Best Small Business HR Software: Top 5 Reviewed for 2025

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April saw a new set of HR laws come into effect in the UK off the back of the Employment Rights Bill. It’s becoming even trickier for business owners to stay on top of the ever-shifting legislation, which is why it’s crucial find the best HR and payroll software for your business.

Best small business HR software for 2025:

BambooHR – Customisation for larger teams with complex HR structures
Rippling – An all-in-one platform for growing businesses
Breathe HR – A cost-effective option for early stage startups
BrightHR – An easy-to-use platform for small brick-and-mortar businesses
Deel – Tools to help tech businesses that are hiring global talent

Click the links above to compare or check out pricing for the above HR software platforms.

I’ve researched and tested the top HR software brands to find the best options for small businesses, comparing them based on pricing, features, integrations, and support. Crucially, I’ll also explain how each platform differs, and whether it’s right for your business.

Key takeaways

The best HR software will depend on your business’s size and needs: microbusinesses will benefit from the cost-effective pricing of Breathe, but more complex companies will need to pay more for an advanced platform like BambooHR.
You’ll need to consider setup and onboarding: will your staff be able to learn the software quickly? And can it integrate with your current workflow, and your existing accounting and payroll software?
To simplify your workflow, you could consider all-in-one software that combines HR and payroll, such as Rippling.

This article will cover:

BambooHR: customisation for larger teams with complex HR structures
Rippling: an all-in-one platform for growing businesses
Breathe HR: a cost-effective option for early stage startups
BrightHR: an easy-to-use platform for small brick-and-mortar businesses
Deel: tools to help tech businesses hiring global talent
What to look for in an HR software

The top HR systems at a glance:

Swipe right to see more

FEATURED PROVIDER
Employment Hero	BambooHR	Rippling	Breathe HR	BrightHR	Deel
Verdict All-in-One Platform: Combines HR, payroll, recruitment, and employee engagement into a single, AI-powered system.	Verdict BambooHR is a customisable HR platform for larger businesses with unique HR processes.	Verdict An all-in-one solution with great integrations, this platform is tailor-made for HR teams who prioritise convenience and efficiency.	Verdict BreatheHR is a simple and affordable HR software with a very low entry price-point; ideal for startups.	Verdict BrightHR is a user-friendly system that’s ideal for day-to-day HR needs. I recommend it for retail and hospitality businesses.	Verdict Deel offers a free HR, but its real value lies in its paid-for payroll services, making it ideal for tech companies with a global workforce.

Why should you trust our list of the best HR systems?

SME owners usually start small, working on their own or with one or two employees. But as you scale, your HR needs will become more complex, which is why you also need a tool that can meet the needs of your growing teams. Here are five features I prioritised in my hunt to find the best small business HR software:

Pricing – you will have a software budget that determines how affordable each option is. I reviewed each HR system for its pricing, billing model, and ability to scale if a user wants to add more team members to the platform in the future.
Features – SMEs need a tool that can take care of all core HR functions (such as booking holidays or submitting appraisals) before they search for sophisticated functions, such as payroll.
Usability – transparency is the most important word in HR. I looked for platforms that offer employee self-service portals, empowering staff to complete their own HR tasks, input data, and read company updates.
Help and support – I prioritised software products with accessible helplines and a friendly customer support team you can contact in case of an issue.
Customisation – no two workforces are the same, which is why finding a tailorable product that reflects your unique people process and company culture is key.

BambooHR: customisation for larger teams with complex HR structures

This view of the BambooHR portal demonstrates how customisable the platform is; you’re invited to ‘add your own’ logo to the top left corner / Image source: bamboohr.com

Suitable if:

You want a platform that can be fully customised to your business
You'd like to be able to measure and improve employee satisfaction
You want support via email, call, or chat (available Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm)

Not suitable if:

You're a businesses with limited IT resources (it can be complicated to setup)
You want a transparent pricing structure
You don't want to have to install a separate payroll system (Its payroll tools are exclusive to US customers)

Who is BambooHR best for?

I’d recommend BambooHR to more complex firms that need a lot of control and customisation, such as professional services. It has lots of ready-made integrations, so it can be fully embedded within your organisation, which is helpful if you’re an established business with lots of set processes and tools in place.

What are BambooHR’s strengths?

