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Best Hibob alternatives: is Hibob really worth it?
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Written by:
Joe Hodges
Choosing an HR software or HRIS platform comes with a lot of pondering, and sometimes, we’d like someone to take us through what such and such can do instead of doing all the research ourselves.
As a Product Manager at CharlieHR, I’ve spent months researching other HR software – including Hibob and its alternatives.
In this guide, I’ll take you through 4 of the best alternatives to Hibob to help you decide whether Hibob is the best fit for your business, or whether you should go for something else.
How did I research Hibob alternatives?
Throughout this research, my method has always been the same when it came to comparing different software. For transparency, here are the elements I used to evaluate each platform:
- The kind of features they offer – if it offers the basics needed by each company and what’s available on top of that
- The company size they’re best for – depending on whether they are the ideal solution for startups, mid-sized companies or big enterprises
- The customer reviews they have – going through hundreds of reviews to understand the downfalls of each software and where they perform best
- The pricing model they offer to customers – if the pricing is directly available on the website or not. At times, gathering information from our customers who switched from one software to Charlie
- The quality of their customer service – if there any recurring complaints about how they support their customers
- The platform’s interface – how complicated or easy the platform is to use, whether it requires training or whether it can be set up straight away
- Their customer base – to better understand what type of company has been successfully using the platform for a while
- How they differ from Hibob – that last point is to ensure you make an informed decision whether you want to move away from using Hibob or are just comparing it with other available solutions
4 Best Alternatives to Hibob
#1
CharlieHR
Best all-in-one software for small businesses and startups
At Charlie, we’ve built HR software that’s designed for small businesses and startups.
As a product manager, it’s my job to understand what small companies want from HR software, and that’s why I strive to make Charlie the best HR software for them.
Have a look at the top reasons why small businesses and startups choose CharlieHR as an alternative to Hibob:
Affordable: Pay per employee at a transparent price point starting at £5 per month including all features. No setup fee.
Focused on small businesses’ needs: Time off, data storage, onboarding, and performance management — you get exactly what you need to run your business.
Easy to set up and even easier to use: Get Charlie running within minutes and save yourself a lot of set-up stress. The platform's friendly and intuitive interface makes it easy for team members to use.
Responsive and personalised support: You’ll have the Charlie team on hand for all your questions.
Features available
Automated time off
Get rid of manual spreadsheets and let the process run itself for any type of leave
One-click onboarding
Cut down your workload with a self-service onboarding platform that automates all the admin
Team database
All your documents are saved in one place
Performance reviews
Get the right processes in place to help team members grow
Perks and benefits
Offer your team exciting rewards at tons of famous brands
HR policies
HR experts guide you through your People strategy
Engagement surveys
Keep your finger on the pulse
Reports
Make the right decisions based on your People data
Integrations
For a seamless HR workflow
Recruitment
Complete your HR stack with our Charlie Recruit – ATS, job posting, blind hiring and more
How Charlie is a good alternative to Hibob
As we researched and interviewed small businesses and startups, we were able to narrow down the needs of our customers. That’s why, in comparison to Hibob, we can guarantee to offer software that focuses on your fundamental needs.
Instead of pretending to solve all of your HR jobs in one go (with features you probably won’t end up using as a small business), we focus on core HR automation features that will save you the most time and effort.
So maybe, in comparison, Hibob looks like it offers a lot more (among out-of-the-box onboarding, compensation management, and anonymous reporting) but our strength lies in the focus we put into solving your overarching problems, better.
So if you’re looking for software that cuts down your workload, saves hours every week on HR admin and stops you from being the bottleneck for queries, we’re it!
Pricing
- Pricing inclusive of all features: from as little as £5 per month with a free 7-day trial
- No set up fee
Notable customers
What people say
The success of any company depends on the team that runs it. Charlie doesn’t just save me time – it gives me the headspace I need to support my team and help them to perform at their best.
— Ally Fekaiki, founder of Juno
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#2
CharlieHR
Breathe describes itself as software that “puts people first” – it puts a great emphasis on how important it is to build a culture to make sure your business can succeed.
