Hibob vs BambooHR:

Written by:

Joe Hodges

It’s fallen to you to find the perfect tool to help you automate your HR processes and become a productivity powerhouse. This would typically involve days (or weeks) spent researching, speaking to sales reps, and carefully comparing feature lists.

We’re here to remove this homework from your to-do list. We’ve done the research, spoken to our customers, and brought our insights together to bring you this guide on HiBob vs BambooHR.

In this guide you’ll find an overview of what both these HR software tools offer, what the benefits are, and some of the challenges you might encounter as a small business.

Ready to discover which is the best option for your needs?

How we compared HiBob vs BambooHR

I’m Joe, and I’m a product manager here at CharlieHR. It’s my job to research other HRIS platforms on the market, so I can understand how we can do better.

To write this guide, I haven’t just relied on basic research. I’ve also interviewed companies that switched from HiBob or BambooHR to Charlie to find out what they liked, what they didn’t, and why they decided to move to another HR software.

‍With these unique insights, I’ve brought you an objective look at the strengths (and weaknesses) of HiBob and BambooHR for small businesses. Of course, I still believe that Charlie is truly the best option for UK-based small businesses, but it’s also important for you to consider all the options out there.

With that in mind, let’s jump into the comparison review.

HiBob

A useful all-in-one HRMS tool for medium-to-large sized multinational companies

Why HiBob could be a great choice for your business

HiBob (also known sometimes as just “Bob”) offers teams all the functionality you’d expect from a comprehensive HR platform. You can manage core HR tasks, handle time management, and onboard new hires in a more structured (and engaging) way.

This HR software comes with key features like:

• Onboarding — use automation and pre-boarding to improve the employee experience
• Compensation management — introduce pay transparency and manage salary reviews in a more organised way
• Time and attendance — track hours worked and use attendance metrics to help guide your decisions and reporting
• People analytics — view all your people data in one place, with KPIs and advanced reporting functionality

A major strength of HiBob, and why some teams prefer it over other HRIS or HRMS tools, is that it’s designed to be engaging. For teams that want to cultivate their company culture, this is a platform worth adding to your shortlist — if you have a larger team (and budget).

Let’s reflect on some of the main reasons to choose HiBob:

• Gamification and culture-building — features designed to help you engage with your team to improve employee engagement and employee retention, like clubs and shoutouts
• Good balance of functionality for a growing company with a healthy budget — this isn’t a super affordable solution, but it offers scaling companies a useful foundation of features
• Worldwide focus — whether you’re UK headquartered or not, HiBob works well across different continents
• Fun, casual vibe — HiBob offers a more contemporary, laid-back feel with social-media style updates and engagement features

HiBob blends must-have core HR functions with extra functionality like recruitment and performance management to create an all-in-one platform that’s built for medium-to-large companies.

Reasons why HiBob may not be right for your team

A combination of culture-focused features, support for worldwide remote teams, and compensation management make HiBob an interesting option for teams that need these elements. For small businesses looking for a way to manage daily HR tasks and support their employees, this might not be the ideal choice.

‍After speaking to our customers that had made the switch over from HiBob, certain experiences kept popping up. Here’s why HiBob might not be the best option for your small business.

HiBob is built for larger companies

When you’re a fresh startup or a very small business, you don’t need a way to manage compensation bands or build an expansive hiring pipeline. While this functionality is great for fast-growing businesses, they can feel unnecessary or a distraction for small businesses.

Not only that, but while the software creators are busy working on updates to these features and exciting new ones, the ones you use the most may not get the same attention. This is always a risk if you invest in a platform with features you don’t use or need, so it’s worth considering.

HiBob is highly focused on culture

HiBob has a strong focus on culture and productivity, making it a top choice if that aligns with your company goals. If it doesn’t, the software itself could feel like it’s working against what you’re trying to achieve.

Building a strong company culture is often a benefit to most organisations, but it might not be your priority right now. If your goal is to strengthen your core HR workflows and get organised with your daily HR tasks, another software tool is likely to be better for you.

HiBob may not be affordable for small businesses

Like so many HR software tools, HiBob’s pricing isn’t transparent. You can’t visit their website and get a clear understanding of what’s available and how much it’ll cost you per month. Instead, you need to engage with their sales team to get more information.

The drawn-out process of speaking to a sales rep first can be a barrier for plenty of people, but it can be especially frustrating if you’re busy and juggling multiple roles. You might also assume that no visible pricing means it’s “too expensive” if you’re on a tight budget, like so many small business HR teams are.

BambooHR

A streamlined HR software platform for large or fast-growing businesses

Why BambooHR is worth considering

BambooHR claims to be an “easy-to-use platform for everything HR” and it has all the functionality you’d expect for the statement they’re making. Human resources teams can manage everything from hiring and onboarding to payroll, time management, and benefits administration — all from one place.

Under that everything HR banner, you can find features like:

• Employee records — manage all employee data from one central, secure employee database
• Time tracking and management — simplify time off requests and time tracking, then share this data with your payroll system
• Performance management — collect feedback, conduct performance reviews, and plan goals together
• Onboarding and offboarding — streamline both the onboarding and offboarding processes, for a better employee experience

When you reflect on the range and depth of features, it seems that BambooHR has slightly more to offer than HiBob. Teams looking for ways to manage the employee lifecycle from recruitment through to offboarding may be better supported with BambooHR.

Other benefits of choosing BambooHR include:

• Employee benefits built in — manage employee rewards and benefits from the same platform as your other HR tasks
• Volume discount pricing — enjoy savings on your monthly plan as you hire and grow
• Advanced features for large companies — ideal for companies that need more than the basics, and have the budget to pay for it
• Serious, professional vibe — BambooHR’s interface feels clean and professional, which makes it a better option for large businesses and specific industries

If your goal is to streamline your current tech stack and invest in an all-in-one system to support your rapid growth, BambooHR could be a great match.