The Best HR Software: Top 10 for 2024 Compared

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The best HR software can eliminate the pressure put on HR teams, who often find themselves overwhelmed with tasks like recruitment, employee management, and training. With an HR tool, your team can automate many of these tasks and streamline their workflow.

In this guide, our team of experts has narrowed down your options to the very best on the market. To help you choose the one best suited to your needs, we’ll analyze and compare the top 10 HR software solutions available in 2024, diving into their features, costs, and usability, so you can make an informed decision.

Our Ranking of the Market’s Top 10 HR Tools

In this section, we ranked the top 10 HR tools based on our experience, with details on features, functionality, pricing, and customer reviews. We’ve also included a brief overview of each tool, so you can easily compare them and find the best one for you:

1. Rippling – The best HR software solution for automating daily HR tasks, such as onboarding, payroll, and benefits.
2. Sage – The most holistic HR software solution that enables you to track, manage, and pay employees with utmost ease.
3. Deel – Easily the best HR software for international and remote teams with advanced global payroll features.
4. Gusto – The most customizable HR software solution with custom fields and payroll for small businesses.
5. TriNet – Most suitable for larger enterprises because of impressive risk management and compliance functions.
6. Bambee – Easy-to-use HR software with an HR Autopilot feature that allows small businesses to navigate complex HR and compliance issues.
7. Paychex – Popular payroll management software that helps you automate employee payments, among other things.
8. Papaya – The best option for enterprises that operate across countries with HR and compliance features in up to 160 locations.
9. OysterHR – Highly recommended for teams looking to simplify HR processes and minimize paperwork through advanced automation.
10. ADP – Useful cloud-based HR software solution with dedicated talent acquisition features and HCM features.

What Are the Different Types of HR Systems?

Human resource (HR) systems are software applications that can help businesses automate and streamline their HR processes. This saves businesses time and money and helps them comply with regulations seamlessly.

The best type of HR system for a business depends on its size, industry, and specific needs. Here are the main types of HR systems:

Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)

HRIS solutions are the most basic type of HR system. They track and store employee data, such as personal information, job history, and performance reviews.

They can also be used to manage and automate payroll, administer benefits, and leave requests, freeing your HR staff to focus on more creative undertakings like talent acquisition and employee development.

There are various types of HRIS which aid in different areas, including:

Talent Management Systems

These are designed to help businesses attract, develop, and retain top talent and make the most of employee potential.

Talent management systems typically let you:

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

ATS is a type of software that helps businesses manage the recruitment process. Generally, they include the following features:

Here is a rundown of our top picks for the best applicant tracking systems for this year.

Human Capital Management (HCM) Systems

HCM systems are more comprehensive than HRIS systems. They can be used to manage all aspects of the employee lifecycle, including Recruitment and onboarding, performance management, compensation, training and development, and HR analytics.

HCM systems can be a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes to efficiently manage their workforce without wasting valuable time and resources.

In our guide, we cover an array of HR software tools that employ the use of some or all of these systems and are dedicated to providing a solid user experience.

The Key Benefits of Using HR Software in Business

HR software is a worthy investment for businesses of all sizes. Here are some of the main advantages of investing in HR software:

Reviews of the 10 Best HR Platforms in 2024

Curious about the best cloud HR solutions and how to choose the right one for your needs? Look no further. We vigorously tested each HR tool for businesses in-house, looking for the strengths and weaknesses of each. Below is what we found:

1. Rippling – The Best HR Software Solution For Automating Daily HR Tasks

Rippling is like having a one-stop solution for all of your HR needs. It’s not just easy to use; it speaks your business’s language, whether you’re a small startup or a corporate giant.

Rippling is packed with HR tools that cover everything from finding the perfect hire to managing employee payroll. We also loved its seamless connectivity with our favorite business apps, such as Slack, Microsoft 365, and Salesforce.

In fact, Rippling offers integration with over 500 applications, including popular accounting systems like QuickBooks and Xero. This means you can incorporate your existing systems into the setup, making everyday tasks that much easier.

