CharlieHR vs. Zelt — Which is best for small businesses?

CharlieHR and Zelt are both options for small businesses looking for HR software, but which is the best fit for small teams with no HR manager? Zelt offers HR alongside payroll and IT management, while Charlie focuses on core HR for founders and managing directors.

In this guide, we’ll compare features, highlights, and pricing, so you can understand whether Charlie or Zelt is the best choice for your business — all backed by independent research from our product managers and real customer reviews.

CharlieHR vs. Zelt at a glance:

CharlieHR excels at core HR for micro teams, transparent pricing, ease of use, range of integrations, live support, and the opportunity to access HR advisory services.
Zelt’s strengths include a modular system, native payroll, IT and device management, and onboarding automation.
CharlieHR serves teams as small as 1-4 people, while Zelt has a minimum user requirement of 20 people

Feature

CharlieHR

Zelt

Core HR and employee docs

✅

✅

UK compliance

✅

☑️ No audit trail in Core plan, 30 days audit trail in Pro plan

Onboarding and offboarding

✅

☑️ Limited in the Core plan, unlimited in the Pro plan

Time-off management

✅

✅

Leave policies

✅ Unlimited

☑️ Limited in the Core plan, unlimited in the Pro plan

Native UK payroll

✅ Coming soon

✅

Surveys

✅

✅

Analytics and reporting

✅ Basic

✅

Employee self-service

✅

☑️ Requires ‘People’ module

Device management

❌

☑️ Requires ‘Tech’ module

Recruitment

☑️ Optional paid add-on

☑️ Requires ‘Talent’ module

Integrations

✅

✅

HR advisory

✅ Optional extra

❌

Average implementation timeline

7 days

Several weeks

Live UK support

✅ Live human chat, email

✅ In-app AI chat, email

Ease of setup

Easy

Medium

Minimum team size

1

20

Pricing

From £21 per month for a team of 1-4 people

From £4 per person per month (based on information provided by Zelt to G2 and the UK government procurement framework)

Typical contract length

Monthly, rolling

Yearly

Free trial

✅ 7 day trial

❌ Free demo

Best for

Small teams looking for their first HR hire, but can’t afford one

SMEs looking for an HR platform with integrated payroll and tech management

Key:
✅ Available in all plans
☑️ Available in some plans
❌ Not available

How we’ve created this guide

We’ve created these comparison guides to help you find the best match for your needs, goals, and budget. Research sources include real user reviews on sites like G2 and Trustpilot, customer interviews, and product research. Product and pricing information is sourced directly from the vendor’s website, or from information supplied to third parties like G2 or the UK government procurement framework.

This guide was last updated in September 2026.

Why choose Charlie over Zelt?

Charlie was built for UK small businesses, including micro teams. It’s designed for founders and managers that don’t have a dedicated HR team, so the software is easy to set up and use, and offers value for money for even the smallest teams.

Ease of use and setup

Charlie has an average onboarding time of less than one week, so you can get started and enjoy the benefits of more organised HR straight away. The system is so easy to use that you won’t need to train team members either.

Charlie customers enjoy:

A simple, fuss-free setup experience: Book a demo, sign up for a free 7-day no-commitment trial, and explore the platform on your own. When you’re ready, complete the signup process and start importing your data.
UK-based support when you need it: Find detailed guides in our help centre, or speak to our customer support team via live chat or email.
No setup fees: Get started with no hidden charges or extra fees.

👉 Zelt’s service documentation suggests the average onboarding time is measured in weeks, rather than days. Email and online ticket support is available, as well as AI assistance, but it’s not clear whether support is UK-based. Zelt’s implementation fees can be 10-30% of your annual fee if you choose supported onboarding.

Suitable for small teams

Charlie works for even the smallest of teams. Whether you started out with spreadsheets or want to avoid them entirely, CharlieHR is an ideal first-time HR software for small teams.