BambooHR users have full control over their HR processes. The app’s settings menu lets you edit access levels, approvals, email alerts, and holidays. This benefits those with complex HR processes, such as financial teams with lengthier onboarding and vetting needs, the most.

I’m also happy to report that you won’t need to look at any ugly provider logos in BambooHR; users can add their own brand logo and colour scheme to their portal. BambooHR has also launched an AI-powered assistant: Ask BambooHR. This is designed to be used by your employees to get quick answers to HR queries. It can be used anytime, freeing up your HR staff.

BambooHR also has an Open API, which stands for Application Programming Interface: basically, you won’t need to worry about whether BambooHR can seamlessly connect with your payroll software; it can link with any API plus 120 specialist partners (although this is not as many as Rippling’s 600).

Are there any limitations?

While the complexity is great for large outfits, if you just want something that can manage basic HR tasks, BambooHR could quickly become confusing. My research also finds that BambooHR is not a low budget option. So for those wanting a more basic, user-friendly option, I’d recommend Rippling or BrightHR instead.

BambooHR’s pricing

Users will pay a monthly flat fee to access BambooHR. Pricing is not published online, which isn’t ideal for new firms who want a clear pricing structure, and we’re aware from SME users that it sits at the more expensive end of the pricing spectrum.

There are three different cost tiers: Core, Pro and Elite. It’s important to keep in mind that you’ll need to upgrade to Bamboo Pro for performance management features.

Rippling: an all-in-one platform for growing businesses

This screenshot of the Rippling dashboard illustrates the range of modules available in Rippling’s vast library of add-ons / Image source: rippling.com

Suitable if:

You want a simple, easy-to-use layout
You want to integrate with common business tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Google Workspace
You want to manage payroll for employees in multiple countries (making Rippling a good option if you're hiring contractors from abroad)

Not suitable if:

You want quick support from an actual human (when I tested the live chat function myself, I wasn't able to speak to a person)
You want extensive customisation (its Core plan does not allow you to create custom fields on employee profiles)
You want transparent pricing

Who is Rippling best for?

I’d recommend Rippling as a strong option for scaling businesses that want to be able to manage everything relating to people in one easy-to-use platform. Particularly if you don’t yet have a designated HR manager, and you’re a CEO (or other C-Suite executive) who needs to take care of HR yourself while the company scales up.

What are Rippling’s strengths?

Rippling Core spans essential HR tasks like workforce management and workflows for automations, which is useful if you don’t have a specialist people team in place yet. To get advanced features such as payroll, you’ll need to pay extra for Rippling’s add-ons, making it a scalable platform for SMEs – affordable in the short-term, but you’re able to invest more if your HR tasks become more demanding.

‘All-in-one’ tools can be overwhelming with poorly designed interfaces, but I found Rippling easy to navigate, and its layout was amongst the simplest to use. Everything is laid out with plenty of white space, and all of its functions are laid out in the sidebar. I can’t overstate how important an organised dashboard is for managing payroll, employee benefits, and IT under one roof.

Rippling is a user-friendly platform, but for those who may be lacking in confidence it offers Rippling University. This is a catalogue of online resources, where you can learn about functions of products through modular courses. It even has simulators so you can perform actions in a no-risk environment, so you can test things out without the pressure of an HR-mishap.

Are there any limitations?

Users have reported frustrations with Rippling’s customer service team, which can be slow to respond. It also doesn’t offer much help with onboarding. It’s also worth noting that Deel has more advanced compliance and assessment features for new hires than Rippling, which would make it a more suitable tool for those businesses that expect to undergo a big recruitment drive this year.

Rippling’s pricing

Rippling doesn’t publicly list its pricing, instead it can provide you directly with a quote. It also has multiple add-ons that you can use to concentrate on a particular area of HR (similar to BambooHR’s customisable tools, but a bit easier to install).

Breathe HR: a cost-effective option for early stage startups

Breathe HR says there’s more to life than admin. Its dashboard layout is designed to relay HR information at a glance to save time / Source: breathehr.com

Suitable if:

You're looking for a budget-friendly solution
You want to give your employees access to a self-service portal
You want a free trial before you buy

Not suitable if:

You're looking to scale beyond an SME in the future (Breathe caters to a max of 200 employees)
You want a range of customisable features (particularly when it comes to performance reviews)
You want phone support (limited to a webform, chatbot, and knowledge centre)

Who is Breathe HR best for?