We also found Rippling’s payroll software easy to set up and use. The interface is user-friendly and requires little training for new users. You can process payroll in as little as 90 seconds, which is much faster than traditional methods, and frees up more time for other tasks.

Furthermore, Rippling’s HR and payroll features are tightly integrated, so businesses can streamline administrative tasks, reducing manual data entry and the risk of errors. This efficiency allows HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives, ultimately boosting overall employee productivity.

Alongside this boosted productivity, you have the flexibility to collaborate with any insurance broker of your choosing, as well as gain access to a comprehensive platform that enables you to effortlessly search, request quotes, and compare over 4,000 plans from leading insurance providers. This ensures that your employees have access to the most favorable benefit choices.

Another top Rippling feature we found to be extremely useful was the automatic enrollment of new employees in company benefits, eliminating the need for follow-ups to ensure they enroll themselves.

Beyond all this, Rippling also has features like robust fraud detection and risk mitigation to help you stay compliant. However, some users have said that there is a lack of advanced country-specific compliance guides—something we hope to see the provider address in the near future.

Pricing

Rippling tailors its pricing to individual user needs, so although it starts at $8/user/month when you specify the services you need, they’ll craft you a personalized quote.

However, access to Rippling’s payroll services is only available through its Employee Management Platform, which means that if you opt for the full-service payroll software, you should anticipate a higher cost than the $8 per person per month starting point.

2. Sage HR — Comprehensive HR Feature Set That Meets All Business Needs

Sage HR is unique in its holistic approach to Human Resources, covering all aspects of the HR lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement to everything in between.

We found the interface intuitive and easy to navigate, so we’re confident it would be easy to use even if you’ve never used HR software before. We also found the resources available handy for navigating any area of the tool if you do get stuck.

Our team of experts was particularly impressed with Sage HR’s commitment to privacy. It uses the latest encryption technology to protect your data in transit and at rest.

It also has security measures in place to prevent unauthorized access, such as multifactor authentication and role-based access control.

Beyond this, the software regularly audits its security systems to ensure that they’re up to date. It also has a dedicated security team responsible for responding to any potential security incidents.

At a small additional fee, Sage offers features like shift scheduling for better workforce allocation and expense tracking. However, Payroll is a separate add-on under Sage Payroll.

Pricing

Sage HR’s pricing model is unique. Instead of offering predetermined plans with a set of features, customers are charged based on the number of active employees and the features they need.

The pricing starts at $5.50/employee/month for core HR features, such as employee database, onboarding and offboarding, leave management, and reporting.

You can add additional features, such as shift scheduling, recruitment, or expense tracking, at an additional cost.

3. Deel – The Best HR Software Solution for International and Remote Teams

Deel is like an all-in-one option for all things global hiring. With it, you can hire anyone, anywhere, and pay them in their local currency. You can also generate local contracts, collect documents automatically, generate invoices, and run payroll with a few simple clicks.

In short, it’s the best way to build a high-performing global team without having to worry about setting up local entities or dealing with intricate compliance issues in the region.

Our company uses Deel, and what we’re most impressed by is how easy the onboarding process for new employees is. To add someone to our Deel team, we just send them a link, which allows them to create their account and get started in minutes.

The software takes care of all the paperwork and compliance issues, too, so you can focus on getting your new team member up to speed without any distractions.

Plus, if you work with freelancers and contractors, Deel is easily one of the best for helping with this. You can create and manage contracts, track payments, and generate invoices all through the Deel platform. Because of this, you can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on what matters most: growing your business.

Pricing

Deel offers a competitive range of plans for businesses of all sizes and is a useful option for contractors or self-employed individuals.

Regardless of your business’s size or scaling potential, Deel will have a plan that suits your requirements, whether it’s a global payroll solution or a large-scale immigration process.

