Top 5 BreatheHR Alternatives – is Breathe really worth it?

Written by:

Joe Hodges

Finding the right HR software for your small business takes time, but that’s something you don’t always have. You’ve heard of BreatheHR and it’s a contender, but what else is out there?

That’s what I’ll try to help you with today. After all, BreatheHR is just one of many HR software tools on the market. It’s got plenty of alternatives, especially for small businesses. 

Comparing human resources software can be challenging, and besides — who has time to review every website and navigate through all the sales copy? 

That’s why I’ve made it my mission to introduce you to the best BreatheHR alternatives on the market.

I’ll take you through my research process, introduce my software picks, and leave you with a better understanding of BreatheHR and its top alternatives. You can read the full guide here, or download the short version with the highlights.

How I found these BreatheHR alternatives

As a product manager at Charlie, my role involves a lot of research. It’s part of my job to figure out how to make our HR software the best it can possibly be for all our startup and small business users.

That process includes interviewing customers to understand their needs, analysing the market, and getting a picture of what’s out there and what’s missing. This means I end up with a lot of valuable information on the HR system marketplace, and that’s something I want to share with you today.

‍My research led me to a long list of HR software tools for small businesses — including lots of BreatheHR alternatives. I’ve narrowed them down to a shortlist of the best, to save you even more time. 

For each option on the list I’ve considered features, user reviews, pricing, customer base, and any independent insights I’ve gathered from talking to our users. 

While I genuinely think that Charlie is the best BreatheHR alternative for small businesses, it’s smart to build a shortlist. From that, you can book demos or test the software yourself to figure out whether it’s the right match for you. 

Let’s take a closer look at these cloud-based alternatives to BreatheHR and what they can offer you.

When to choose BreatheHR over an alternative

Although you’re exploring alternatives, sometimes it might be that BreatheHR is actually the best software for your needs. If you’re looking for any of these features, BreatheHR is still a useful tool to have on your shortlist.

You want an easy overview of employee locations

One feature that BreatheHR has that we don’t see as often is location management. Team members can set and update their location in moments, and it updates in real-time on your dashboard.

‍This functionality is useful for companies with multiple office or field locations, and where employees can work either from home or in the office. Being able to see where someone is working that day is helpful for those ad-hoc conversations, scheduling in-person meetings, and sending relevant company updates.

Not everyone will need or use this feature, but in a big business it’s a useful way to see where everyone is and use resources more effectively. 

You need rota scheduling

BreatheHR’s rota online scheduling software makes it easy for team leads to organise shifts and rotas within a drag-and-drop calendar. If you work in the hospitality or customer support industry, this kind of functionality is a must-have — and it’s a bonus that you can find it within your general HR software.

The software allows you to quickly set shifts based on employees’ availability, identify potential clashes, and send notifications to employees via the app. All of this makes the process less frustrating and saves you time.  

You’re also looking for e-learning courses

When you want to upskill your team, you don’t want to start writing your own course material from scratch. Breathe Learn, BreatheHR’s e-learning library, gives you access to a wide range of employee training courses on subjects like GDPR, discrimination, and information security.

If you don’t already use another platform for e-learning, the ability to add their online training course library could make BreatheHR an attractive option. Like the rota scheduling functionality, Breathe Learn is available as a paid optional extra.

When a BreatheHR alternative is the better option for you

Any software has its pros and cons, and for BreatheHR you might decide that some of these mean it’s not the right choice for you.

We recommend looking for a BreatheHR alternative if…

You want software that’s user-friendly

We’ve spoken to our customers that switched to Charlie from Breathe, and one of their main complaints is that BreatheHR doesn’t feel easy to use. While it has useful features, some people found it difficult to adjust to.

Users found the administrative and employee user experience frustrating at times, and reported that they’d need to contact the support team to help them set up workflows. Ideally you want HR software that’s so simple to use that you can manage everything yourself, like Charlie.

If employees find the software hard to use, they’re less likely to continue trying — directly affecting your employee engagement rate. They’ll also have plenty of questions, and it’s likely to be you that’s tasked with answering them.

You’re focused on employee experience

When we look at BreatheHR’s features, it’s clear that it’s designed with core HR and people management in mind. For some teams this works well, but for those that also want to highlight their culture and employee experience it feels like there’s something missing.

Other tools have a clear focus on employee engagement and culture, and they’re a better match if that aligns with your goals. There are also tools that have a strong HR operations offering alongside perks and benefits — like Charlie.

You’re on a tight budget

Most of the software tools on this list don’t publicly list their pricing plans, which makes it difficult to compare. This often signals that they’re out of reach if you have a very small budget — something that’s a common challenge for small businesses.

‍While BreatheHR’s core HR plan is relatively affordable at £18 per month for a business with less than 10 employees, there are even more budget-friendly options out there. Charlie, for example, is just £5 per month for teams of up to 4 people — making it a more attractive choice for very small teams.

What’s the best alternative for small businesses?

Small businesses have very different needs to big corporations. While they’re thinking about how to recruit hundreds of new hires at once, you’re focused on making sure employee #10 has a positive onboarding experience. They need to manage employee data at scale, while you’re happy knowing that everything’s no longer scattered across several spreadsheets.

When you start to consider the details, it makes sense to choose software that was designed with the needs of UK small businesses in mind.

‍We may be biased, but we do believe that Charlie has everything a small business or startup needs, including: 

• Automated, personalised onboarding experiences
  
• Easy time-off management
  
• Central employee database
  
• Performance management and progress tracking
  
• Employee surveys and polls
  
• Built-in perks and benefits
  
• Templates for policies, forms, and letters
  
• Insights and advice through our blogs and guides
  

Confidently manage time off requests, performance reviews, onboarding and more, even if you’re not a HR expert. And if you want to learn more, our guides and expert resources are there to guide you through your next HR-related dilemma.

Support your small business with the right BreatheHR alternative 

Finding the right software is a complex process, but I hope we’ve been able to help you shortlist some BreatheHR alternatives to explore in more detail. Consider your goals, compare features, and take a few tools for a test drive to see which is the best match for you.

If you’re a startup or small business that wants to make HR feel effortless, take a free trial of Charlie. For 7 days you have complete access to trial the software — every feature, every option, and with no credit card required. Explore a better way to manage HR today.