Charlie users benefit from:

No minimum user requirement: Sign up as a solo founder and use Charlie as your team grows, or move your small team to Charlie without worrying about expensive monthly minimums.
Bracket pricing that scales: Enjoy the flexibility and transparent cost of bracket-based pricing, instead of a per-seat model which increases every time you add a new user.

👉 Zelt’s minimum seat requirement is 20, so it’s not a realistic option for small teams and micro businesses.

Core HR at great value for money

Every aspect of Charlie makes sense for small teams — all the core HR areas covered, with no distractions or features you pay for but never use. Charlie’s all-in-one approach gives small businesses a solid foundation for HR at an affordable monthly price.

Charlie customers enjoy:

Transparent pricing: Benefit from Charlie’s clear and easy to understand approach to pricing — you always know what you’ll pay every month.
All-in-one feature access: Get access to core HR, time-off management, onboarding, performance reviews, and surveys in the standard plan, rather than as expensive add-ons.
Perks included at no extra cost: Offer perks and discounts to employees without paying for a separate perks platform.
Exclusive discounts: Enjoy exclusive discounts with software and services partners through Charlie Marketplace.
Monthly rolling contracts: Sign up and benefit from monthly contracts, with no long-term tie-ins or annual contract requirements.

👉 Small teams can get started with CharlieHR from just £5 per month for a team of 1-4 people, while Zelt’s pricing starts at £4 per seat per month. Performance reviews, surveys, and employee self-service (ESS) are included as standard with Charlie, but these features are only available through optional modules in Zelt. Zelt’s standard contract terms are annual, while Charlie’s contracts are monthly.

Optional HR advisory

Most small businesses don’t have a dedicated HR manager or team. While you don’t need one for day-to-day operations, an expert can help with strategy, advice, and urgent support. Small teams can now access HR advice through Charlie Grow.

Charlie Grow users benefit from:

A dedicated HR advisor: Get unlimited support from expert advisors in working hours.
Long-term strategy support: A done-with-you roadmap that covers everything from your hiring plan to how to strengthen your employer brand.
Contracts and policies: Get personalised contracts, policies, handbooks, and documents tailored to your business.
People insights and data: Understand trends in turnover, engagement, and headcount, so you can make the right decisions.

Charlie Grow starts at £200 per month and includes everything in the core plan, plus a dedicated HR advisor, AskCharlie AI, growth strategy, urgent support, compliance and policies, and much more.

👉 Zelt doesn’t offer an HR advisory service.

Why consider Zelt instead of Charlie?

CharlieHR is ideal for small teams, but Zelt also has something to offer SMEs — especially if you’re looking for a system that can handle more than just HR. Zelt’s strengths include its modular system, integrated payroll, deeper analytics, and mobile app.

Integrated UK payroll and benefits management

Zelt offers native payroll for the UK and several other countries, making it a good option for teams that want to improve data flow between HR systems and payroll. The platform’s ‘Money’ module also includes expenses management, benefits management, and receipt uploads.

Zelt’s payroll feature includes:

Integrated payroll: Benefit from a built-in system that integrates with all Zelt modules.
Automatic calculations: Get accurate calculations for hours worked, contributions, and benefit entitlements automatically.
Customisation options: Introduce your own custom expense and benefit policies, compensation structure, and employee categories.

👉 Charlie HR doesn’t offer integrated payroll, but that's changing soon! Register your interest here if you'd like to hear more about it.

Built-in device management

Zelt brings integrated IT and device operations to HR teams with the ‘Tech’ module. Organisations can centralise device management, software access, and change management from one dashboard, instead of relying on a third-party integration.

Zelt’s IT operations functionality includes:

Device directory: Keep an accurate record of every device, where it is, and its status.
Software access management: Give access to employees based on need and security protocols.
Change management: Automate device and software access based on employee lifecycle moments, like onboarding and offboarding.

👉 CharlieHR doesn’t offer integrated IT or device management, but teams can use integrations like AccessOwl, Cakewalk, Cledara, and Hofy for resourcing and access management.