4. Gusto – Most Customizable HR software with Personalized HR and Payroll

Gusto is the perfect solution if you’re a small business owner with a team of 10 employees. It’s even better if you’re after customizable HR software that can help you manage payroll or benefits and also offers excellent time-tracking capabilities.

With Gusto, you can choose the features you want and customize your workflows. For example, you could create a workflow that automatically approves PTO requests for employees who have been with the company for more than a year.

You can also integrate Gusto with other tools and create your own custom offerings. It also comes with a range of add-ons for resources and time-tracking kiosks—ideal for self-employed people who bill by the hour.

Gusto also comes with an in-built applicant tracking system, allowing you to easily manage all of your candidates in one place, view resumes, send messages, and schedule interviews. Once you’ve found the perfect candidate, you can send them an offer letter and onboarding checklist directly through Gusto.

But in our opinion, the most useful and nuanced Gusto offering is its personalized hiring guidance. They can help you write job descriptions, screen candidates, and conduct interviews. They even help in avoiding compliance violations. With Gusto, you can focus on hiring and onboarding top talent without having to worry about administrative hurdles.

Pricing

Gusto pricing is divided into three tiers. The Simple plan is a good option for small businesses with basic HR and payroll needs.

Gusto also offers add-ons for the Plus plan, such as priority support, HR resources, and Time Kiosk. The plan that is best for you will depend on your specific needs and budget.

5. TriNet – Best HR Software for Risk Management and Compliance

TriNet is the go-to solution if you’re concerned about staying compliant with all the latest employment laws and regulations and also want to reduce the risk of workplace violations.

The tool’s risk management consultants can conduct a risk assessment to identify potential hazards in your workplace and help you develop and implement solutions to mitigate those hazards.

Once your solutions are in place, TriNet can help you monitor your results to ensure that they’re effective and provide you with ongoing support and training if required.

We find TriNet to be a highly comprehensive HR solution that offers a wide range of services, including talent acquisition, risk management, employee benefits, payroll services, and HR consulting.

However, it’s important to note that TriNet is a PEO (professional employer organization), which means that it essentially becomes your employer of record. This can limit your flexibility in some areas, such as setting your own HR policies and procedures.

On the flip side, one of the benefits of using a PEO like TriNet is that you can gain access to better and more affordable benefits packages, as PEOs can negotiate lower rates with insurance companies and other providers.

However, in order to qualify for these group rates, PEOs require a minimum number of employees. Similarly, TriNet requires a minimum of 5 employees for its group health insurance plans.

Pricing

Unlike other HR software products, TriNet doesn’t publish its pricing online. To get TriNet, you’ll need to request a custom quote – an approach we’re not overly keen on.

Sure, it’s great to get a customized quote for your business needs, as this is likely to tick all the boxes and potentially save you money on features you don’t need. But some level of transparency would be nice.

Based on our discussions with the team and outside research, most quotes range from $70 to $800/month – but this is very likely to vary based on your own requirements.

6. Bambee – Best On-The-Go Software Solution for Small Businesses

Bambee knows how much of a hassle HR processes are for a small business owner. There are so many rules and regulations to keep track of, and it’s easy to make a mistake that could cost you big time.

As a top-rated HR outsourcing service, Bambee specializes in helping small businesses mitigate risk. Their team of experts can help with everything from employee onboarding to corrective action to termination.

One of the things we loved about Bambee that set it apart from other HR software providers was its focus on personalized service. As soon as you sign up, you’ll receive a dedicated HR manager who will inquire about your needs.

Bambee also offers several features specifically designed to help small businesses eliminate risks. For example, it can help you conduct HR audits and create custom HR policies.

They also have a library of online training courses on key compliance topics, such as sexual harassment and workplace safety. That said, we found that the support documents and training videos could be improved to be more helpful in specific scenarios, such as troubleshooting onboarding and termination processes.

Pricing

Bambee’s pricing is based on the size of your business, not the number of employees. This means that you only pay for the services you need, regardless of how many people you have on your team.

