Does good, free HR software actually exist? You may be surprised that the answer is yes! Our research uncovered 11 shining examples of the best free hr software out there. Among that selection, we can highlight three right now: Deel, Homebase, and Bitrix24. These are great options for most of the use cases we've seen among our numerous expert interviews. Those three vendors would work well, for instance, whether you need something that includes international payroll, or you're a small local business. Below, you'll find more options though, so do read on!
This guide covers specific vendors and the features of their free HRIS software (Human Resource Information System). It will also teach you how to shop for free hr tools with confidence, how to go about testing several of them, booking demos if you need them, and which are good options if you'll eventually grow with the system and choose to upgrade to the paid version.
Hand picked by our HR Technology experts after product testing, user research, and much debate - enjoy!
Choosing the right free employee management software is a decision that will have an impact on virtually every member of your organization, even on potential ones. Whether it’s for onboarding, payroll management, benefits management, or time-off requests, your next Human Resources software will become an integral part of your company’s day to day operation. Consider that, at least in the US, 65% of small businesses use HR software, with 15% planning on doing so in the next one or two years.
But what if you’re on a budget and can’t flesh out a high fee for every user just yet? Thinking of companies in this scenario, we decided to put together a list of 11 HR software solutions that have a completely operational free version. These are mostly not free trials, but free software options that you can use for unlimited time and for a wide variety of HR purposes. They’re also tools that we would use ourselves and have a strong reputation with the HR managers in several industries that we've interviewed.
We're also crowdsourcing data on HRIS pricing through a survey that's anonymous and takes only two minutes. Anyone who helps out the community by filling it out will get access to the entire data set!
We take research seriously. To make sure we’re offering our readers the very best solutions in a given software category, we are methodical, rigorous, and expansive in our research. We consult with HR professionals, vendors, and industry experts. We cut through the noise to bring you a carefully curated list of vendors, along with other essential information, to help you find the right software platform for your business.
Here’s how we chose who makes the cut:
Product: We believe in gaining a comprehensive understanding of a product before we recommend it, so we start by getting to know the software. Whenever possible, we meet with a senior executive (CEO or Head of Product) for a demo and Q&A. We also test the product ourselves to make sure it has a solid UI, intuitive workflows, and the features to make it a best-in-class offering.
User feedback: We go straight to the source and compile feedback on user experience. Real-world input supports our commitment to diligence in our software evaluation methods and the products we recommend. Keeping up with the everyday experience of HR pros also puts new vendors on our radar, and it keeps us close to our community so we can better connect the right products to the right people.
Financial metrics: We are certified finance nerds, so we use all the data we can get our hands on to make selections for our guides. We comb through data for concrete statistics like retention rates, growth, profitability, and scalability. We evaluate the bottom line of each product because we know making a software purchase can put your reputation on the line.
Best for a use case: Software is never a one-size-fits-all product. Sometimes the best solution is free or cheap. Other times it’s the one that is best for global companies or the one that’s sized right for early-stage startups. Keeping this in mind, we include solutions across the spectrum so our readers can find the best fit for their unique needs.
Here's more detail if you want to read more about how we research vendors. Our dedicated staff writers rely on hard data, impartial experts, and user feedback to ensure our reviews are helpful, truthful, and hopefully a pleasure to read!
We track thousands of HR Tech solutions, here are the best free HR software platforms as of 2023.
Why we love it
:
Deel recently launched their free HRIS which comes with many features you may only find in a more robust system such as 1:1's, pulse surveys, and more.
Deel
Review:
If you're looking for a free HR software suite, this may be the best fit. Deel's free HRIS is a great new addition to this global payroll company's offering. No, it's not going to have all the bells and whistles of a $10/employee/mo solution. And, it's new so will be buggy, we're sure.
That said, Deel has a long track record of putting together great solutions in the very complex world of paying international contractors/employees. It's not surprising that they are offering their HRIS for free either. This is a great way to lock customers into their payroll offering, where they make more than enough money to stay afloat.
Overall, we'd recommend taking a look at this solution, especially if you're a global team that will need help with payroll/immigration/compliance in the future.