Breathe HR is aimed at small firms with basic HR needs at an entry-level price point. Pricing starts from £22 per month for a team of 10, and it doesn’t scrimp on features, making it a solid option for cash-strapped startups.

What are Breathe HR’s strengths?

Breathe HR might be on the simple end of the spectrum, but it still comes with a pretty decent amount of features. It provides all the essential performance management tools – including organising appraisals and setting objectives.

Even on the Micro tier, users can enter custom fields to build bespoke HR reports that reflect your unique processes. Let’s say a business has an Employee of the Month policy: managers could enter this column into their Breathe HR annual report to be shown the 12 winning employee profiles at the end of the year.

With Breathe HR, you get what you pay for. Certainly, it’s the most cost-effective HR software for startups, and additional modules (optional extras on top of the basic software) can be added on if you want more than just basic HR capabilities. I’ll explain more about this in the pricing section below.

Are there any limitations?

There are some features that only larger teams can utilise, which could be an issue if you’re not planning on a hiring spree just yet. Strangely, this includes Time Logs, which can only be accessed by teams of more than 11 people despite this being a valuable feature for agencies.

Breathe HR’s pricing

Interestingly, Breathe HR’s pricing is calculated per business, not per employee, so larger teams aren’t penalised with higher costs. However, its tiers are capped with user limits, so you will need to upgrade at a certain point:

Teams with 1-10 employees will pay £22 plus VAT per month (Breathe HR Micro)
Teams with 11-20 employees will pay £39 plus VAT per month (Breathe HR Starter)
Teams with 21-50 employees will pay £89 plus VAT per month (Breathe HR Regular)
Teams with 51-100 employees will pay £159 plus VAT per month (Breathe HR Pro)
Teams with 101-150 employees will pay £369 plus VAT per month (Breathe HR Premium)
Teams with 151-200 employees will pay £525 plus VAT per month (Breathe HR Plus)

Similar to Rippling, you can purchase add-ons like Time and Attendance (an additional £100 per month) or Recruitment Tracking (an extra £21 per month) to build the perfect platform for your HR operations. That helps to keep costs down in the early stages without limiting your growth.

BrightHR: an easy-to-use platform for small brick-and-mortar businesses

BrightHR gives managers real-time updates on employees, offering an at-a-glance view of the workforce / Source: brighthr.com

Suitable if:

You want onboarding support to help with set-up
You want an app that offers real-time updates on who’s in, off, or on a break
You want a mobile app that employees can use to login and see next week's rota from anywhere

Not suitable if:

You're a smaller team trying to keep costs as low as possible
You have complex HR needs (Limited customisation available compared to BambooHR)
You want help via live chat

Who is BrightHR best for?

BrightHR excels as a user-friendly system that prioritises staff management above all else, which crucially can save managers and admin staff at shops, bars, pubs, and restaurants a huge amount of time each week.

What are BrightHR’s strengths?

Many HR brands brag about sophisticated interfaces and big feature libraries. But for retail and hospitality firms, most of which operate offline, this can be more of hindrance than a help. When you need to train a large team of staff to use it, an easy HR system is the most important factor, and this is where BrightHR shines.

The BrightHR platform is a breeze to use. I think its rota planner is the standout feature for retail and hospitality firms – it offers preset tables that you are able to populate with shifts for the upcoming week or month. When managers add staff to a timeslot, they will be notified and are able to accept or decline the proposed shift. The holiday planner takes a similar approach.

BrightHR is great if you want to empower employees. Through the platform, staff can claim ‘open shifts’ if they’re on a zero-hours contract. Workers also have access to the Blip App on both desktop and mobile, which they can use to clock in and out of a shift. Managers can then view this information to track performance and monitor sickness and lateness.

Are there any limitations?

BrightHR doesn’t perform brilliantly for benefit management, so I don’t recommend it to firms with a focus on improving employee engagement; BambooHR would be the better option here. There’s also no live chat support from BrightHR, so if you want quick answers to HR questions, Deel’s new AI agent is a better bet.