There are various plans available to fit businesses of all sizes. The basic plan for businesses with no employees yet starts at $99 per month. As your business grows, you can upgrade to a plan with more features and support.

For example, the plan for businesses with 1-4 employees includes a dedicated HR manager for $299 per month. For larger businesses, Bambee offers premium plans with additional features such as chat, email, and phone support.

Bambee’s pricing plans are designed to provide comprehensive HR solutions to businesses of all sizes.

7. Paychex – Best HR Software for Automated Payroll Features

Paychex is a top-notch employee onboarding solution that allows you to say goodbye to mountains of paperwork, working instead with online forms.

It even lets you add a personal touch by creating custom messages and including videos in the onboarding process.

But that’s not all—they also offer PEO capabilities. With a dedicated HR pro by your side, you can optimize health benefits, fine-tune onboarding, and ensure your retirement planning is on point.

Paychex also effortlessly handles tax compliance, ensuring you stay on the right side of the IRS. You can effortlessly automate the entire process of filing state and federal employee payroll taxes, eliminating the usual hassle and paperwork.

This automation not only saves you time but also minimizes the chances of errors and costly penalty fees. That said, in our experience, the automated payroll is Paychex’s best offering.

It’s a real time-saver, especially for businesses with a large workforce. Overall, Paychex’s popularity shows it boasts far more positives than negatives.

Pricing

Paychex has three primary pricing tiers. Here are your options:

8. Papaya – Best Suited for Global Teams

Papaya’s comprehensive HR approach offers an unrivaled level of global compliance. With a presence in over 160 countries, it allows you to manage employees across borders and navigate international labor laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements.

We found that the interface does a great job of centralizing all HR data, making it easy to track and manage employee information, benefits, and payroll across different countries, streamlining your HR operations, and ensuring consistent data management.

Pricing

Here’s a snippet of Papaya’s pricing:

9. Oyster HR – Best Minimalistic Cloud HR System

Oyster HR boasts a sleek and minimalist interface that’s like a breath of fresh air in the world of workforce management.

New hires can navigate digital paperwork smoothly, set up direct deposit, and access their pay stubs and invoices with a few clicks.

For your team, it’s an easy-to-grasp system for logging hours, requesting time off, and updating payment information.

Here’s the real cherry on top – Oyster’s customer support is a true standout. We were given direct access to a team of multilingual experts who were ready to answer questions ranging from policies to complex global hiring processes.

Oyster’s support team provides real solutions backed by specialized knowledge of employment laws in the countries where you hire. Overall, Oyster offers two things: local compliance and the global reach of a distributed team.

So, whether you’re a new startup or a multinational enterprise, you can effortlessly hire talent from 180 countries without setting up a subsidiary or having to deal with legalities and international compliance issues.

Oyster becomes their legal employer while you leverage their talent from across borders.

Pricing

Oyster allows you to choose from three pricing tiers, one of them being customizable for your enterprise needs. Here are your options:

10. ADP – Useful HR Software Solution for Talent Acquisition

ADP is the payroll and HR solution that’s got it all. It’s scalable, comprehensive, and employee-friendly. It’s the perfect choice for businesses of all sizes that are looking for a combined talent acquisition and HCM solution.

In our experience, ADP’s solutions are easy to use and can be integrated with other HR systems, so you can get started quickly and easily. Moreover, the support resources at ADP are top-notch, so you can always get help when you need it through their live chat or knowledge bases.

To top it all off, your employees will love it: ADP gives employees access to their pay stubs, employee information, and benefits information, making it easy for them to stay informed and manage their HR needs.

That said, in our experience, ADP’s time-tracking and scheduling features are the most useful parts of the platform. Employees can use a touchless kiosk to track their time or indicate that they’re going on break.

Impressively, face and voice recognition power the software, so employees can track their time without having to click a button. Better yet, if your company doesn’t have a touchless kiosk system, employees can still clock in or out using their smartphones.

ADP also has reporting features, empowering organizations to gain valuable insights, track key HR metrics, and make data-driven decisions with ease; however, these features are more extensive in competitors like Deel and Bambee.