Deel
Customers:
Deel
Pricing:
Pricing for Deel's HRIS is completely free! Here's how they support this offering through payroll:
A cool thing about Deel is that you can sign up for free and play around with the tool, not being charged until you pay your first team member. Once you do, pricing for Deel will vary as follows:
Best For
This is a great solution for companies that need a free HRIS, and may want to expand globally (or already have a global team). We see more and more teams starting remote first, and this is really an ideal solution for them.
Why we love it
:
Homebase was built to manage hourly workers and keep track of their work. They're also used for hiring, onboarding, HR & compliance, health & safety checks, and labor cost controls.
Homebase
Review:
This is a comprehensive HR tool that specializes in hourly work. While their time tracking tools are quite refined, their free version also offers team messaging, an app for employees, a hiring tool, and integrations with POS & payroll software. Their basic plan is free for unlimited employees, as long as the team is limited to one location.
Homebase
Customers:
PokPok Restaurants, D'Amore's Pizza, Stella Taco, Blush Tea & Coffee, Legacy Farms
PokPok Restaurants, D'Amore's Pizza, Stella Taco, Blush Tea & Coffee, Legacy Farms
Homebase
Pricing:
After the Basic free plan, Homebase starts at $14 per month.
After the Basic free plan, Homebase starts at $14 per month.
Best For
Homebase is used by a wide array of small businesses in several industries, from restaurants and bars to retail, health, and hospitality.
Why we love it
:
With an HRMS plan that's free for up to 50 employees, Freshteam offers quite a few features for HR and recruitment.
Freshteam
Review:
This product from Freshworks, a business software developer from California, is an all-encompassing HR management solution specifically targeted for growing businesses. Freshteam can handle your human resources experience from job postings and applicant tracking all the way to features like an employee directory and time off management. We found the employee profiles a breeze to edit, since the user interface is quite intuitive and everything is clearly labeled. As mentioned, their Sprout version is completely free for up to 50 employees.
A limit to consider for recruitment efforts, however, is that the free plan is limited to 3 active job postings. That being said, you still get most of the ATS features, a basic HRIS, and the time-off tool. This is also accesible via the mobile app.
Freshteam
Customers:
Freshteam is trusted by businesses such as SAP, Nissan, Daimler, JCDecaux, and EnergyCasino.
Freshteam is one of the most widely used HR suites out there with over 7,000 customers including Monster, PharmEasy, Ocado, Reaktor, Nissan, SAP, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Freshteam
Pricing:
After the completely free plan, which has a user limit of 50, Freshteam starts at $1.20 per user, plus a $71 platform fee, all billed monthly. This includes more features, such as unlimited employee documents, job board integrations, time-off policies, and more.
Freshteam has 4 pricing plans. When billed annually, they cost as follows:
Best For
Why we love it
:
The all-in-one platform for deskless employees also has a free version for small businesses. If you’re tackling human resources with a high number of deskless employees, Connecteam is an essential tool to consider.
Connecteam
Review:
Founded in 2014, Connecteam is one of the top HR apps for the management of deskless workers. They saw an opportunity in the fact that only 20% of the world’s workforce perform their tasks at a desk, yet the overwhelming majority of the HR management tools out there— and that we’ve seen over the years— focus on white collar employees and the like.
So, if you’re looking for a straightforward yet powerful and intuitive tool for managing employees that may not even have an email address (and has a free plan!) Connecteam is a tool you should demo.
From the Connecteam mobile app (iOS and Android), HR managers can handle tasks like staff scheduling, attendance management, timesheets, training, employee onboarding, and much more. Workers can interact with their side of this via their mobile device as well, where they can create an account with nothing but a phone number.
Now, all this being said, Connecteam is a great tool for HR in general, used by many desk-based companies as well. For instance, among the users we interviewed for this piece, we had HR managers from a data migration company (Relokia), and an IT services firm (PhotoAiD).
Connecteam
Customers:
Nike, Herbalife, Billabong, Footlocker, Mason Construction, American Eagle, McDonald’s, and many more.
Connecteam
Pricing:
Connecteam’s free plan is geared towards small businesses, since it allows up to 10 users only. It’s free for life and includes features like the time clock, shift planning, checklists, as well as task and document management.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that, should your team grow beyond 10 individuals, Connecteam’s plans are modestly priced and include more features as you level up. Also, each paid plan has a 14-day free trial you can take. For more information on their paid plans, and Connecteam in general, we recommend checking out our full review.
