Introduction

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Factorial is a solid SaaS all-in-one business management platform devoted to solving the daily challenges of HR teams while placing a strong emphasis on data security. The 2025 product enhancement is clearly aimed at organizations seeking scalable solutions that reduce administrative burden while offering actionable insights across departments.
Ratings
Ease of Use
Best For
Key Differentiator
Price
Free Trial
PROS
- Flexible pricing scheme
- Complete HR Suite + ATS
- Strong SMB focus
- Good UX/UI and frequently updated design
CONS
- Some users have pointed out that the tools are not very customizable.
- Because it covers such a wide range of functions, we’ve found that modules like payroll and reporting could be further developed.

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Hailing from Barcelona, and one of the fastest-growing European startups of recent years, Factorial is a must-consider HR software solution for small and medium-sized businesses.
Their offering gives human resources teams their time back through managing employee onboarding, time tracking, PTO, org charts, payroll, talent acquisition, and much more.
Their product is used by thousands of companies in a variety of countries. Hence, it’s available in several languages. Since they’ve always tended more towards smaller organizations, their pricing is quite reasonable, and the plans are always flexible.
The offering is organized in three main ways. You get the Core HR features in any of the plans, plus the Time Hub or the Talent Hub, or both. Now, these three plans also have a variation, as you can go with each of them in either the Business or the Enterprise version. To give you an example, the Enterprise version of the Complete Bundle includes features like competency assessments, 1- 1s tracking, custom reports, and facial recognition logins.
At this point, it’s worth remembering Factorial’s mission to provide HR professionals with a single hub for all their needs. That’s why the tool now also features an Applicant Tracking System as an add-on. The basic one lets you have up to 10 job offers, while the Pro version is unlimited.
Since we first wrote about this product in 2019, we’ve liked that they place a good deal of importance on data security. With Factorial, all database information is encrypted and GDPR-compliant. They also use a Single Sign-On system and regularly perform vulnerability diagnostics.

