Hibob vs BambooHR:

Choosing the right HR software

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Hibob vs BambooHRCharlie vs hibob
Joe Hodges

Written by:

Joe Hodges

Have you been tasked with finding a way to automate HR?

Picking the best HR tool for your company can be a long, research-heavy process. Information is not always openly available or up to date, and comparing different plans and features can be a tiresome task.

I’m here to take some of that homework off your plate. In this guide, I’m going to compare two of the most common HR platforms, Hibob (also called bob) and BambooHR. I’ll give you an overview of what they offer and their pros and cons — so that you can find all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Download summary PDF

What are the main differences between BambooHR and Hibob? 

Both BambooHR and Hibob are HRMS tools that help businesses automate their HR tasks.

Their feature offering is similar, but with a few differences:

  • Hibob doesn’t offer recruitment tools
  • BambooHR has less of a focus on culture-building tools
  • BambooHR serves the needs of US-based companies better (especially when it comes to payroll and benefits), while Hibob is more UK & EU-focused

Use the tables below to compare BambooHR with Hibob’s features at a glance, or download our complete comparison guide here.

Plans & pricing

BambooHR

  • Essentials
Best Feature
  • Document storage
  • Basic reporting
  • Time off 
  • Mobile app
  • Email support
  • Advantage
Best Feature
  • Onboarding
  • Offboarding
  • Applicant Tracking System
  • E-signatures
  • Engagement surveys
  • Customisable reporting
  • Support via email and chat
  • API
  • Add-ons
Best Feature
  • Payroll (US only)
  • Benefits (US only)
  • Performance management 
  • Time tracking
  • Pricing
Best Feature
  • Need to request a quote from both companies

Hibob

Best Feature
  • Not publicly available: contact a sales representative for a quote

Hibob vs BambooHR:
In-depth comparison

Hibob and BambooHR’s range of features make them a common choice for medium to large-sized companies (more than 300 employees) with a well-established HR team. But let’s dig a bit deeper into the main differences between the two platforms and how they may impact your decision.

Recruiting and Hiring 

🏆 BambooHR wins

If automating and streamlining your hiring process is a priority for you, then BambooHR is your best pick.

BambooHR offers a full ATS (applicant tracking system) to:

  • Keep applicant information organised 
  • Post openings on your chosen job board
  • Send offer letters to be e-signed
  • Seamlessly move people from the hiring pipeline to the onboarding process 
  • Monitor your hiring pipeline from the BambooHR mobile app

Few clicks are needed to complete tasks. Love that the ATS seamlessly helps hire and onboard new employees.

— Jordyn P., HR Generalist on G2

Hibob doesn’t offer any hiring functionalities, but it integrates with third-party ATS like Workable, Greenhouse and Teamtailor.

Culture crafting

🏆 Hibob wins

Hibob takes pride in how their system helps you build a positive company culture. 

‘Culture’ can have many different meanings for different people, but for Hibob it means giving special attention to the employee experience.

Here are a few examples of how Hibob strives in that direction:

  • The platform looks like a social-media site: it is colourful and interactive
  • Team members can personalise their profiles with their preferred pronouns, their gender, hobbies, etc
  • New hires can post a video to introduce themselves to the rest of the company
  • You can create ‘clubs’ to offer people the opportunity to share their interests with colleagues
  • Team members can post kudos and shoutouts to celebrate special accomplishments 

BambooHR doesn’t offer these types of features: it looks and feels more serious and to-the-point.

I personally think that, while shoutouts is a feature that every company would use, the rest really depends on what type of culture you are trying to build at your business. Some of these features may look redundant for smaller businesses that are just starting out, or even frivolous in more traditional industries.

Transparent pricing 

🏆 Nobody wins

Unfortunately, neither Hibob nor BambooHR clearly state their pricing plans on their sites.

The main point here is not the pricing, which will depend on the plan you go for and the size of your business. The annoying thing is that you’ll have to get a custom quote from a sales representative, and you won’t be able to compare these two pieces of software until you do so.

