BambooHR Review
All-in-one HR software for small and mid-sized businesses
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Looking for a BambooHR alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is BambooHR?
BambooHR is HR management software built for small and mid-sized businesses. It covers the core employee lifecycle: hiring and onboarding, a central employee database, time-off tracking, performance reviews, and reporting. US customers can add payroll and benefits administration on top.
BambooHR sells three named plans, Core, Pro, and Elite, at published per-employee-per-month list prices ($10, $17, and $25). Performance management, compliance training, and the AI assistant get stronger as you move up the tiers. There's no online checkout, so you still submit a quote request to sign up, and add-ons like payroll, benefits administration, and international contractor management are priced separately outside the public tiers.
In June 2026 BambooHR added Contractor Management, powered by Remote. It lets customers hire and pay contractors in 200+ countries from the same platform they use for US employees.
BambooHR screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Small and mid-sized companies (roughly 25 to 500 employees) that want one system for HR records, time off, and hiring without building a custom HR stack
- ✓ US-based companies that want payroll and benefits administration handled by the same vendor as their core HR data
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Companies that want to sign up and pay online without a sales conversation, since every plan still requires a quote request
- ✗ Large enterprises that need deep global payroll compliance, since BambooHR's payroll is US-only and international payroll runs through partners
Pros
- + One system of record for HR data, onboarding, time off, and performance reviews, with an easy-to-use interface people like
- + Modular add-ons (payroll, benefits admin, contractor management via Remote, on-demand pay via Clair) let customers add capability without switching platforms
- + Strong applicant tracking and onboarding workflows are a common reason SMBs pick BambooHR over spreadsheets
- + Publishes real per-employee-per-month prices for its three core tiers, unlike many HR platforms that require a sales call just to learn a starting price
Cons
- – No self-serve checkout. Even though tier prices are public, every buyer still has to submit a 'Get Quote' request to sign up
- – Payroll and benefits administration are limited to US companies
- – Advanced features like compensation management, custom dashboards, and deeper compliance training libraries sit behind the top Elite tier
- – Add-on pricing for payroll, benefits, and time & attendance isn't published. Only the three core plan prices are on the pricing page
BambooHR pricing
What you pay for
BambooHR charges per employee per month, so the bill scales with headcount, and companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat $250/month minimum instead. The cheapest paid tier, Core, costs $10/employee/month and covers HR data, hiring and onboarding, time-off tracking, and one compliance training course. There's no free tier and no free trial. Pricing for the three core tiers is public on BambooHR's site, but you still have to submit a quote request to sign up, and add-ons like payroll and benefits administration are priced separately outside the published tiers.
At about $10/month to start, it sits mid-pack on price in HR & HCM.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $10/seat/mo | HR data & reporting · Hiring & onboarding · Time off & benefits tracking · Employee experience tools · HR insights · Compliance training: 1 course · On-demand pay |
| Pro | $17/seat/mo | Everything in Core · Performance management · Employee community · Recognition & rewards · Compliance training (15 courses) · Upgraded AI assistant |
| Elite | $25/seat/mo | Everything in Pro · Compensation management · Custom dashboards & analytics · HR benchmarks · Premium services · Compliance training (300+ courses) · Advanced AI assistant |
BambooHR publishes per-employee-per-month (PEPM) list prices on its pricing page: $10/employee/month for Core, $17 for Pro, and $25 for Elite. All billed monthly, with automatic volume discounts as headcount grows and an extra 15% off for registered nonprofits. Companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat monthly minimum starting at $250/month instead of the PEPM rate. There's still no self-serve checkout. Every plan routes through a 'Get Quote' form. Payroll, Benefits Administration, Time & Attendance, and Employer of Record/contractor management are separate add-ons priced outside this page. Third-party trackers (Pin, OutSail) estimate Payroll around $75/month for the first 10 employees plus roughly $4.25 per additional employee, but BambooHR doesn't confirm add-on pricing itself. Figures verified against an archive.org capture of bamboohr.com/pricing/ from 2026-06-19 (the live page blocks automated fetches) and cross-checked against current third-party pricing trackers, which report identical numbers.
Pricing verified July 6, 2026 · source
How BambooHR's pricing compares
BambooHR next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BambooHR | $10/seat/mo | tiered | No | Public |
| Workday | Custom / quote | quote-only | Trial (30 days, but only for the Workday Adaptive Planning module (financial planning), requested via a form; no trial is offered for core HCM/Payroll) | Not disclosed |
| Rippling | Custom / quote | quote-only | Trial (14 days for Rippling IT only; core HR/payroll requires a sales demo, no self-serve trial) | Not disclosed |
| Gusto | $49/seat/mo | tiered | Trial (No free trial on core plans; sign-up is free until you run payroll) | Public |
| HiBob | Custom / quote | quote-only | No | Not disclosed |
| Deel | $5/seat/mo | tiered | No | Public |
Is BambooHR still actively developed?
Last significant update: June 2026. Launched BambooHR Contractor Management, powered by Remote. Customers can now hire, onboard, pay, and manage contractors in 200+ countries alongside employees from a single platform, and approve recurring contractor invoices in one click.
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BambooHR FAQ
Does BambooHR publish its prices?+
Yes, for its three core plans. BambooHR's pricing page lists $10/employee/month for Core, $17 for Pro, and $25 for Elite, with a flat $250/month minimum for companies with 25 or fewer employees. There's still no online checkout, so you submit a quote request to buy, and add-on prices for payroll, benefits, and time & attendance are not published.
Is there a free plan or free trial?+
No. There's no free forever tier and no public self-serve trial. Every plan requires a quote request through sales.
Does BambooHR handle payroll outside the US?+
BambooHR's native payroll add-on covers the US only. For international contractors, it partners with Remote through the Contractor Management feature launched in June 2026, rather than running its own global payroll.
What's the difference between the Core, Pro, and Elite plans?+
Core covers HR data, hiring, onboarding, and time-off tracking, plus 1 compliance training course. Pro adds performance management, an employee community feature, and a 15-course compliance training library. Elite adds compensation management, custom dashboards and HR benchmarks, premium support, and a compliance training catalog with 300+ courses.