Detailed HR analytics

Zelt’s built-in analytics and reporting allows managers to use pre-built or custom reports to understand what’s happening throughout the organisation. As the system is built with interconnecting modules, it’s possible to use data from across the platform to build reports.

Zelt’s analytics functionality includes:

Pre-built dashboards: Get an overview of common HR KPIs (key performance indicators) and metrics with pre-built dashboards.
Custom reports: Create your own custom reports based on the metrics that matter most to you.
Easy data exports: Turn HR data and reports into exportable .csv files for easier sharing and import into other tools.

👉 CharlieHR does include analytics and reporting as standard, but the feature isn’t as in-depth as Zelt’s. CharlieHR users can use the Qlearsite integration for more detailed HR data analysis.

Mobile app

For on-the-go teams, Zelt’s mobile app makes it easier to submit time-off requests, see pay information, and make changes wherever they are. If you have a lot of deskless employees, this can save them valuable time.

Zelt’s mobile app includes:

Employee self-service: Give employees a way to submit requests, see information, and manage their employee profile from a dedicated app.
Mobile onboarding: Let employees complete the onboarding process on a mobile device, instead of at a desktop.
Real-time updates: Enable notifications to get updates on everything from payslips to employee birthdays.

👉 CharlieHR is easy to use on mobile devices and tablets, but it doesn’t have a dedicated mobile app.

Detailed pricing comparison

CharlieHR and Zelt are both aimed at UK small businesses, but how do they compare on price?

Pricing comparison table

CharlieHR

Zelt

1-4 team members

Basic: £21
‍Charlie Grow: £200
‍Recruitment add-on: + from £55

Core: £80*
Pro: Pricing on request
‍Optional add-ons: + £64 per module (for the team size stated)

*Minimum of 20 seats applies

5-9 team members

Basic: £47
‍Charlie Grow: £226
‍Recruitment add-on: + from £55

Core: £80*
Pro: Pricing on request
‍Optional add-ons: + £64 per module (for the team size stated)

*Minimum of 20 seats applies

10-14 team members

Basic: £47
‍Charlie Grow: £346
‍Recruitment add-on: + from £55

Core: £80*
Pro: Pricing on request
‍Optional add-ons: + £64 per module (for the team size stated)

*Minimum of 20 seats applies

15-29 team members

Basic: £108
‍Charlie Grow: £407
‍Recruitment add-on: + from £55

Core: £80-116*
Pro: Pricing on request
‍Optional add-ons: + £64-92 per module (for the team size stated)

*Minimum of 20 seats applies

30-49 team members

Basic: £185
‍Charlie Grow: £484
‍Recruitment add-on: + from £55

Core: £120-196
‍Pro: Pricing on request
‍Optional add-ons: + £96-156 per module (for the team size stated)

50-99 team members

Basic: £323
‍Charlie Grow: £622
‍Recruitment add-on: + from £55

Core: £200-396
‍Pro: Pricing on request
‍Optional add-ons: + £160-316 per module (for the team size stated)

Useful to know

Zelt’s pricing page doesn’t list figures, so we’ve pulled the pricing information directly from the figures supplied to G2 and the UK government procurement framework (G-Cloud) and used the suggested £4 per seat per month to populate the above table. While quotes may vary, this should give some indication of what to expect in terms of pricing.
Based on Zelt’s pricing documents, each module costs £3.20 per seat per month. Available modules include people, money, talent, growth, time, and tech.
CharlieHR doesn’t charge a setup fee, but G-Cloud documents suggest there may be a 10-30% implementation fee for Zelt
Zelt’s Pro plan requires a call to their sales team for a custom quote.
CharlieHR operates on a monthly rolling contract basis, while Zelt’s terms and conditions state that subscriptions are for one year (unless otherwise agreed)

CharlieHR vs. Zelt: Which is best for my company size?