Connecteam’s pricing can range from free-for-life to up to $159 per month. Final numbers will vary depending on the number of users and modules you choose. To give you an idea, here’s an overview of each plan within the operations module:
Connecteam’s payment structure is fixed for the first 50 employees you add. Once you add more, there would be an extra payment of $1.5 per additional employee per month.
These pricing options are yearly, where you save 18%, but you can also opt for month-to-month payments. They also offer enterprise pricing with more features and a personal account manager. Each paid plan also has the option of a 14-day free trial.
Best For
SMBs with up to 10 employees, with most of them being deskless workers.
Why we love it
:
Zoho People offers a 360° solution for HR teams. It's fit and scalable for many company sizes but they do have a free forever plan for very small teams. It includes features like time and attendance, performance management, an LMS, and more.
Zoho People
Review:
Zoho is a software company that makes everything from CRM to bookkeeping tools. Naturally, they also offer a cloud-based HRMS that’s bound to check most boxes in any HR manager’s requirement list. However, their free plan has a 5-user cap and includes only the basic HR functions.
Zoho People
Customers:
Some of the companies that use Zoho people are ZPE Systems, Cloudfronts Technologies, Zomato, SpiceJet, and Foresight CFO.
Some of the companies that use Zoho people are ZPE Systems, Cloudfronts Technologies, Zomato, SpiceJet, and Foresight CFO.
Zoho People
Pricing:
Zoho People is free for up to 5 users. After that, it has 4 plans that are priced as follows:
Zoho People is free for up to 5 users. After that, it has 4 plans that are priced as follows:
Best For
Zoho People has plans for many sorts of organizations, even offering custom pricing for those with more than 500 employees. The product is affordable enough to be used by small businesses and robust enough to handle the complex and scalable needs of large companies. Even the more expensive Zoho People plans can check all the HRMS boxes without breaking the bank.
Why we love it
:
As one of the most well-known and trusted names in human resources tech, BambooHR is worthy of consideration for their many perks and flexible pricing. They offer a free trial as opposed to a free version, but it’s worth checking out as their custom pricing can be quite reasonable.
BambooHR
Review:
This list had to include one of the top names in human resources software. Unlike all the previous contenders, BambooHR doesn’t have a free version that you can use for unlimited time. However, they’re worth mentioning because they offer a free trial of their all-in-one software and then go out of their way to find a version that will suit you. Before they come up with a personalized quote that will fit your budget, however, they are also likely to extend your free trial upon request or even give you a free demo of the advanced features.
BambooHR
Customers:
Among the 20,000+ companies that use BambooHR, you’d find names like Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana, Change.org, University of Maryland, Grammarly, Stance, Postmates, Wistia, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ZipRecruiter.
Among the 20,000+ companies that use BambooHR, you’d find names like Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana, Change.org, University of Maryland, Grammarly, Stance, Postmates, Wistia, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ZipRecruiter.
BambooHR
Pricing:
Pricing is not disclosed upfront, but they do offer a free trial of their all-in-one software and then go out of their way to find a version that will suit you. Before they come up with a personalized quote that will align with your budget, however, they are also likely to extend your free trial upon request or even give you a free demo of the advanced features.
Pricing is not disclosed upfront, but they do offer a free trial of their all-in-one software and then go out of their way to find a version that will suit you. Before they come up with a personalized quote that will align with your budget, however, they are also likely to extend your free trial upon request or even give you a free demo of the advanced features.
Best For
BambooHR is a good fit for companies looking for a very customizable HR product, with pricing that reflects their needs. It’s also popular among teams that are partially or even fully remote.
Why we love it
:
Bitrix24 is a hugely popular vendor with a massive array of tools for businesses and organizations. Some of their HR products are free, and for the same plan you can get several other business apps too.
Bitrix24
Review:
While not solely HR-focused, Bitrix24 is used by more than 8,000,000 organizations all over the world. Nevertheless, the free plan also adds countless other features from the other Bitrix products. While more of a collaboration SaaS platform with a massive variety of tools like CRM, project management, and even a website builder, Bitrix24 also offers a highly reliable and intuitive HR information system. As of 2021, it includes over 25 HR tools. From those, several such as company structure, employee directory, and company knowledge base are included in the free version for unlimited users.
