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Which HR platform is better for small businesses, Charlie or Breathe? Based on our research and customer insights, we believe that CharlieHR is the best choice for small businesses in the UK.
As a product manager at Charlie, it’s part of my job to understand what information is out there about our software. Instead of sharing another basic comparison table, I want to give you a better insight into what both of these HR tools offer. That way, you can make an informed choice about which is right for you.
Keep reading for a comparison of features and pricing, along with notes on the benefits of both HR platforms.
CharlieHR
Breathe
Docs and employee data
✅
✅
Compliance with UK laws
✅
✅
Onboarding
✅
✅
Time-off management
✅
✅
Performance reviews
✅
✅
Employee surveys and polls
✅
☑️
Peer-to-peer shoutouts
✅
✅
Perks and discounts
✅
❌
Report templates
✅
✅
Custom reports
✅
✅
Employee self-service
✅
✅
Integrations (including payroll)
✅
✅
Marketplace with exclusive discounts
✅
✅
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
☑️ (with Charlie Recruit add-on)
☑️ (with Recruitment tracking add-on)
Bespoke HR advice
☑️ (with Charlie Advice add-on)
❌ (but Breathe’s partner programme enables HR consultants to use the platform to support small businesses)
UK-based support
✅
✅
Designed for UK small businesses
✅
✅
Easy to set up
✅
✅
Best for:
UK small businesses looking for their first HR software
Larger SMEs looking for rota management and more complex features
Key:
We’ve created this guide with the help of experts and reviews from people who have used Charlie or Breathe (or both). Contributors to this CharlieHR vs. Breathe comparison guide include:
By seeking insights from a variety of people, we’ve made sure this guide is as useful (and transparent) as possible.
Get to know the essentials and both platforms’ core strengths.
CharlieHR is designed for small businesses in the UK that want a way to stay organised and efficient with HR tasks as they grow. For many of our customers it’s their first all-in-one HR software, while others have switched to Charlie because it’s simple, user-friendly, and flexible.
Here’s where Charlie stands out:
Like Charlie, Breathe also serves the UK market. It’s a good fit for small-to-medium sized businesses that have specific needs, like rota management or e-learning.
Here’s where Breathe stands out:
Instead of trying to pack as many features in as possible, we’ve designed Charlie to include everything that small businesses and startups really need. Charlie offers high-quality features and experiences for businesses that want to save time and grow without friction.
Get started in minutes, not days. Charlie has an average onboarding time of less than a week, and it’s so easy to use that it won’t add extra work to your already busy day.
Charlie customers enjoy:
👉 Breathe also offers self-service setup, but some reviewers mention that it can be hard to navigate the platform or that features aren’t always intuitive.
Charlie and Breathe are both all-in-one HR platforms, but Charlie customers can access every feature within one plan. With Breathe, some features are only available in certain plans or as optional (paid) add-ons.
Every Charlie user has access to:
Charlie customers can also choose to upgrade and add an applicant tracking system (ATS) or advice services to their plan, all accessed from one place.
👉 Breathe offers similar features, but users need to check the plan comparison to understand what’s included in their chosen package. For example, surveys and automated holiday approvals aren’t available in the most affordable plans, and onboarding workflows are only included as part of the recruitment add-on.
Charlie’s pricing is transparent, with no hidden fees or setup costs. Every feature is included for every user too, so it’s always clear what you have access to and what it’s going to cost.
Charlie customers benefit from:
Let’s compare some scenarios where you save money or get more value for money from Charlie compared to Breathe:
CharlieHR
Breathe
Team of 4, basic HR needs
£5 per month*
£22 per month
Team of 11, basic HR needs, also needs surveys and automated holiday approvals
£45 per month
£89 per month (surveys + automated holiday approvals not included in the ‘Regular’ plan)
Team of 14, all of the above, plus onboarding workflows
£45 per month
£89 per month
+ £21 per month for recruitment add-on (onboarding not included in the base plan)
= £110 per month in total
Team of 22, requires all of the above plus perks platform
£105 per month
£89 per month for Breathe
+ £21 per month for recruitment add-on
+ £22+ per month for separate perks platform
= £132 per month in total
👉 Breathe’s pricing is also affordable, but their plans are structured in tiers depending on your company size and the features you need. If you need features that aren’t included in the lower tiers, you’ll end up paying considerably more than you would with Charlie.
Thousands of UK small businesses trust Charlie with their HR needs, with hundreds of positive reviews. Everything from features and workflows to navigation is optimised to reduce friction, and you don’t have to be an HR expert to use it — something that’s reflected in Charlie’s reviews.
Charlie customers praise:
👉 Breathe’s customer reviews are also positive on the whole, but some reviews mention poor navigation, clunky features, and limited integrations. Charlie is fully focused on small businesses, while Breathe targets small to large businesses.