For micro teams, CharlieHR is the winning choice as Zelt has a 20 seat minimum. For small businesses beyond 20 employees, the best software depends on your priorities: Zelt’s strengths are native payroll and platform consolidation, while Charlie’s strengths are best-in-class integrations and HR advisory.

Company size

Which is best?

1-19 employees

Charlie — Zelt has a 20 seat minimum

20-49 employees

Depends on payroll and IT needs
‍Charlie — If you’re happy using PayCaptain or Xero
‍Zelt — If you want integrated HR and payroll in one platform

50+ employees

Depends on priorities
‍Charlie — If you want HR advisory support.
‍Zelt — If you want to unify HR, payroll, and IT management

Growing with CharlieHR vs. Zelt

Charlie is built for small teams that want to get organised, compliant, and efficient with HR without the need to hire an HR manager. And as you grow, you can stick with the same platform and add the support that matches your priorities.

When it’s time to grow, Charlie can support that with:

Charlie Recruit (ATS): Hire faster, score applicants, and manage pipelines with an all-in-one applicant tracking system nestled inside your HR software.
Charlie Grow: Get access to small business HR experts that understand your specific needs, with unlimited small business HR support that feels like in-house HR without introducing a dedicated role. Plus, you’ll also benefit from AskCharlie AI when it launches.

Best for: Small businesses with no HR system that want to be able to grow without switching software.

👉 Zelt’s support for growing businesses come from its modular-based system. Teams can start with the Core plan, then add modules for payroll, recruitment, and more as they become necessary.

‍Best for: SMEs focused on consolidating operations.

Is CharlieHR better than Zelt for UK small businesses?

CharlieHR and Zelt are both options for small businesses in the UK, but Charlie is the better option for micro businesses and small teams, while Zelt’s strengths lie in its integrated payroll and IT management.

Charlie’s key highlights for small businesses include:

Easy to use
All-in-one HR platform
Better value for small businesses
No yearly contracts or implementation fees

Make Charlie your first HR hire

Written by:

Joe Hodges - Product Manager at CharlieHR

Joe is one of CharlieHR's product managers (and a former customer advocate!) which means he's responsible for product planning and user research.

Every week, he gets to speak to small businesses and startups to understand their individual needs and release features that are tailored to them.

He also spends a lot of time researching our competitors, signing up for free trials, getting on calls, networking, and has acquired a lot of knowledge about the HR software industry as a result.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zelt?

Zelt is an all-in-one software platform that combines HR, payroll, benefits, payments, and IT management. Teams can choose to use it just for HR, or for any mix of the services provided.

How much does Zelt cost?

Zelt’s pricing is suggested to start at £4 per person per month for the base plan, with optional modules available from £3.20 per user per month. For more detailed pricing, contact Zelt directly for a custom quote.

Does Zelt have a minimum number of users?

Zelt’s published information suggests the platform has a minimum user count of 20 users. This means that small teams will need to pay for at least 20 users, even if they’re not at that size yet. Small teams may prefer an HR system with no minimum user count, like CharlieHR.

What are the best alternatives to Zelt?

The best Zelt alternative depends on your headcount, budget, and priorities. For micro teams and small businesses that want to manage core HR, CharlieHR is an affordable alternative. If you want combined HR and payroll software, consider HiBob or Sage HR (combined with Sage 50 for payroll). If hiring is your focus, try Employment Hero.

Is CharlieHR better than Zelt?

CharlieHR is better than Zelt for UK small businesses and micro teams that want simple, fuss-free software for managing core HR. Charlie is easy to use, affordable, and suits small teams with no dedicated HR hire. Zelt is better than CharlieHR for other purposes, for example if you want combined HR and payroll software.

Can I switch from Zelt to CharlieHR?

Yes, you can switch from Zelt to CharlieHR. Export your HR data from Zelt, then prepare it for import into Charlie’s platform. Charlie’s customer support team can help with any questions you have.

— Nick Larkins, Director of Operations @ Dishpatch

Make charlie your first HR hire