Fit for small to medium-sized businesses, Breathe offers different advantages for those who use it:
Shift and rota orientated: offers a package that’s convenient if your business needs to build a rota system and track employee attendance
Ideal for agencies: allows you to log time which means you can find out how much time has been spent on a specific project to bill a client
Allows to take care of expenses: it’s great to find out how much a particular project has cost you and link expenses to it
Features available
Leave and absence
Including holiday management, absence management and sickness monitoring
Reporting
HR dashboard and HR reporting available
People Management
A suite of features to understand performance, deal with remote working and payroll
Optional features
(for an extra price)
On top, you can add rota, time and attendance; expenses management; recruitment tracking and a learning platform
How Breathe is a good alternative to Hibob
Breathe is quite sophisticated and offers a lot of options that Hibob doesn’t have at the moment. That includes recruitment as well as training options.
Pricing
- Available in brackets for CoreHR – from £13 per month per employee (1-10 people) and £135 per month per employee (51-100 people)
- Rota, Time & Attendance as well as Learn module comes at an additional cost – the three options for 1 to 10 people would be a total of £25 per month per employee
- Breathe also allows for optional modules to be added onto the price, including additional HR users, recruitment, recruitment pro and expenses
Notable customers
- Ridgeview Wine Estate
- Lead Tech
- Dorset Wildlife Trust
What people say
I am new to Breathe and have found it very simple to pick up how to use it. It is a very visual interface which makes it very easy to get around.
— Nicola C. (Mid Market user)
#3
CharlieHR
BambooHR, a US-based company, gives HR people a lot of resources when it comes to dealing with every stage of their growth.
Best for medium-sized companies (more than 250 employees), the myriad of features Bamboo has to offer can sometimes feel overwhelming for smaller businesses, but let’s have a look at what stands out the most:
No need to outsource hiring: the whole experience of hiring can be handled through the platform – no need to get a consultant as everything can be done on Bamboo to find, hire and onboard the best talent
Benefits-orientated: for companies that can afford to put together a good package for their team, Bamboo is the right choice as they can help manage these benefits directly on the platform (dental, medical, etc.)
Stay connected: a modern way to get HR through a mobile app that allows for a mobile workforce
Features available
HR Data and reporting
To have all your people data in the same place whilst gathering insights through 49 built-in reports
Hiring and onboarding
Get all of the hiring done through one platform from job ad, offer letter, contract sent and onboarding
Payroll, time and benefits
Keep track of hours worked, manage leave as well as benefits and payroll at the same time
Optional features
Employee performance and employee experience
Allow for a culture of feedback where you can ask questions anonymously, and get performance management right through goals and assessments
How BambooHR is a good alternative to Hibob
Although Bamboo can feel like a lot for smaller companies, it’s a great fit for the same companies targeted by Hibob (medium-sized businesses) and allows for more in-depth reporting – in comparison to Hibob, it gives extra resources for HR people who are looking to go further in their analysis and employee management.
Pricing
- BambooHR offers two plans called Essentials and Advantage – the first one includes the core HR features (employee records, reporting, time off management, mobile app, employee self-service, email support) and if you’d like to add features such as onboarding, offboarding, e-signatures, applicant tracking system, etc, you’ll need to get the Advantage one
- Prices are not available on BambooHR and you will need to book a call with a sales representative to learn more about tailored pricing for your business, however, a former Bamboo customer I interviewed mentioned it started at $8 per month per team member for the Essentials package
- There’s also a lot of optional add ons you can opt in such as payroll, benefits administration, performance management and time tracking
Notable customers
- ZipRecruiter
- Carnival
- SoundCloud
What people say
I really enjoy how user-friendly BambooHR is, especially on the employee side. It allowed employees to efficiently update their information, upload documents, and sign them all in one place!
— Yisana T. (Mid Market customer)
The best HR software for small companies
Simple, efficient and affordable — Charlie was build to help small businesses bring clarity to their HR chaos.
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#4
CharlieHR
Describing itself as a “modern HR software”, CezanneHR is a great fit for companies in the UK that are medium-sized looking to scale (according to their website, typically 100-3,000 employees).