Pricing

ADP pricing exists across four pricing tiers, with the cost varying based on the number of employees and the complexity of the business’s needs.

To get a quote, simply complete the ADP pricing form online or speak directly to a sales representative. Here are your options:

The Essential plan includes features such as payroll processing, tax filing, and direct deposit. Meanwhile, the Enhanced Plan includes all these, plus time tracking, employee self-service, and payroll reporting.

The Complete plan offers extra features focusing on more advanced tasks such as onboarding and offboarding, performance management, and compliance reporting. The HR Pro includes offerings such as HR consulting, employee training, and benefits administration.

Compare HR Software Solutions

A Guide to Choosing the Best HR System for Your Business

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to HR. In this section, we’ll help you choose the best HR software solution for your business by taking a closer look at the core factors you should consider before deciding.

Pricing

Pricing is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing HR software, as it can range from a few hundred dollars per year to several thousand dollars.

The price of HR software depends on several factors, including the size of your business, the number of employees you have, and the features you need.

It’s important to choose the pricing model that works best for you and look out for any additional fees. For example, some providers may offer Payroll in a separate package.

Scalability

Scalability is another important factor to consider when choosing HR software. As your business grows, you may need to add more users, features, or data to your HR system. It’s important to choose a solution that can scale to meet your needs.

That said, it’s equally important to look out for user capacity, data storage, and the many features and integrations that come with various pricing plans to ensure your chosen one meets your needs or may need in the near future.

Customer Service

Customer service is another important factor to consider when choosing HR software. You want to choose a responsive provider who can help you resolve any problems you have in a timely manner.

This will give you peace of mind knowing that you’ll be able to get the help you need when you need it. We’ve taken this factor into account with our ranking of the best HR software solutions, so this isn’t a concern you’ll have with our top 10.

To ensure accuracy regarding the support on offer, we factored in not only our own experience but also that of other customers — and included any noteworthy mentions related to their support in our reviews of each one.

Ease of Use

A good interface is easy to use and navigate, allowing your team to find the information and features they need efficiently.

Beyond this, employing a solution with a minimal learning curve means less time is needed to train staff on its use and fewer errors in setting it up.

Thankfully, nowadays, most HR solutions offer incredibly intuitive UIs and helpful documentation to guide users through the process of getting started.

Despite this, the learning curve is an important factor to consider when making your decision, which is why we always recommend taking advantage of any free plans, trials, or demos.

Customer Reviews

Customer reviews provide a glimpse into long-term satisfaction, revealing whether users remain content with the software years after implementation.

Additionally, they act as a reliability check, highlighting any frequent issues, downtimes, or glitches that might affect your operations.

In terms of budgeting, reviews can unveil hidden costs that might not be immediately apparent from the software’s marketing. They also offer insight into the software’s scalability, indicating whether it can grow with your business.

To save you time, we’ve considered not only our own experience with the tools but also that of short—and long-term users to ensure a full overview of each one’s key pros and cons.

Features

Features are the heart and soul of your HR tool. Good HR software must provide solid coverage of the services you require and be equipped with the basics for recruitment, payroll, and benefits administration.

However, the best HR software isn’t just about doing the job; it’s about doing it efficiently. Look for features that automate repetitive tasks, freeing up your time for the real HR job – building a happy and productive workforce. It’s also important to ensure that your HR software integrates with the other software in your tech stack.

What is the Best HR Software Solution to Use in 2024?

In conclusion, our review of the top 10 HR software solutions highlights a diverse array of options. Each brings its own unique strengths, making it imperative to align your choice with your specific HR requirements.

Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, these solutions offer the potential to streamline HR processes and enhance workforce management.

Overall, in our experience, Rippling stands out with its user-friendly interface, robust automation, and scalability. Its comprehensive feature set covers everything from HR to IT management and offers a seamless and efficient solution for businesses of all sizes, making it the ideal HR software.

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