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Breathe is a popular HR tool for small businesses in the UK, but is it the right fit for your business? Some teams discover that it’s not. Maybe you want something more intuitive, a more modern experience, or a platform that requires less setup and customisation to get it working just right.
For founders and HR managers looking for an alternative, you’re in luck: there are lots of Breathe alternatives out there. But they’re not all ideal for small teams moving away from spreadsheets, with no dedicated HR team. That’s why we’ve done the research to bring you this guide to the most relevant Breathe alternatives for small UK businesses.
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.
Hibob
Personio
Sage HR
Safe HR
Breathe
What makes it different
Easy-to-use, even for new HR software users
Culture-building and UK payroll
AI-powered data insights
Payroll focus, integrated with wider Sage ecosystem
Focus on health and safety and HR support
Shift scheduling and health and safety included
Pricing
From £5 per month for a small team
Quote on request
Quote on request
From £5 per employee per month
From £3.50 per employee per month (£25 monthly minimum)
From £24 per month per business
G2 rating for ease of use
9.6
8.9
8.9
8.9
9.7
8.8
Don't choose if
You run a big, complex business
You prefer a UK-based HR platform
You don’t need AI insights
You’re not already a Sage user
You don’t need to focus on health and safety
You need a Breathe alternative
Best for
UK small businesses under 30 employees, first-time HR software users
Culture and employee engagement
Scaling businesses that want AI and automation
Payroll-first HR system
Compliance and integrated advice
UK SMEs wanting core HR admin structure
I spoke with our product managers and created this guide to help you find the ideal match for your small business. We’re hoping that’s Charlie, but if it’s not, we still want you to find the right Breathe alternative.
This comparison guide is the result of speaking to customers, reviewing sales calls, reading reviews, and gathering insights on Breathe HR and all the tools on this list. Product information and pricing was last updated in March 2026.
Breathe is an affordable HR Information System (
HRIS) for SMEs, but it doesn’t always work out to be the best option. From our time spent talking to customers and researching Breathe, here are some of the main reasons why small businesses seek out an alternative:
Charlie is an all-in-one HR system for small teams of less than 30 people, and it’s ideal for first-time HR software users.
Teams can get set up in hours, not weeks, and there’s no HR experience required. Charlie has all the HR features a small business needs, along with transparent pricing, helpful customer support teams, and UK compliance baked in.
Charlie is built to support growth, so you can stick with the HR system you know and love as your team size increases.
Super easy to use
Clean, modern user experience
Designed for founders and managers
Clear workflows for onboarding, time-off management, and documents
Performance management and engagement surveys are included
Responsive phone, email, and live chat support
Software
The setting up of CharlieHR was super easy – the help and advice I received has been fantastic and ongoing. Not only has the team feedback been positive on usability, but it’s also been super straightforward. We saved a lot of time and effort by having everything in one place for our HR.
HiBob is a fully-featured HR management software that’s designed with productivity and employee engagement in mind. It’s usable as a small business or startup, but the focus on culture and experience may not be top of your mind at the moment.
Deep focus on engagement and culture-building
Integrated UK payroll
Financial insights
Built-in workforce planning
Quote provided by HiBob depending on headcount and features needed
It's super easy to use and looks good. The customisable elements make it feel like it's part of our organisation, rather than something external, which I think helps with engagement.
Personio is described as an intelligent HR platform that enables HR teams to make decisions with AI-powered insights. It’s a good fit for mid-sized businesses, but it’s also appropriate for small businesses that plan to scale and take advantage of AI.
Focused on AI, automation, and innovation
Built for scaling and growth
Preliminary payroll for the UK
Quote provided by Personio based on business needs and headcount
The reporting features have improved over the last couple of months, and now with the AI assistant, it can give a lot of valuable information fast. It's all about saving time while having efficient, accurate, and readable data.
Simple, efficient and affordable — Charlie was build to help small businesses bring clarity to their HR chaos.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
Sage HR is part of Sage Business Cloud, a suite of apps that allows you to handle payroll, accounting, and HR seamlessly. It’s a natural choice for anyone that already uses (or is about to switch to) Sage for payroll.
Connected payroll with Sage Payroll or Sage 50 Payroll
Shift scheduling and timesheets add-ons
Expense management add-on
Mobile app
Easy tool to allow employees to request time off, holidays, and sick-days. Also very useful for documentation sharing. Modular and customizable, functionalities can be added and views to manage access rights to functionalities.
SafeHR (formerly CitrusHR) is a simple all-in-one HR platform that includes core HR, health and safety, and training. Businesses can also opt into their support service for expert advice on HR topics.