I primarily used Factorial to organize and store employee documents, ensuring that all personnel records were easy to access and well maintained. It also served as our time and attendance system, allowing us to track employee hours and manage time-off requests in a more structured way.
We used it for performance management as well, helping us document employee progress and evaluations. While it covered multiple HR functions, the system wasn’t as robust as some of the larger competitors, which meant we sometimes had to find workarounds to achieve the functionality we needed.
- Factorial has a clean and user-friendly interface, making it easy for employees and administrators to navigate.
- It covers a wide range of HR functions in one platform, which is helpful for smaller companies that need an all-in-one solution.
- The pricing is reasonable compared to more well-known HRIS systems, making it a good option for businesses with a limited budget.
At a previous organization, we decided to invest in Factorial HR because we needed an actual HRIS instead of piecing together different tools. At the time, we were storing personnel data in various cloud solutions, benefits information was scattered across different platforms, and there was no centralized way to manage key HR functions.
We wanted a system that could streamline employee data, track time-off requests, and handle performance management in one place. Factorial seemed like an affordable solution that covered multiple HR needs without requiring a large budget or extensive implementation.
I used the platform for a while and found that, while it met basic needs, it had some limitations compared to more established HRIS solutions.
- The customer service experience wasn’t great, as response times were slow and support wasn’t always helpful.
- The platform, while functional, lacked the depth and flexibility of more established HRIS solutions.
- Some features, like reporting and customization, felt limited, making it harder to tailor the system to our specific needs.
Factorial is a smaller platform compared to major HRIS providers, which means it offers a more simplified experience. One unique advantage was its ability to handle international payroll and support multiple currencies, which was useful for our global operations.
While it doesn’t have all the features of larger competitors, it provides a budget-friendly option for businesses that need core HR functionalities without a steep learning curve.
It is important to assess where your business is currently and where you see it growing in the future. Factorial is a strong choice for small businesses that have little to no HR support and need a tool to centralize employee data and processes. It is suitable for companies looking to improve HR workflows without making a large financial commitment.
Larger organizations or those with complex HR needs may benefit from a more established HRIS that can scale with growth.
Since I last used Factorial, they have improved their payroll functionality, making it more reliable and user friendly. They have also resolved some issues in key modules like time-off tracking and time and attendance, which had previously caused frustrations.
The platform appears to be making steady improvements, though it still has room to grow in terms of advanced HR capabilities.
Factorial is a great fit for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, especially those with little or no dedicated HR staff. It helps keep employee records organized, streamlines time tracking, and provides basic HR functions without requiring extensive training or setup.
Larger organizations or companies with complex HR needs may find Factorial too limited. If your business requires advanced reporting, highly customizable workflows, or a more robust performance management system, a more established HRIS would be a better choice.
Companies with more than 50 employees may outgrow the platform quickly, making it less ideal for long-term scalability.
I use Factorial HR almost daily for tracking employee attendance, approving time-off requests, and running payroll. The document management feature is particularly useful for storing contracts and compliance-related files in one secure place. We also use it for performance reviews, assigning goals, and tracking progress over time.
Its automation capabilities for repetitive HR tasks are a huge time saver. On the employee side, many of our team members appreciate the time-off request feature because they can submit requests directly without having to ask HR every time.
- The user interface is easy to navigate and use.
- The biggest advantage for me is the automation features, as they save me a lot of time by reducing manual work.
- The reporting and analytics tools provide valuable insights.
We primarily purchased this tool to address inefficiencies in managing HR processes. We needed a solution to handle employee records, time tracking, payroll, and performance management without juggling multiple platforms.
Factorial HR worked well as an all-in-one platform and also offers automation and workflow rules for these processes. Additionally, its data analytics capabilities were a great and unexpected benefit. We have used it for roughly three years. The tool also has a user-friendly interface.
- Some of the integrations, like the payroll integration, can be tedious at times and do not always work as expected.
- The customization options for reports are limited.
- Customer support for complex issues has been difficult to manage, and response times could be improved.
Factorial HR stands out for its simplicity and ease of use compared to more complex HR systems like BambooHR or Workday. It successfully offers strong HR features without excessive complexity. The best part is that it doesn’t require a dedicated tech team to manage the software.
Consider the size of your company. This tool is great for small to medium-sized businesses. If you need software with extensive integrations, you may want to explore other options. If connecting to your payroll system via integration is a priority, another solution might be a better fit. However, if you need something simple and easy to use, this is a great choice.
Factorial HR has introduced more automation features and improved its reporting capabilities over time. One major benefit I’ve noticed is the expansion of its compliance and document management features, which better support remote and international teams. This is extremely important for my team due to the nature of our remote and hybrid workforce.
Factorial HR is ideal for small to mid-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use, affordable solution. Startups and growing businesses will particularly benefit from its automation features and user-friendly design.
Large businesses with complex integration needs, extensive hiring requirements, and more advanced HR demands may find this tool limiting. Factorial HR is best suited for smaller companies rather than large enterprises.
Enterprise companies looking for more of a white-glove service from their HR & payroll software provider might not find the best fit with Factorial.
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- Time off manager: Get a team calendar where all absences and PTO are documented and shared with the team.
- Employee self-service: This is a custom portal where employees can update their personal information, documents, holidays, documents, and events.
- HR Mobile App: People can keep up to date with company activity, clock in and out, request leaves, and more.
Factorial also has capabilities for:
- Recruitment
- Onboarding
- Time tracking
- Performance reviews
Factorial have an API, webhooks, and are Zapier-compatible. They also have native integrations with Greenhouse, Slack, Google Calendar, and Workable.
The Factorial Core HR platform starts at $8 per user per month. There is a 14-day free trial, and custom enterprise pricing is available for larger teams. Their ATS is available as an add-on, starting at $39 per month for 10 job offers. Then you can upgrade to Pro, with unlimited job offers, for $119 per month (all if billed yearly).
Small and medium-sized businesses with many HR processes to streamline. It's especially suitable for organizations with a remote workforce and operations in Europe, the US, or Latin America.
Factorial has steadily expanded beyond its origins as a core HRIS, and its 2025 updates reflect a shift toward becoming a comprehensive platform that supports HR, operations, and finance teams. The latest features prioritize automation, reporting, and administrative control.
Operations:
Factorial has introduced improvements in time tracking and shift scheduling to reduce repetitive tasks:
- Overtime rules now automatically assign correct categories for easier reporting.
- Shift planning has been simplified with more intuitive shift assignment tools.
- Payslip distribution supports multiple formats and automates validation—managers only need to review exceptions.
- E-signatures are now fully customizable, allowing teams to set signature placement, size, and quantity based on internal policies.
Talent:
Updates to the talent module aim to streamline reviews and support employee development:
- Performance reviews can now be built using templates, saving time and ensuring consistency.
- Competency assessments are integrated into review cycles to help spot skills gaps and create development plans.
- Training data can be filtered by employee hours and costs to better track learning investments.
Finance:
Factorial’s finance capabilities have expanded with tools to monitor costs and reduce errors:
- A new Financial Workspace provides a clear view of salary spend, segmented by legal entity, location, or cost center.
- Per diem expenses can now be uploaded, approved, and tracked in compliance with local laws.
- Bank sync automates statement reconciliation to minimize manual entry.
- Duplicate invoice detection prevents accidental overpayments.
- New project tracking tools give finance teams insights into time spent, fixed costs, and revenue—improving project-level reporting.
Platform-Wide Enhancements:
More administrative workflows have been consolidated:
- A unified manager dashboard displays absences, salaries, tasks, and project data in one place.
- Onboarding has been streamlined to capture all legally required information from the start.
- Payroll permissions are now more flexible, enabling distributed editing and approval across the pay cycle.
To all their clients, Factorial offers a complete onboarding process and constant customer support.
Customer Success at Factorial is more on the self-serve side. That being said, the content team at Factorial does a great job putting out resources about HR that are also particular to the main markets they serve or where they have offices. Then, when it comes to customer support, there’s a pretty detailed help center that’s frequently updated. For anything beyond, they do phone and email support for each main market. For example, there’s a particular number and email address for Spain, France, LATAM, etc.
Factorial was started at the heart of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, by entrepreneurs Bernat, Pau, and Jordi. Initially, they noticed a constant problem within other businesses with HR processes like time tracking and time off management.
As they were adopted as a solution by many an HR department, they noticed that the whole profession was facing a similar problem; too many tools to juggle. Hence, they made it their mission to create a one-stop-shop for all the needs of the Human Resources department.
Although this sounds like a mission shared by many software companies that have ventured into the world of HR, there was always a key difference in the Factorial camp. As their website puts it, they “measured their success as if it were an online game: by testing engagement”. This is perhaps why around 60,000 companies used the tool in its first two years, and thousands more have followed thereafter. Today, Factorial is used in dozens of countries. Notably, their team has grown exponentially as well, with hundreds of professionals from more than 20 nationalities.
Company HQ
Barcelona, Barcelona
Number of Employees
815 ~
Year Founded
2016
Amount Raised
$1 Billion