Hibob vs BambooHR:

Which is right for you?

Try CharlieHR for free
tick

Free for 7 days

tick

No credit card needed   

tick

Cancel any time

Hibob vs BambooHRCharlie vs hibob
Joe Hodges

Written by:

Joe Hodges

It’s fallen to you to find the perfect tool to help you automate your HR processes and become a productivity powerhouse. This would typically involve days (or weeks) spent researching, speaking to sales reps, and carefully comparing feature lists.

We’re here to remove this homework from your to-do list. We’ve done the research, spoken to our customers, and brought our insights together to bring you this guide on HiBob vs BambooHR.

In this guide you’ll find an overview of what both these HR software tools offer, what the benefits are, and some of the challenges you might encounter as a small business.

Ready to discover which is the best option for your needs?

Download summary PDF

How we compared HiBob vs BambooHR

I’m Joe, and I’m a product manager here at CharlieHR. It’s my job to research other HRIS platforms on the market, so I can understand how we can do better.

To write this guide, I haven’t just relied on basic research. I’ve also interviewed companies that switched from HiBob or BambooHR to Charlie to find out what they liked, what they didn’t, and why they decided to move to another HR software.

With these unique insights, I’ve brought you an objective look at the strengths (and weaknesses) of HiBob and BambooHR for small businesses. Of course, I still believe that Charlie is truly the best option for UK-based small businesses, but it’s also important for you to consider all the options out there.

With that in mind, let’s jump into the comparison review.

HiBob

A useful all-in-one HRMS tool for medium-to-large sized multinational companies

Why HiBob could be a great choice for your business

HiBob (also known sometimes as just “Bob”) offers teams all the functionality you’d expect from a comprehensive HR platform. You can manage core HR tasks, handle time management, and onboard new hires in a more structured (and engaging) way.

This HR software comes with key features like:

  • Onboarding — use automation and pre-boarding to improve the employee experience
  • Compensation management — introduce pay transparency and manage salary reviews in a more organised way
  • Time and attendance — track hours worked and use attendance metrics to help guide your decisions and reporting
  • People analytics — view all your people data in one place, with KPIs and advanced reporting functionality

A major strength of HiBob, and why some teams prefer it over other HRIS or HRMS tools, is that it’s designed to be engaging. For teams that want to cultivate their company culture, this is a platform worth adding to your shortlist — if you have a larger team (and budget).

Let’s reflect on some of the main reasons to choose HiBob:

  • Gamification and culture-building — features designed to help you engage with your team to improve employee engagement and employee retention, like clubs and shoutouts
  • Good balance of functionality for a growing company with a healthy budget — this isn’t a super affordable solution, but it offers scaling companies a useful foundation of features
  • Worldwide focus — whether you’re UK headquartered or not, HiBob works well across different continents
  • Fun, casual vibe — HiBob offers a more contemporary, laid-back feel with social-media style updates and engagement features

HiBob blends must-have core HR functions with extra functionality like recruitment and performance management to create an all-in-one platform that’s built for medium-to-large companies.

Reasons why HiBob may not be right for your team

A combination of culture-focused features, support for worldwide remote teams, and compensation management make HiBob an interesting option for teams that need these elements. For small businesses looking for a way to manage daily HR tasks and support their employees, this might not be the ideal choice.

After speaking to our customers that had made the switch over from HiBob, certain experiences kept popping up. Here’s why HiBob might not be the best option for your small business.

HiBob is built for larger companies

When you’re a fresh startup or a very small business, you don’t need a way to manage compensation bands or build an expansive hiring pipeline. While this functionality is great for fast-growing businesses, they can feel unnecessary or a distraction for small businesses.

Not only that, but while the software creators are busy working on updates to these features and exciting new ones, the ones you use the most may not get the same attention. This is always a risk if you invest in a platform with features you don’t use or need, so it’s worth considering.

HiBob is highly focused on culture

HiBob has a strong focus on culture and productivity, making it a top choice if that aligns with your company goals. If it doesn’t, the software itself could feel like it’s working against what you’re trying to achieve.

Building a strong company culture is often a benefit to most organisations, but it might not be your priority right now. If your goal is to strengthen your core HR workflows and get organised with your daily HR tasks, another software tool is likely to be better for you.

HiBob may not be affordable for small businesses

Like so many HR software tools, HiBob’s pricing isn’t transparent. You can’t visit their website and get a clear understanding of what’s available and how much it’ll cost you per month. Instead, you need to engage with their sales team to get more information.

The drawn-out process of speaking to a sales rep first can be a barrier for plenty of people, but it can be especially frustrating if you’re busy and juggling multiple roles. You might also assume that no visible pricing means it’s “too expensive” if you’re on a tight budget, like so many small business HR teams are.

BambooHR

A streamlined HR software platform for large or fast-growing businesses

Why BambooHR is worth considering

BambooHR claims to be an “easy-to-use platform for everything HR” and it has all the functionality you’d expect for the statement they’re making. Human resources teams can manage everything from hiring and onboarding to payroll, time management, and benefits administration — all from one place.

Under that everything HR banner, you can find features like:

  • Employee records — manage all employee data from one central, secure employee database
  • Time tracking and management — simplify time off requests and time tracking, then share this data with your payroll system
  • Performance management — collect feedback, conduct performance reviews, and plan goals together
  • Onboarding and offboarding — streamline both the onboarding and offboarding processes, for a better employee experience

When you reflect on the range and depth of features, it seems that BambooHR has slightly more to offer than HiBob. Teams looking for ways to manage the employee lifecycle from recruitment through to offboarding may be better supported with BambooHR.

