BambooHR

HR software designed for small and medium businesses — covers hiring, onboarding, employee records, time-off tracking, and performance in one clean interface.

Best for: Growing companies (50-500 employees) that have outgrown spreadsheets for HR and need their first real HRIS — especially those that want quick implementation without HR IT expertise · US-based companies needing clean ATS, time-off tracking, and onboarding workflows

Free trial
From $6.19 / employee / month

4.5/5Editorial score 82/100bamboohr.com

Starts at

From $6.19 / employee / month

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Editorial score82/100

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The editorial note

What to know about BambooHR

BambooHR is a cloud-based HR software platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses, offering employee records, onboarding, performance management, time-off tracking, hiring workflows, and payroll. It replaces spreadsheets and fragmented tools with a unified HR system. BambooHR is known for its clean, easy-to-use interface and strong customer support, making it one of the top-rated HR tools for companies with 10–1,000 employees.

Is it right for you?

Who BambooHR suits

Choose it if

Growing companies (50-500 employees) that have outgrown spreadsheets for HR and need their first real HRIS — especially those that want quick implementation without HR IT expertise
US-based companies needing clean ATS, time-off tracking, and onboarding workflows

Look elsewhere if

Enterprise companies needing complex multi-country payroll and compliance — Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or Rippling are better fits

What you get

Key features

Employee records and org chart
Onboarding workflows with e-signatures
Time-off tracking and approval
Applicant tracking system (ATS) for hiring
Performance management with 360 reviews
Payroll (US only, add-on)
Employee self-service mobile app
HR reporting and analytics

Works with

Integrations8

Slack QuickBooksIndeedLinkedInGreenhouseZapier Microsoft Teams Lattice

What it costs

Pricing

BambooHR pricing plans
Plan	Price	What it includes
Essentials	From $6.19 / employee / monthBilled monthly	Core HR, time-off tracking, and employee self-service
Advantage	From $8.25 / employee / monthBilled monthly	Full HR suite with performance management and reporting

Prices are recorded from the vendor's public pricing page and can change. Check before you buy.

The trade-off

Pros and cons

Pros

Clean, intuitive interface — HR teams love the ease of use
Strong onboarding workflows with e-signatures and task checklists
Employee self-service portal reduces HR admin workload
Built-in ATS (applicant tracking) for recruiting
Excellent customer support with dedicated account managers

Cons

Pricing is not transparent — requires a sales quote for each company
Payroll is a paid add-on and is only available in the US
Limited customization for complex org structures
Reporting and analytics are basic compared to enterprise HRIS tools

Quick read

At a glance

Category: Business & Productivity
Pricing model: Subscription
Entry plan: From $6.19 / employee / month
Free plan: Not listed
Free trial: Available
Website: bamboohr.com

The verdict

Our take on BambooHR

BambooHR is the best HRIS for growing SMBs. The implementation speed (often under a week), clean interface, and SMB-focused feature set make it the right first HR system for companies of 50-500 employees. The lack of built-in payroll is the main limitation — pairing BambooHR with Gusto or ADP adds cost but provides a stronger total solution. For companies that want a single platform for HR and payroll, Gusto (under 200 employees) or Rippling (under 1,000) are alternatives worth evaluating.

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Editorial review

From the journal

Editorial review of BambooHR

By TopToolsPick Editorial

Where this appears

Mentioned in

Best HR Software — Best overall

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