Cezanne has a lot to offer, and perhaps it’s not completely straightforward to understand it when you land on their homepage, however, let’s have a look at what that entails.
Features available
Streamline your HR
HR database, self-service, notifications, document management, form builder, hr portals, compliance
Employee engagement
Kudos, own branding, pulse surveys
Onboarding
Task templates and reminders
Absence management
Holidays, TOIL, reporting, sick leave and other absences
Time tracking
Timesheets, clock in and out
Career progression
Talent pools, succession planning, career planning
How Cezanne is a good alternative to Hibob
Cezanne offers more opportunities for teams based in the UK, on the condition that they’re not small businesses. They outplay Hibob as they offer a scalable Cloud-native software platform.
Pricing
- A fixed subscription fee each month. It can be revised every year depending on the modules taken and if your headcount has gone up or down
- Sales representatives are available to build a package tailored to what your business needs
Notable customers
- YoungMinds
- The Alan Turing Institute
- Handicare
What people say
Such great support from the customer service during implementations. Consistent performance is the main reason I chose Cezanne. This will help you to achieve your goal on time without any delay.
— Jeyanthi M. (Mid market customer)
So Hibob,... Is it really worth it?
Throughout my research, it was easy to understand where Hibob’s shortcomings were, but also where it could be a great tool. Let’s have a look at both reasons why.
Choosing Hibob over an alternative
Hibob can help you streamline most of your HR and allows you to automate your processes, including basics such as time off, onboarding and documentation.
One thing they excel at (and that not many others address) is focusing on building culture at your business.
Amongst these culture-building features, you can count on:
- Shoutouts and kudos to help team members feel recognised for their work
- Customisable feature names and social-media-like homepage to promote your own branding
- Employee profiles to understand what your team members care about and who they really are
- Short video recording in the software so employees can introduce themselves to their peers
- Pronouns, pronunciation of names in employee profile
- Bob’s Clubs that allow for a remote culture to take place with coworkers, learning more about hobbies and interests
Understanding Hibob’s shortcomings
Of course, understanding what’s best about software also means finding out what its shortcomings are.
When putting together this guide, I was also able to speak to customers of ours who switched from Hibob to Charlie. Below, I compiled the main reasons why they did:
- It’s pricey for under-resourced small businesses
- It offers features that startups don’t need with an extra focus on culture
- It’s complex and time-consuming to set up without adequate support
Expensive for small businesses
Hibob can be expensive for small teams as packages are priced by group size versus per user.
For transparency, this is the information I gathered from someone who joined Charlie after being a Hibob customer: £10 per employee per month along with an implementation fee.
However, according to other former customers, prices can be higher depending on headcount and they often largely vary. The pricing information is not available directly from Hibob’s website as you need to contact a sales representative.
Unnecessary features
There is no doubt Hibob has an impressive range of features — but as a small company, you need to focus on getting the basics done well first.
A 30-person company that used Hibob told us they were drowning in features for a company of their size. Having too many features can be unnecessary, overwhelming and confusing when it comes to knowing what to prioritise.
There’s also no current need in the small business market for features too focused on building culture. One of our customers described it as “feeling like you’re paying for extras no one is going to be using.
Complex and time-consuming to set up with no support
If you’re one person building out HR for your company, you’ll want a platform that can be set up quickly and easily — something you and your team can start using straight away.
Hibob’s setup process is complex and many workflows need customising. This can be manageable if your company has Ops specialists to assist with the setup and ongoing configurations, but Hibob’s implementation is not a one-person job.
This can also become a problem as, according to feedback from previous customers, support can sometimes send customers back to FAQs rather than personally addressing their issues.
Ask yourself these questions before choosing Hibob over an alternative
Assess your own needs as a business before making a decision:
- Is the tool designed for UK small businesses or larger companies?
- How responsive is customer support?
- Which features are most important for helping to run your startup?
- How easy is the setup and configuration process?
- Does the platform offer the best value for money?
I hope this guide was useful to understand whether you want to go for Hibob or an alternative. Perhaps have a look at these comparison guides below to narrow down your search.
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