Bitrix24
Customers:
Saigon Newport Corporation, Properters, Endelza International
Saigon Newport Corporation, Properters, Endelza International
Bitrix24
Pricing:
Best For
Companies looking for free HR tools with a bundle of other apps for business.
Why we love it
:
Oddo offers a massive variety of HR & business solutions that can cover many needs for a company. Plus, they do it in several languages.
Odoo
Review:
The interesting thing about Odoo is that they divide nearly all their feature offerings into stand-alone applications. Any of these is free for unlimited users and unlimited time until you either need more space or add another application. This is an excellent choice if you only need, say, time off tracking or a payroll app, and can be quite cost-friendly if you require only a few additional applications. It’s also comforting to know that, with Odoo, you only pay for what you use.
Odoo
Customers:
Odoo is used by companies like Southern Wine Group, BizTech College, and XB Press Buyer.
Odoo is used by companies like Southern Wine Group, BizTech College, and XB Press Buyer.
Odoo
Pricing:
Best For
Companies looking to fulfill a specific use case for free, or those that would like many of their business tech tools to come from the same vendor.
Why we love it
:
OrangeHRM takes the time to understand your business and tend to be flexible enough to find an iteration of their solution that fits you. Their tools are used by thousands of users worldwide.
Orange HRM
Review:
This is one of the most trusted and more established names in human resource management software. They offer all the necessary features to run an HR department in the modern era, except for payroll management. Their open-source version is completely free and quite scalable, but it does require you to manage your own servers.
Orange HRM
Customers:
Thousands of companies use one version or another of OrangeHRM. Some remarkable names include Johnny Rockets, Duke University, and RedHat.
Thousands of companies use one version or another of OrangeHRM. Some remarkable names include Johnny Rockets, Duke University, and RedHat.
Orange HRM
Pricing:
Best For
Why we love it
:
We love Sentrifugo because it is a fully-fledged open-source HRMS that's completely free, making it a good choice for small and medium sized businesses.
Sentrifugo
Review:
Sentrifugo is a great option if your company would like to pursue the open-source route, but this HRMS is more clearly aimed at small-to-medium-sized businesses. It’s completely free, except for the fact that, since it’s open-source, you have to maintain your own servers. That being said, the Sentrifugo platform is easy to configure and extremely customizable.
Sentrifugo
Customers:
Sentrifugo
Pricing:
Sentrifugo is completely free, but you need to take into consideration the cost of hosting it yourself.
Sentrifugo is completely free, but you need to take into consideration the cost of hosting it yourself.
Best For
SMBs that would like an open-source HRMS.
Why we love it
:
WebHR is completely free for teams with 5 employees or less. A perk of this product is that if you decide to upgrade, you can do it on a per-module basis instead of having to buy a whole suite.
WebHR
Review:
While not the prettiest-looking software out there, WebHR is a good solution for SMEs that need a social tool and would like to be able to add or delete modules as they go. WebHR is free if you have less than 5 employees and, depending on the modules added, it can be as little as $1 a month per staff member. The base modules that it bundles together are enough for most HR departments and include a built-in messenger and discussion forum. Other modules such as Payroll and Recruitment can be added for meager fees that don’t exceed $2 per employee per month.
WebHR
Customers:
According to their website, some of the companies that use WebHR include Nissan, WaterAid, zameen.com, and Budget.
According to their website, some of the companies that use WebHR include Nissan, WaterAid, zameen.com, and Budget.
WebHR
Pricing:
WebHR's pricing after the free version depends on the amount of modules you add. As mentioned above, it can be as little as $2 per user per month for all the base modules.
WebHR's pricing after the free version depends on the amount of modules you add. As mentioned above, it can be as little as $2 per user per month for all the base modules.
Best For
Companies looking for a free tool that would like the option of upgrading at any time to be low-cost.
The benefits of using HR management software are substantial, but there are many common mistakes when buying and implementing a new tool that you should consider at every step of your search. We list them below along with ways to avoid them:
The main benefit of having the right HR software at the core of your department is that everyday processes can be streamlined or even automated, freeing up time to focus on more strategic efforts. If an HR manager is not consumed by repetitive tasks like filing paperwork or keeping track of PTO balances, he or she can focus instead on finding ways to increase employee satisfaction, improving retention rates, or working with other managers to find the best possible fit for each opening.
