The best 7 BambooHR alternatives and competitors in 2025

If you’ve been evaluating HR software for a minute, you’ve probably come across BambooHR. It’s one of the most recognized HR platforms for SMBs, thanks to its user-friendly interface and simple setup. 

However, as your company scales, your HR processes grow more complex. You'll find yourself needing features like learning management systems, headcount planning, or more robust automation to get your time back. That’s where BambooHR’s limitations start to show.

If you're a current customer or buying HR software for the first time, this article will help you find a BambooHR alternative that best supports your workforce and long-term growth.

What is BambooHR?

BambooHR is a cloud-based human resources information system (HRIS) with a web of tools for small and medium-sized businesses.

At its core, BambooHR handles:

• Employee data management through a centralized HRIS that stores employee records, job history, and benefits details.

• Applicant tracking system (ATS) with built-in tools to manage the hiring process, postings, and candidate tracking.

• Time tracking and time-off management for hourly and salaried employees, with mobile clock-in/out and manager approvals.

• Payroll management (for U.S.-based employees), including direct deposit, contractor payments, and integrated tax filing.

• Benefits administration covering health, retirement, and insurance plans with synced payroll deductions.

• Performance management tools for running performance reviews, setting goals, and collecting continuous feedback.

• Custom reports and analytics to track HR metrics, such as turnover, compensation, and employee engagement.

Why consider an alternative to BambooHR?

If you have plans to scale beyond 150 employees, you may find that BambooHR lacks the depth, breadth, and configurability to support your growth.

Here's why:

Missing key functions

BambooHR isn’t as comprehensive as some of the other HR tools on the market. For example, it doesn’t offer a learning management system or a headcount planning module. 

It is also missing native global payroll and EOR functionality. You'll need to integrate with a third-party provider to cater to your global workforce. For multi-state, U.S.-based businesses, payroll might require manual oversight.

Compliance challenges

BambooHR doesn't issue proactive, employee-level notifications for compliance, even if it can provide calculations when they exceed overtime limits. It also doesn't automatically track compliance with employee benefits or onboarding, such as I-9 verifications. 

These mean your employees will have to be aware of and on top of their own compliance, which adds more work to their plates.

Limited automation

Compared to its alternatives, BambooHR’s workflows feel restrictive. You can’t automate across all HR modules, and it only offers a few custom workflow templates (vs Rippling's 150+).

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Quick comparison: Best BambooHR competitors at a glance

Here are the seven BambooHR alternatives that made my shortlist:

Methodology: How I chose the best BambooHR competitors

To identify the top BambooHR competitors, I:

Started with product-led research

I reviewed each vendor’s official website, pricing details, and feature documentation to confirm HRIS capabilities, including employee data management, domestic and global payroll management, and benefits administration.

I also watched recent product walkthroughs to see the products and their features in action.

Evaluated platform structure

I grouped each platform into one of two models:

• All-in-one HR systems that unify HRIS and other HR-adjacent operations in one system.

• Modular HR tools that excel in specific areas like payroll or benefits management, but need additional integrations or plug-ins to cover broader HR operations like headcount planning or performance management.

Read actual customer reviews

To confirm or challenge vendor statements, I examined recent user feedback from G2 and Capterra, only considering trends mentioned five or more times.

Scored what matters most

Each BambooHR alternative was vetted across these five categories:

Rippling editorial policy: Rippling puts our customers (and prospective customers!) first. The Rippling team is committed to providing information supported by product data, insights, and customer feedback to inform our content.

7 BambooHR alternatives

If BambooHR isn’t the right HRIS for your organization, many other alternatives might better suit your specific needs. Let's look at seven of them and what makes them strong contenders.

1. Rippling

Rippling's HCM suite is built from the ground up, so every tool is designed to work perfectly together without patching together disparate systems or repeating the initial setup. This creates a consistent user experience from onboarding to offboarding. 