Other benefits of choosing BambooHR include:

  • Employee benefits built in — manage employee rewards and benefits from the same platform as your other HR tasks
  • Volume discount pricing — enjoy savings on your monthly plan as you hire and grow
  • Advanced features for large companies — ideal for companies that need more than the basics, and have the budget to pay for it
  • Serious, professional vibe — BambooHR’s interface feels clean and professional, which makes it a better option for large businesses and specific industries

If your goal is to streamline your current tech stack and invest in an all-in-one system to support your rapid growth, BambooHR could be a great match.

Reasons why BambooHR might not be the best choice for you

BambooHR certainly has a lot to offer, especially if you’re in need of support with more complex or detailed HR processes and workflows. For smaller teams or brand new startups though, this can feel overwhelming.Here’s why you might prefer another HR software tool over BambooHR.

BambooHR is focused on the US

While BambooHR lists payroll and benefits administration among its features, this is only available in the US. For UK based small businesses, this means you still need to invest in another tool for your payroll needs.

Being locked out of using this feature when it’s promoted as a great add-on doesn’t feel great. While you don’t lose out on value (as payroll and benefits administration are optional add-ons), it does mean there’s a limit to what you can achieve — especially if you want a true all-in-one solution. Plus, some ex-customers reported that customer support was only available during US working hours, which isn’t ideal for UK-based businesses.

BambooHR’s features aren’t included in every plan

Aside from the paid optional add-ons, some businesses might be frustrated to find that the features they’re most looking forward to are only available in the Pro plan.

If you’re interested in performance management or the employee community, you’ll need to subscribe to the higher tier plan. While it’s not unusual for some functionality to be locked behind different tiers, it can mean you end up paying more for features that come included as standard in other, more affordable HR software tools.

BambooHR’s pricing may not be suitable for small businesses

Like HiBob, BambooHR’s pricing isn’t publicly available. Their pricing page introduces their Core and Pro plans, along with optional add-ons, but doesn’t list how much these plans cost per month or per year.

Being able to compare the two plans does give you more insight into which you’re likely to need, but you’re still no closer to understanding how much it’ll cost. For that you’ll need to speak directly to their sales team.

Which is better — HiBob or BambooHR?

HiBob and BambooHR are both popular, well-liked all-in-one HR systems. They both give you the functionality you need to manage core HR, as well as other aspects that fall under the banner of HR.

For some teams, there may be a clear winner. Maybe you prefer the engaging nature of culture-focused HiBob, or the way that BambooHR seems built for growing businesses. For others, the answer isn’t as clear.

To help you compare the two, here’s another look at some of the pros and cons of both of these HR software platforms:

HiBob

  • Engaging gamification and culture features
  • Good functionality for medium-sized businesses
  • Works well for multinational teams
  • Built for culture-focused teams
  • May not be affordable for small businesses

BambooHR

  • Built-in employee benefits management
  • Detailed features and reporting for large companies
  • Volume discount on pricing
  • US-focused software
  • Hidden pricing that may not be affordable

The best way to decide which is the right HR software for you is to give them a test drive. Speak to the sales teams for both companies and ask for a demo or access to a free trial, so you can explore the system for yourself.

Looking for a better alternative for your small business?

It’s clear that HiBob and BambooHR are ideal choices for larger businesses, but what about your small business? If you don’t need to hire internationally, integrate your payroll, or run salary reviews, then you might find you’re not getting the best value for money from either platform.Instead, it’s worth considering HR software designed for UK-based small businesses. That’s what we’ve built here at Charlie.

At Charlie, we want to help make HR feel effortless. Everything within our software is designed to enable you to save time on repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus your energy instead on the tasks that require your valuable talent and experience.

Streamline time off management, onboarding processes, employee engagement surveys, HR document management, perks and benefits, and performance management — all from one place. With a user-friendly interface and features designed to simplify, Charlie is designed for everyone — whether you’re new to the role, balancing multiple roles, or simply want an easier way to manage HR.

Need to grow your team? No problem. You can add Charlie Recruit to your plan and enjoy access to our simple-yet-powerful recruitment features, templates, and applicant tracking system (ATS), all with that same great Charlie user experience.

Charlie has all the features you need, without the distracting ones that you don’t, and starts at just £5 per month. And for anything that’s not our area of focus, our integrations library allows you to sync seamlessly with best-in-class tools that handle everything from payroll to location planning.

Simplify your daily workload with the right HR software

HR software tools like HiBob, BambooHR, and Charlie save you time and streamline your processes, by automating repetitive tasks and workflows. They can also introduce new functionality to your HR team, like hiring process support and leave management, without you having to quickly grow your team.

This comparison guide should give you a solid introduction to HiBob vs BambooHR, so you can get a feel for their features, use cases, and strengths — as well as a few reasons they may not be ideal for you.

While HiBob and BambooHR are great for bigger businesses, we think there’s no better choice for UK small businesses than Charlie. Take a free trial and explore everything our self-service platform has to offer, with no limits (and no need to sit through a sales pitch). Easier HR management is only a few steps away.

Make your HR effortless