There is a wealth of BambooHR alternatives on the market for small businesses that need HR management tools without the hefty price tag.
While BambooHR offers popular HR solutions with an intuitive interface and comprehensive employee data management, time tracking, and onboarding, it’s not the best fit for every small business. Whether you want more affordable options, advanced features, or better integration capabilities, it’s worth looking further afield for apps that better fit your business.
Join us as we explore 10 BambooHR alternatives that hook you up with customizable workflows, automated employee management, payroll processing, and recruitment tools.
1. Bitrix24 — A highly scalable solution to meet all your HR needs
Bitrix24 is an all-in-one HR solution that offers a huge array of applications and a level of quality that few BambooHR competitors can match.
Unlike many HR systems for small businesses, Bitrix24 goes beyond basic HR tasks, with tools for managing employee data, time tracking, and recruitment. It also unifies your team in a way other apps can’t with collaboration features including task management, project tracking, and a full suite of communication tools.
Of course, it takes care of the basics too. Bitrix24 has everything you’d expect from a top BambooHR alternative, such as employee directories, company announcements, and an organizational chart. This makes it easier for HR teams to stay on top of personnel management, while advanced reporting and analytics tools give you real-time insights into employee performance, attendance, and task completion.
Small businesses can save time on HR processes like employee onboarding, leave management, and performance tracking. Incredibly for a BambooHR free alternative, the platform implements analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence on both desktop and mobile, allowing you to monitor progress, provide an excellent employee experience, and monitor overall productivity without tedious, time-consuming data collection.
Compared to other BambooHR alternatives, Bitrix24’s human resources software is particularly appealing to small businesses because of its affordability. With free and paid plans, you get all the functionality you need from day one, with seamless scalability as your organization grows. In addition to that, Bitrix24 provides flexibility with customizable workflows and task automation, freeing up time and adapting to your unique business requirements.
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2. Gusto — A payroll and benefits management HR software alternative
Gusto is one of the more popular BambooHR alternatives for small businesses that want to streamline their payroll and benefits management. While BambooHR focuses more on employee data and performance tracking, Gusto specializes in payroll processing, tax filing, and compliance, which keeps your employees happy and your organization on the right side of regulation.
Gusto helps you manage employee pay, automate tax filings, and structure employee benefits like health insurance and 401(k) plans. With extra tools for onboarding, time tracking, and employee self-service, it is quite a complete example of HR software for small businesses.
As one of the most recognizable competitors to BambooHR, Gusto is popular for a reason, offering a good user experience and employee-side apps. However, it is an expensive option, which can make it more of a burden than a benefit to small businesses on limited budgets. Also, while the mobile app is comprehensive, it’s quite difficult to view. 
3. Zoho People — A customizable BambooHR alternative with Zoho integrations
Zoho People is a highly customizable BambooHR alternative that draws upon other apps in the Zoho ecosystem to provide a multi-functional business platform.
In terms of human resources software, Zoho People isn’t an all-in-one package with everything you could ever need. However, you get employee onboarding, time tracking, leave management, and performance appraisals. On the employee side, self-service portals mean your people can manage their own data, reducing the administrative workload for HR teams.
Zoho People’s main advantage is its ease of use and flexibility. Customizable workflows, rules, triggers, and process templates give you a tailored experience, while the mobile app means HR departments and employees can manage their tasks on the go. All of this is beneficial for teams looking to expand, as scalable forms, approval processes, and document storage can grow in line with your business.
A common drawback of Zoho People is that to get the most out of the Zoho platform, you have to sign up for various apps, which can see costs rise quickly. And, even if you do choose to go for the full suite, the learning curve to work on Zoho products is considerable.
4. Manatal — A recruitment platform with applications for employee management
Manatal is one of the BambooHR alternatives that focuses on recruitment but also incorporates various employee management tools.
Manatal simplifies hiring with AI that powers recruitment and applicant tracking. For example, it includes advanced tools like AI-driven candidate recommendations, resume parsing, and customizable recruitment pipelines so small businesses can find better clients faster.
Manatal’s standout feature is its AI-powered candidate ranking system, which helps businesses use qualifications and relevance to the job to quickly score applicants. It speeds up the hiring process by highlighting the best candidates automatically, which gives your HR team an extra few hours a week during recruitment drives.
Despite its expertise in hiring and tracking candidates, it’s not the most customizable HR software for small businesses. This can be frustrating if you want to tweak your tools to your organization’s way of working. Similarly, the lack of extra tools like payroll and performance analytics makes it hard to put Manatal in the same bracket as some of the more complete HR software alternatives.
5. Bullhorn — A recruitment-driven BambooHR alternative for staffing firms
Bullhorn is another specialist alternative to BambooHR that focuses heavily on recruitment companies, rather than offering an addition to businesses from other sectors.
Let’s look at the qualities first: Bullhorn brings together automated data capture, advanced search capabilities, and integration with third-party email systems for a fast and efficient recruitment process.
It implements a lot of automation in its applicant tracking system, so you can safely jump on other tasks and let Bullhorn work on ranking applicants, screening them for technical skills and cultural qualities, and self-service interview scheduling to speed up hiring.
Bullhorn has complex reporting to analyze your success and identify weak spots to improve your recruitment process continuously. It also keeps a database of talent on record to give you a head start on future placements.
Unlike many other BambooHR alternatives, Bullhorn doesn’t provide all the HR management tools your team will need. If you’re looking for an efficient recruitment platform, great. But for businesses looking for each dollar spent to go a long way, Bullhorn isn’t a very convincing proposition.
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6. Oorwin — A unified HR, recruitment, and sales platform
Oorwin’s employee management tools stretch beyond HR solutions to cover sales and organizational efficiency.