In more quantitative terms, recent research from Greenhouse, an Applicant Tracking System, shows that automating the onboarding process can reduce the time usually invested by 50%. If you consider the hourly rate of this HR professional at $33 USD per hour and contemplate that an average onboarding takes 11 hours and is normally done for 30 new employees per year, you’re talking about $5,450 in annual savings thanks to the automation.
All of the software that we’ve discussed here is completely free in some form or another. Some of them put a user cap of either 5 or 50 employees, while others have free unlimited basic plans, or cost nothing because they are open source.
Below, you can compare each of these options according to their pricing model to see just how free are they, what’s their catch, and which one does fit your needs:
In case you’re new to HR software, what kind of features should you prioritize in your pick? Although these are free, it might not make sense to base your selection solely on the number of features, while certain options could work better in regard to user experience and integrations, for instance, even if their feature list is shorter.
HR management software can be the difference between overstaffing the HR department, perhaps even the company, or making all HR processes as productive and efficient as they can be. However, to achieve that ideal scenario, your HR tool of choice should have all the features you need or it’s going to be back to square one.
In that spirit, let’s take a look at the common features that most HR professionals consider must-haves:
So let’s say you’ve selected 1 or 3 options for your new HR management software that are likely to fulfill your business needs. Then, the next step would be to give them all a try and see for yourself which one works best. Now, while most of the tools we’ve listed here are extremely easy to get started with (as in, just create a user, a password, and use the web version), most of them also give you the option of requesting a demo.
Whether you’re asking for a demo or just using the software for the first time, it’s wise to step into it with a game plan and some key questions in mind. For this, you should first decide the needs of your organization, the key tasks and HR processes that need to be automated or managed, and any particular integrations you may require.
After doing such a self-analysis, you should come up with a list of questions like the following.
Once you select the HR system that is right for you, the implementation process will vary depending on their operation. If you’re talking about an open-source solution like OrangeHRM or Sentrifugo, the process will likely entail a lot of communication and collaboration with their team. On the far other end of the intricacy spectrum, a cloud-based tool like Freshteam or SnapHRM gets you up and running within minutes. Each vendor page will explain their particular process in much more detail, and many will call or email you shortly after you’ve set up an account or asked for a demo in order to address questions or solve any issues you might be having.
If you'd like to read up a bit more on what to do after implementing a new HR tech solution, including proved processes and tips from an expert, we recently put together a brief guide to an HR software implementation.
Free HR software is any tool or solution that aims to improve the functionality of a company’s HR team.
HRIS stands for Human Resource Information System.
HCM stands for Human Capital Management.
HRMS stands for Human Resource Management System.
On a surface level, there isn’t a huge difference between HRIS, HCM, and HRMS. They are all people management systems for companies. However, there can be some subtle differences. An HRIS is an all-encompassing in-house software for managing people, procedures and policies. An HCM has all the features of an HRIS, but often includes talent management capabilities. An HRMS has all of the features of an HRIS and HCM, but often includes payroll and time and labor management capabilities.
Reasons to use free HR software include: saving time with automation, improving employee experience, improving employee performance, increased compliance, better organization, streamlined hiring, better business intelligence, and workforce management.
There are many key features of free HR software, such as: employee self-service portal, time and attendance management, onboarding capability, custom reporting, benefits administration, employee database, recruiting functionality, training and development management, company document storage, and compensation management.
If you’ve made it this far, then it’s likely that you already have a couple of options in mind but aren’t quite sure which free software to settle on yet. The best advice we can offer here is to set up an account with them and try the tool for yourself. You really can’t tell if some of the features and user experience will work exactly as you’d like them to until you start using them.
Fortunately, these are all free and take minutes to set up, so don’t feel bad or awkward about creating an account with several vendors, even talking to some of their sales representatives, and then sticking to one choice. In the end, this decision will probably shape a good part of every day of the following years for your HR department, so it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
If you're in need of a spreadsheet to help you organize this process, be sure to try our HR & Recruitment software buyer organizer. It's free ;)
Lastly, remember to check with each of your internal stakeholders, making sure that their questions are addressed as well, and even demoing the product with them. The decision will be much wiser if it's enriched by the input of the whole team.
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