We’d love for you to try Charlie, but we’re also realistic that it’s not the ideal fit for every business. Here are some areas where Breathe is strong and may be closer aligned to your HR needs.
Breathe combines time-off management with rota and shift management, making it a promising choice for businesses that work in shifts, including retail and hospitality.
With Breathe, users can:
Breathe’s rota, time, and attendance features are available as an optional add-on, starting at £10 per month.
👉 Charlie offers holiday, absence, and time-off management, but does not have a built-in rota management tool. Charlie users that require this feature can use the Papershift integration to sync data between the two platforms. Papershift starts at £6 per month per employee for rota planning.
Breathe has a comprehensive reporting library, giving users access to templates and dashboards that can display data in a number of formats.
Breathe customers have access to:
👉 Charlie offers flexible reports, but these are simpler in comparison to Breathe’s in-depth reporting features.
Breathe customers can access Breathe Learn, a built-in library of training courses and tools for employees.
With Breathe Learn, teams can:
Breathe Learn is available only as an optional add-on, starting at £15 per month.
👉 Charlie doesn’t offer built-in learning and development, but we do offer integrations with leading employee development platforms like Learn Amp and Neve Learning.
Charlie focuses on delivering everything a small business needs for HR in one simple package. Breathe, on the other hand, offers a variety of features with more specialist tools — making it a better choice for larger businesses.
Examples of specific features within Breathe include:
👉 Charlie’s offering is focused on an all-in-one platform that simplifies HR admin for small businesses, so its features aren’t always as in-depth or complex as Breathe’s. Breathe brings in additional features for small businesses, like online learning and health and safety.
CharlieHR and Breathe both have promising features for small UK businesses, but how do they compare on price?
CharlieHR
Breathe
1-4 team members
Basic: £5*
With recruitment add-on: £60
Basic: £22
With recruitment add-on: £43
5-9 team members
Basic: £45
With recruitment add-on: £100
Basic: £22
With recruitment add-on: £43
10-14 team members
Basic: £45
With recruitment add-on: £100
Basic: £22-39
With recruitment add-on: £43-60
15-29 team members
Basic: £105
With recruitment add-on: £190
Basic: £39-89
With recruitment add-on: £60-110
30-49 team members
Basic: £180
With recruitment add-on: £265
Basic: £89
With recruitment add-on: £110
50-99 team members
Basic: £315
With recruitment add-on: £415
Basic: £89-159
With recruitment add-on: £110-180
*For the first six months. £20 thereafter.
⭐ Important to note:
Small teams can enjoy a special discount off the standard price of CharlieHR. Teams with between 1-4 people benefit from our “HR for a fiver” plan where they get access to all features for just £5 per month.
👉 For a similar team size using Breathe, the minimum monthly cost would be £22 per month.
Charlie is designed to support growth without you having to invest in yet more tools and tech. Instead, you can opt in to our growth-friendly extras when you’re ready.
Growth options with Charlie include:
Having your core HR, recruitment, and HR advice in one place saves you even more time and allows you to create your own HR ‘home’ within your business.
👉 Breathe offers a recruitment add-on, but does not offer HR advice services.
Daye exists to raise the standards in gynae health, through providing innovative products and services in gynae and hormonal health. Since its start in 2018, the company has grown significantly, and founder Valentina Milanova quickly realised she’d need a way to manage HR more effectively.
Company size: 42 people
Goal with Charlie: To centralise all HR tasks and optimise time spent on HR as they scale.
How Charlie helps Daye achieve their goal:
Daye also uses Charlie Advice for HR advice, which helped with:
Where they are now:
Read case study
👉 For details on how Breathe has helped small businesses, see their customer reviews.
CharlieHR and Breathe both have plenty to offer UK businesses, but Charlie feels like the better option for small businesses, while bigger businesses can find more relevant features with Breathe.
CharlieHR’s advantages for small businesses include:
It’s easy to switch from Breathe to CharlieHR. Once you’ve downloaded your data from Breathe, use our simple import tool to add your team members all at once, then continue to customise your experience.
Yes, CharlieHR is popular with employees and many of our customers say that they have high engagement rates as a result of switching to Charlie.
CharlieHR has a modern, clean interface that teams enjoy. See more of Charlie in action by visiting our website.
CharlieHR is Cyber Essentials certified and ISO 27001 certified. Breathe is also ISO 27001 certified. For more information, visit Charlie’s security page and Breathe’s security page.
Both CharlieHR and Breathe can scale alongside a small business. Which one is best depends on what your business goals are.For businesses with employees that work shifts or rotas, or that want to offer e-learning, Breathe is a good choice.
For businesses that want to focus on hiring and building a strong foundation with expert HR advice, Charlie is the best option.