Starting with the hiring element, Oorwin uses AI tools to match candidates to positions, saving a heap of time in the recruitment process. The automations continue throughout the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to performance management and payroll processing.
AI-powered tools enhance recruitment with resume parsing, candidate matching, and job board integrations. This allows you to manage applicants, job postings, and communication with candidates in one easy-to-use interface.
In addition to its recruitment capabilities, Oorwin’s HR management tools oversee employee data, manage leave and attendance, and monitor performance with integrated analytics and reporting. For businesses with a focus on sales, Oorwin uses a similar functionality to its recruitment process to score customers, manage relationships, and build sales pipelines.
Clearly, Oorwin offers a lot of features, however, some users have reported that setup and customization can be time-consuming.
7. Deel — A global payroll solution and BambooHR alternative for distributed teams
Deel is a curious alternative to BambooHR, providing solutions for hiring contractors worldwide, which isn’t as easy as it may first appear. It is specifically designed to handle the complexities of global payroll, compliance, and contractor management, with immigration and visa support features and multi-currency payroll to manage a remote team.
Beyond recruitment, Deel provides essential HR systems for small businesses, such as payroll and performance management. No matter how far-flung your team is, you can store details in an organizational chart, manage expenses, automate simple processes, and store important documents. Satisfaction surveys and learning development keep people happy and growing professionally, while integrations help to automate your HR workflows beyond the confines of Deel itself.
Deel is one of the best BambooHR alternatives if you want to hire a remote workforce without all the legal headaches that it implies. However, you need to be sure you’re willing to commit to the investment. Users consistently point to the sky-high price as a drawback to the app.
8. Breezy HR — An end-to-end recruitment automation platform
Breezy HR streamlines and automates small business recruitment, from advertising openings and pre-screening candidates to scheduling interviews and making offers.
Breezy HR has worked hard to provide an easy-to-use interface, with intuitive drag-and-drop pipeline management, which is great for businesses that may not have a dedicated HR department. Automations and analytics take care of candidate ranking so you can focus attention on the leading applicants, while in-built compliance tools keep you in line with local data processing regulations.
Integration with multiple job boards and social media channels simplifies getting your message out there. Once you’ve drafted a shortlist, Breezy HR also features automated email scheduling, interview coordination, and candidate feedback requests, streamlining the entire recruitment workflow.
You may have noticed that BreezyHR lacks features that other BambooHR alternatives contain, such as performance management, benefits packages, or absence management. That makes it very limited in its impact beyond recruitment, and it struggles to compete with more wide-reaching options.
9. Namely — A flexible people-focused HR solution
Shifting away from the recruitment-focused alternatives to BambooHR, Namely works on how to engage and retain employees once they’re part of your team.
Namely’s key strength lies in its flexibility to tailor workflows, approval processes, and employee profiles. Save time with Namely’s self-service portal where employees can manage their information, track their performance, and join in with company initiatives, freeing HR teams to focus on more strategic tasks.
Payroll and benefits management tools ensure everyone is paid accurately and on time, while providing fair and meaningful perks that help reduce turnover. It’s not just about morale though. Integrated tax filings and benefits administration keep you compliant with federal and state regulations. You can even make benefits dependent on goals by monitoring performance management, conducting reviews, and tracking employee development all from Namely.
However, reviews are mixed, with many users reporting limited features, poor customer support, and complex reporting, which can confuse busy HR teams. With that in mind, there are definitely more reliable HR software alternatives out there.
10. Bob — A feature-rich BambooHR alternative at a high price point
Bob, the HR solution by HiBob, is a modern and engaging tool for human resources management. While BambooHR offers standard HR tools for managing employee data, performance, and time tracking, HiBob takes a more holistic and people-centric approach, focusing on employee experience and organizational culture alongside HR management.
It is a highly customizable platform where HR teams can manage functions like onboarding, payroll, time-off tracking, and performance reviews. But what truly sets HiBob apart is its emphasis on creating a positive workplace culture through communication and collaboration tools like surveys, feedback boards, and performance analytics.
Bob offers a comprehensive feature set that is particularly beneficial for small businesses. If you can justify the investment, you’ll get a powerful, well-rounded BambooHR alternative.
Bitrix24: The best BambooHR alternative for small businesses
If you’re on the hunt for a versatile and cost-effective solution to manage your HR needs, you can’t get better than Bitrix24.
This BambooHR free alternative offers comprehensive features for small businesses, including:
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Hiring and onboarding to streamline recruitment
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Employee management for easy HR administration
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Time tracking to monitor work hours and attendance
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Performance monitoring to evaluate employee progress
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Project collaboration features to enhance team productivity
The free version comes with many capabilities of other paid subscriptions, making it a lifesaver for small businesses on a budget. When you’re ready to scale up, you can expand your capacity without breaking the bank.
So to start automating HR tasks, streamlining team collaboration, and tracking employee performance, sign up for Bitrix24 today.
Organize your team's workload and collaboration in Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a place where everyone can communicate, collaborate, and manage daily activities. Enhance teamwork now.
Get Started
FAQ
What are the best BambooHR alternatives for small businesses?
Some of the best BambooHR alternatives for small businesses include:
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Bitrix24
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Gusto
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Zoho People
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Manatal
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Bullhorn
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Oorwin
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Deel
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Breezy HR
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Namely
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Bob
Some of these platforms specialize in a specific area, such as recruitment or payroll, while others, like Bitrix24, offer an all-in-one package.
How do the alternatives compare to BambooHR?
Compared to BambooHR, the alternatives often provide more flexible pricing, tailored features for small businesses, and specialized tools like payroll management or recruitment automation. While BambooHR focuses on overall HR management, these platforms allow businesses to choose tools that match their specific needs.
What features should HR software include for effective management?
HR software should include the following features for effective management:
