BambooHR has remained one of the top names in HR software for years. They have won numerous awards for customer support, ease of use, and good value. Their numerous features can be flexibly packaged according to your needs.
Ratings
Ease of Use
Best For
Key Differentiator
Price
Free Trial
PROS
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing is the way they roll. You can pick out one or two packages and pick other modules as add-ons based on your needs.
- Very simple and straightforward tool, easy to use.
CONS
- Payroll is only available for US-based employees
- Customer support is only offered during US business hours.
- Some modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
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BambooHR tries to accommodate one or another version of their technology to fit your business. Their HR platform spans across the employee lifecycle as they have tons of other functionalities (like a full ATS or a performance management module) in addition to the core HRIS offer.
They do offer the core HR part as a stand-alone product. The way they package features can be flexible. For instance, they have a small business package called Essentials.
This package covers all the HR Management features like employee records, benefit tracking, standard reporting, document storage and more. It also has the employee self-service module, which is where workers can manage their time off, consult the employee directory and org chart, see a company calendar, and do all this from either the desktop version or the mobile app.
Further, Modules like payroll, time tracking, and performance management are offered as add-ons. If you need more, you can opt for the Advantage package. This plan includes onboarding and offboarding features, the Applicant Tracking System, advanced reporting, company branding, access to the open API, satisfaction surveys, and much more.
The flexibility of building out your plan like this is part of what keeps drawing one HR team after another to the tool. Arguably, it’s also what makes BambooHR one of the most popular HR software products of all time.
The product itself is fairly easy to use and figure out on your own. It’s one of the most simple tools to navigate that packs so many features. At SSR, we’ve demoed the tool, tried it for free, and even worked at companies where it was the HRIS of choice. We can say it’s rare to have to consult any help articles in order to make use of the tool. You just log in, do what you have to do, and trust that your colleagues will be notified.
Take the process of requesting time off, for instance. A worker would log in, send the request to their manager, and the manager gets an email notification. Once approved or rejected, the worker gets an email notification as well and the company calendar is updated accordingly. There’s no need for the worker to log back into the tool.
Lastly, BambooHR also have numerous amenities like an app marketplace of HR/recruiting vendors that integrate with their system, an HR glossary, and host HR events on occasion.
As the HR leader I use BambooHR for everything!! I store all of our important documents and records in Bamboo. I do all of our recruiting, offer letters, and onboarding through HR. Once we hire an employee they are given their own login information to be able to access the org chart as well as put their PTO in. I also run reports to track everyone's PTO, promotions, and other key performance indicators for employees.
- BambooHR is easy to use and train employees on. BambooHR makes it very easy to create offer letters and email templates when it comes to recruiting.
- BambooHR makes it easy to recruit and keep track of candidates, and the stages they are in in the interview process.
- The BambooHR 'how can we help button' makes it super easy when you have a problem or a question to get a resolution.
We are a small organization with roughly only 25 employees but we need a tool that could do it all. When making this decision we compared tools that could sit as an ATS system combined with an HRIS system. Not only can BambooHR fit in those factors, it can also have benefits and payroll implemented in their system if we wanted to stop using our other payroll system. We have been using BambooHR since March 2023 but I had used it at a prior organization so that was an easy decision to move forward with it.
- I wish BambooHR let you have candidate scorecards when recruiting.
- BambooHR makes it easy to create onboarding documents but it does not always simplify the packets for each job function.
- I wish BambooHR had the ability to open and close jobs more fluidly similar to Greenhouse - multiple openings in one job code for tracking purposes.
BambooHR is a great product for a small growing organization that needs a product to do it all. Because we have a limited budget we needed to find an ATS that could also onboard and fit as a people management system. I think that BambooHR is cheaper and easier to use.
When buying a tool like BambooHR I think they should consider price (this was our number one driving factor), and scalability. As we continue to grow, BambooHR will be able to grow with us.
BambooHR has evolved over the years since I last used it. They have developed their reporting capabilities, added payroll and benefits to their system, as well as created a system to organize a 'talent pool'.
BambooHR is good for a company with less than 400 employees that is looking to grow their organization, and manage current employees.
BambooHR might not be a fit for companies that are larger than 600 employees or trying to make a lot of hires at any given time.
We mainly used it for time tracking, sourcing, shortlisting, hiring, onboarding, and performance management. Besides, it has very good functionality for Compensation&Benefit and internal communication. There is no need to fill in the new hires' details manually, it is fully integrated with its ATS, and when we send out a job offer through the system the details of the new hire are automatically added. Moreover, we used it for birthday and tenure celebrations. We used Bamboohr for Engagement surveys as well. Last but not least, we customized and get periodical reports for various data that make sense for decision-making.
Firstly, I like BambooHR for its simple and user-friendly Recruitment function. Secondly, it is a great system where you can keep all of the records, even it is possible to keep the terminated employees' details as well. Thirdly, I like it for its customizable reports. I think that there is still room for further improvement in supporting clients in the Learning&Development process.
We have been using BambooHR since 2020. The previous HRIS that we used had lots of issues that we were not able to solve as it was not possible to get an answer from the support team to our inquiries. Before choosing BambooHR we defined key criteria that would support the business and analyzed other available HRISs as well. Key benefits of BambooHR for our company are lots of functionalities that support the employee life cycle in the company; a user-friendly interface; friendly and prompt support team. It has very good functionality for welcoming new hires and sending a new hire welcome package to all personnel/users.
I think there is room for further development in the Training function. It would be great to integrate the system with one of the LMS platforms or develop its own. Moreover, I think that it would be great to receive some comments or follow-up messages from each user under each announcement sent through the platform. Besides, there is not any chat room for users. That is why the companies that use BambooHR use other tools for internal communication.
Simplicity, user-friendliness, and having more functions than others.
Clients that prefer user-friendly programs should choose BambooHR. It has a very good customer support team. They are always prompt and friendly. But they should keep in their mind that this tool doesn't provide in-house payroll management.
BambooHR has some great integrations (Slack, for instance) that allow me to see when my co-workers are out of the office or even celebrating an anniversary or birthday.
It is good for startups and small-size companies that use other tools for payroll, but need a user-friendly tool that is great for time tracking, recruitment, and performance management.
Big enterprises and global big companies that have many processes in HR
I use BambooHR for onboarding and offboarding. I also administer it personally in my organization. We've been digging into the performance management piece of it. We've been able to participate in trainings sponsored by BambooHR to acquire deeper skills. Overall, BambooHR is a key aspect of our employee experience.
I like BambooHR because it's user-friendly. I also like that it's a system where you can really track important data like job titles and salary changes. Finally, I like that BambooHR is easy to use.
We bought BambooHR to establish a centralized place that could securely store our employees' data for our HR team. We also wanted to create a seamless onboarding and offboarding process. The customer service is impeccable at Bamboo and they're always very helpful. It's also very user-friendly. I've used the product personally for one year.
I wish BambooHR offered a way for us to administer stock options and 401K directly through the program. I also wish we had a dedicated account rep, which we, unfortunately, do not have at this time. I would love to see more engaging ways for our employees to be onboarded, as well.
They're different because they have a very attractive interface and the response rate of the customer service team is higher. They also tend to offer a more diverse set of program features.
I'd recommend really digging in to make sure you're taking advantage of all of the features and integrations Bamboo has to offer. Also, I'd recommend smaller companies (less than 50 people) really consider if this is a tool that's right for their size.
The training content they've offered is impeccable.
I'd say an organization of at least 50+ people.
An organization with fewer than 50 on its team.
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Many of BambooHR’s features work grandly for businesses in virtually every part of the world. However, modules like payroll, hiring & onboarding, and time tracking are certainly either thought of for US business practices or, in the case of payroll, only available for US employees. International or remote businesses looking for an HRMS to handle both HR and payroll needs would not be a good fit. Unless, that is, they use the HR part only and integrate payroll through another vendor, like one of the best international payroll providers.
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 has two feature sets. Essentials provides human resources management modules, employee self-service tools, and baseline customer support.
Advantage includes everything in Essentials but adds premium customer support, hiring and onboarding systems, an ATS, training, reporting, a job site, company branding, and access to BambooHR's partner marketplace and open API integration.
Add-ons such as time tracking, payroll, and performance management are available at additional costs.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the top features:
- People Data & Analytics: BambooHR strives to be the single and secure database where all your employee information is stored and managed. They couple that with powerful, intuitive reporting tools and a strong focus on security.
- Mobile Hiring App: One of their most-talked-about perks, their hiring app gives recruiters the ease to perform most applicant tracking tasks from their phone if needed.
- Automated onboarding: Set up tasks to new hires for them to complete at a time of their choosing.
- Introductions: BambooHR makes introductions easy with resources like customizable new-hire packets and get-to-know-you emails.
- Electronic signatures: New employees can sign the stuff they need to without stepping a foot in the office.
BambooHR also has capabilities for:
- Attendance tracking
- Benefits administration
- Compliance
- Employee communication tools
- Employee engagement
- Reporting and analytics
- Payroll
- Performance appraisal
- Time tracking
- Workforce management
- Compensation management
- Performance management tools and surveys
BambooHR has an API with lots of partnerships and an app marketplace, although these are only available from the Advantage onwards. If you do go with that plan, the platform integrates with most applicant tracking systems, as well as solutions for employee assessments, background checks, employment verification, payroll, benefits administration, ERP & accounting, training, onboarding, performance management, recognition, and more. Their marketplace keeps growing and already features a few hundred vendor integrations.
BambooHR uses per-employee, per-month pricing, varying by company size: companies with 26+ employees pay per-employee, while those with 25 or fewer pay a flat monthly rate (starting at $250).
Three plans are offered:
- Core: $10/employee/month
- Pro: $17/employee/month (Includes Core + more)
- Elite: $25/employee/month (Includes Pro + advanced features, training, and AI assistant)
Add-ons include Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time Tracking, and Employer of Record. Bundling Payroll and Benefits Administration saves 15% (U.S. employees only). Volume and non-profit discounts are available.
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.
BambooHR’s latest product enhancements reflect a continued push toward mobile accessibility, simplified task management, and greater workflow flexibility. These enhancements are unlikely to change how users perceive the platform overall, but they do reinforce BambooHR’s value as a system geared toward SMBs looking for pragmatic, incremental improvements in hiring efficiency.
Key feature changes include:
- Hiring widget in Android mobile app: Recruiters using Android devices can now monitor new applicants directly from their home screen and access the candidate list with one tap. This should improve responsiveness for hiring managers or recruiters working in the field or away from a desktop.
- Updated import tasks modal: BambooHR has introduced a redesigned interface for importing tasks, intended to streamline checklist creation during onboarding and offboarding. With this UI enhancement, admins can manage multiple hires at once or coordinate cross-departmental workflows.
- Support for up to 15 job pipeline stages: The previous 10-stage cap has been raised to 15, allowing for more granular hiring workflows. This is useful for teams that want to separate screening, interviews, assessments, and approvals into distinct stages without relying on workaround labels or notes.
Getting started with BambooHR is as easy as signing up for their free trial and then getting in touch with their team. They'll likely want to talk to you about choosing a plan that's based on your needs, and the implementation of that will vary accordingly.
BambooHR does more of a self-service approach to customer success. The Essentials package includes email support and access to their Customer Success Webinar library. For their telephone support, you’d have to upgrade to the Advantage plan. From our understanding, both kinds of personal support are only offered in US business hours.
BambooHR was started in 2008 by Ben Peterson and Ryan Sanders. Their goal was to create a product that customers would love using and that would save countless man hours. At the same time, they wanted the company behind this product to be a place people would enjoy working at.
This approach worked, as they have kept growing both their employee and customer count quite steadily over the years. They had 470 employees around the end of 2019. Now, as of Summer 2025, they have over 1730. Their product is used by thousands of companies in well over 100 countries.
An interesting bit about the way they manage their company is that they have an “anti-workaholic policy”. Basically, BambooHR employees are forbidden from laboring over 40 hours per week.
Also noteworthy is the fact that while both founding members are still on the board, BambooHR’s CEO is now Brad Rencher. He was previously a marketing executive at Adobe Inc., before being recruited for the post in October 2019.
Company HQ
Lindon, Utah
Number of Employees
1250+
Year Founded
2008
Amount Raised
According to their Crunchbase profile, BambooHR has raised an undisclosed amount of funding over 2 rounds. The last one of which was in Summer 2016. Among others, BambooHR is funded by Sorenson Capital.
FAQ
How come BambooHR is so popular?
We’d argue that BambooHR was one of the first companies to bring HR functionalities to the SaaS realm with modern UX design. However, while many companies do that now, they’ve secured their position as a household name in HR software due to their ever-growing features and flexible packages; which suit SMBs and enterprises alike.
Is BambooHR Free?
As of summer 2025, BambooHR doesn’t offer a stand-alone free-for-life product. They do have a free trial, however, and they’ve been known to extend it based on your needs and plans. That being said, it does eventually cost, but the pricing is completely customized based on what features you need.
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