BrightHR’s pricing

BrightHR Core‘s pricing depends on the exact number of your employees. As your team grows, this cost drops. For example:

Teams with three employees will pay £11.20 plus VAT per employee, per month
Teams with over 10 employees will pay £10.70 plus VAT per employee, per month
Teams with over 40 employees will pay £6.30 plus VAT per employee, per month
Teams with over 60 employees will pay £4.80 plus VAT per employee, per month

There’s also the option to add on BrightHR’s Health and Safety module, which offers access to risk assessment and accident reporting.

Deel: tools to help tech businesses that are hiring global talent

Deel lays out all the important information you need to know about your employees, as well as useful extras like what equipment they’re using and which office they are based in / Source: deel.com

Suitable if:

You want support from 24/7 live chat
You want virtually boundaryless HR management (Deel can be run in 150+ countries)
You want reassurance from excellent security

Not suitable if:

You want a quick sign-up process (you need to book a demo before you can purchase the software)
You want to keep spending low (its best features are paid add-ons)
You need specialist HR tools (for example, applicant tracking or other recruitment features)

Who is Deel best for?

Deel’s international payroll services make it a simple fit for businesses that hire remote workers or contractors from abroad. IT businesses or SaaS providers often boast a global presence, and so they need an HR platform with a focus on payroll and compliance, which is Deel’s strong suit.

What are Deels’s strengths?

I think tech firms will get the most out of Deel’s premium add-on services, such as Deel EoR (Employer of Record) for remote work contracts, and Deel Contractor for employing local workers. They’re costly but, for specific uses, they’re invaluable.

The platform’s strong data security measures, such as 24/7 SIEM SOC monitoring, are also a significant advantage for handling sensitive employee data. These features make Deel a valuable tool for tech businesses looking to ensure compliance with international regulations.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of Deel’s recently launched AI Support Agent. The Deel AI Support Agent is available to answer questions 24/7, so for tech firms that operate around the clock, you can be reassured that you’ll be able to get all hours support.

Are there any limitations?

Deel might not be the most cost-effective solution for microbusinesses, who will be more suited to a software like Breathe HR.

Deel’s pricing

Deel HR’s core plan, Deel Engage, is $20 per employee, per month (Deel’s prices are only given in USD). As explained above, SMEs will be best off upgrading to Deel Global Payroll. Although this isn’t cheap – pricing starts from $29 per employee, per month – it’s worth the investment for tech firms that want to offer attractive compensation and hire global talent.

What to look for in an HR software

I’ve rummaged through the vast and confusing HR market to pull out the best five options that I would recommend to UK SMEs, based on specific criteria that I know are critical to small businesses.

Once you know the best brands out there, it’s time to judge how well they align with your specific business needs – and I don’t just mean budget. Here are six things to think about before you buy HR software:

1. Does it fit in with your company targets?

If you’ll be hiring this year, a scalable platform such as Breathe HR is suitable. Are you planning to expand abroad? Deel can support international payroll. Ask yourself: do you think you’ll be using the system in 12 months’ time?

2. How easily could your HR team use it?

Steep learning curves can send your software plans crashing down to Earth. Think about how intuitive the software is, whether it is easy to navigate, and if the provider offers adequate training. Without a helping hand, your people team might come unstuck.

3. Will it integrate with your existing tools?

If your firm is reliant on one business tool, find HR software that integrates with it. This will save time and money, plus make data migration much simpler. Another area to consider here is customisation. Can the platform be tailored to match your unique HR processes?

4. Can you commit to it long-term?

Consider the total cost of ownership, including licensing fees, maintenance costs, and potential upgrades. Are the contract terms reasonable and flexible? If your cash flow is unpredictable, locking yourself into a £500-a-month contract is not the savviest move.

5. What support is there?

Given how important HR is, a system glitch or error could be catastrophic. Vendors should provide support channels, such as live chat and phone support. This is also vital for onboarding and implementation. A friendly help desk can eliminate bumps in the roadmap.

6. How easily could your employees use it?

Self-service features, such as updating information or requesting time off, have saved HR teams hours in admin. An easy-to-use employee portal also ensures a positive experience for staff, which can have a direct impact on how they view the company as a whole.

Jump back up to read our HR software reviews:

BambooHR: customisation for larger teams with complex HR structures
Rippling: an all-in-one platform for growing businesses
Breathe HR: a cost-effective option for early stage startups
BrightHR: an easy-to-use platform for small brick-and-mortar businesses
Deel: tools to help tech businesses hiring global talent
What to look for in an HR software

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