, per employee. It includes all the features of the Core plan, plus additional features such as employee engagement, learning management, and succession planning.

BambooHR alternatives comparison chart

Remember to check these things before considering an HRIS software

Today, there are several HR management tools that SMBs can deploy to streamline their operations. After addressing the best BambooHR alternatives, just knowing the features is not enough. Below are some factors that would help you choose the right HR software solutions for your organization.

• An intuitive interface matters - Look for HR software with a simple and easy-to-use interface. It should be straightforward, engaging to the eye, and simple to use for anyone in the company.
• Know what your budget – You need to consider your budget before choosing an HR software system. Some platforms have flexible price schemes, allowing you to choose a base package and add-on functionality as needed.
• Decide your "Must-Have" and "Nice to Have" features – Not all platforms will provide you with all of the functionality you desire in your HR system. Every HR tool has its own set of capabilities. So, first, identify which features are essential and then narrow down your options.
• Implimentation Fee & Customer Support - You must consider other things such as the implimentation fee and customer support in addition to the software features and benefits. To evaluate customer communication and response, go to each platform's help center and submit a question.
• Test the software - Most software offers a free trial period of 14, 20, or 30 days. Some offer a premium trial period with full features. Take advantage of these offers to test all the software features before you commit to it.

After you've considered all of the factors mentioned above, narrow down your choices to two or three. Then try out a demo or a free trial of each. You will gain a deeper understanding of their functionality and features after that hands-on experience. Allow personnel from various departments to test the software. You can go ahead and do it if it works well for everyone.

Finding the best HR platform for your team!

In this age of growing competition, having the right HR tool is critical for any company to thrive. Many SMBs face challenges such as price, software complexity, heavy installation process, etc. However, these roadblocks must not come in the way of establishing a smooth working environment.

Take the time to dive into what you, your HR team, and your company need. Narrow down your options. Then, it's simply testing and finding what fits most.