To help you with that, here’s a list of questions you should ask Hibob and BambooHR’s sales teams:

  • Do you have different plans based on what features I need?
  • How much does each plan cost for a company my size?
  • Do you charge per user or another way?
  • Do you offer a free trial?
  • Can I pay monthly/annually?
  • What if I decide to cancel?
  • Do you charge an implementation fee?
  • Does customer support come at an extra cost?

See something inaccurate? Let us know

Multinational companies 

🏆 Hibob wins

BambooHR is mainly built to meet the needs of US companies

Benefits and payroll, for example,  are only available to US customers. Businesses that switched to Charlie from BambooHR also reported that their customer support team is only available during US working hours.

Therefore, if your company is headquartered in the UK or Europe or you have multiple locations spread around the world, Hibob is likely to be a better solution than BambooHR.

Hibob can support teams in multiple countries with bespoke holiday calendars, time-off policies and currencies. You can also adapt part of the product to fit different countries’ regulations and employment laws.

Only based in the US?

Multiple international locations?

Only based in the UK?

Best Feature
  • Pick BambooHR
Best Feature
  • Pick Hibob
Best Feature
  • Pick UK-specific software like Charlie

3 reasons to choose BambooHR

🤗

Built-in Hiring & Recruiting functions

🎁

All your employee benefits management in one place (pensions, medical, etc)


Wide range of advanced features to meet the needs of large companies

3 reasons to choose Hibob

🎮

Gamification and ‘culture’ features


🌎

Suitable for companies based in multiple different countries


Ideal number of features for medium-sized companies with a generous budget

Have you considered Charlie?

I know you’re here to compare Hibob and Bamboo... But have you considered CharlieHR at all?

Charlie is an all-in-one HR management system that helps you save time on HR admin and automate your workflows.

There are many reasons why UK-based small businesses and startups choose Charlie over BambooHR and Hibob:

Charlie

Bamboo and Hibob


    Built to meet the needs of small businesses


      Not a good fit for companies under 200 employees


        All-in-one plan inclusive of all features


          Key features come at an extra cost


            An HRIS small businesses can afford: pay based on headcount (from £5/month)


              Unsustainable cost for small companies


                Simple, fast and free set up


                  Long and complex implementation with extra costs attached


                    Employee perks platform included at no extra cost


                      No employee perks

                      FAQs

                      What are some examples of BambooHR, Hibob and CharlieHR customers?

                      BambooHR is best for large companies based in the US. Some examples of customers are Jacksonville Jaguars (570+ employees), FreshBooks (720+ employees) and FanDuel (2,500+ employees).

                      Hibob’s customers are mainly medium-to-large companies based around the world. Some examples are: Airtasker (320+ employees), Fiverr (500+ employees), Save the Children Italia (500+ employees).

                      Charlie’s customers are small businesses and startups with less than 200 team members, usually based in the UK. These include: Oddbox (~ 80 employees), Chilly’s (~ 70 employees) and Patch Plants (~ 30 employees). And we supported businesses like Mindful Chef, Bloom & Wild and AllPlants when they were just starting out.

                      What is Hibob’s pricing?

                      Hibob’s pricing is not openly available online: you’ll have to get in touch with their sales team for a quote. 

                      What is BambooHR’s pricing?

                      Bamboo’s pricing is not publicly available on their site, so you’ll have to request a quote.

                      What we know is that they have two main plans (Essentials and Advantage). Payroll, benefits, performance management and time tracking come as add-ons at an extra price.

                      What is CharlieHR’s pricing?

                      CharlieHR’s pricing is very clear and 100% transparent. You pay based on how many employees you have, and our pricing brackets make budgeting as easy as ever.

                      Here are our pricing brackets: 

                      1-4 team members

                      £5 per month

                      5-14 team members

                      £40 per month

                      15-29 team members

                      £100 per month

                      30-49 team members

                      £170 per month

                      50-99 team members

                      £300 per month

                      100-149 team members

                      £400 per month

                      150-199 team members

                      £500 per month

                      200-249 team members

                      £600 per month

                      250+ team members

                      £700 per month

                      You can pay monthly and can cancel at any time. Plus, software implementation is free.

                      We also offer a 7-day free trial.

                      Make your HR effortless