Health and safety compliance
Optional HR support service
Training logs
Expenses management
It's simple and intuitive. The tabs and screens are easy to navigate. There's no complex configuration or set-up required at the start. It is also really easy to bulk-upload and maintain data day to day.
Breathe
CharlieHR
HiBob
Personio
Sage HR
SafeHR
Starting price
From £24 per month per business
From £5 per month for a team of 1-4 users
Unknown
Unknown
N/A
£25 monthly minimum
Per employee pricing
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
From £5 per employee per month
From £3.50 per employee per month
Minimum users
1 user
1 user
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Contract length
Monthly rolling contract
Monthly rolling contract
Unknown
Unknown
Monthly rolling contract
Monthly rolling contract
Add-ons
Rota, time and attendance management — £11 per month per business
Learn — £11 per month per business
Recruitment tracking — £16 per month per business
Expenses management — £14 per month per business
Health and safety — £12 per month per business
Charlie Recruit — £55+ per month
Charlie Advice — £179 per month
Unknown
Unknown
Performance — £2.50 per employee per month
Timesheets — £2.50 per employee per month
Shift scheduling — £2.50 per employee per month
Expenses — £1.25 per employee per month
Recruitment — £184.45 per month
Recruitment — £15-40 per month
HR advice — £60 (+ £10 per employee) per month
Payroll - £20 (+ £5 per payslip) per month
Transparency level
Clear
Clear
Custom quote
Custom quote
Clear
Clear
After exploring a few alternatives, you might decide that actually Breathe might be the best fit for what you need. There are some types of businesses that Breathe works well for, so it could be a good HR tool if you want:
Breathe’s range of rota, location, and health and safety features make it a good fit for businesses in retail, construction, care, and hospitality.
Many small businesses discover that there is an alternative to Breathe that’s a better fit for their requirements. One of the HR platforms on this list may be your ideal match if you want:
Finding the best alternative to Breathe HR is all about understanding the features you need, what resources you have available, and how you like to work.
Here’s what to consider as you compare small business HR software:
Read case study
We’ve had a number of customers move over to Charlie after using Breathe as their HR platform. When we asked them why they moved, here’s what they said about the benefits of switching to Charlie:
Teams moving to Charlie can expect a platform that’s so easy to use that employees and managers will happily use it for time-off management, performance reviews, and more.
Breathe is a good choice of HR software for SMEs — especially if you prefer the module-based approach or want e-learning and health and safety compliance built into the same platform. But for teams looking for an alternative, Charlie is the best choice for small businesses. Here’s why.
Charlie is:
Charlie isn’t just another HR software tool — it’s the tool that your team members will actually use, thanks to its excellent user experience and fuss-free approach to core HR.
If you’re looking for an easier way to manage HR, try Charlie. Book a demo with our friendly team and they’ll show you around the software, answer all your questions, and get you started with a free trial so you can see exactly how everything works.
Read case study
Breathe HR has a good range of core HR features that work for SMEs. As your small business grows, it might want to invest in other areas like a fully-featured applicant tracking system (ATS) or bespoke HR advice, which means looking beyond Breathe for an alternative.
Some teams find that Breathe lacks customisation options and would benefit from more flexible dashboards. Others find it frustrating that all employee data isn’t viewable on one page, or that you can’t bulk upload company documents.
Some users find the platform tricky to navigate, and it doesn’t feel as clean and fresh as some Breathe alternatives do. To get a feel for what Breathe looks like, visit their video resources.
Yes! There are other small business HR software tools that are around a similar price point to Breathe, including Charlie, Sage HR, and SafeHR. Charlie offers excellent value for money with their discounted £5 plan for 1-4 team members.
Look for an HR system that matches your needs more closely than Breathe. That might be better value for money, wider range of features, more customisation, better scaling options, or improved user experience.
We believe that Charlie is the best Breathe alternative for small UK business. Charlie combines a clean user interface with essential core HR features, plus the ability to adapt to your business as you scale and grow. It’s also built with founders, CEOs, and first-time HR software users in mind: you don’t need to be an HR expert to use Charlie.
It should be simple to migrate from Breathe to an alternative. You can export all your data from Breathe in a few steps, then import it into your new HR system of choice. Most HR software tools (including Charlie) let you bulk import data for an easier setup experience.
Charlie is built for UK compliance, with a clear focus on security. The platform itself is GDPR compliant, Cyber Essentials certified, and ISO 27001 accredited. For users, the features, workflows, and customisation options are all designed with compliance in mind.
Charlie is the best HR software for teams under 30 people as it’s easy to use, simple with no complex features, and very affordable for small teams: you can get started from as little as £5 per month.
No, you don’t need an HR manager to get the most out of Charlie. The system is designed with non-experts in mind, so you don’t need any HR training or experience to be able to use Charlie.