Why Rippling stands out

Unlike many HR solutions that rely on integrations (or acquisitions), Rippling natively syncs every employee record across HR, finance, IT, and payroll. Here are some other standout Rippling HCM features:

• Automated onboarding: As soon as you click “Onboard,” Rippling sends an offer letter, kicks off benefits enrollment, assigns training, and more — tailored to the individual employee depending on their role, location, and other attributes.

• Automated moves, promotions, and other transitions: Rippling automates downstream changes, like assigning new compliance training automatically to an employee who moves states when they update their address.

• Automated offboarding: When an employee leaves, Rippling starts a chain reaction to keep their departure secure, compliant, and minimally disruptive to your operations. It generates their separation agreement, calculates and cuts their final check, removes them from benefits, compliantly administers COBRA, disables app access, and more.

Where Rippling can fall short

If you only need basic HR functions, you may find Rippling's capabilities more robust than necessary.

Is Rippling right for you?

Rippling scales without requiring migrations or brittle integrations as your company grows. It's a fit if you're looking to implement complex, custom compliance and HR workflows, and eliminate data silos between HR, IT, finance, and payroll.

Rippling may not be a fit if you only need basic functions (like bare-bones time tracking or payroll) and do not have significant HR or IT automation needs.

Rippling Feature snapshot

Flag and fix compliance mistakes automatically

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2. Deel

Founded in 2019 primarily for global contractor payments, Deel now helps businesses hire, onboard, manage, and pay both employees and contractors across over 150 countries, all while staying compliant with local labor laws. 

Why Deel stands out

Deel centralizes HRIS, global payroll processing, contractor payments, and EOR under one platform, powered by its network of acquired payroll vendors: PaySpace, PayGroup, PayAsia, Astute Payroll, PayrollHQ, IWS, and Zeitgold.

Where Deel can fall short

• Deel grew through acquisitions, leaving it with disconnected systems that don’t always integrate smoothly.

• While Deel continues to unify its acquired payroll systems, customers report occasional integration or regional consistency gaps.

• Pricing — particularly for EOR and contractor fees — also increases notably as you scale.

  • Deel charges additional fees for misclassification protection, off-cycle pay runs, and end-of-year reports.

  • YTD payroll reports must be manually requested, and bespoke reports or dashboard configurations are billed hourly.

  • Unlike Rippling, Deel's off-cycle pay runs aren't free. They cost $29 per employee.

  • There are also additional fees for employee offboarding, GL configurations, and treasury management.

• Deel lacks automated compliance alerts, native learning management, and applicant tracking systems.

Is Deel right for you?

Deel is best suited for you if your primary challenge is managing geographically distributed teams. It may not be a fit if you need end-to-end talent management or enterprise-grade automation across HR, IT, and Finance.

Deel Feature snapshot

3. TriNet (formerly Zenefits)

TriNet absorbed Zenefits in 2022 and now operates as a unified HCM,  administrative services Organization (ASO), and professional employer organization (PEO) under one brand.

Why TriNet stands out

TriNet offers core HR functions like payroll management and benefits administration, and gives smaller companies access to large-group benefits. Their PEO or co-employment model means they take the administrative liability of compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws.

Where TriNet can fall short

• While payroll is solid for U.S. businesses, TriNet lacks global workforce management features.

• Functions outside HR (like IT or finance) remain disconnected, reducing operational efficiency.

• It doesn’t offer device, app, or expense management. 

• It has limited customization, automation, and reporting capabilities compared to other BambooHR competitors.

• PEOs generally cost more, sometimes up to 2–3% of gross payroll, and TriNet's PEO service requires a minimum of five employees.

Is TriNet right for you?

TriNet is best for small and mid-sized businesses looking to manage payroll, benefits, and compliance under an ASO or PEO model. It's not ideal if you want full control over your essential HR functions or need to unify HR, IT, and finance in one system.

TriNet Feature snapshot

4. Gusto

Gusto offers an intuitive, cloud-based HR platform with payroll software and other tools geared toward small businesses and startups. 

Why Gusto stands out

Small to mid-sized companies are likely to find Gusto's interface easy to use. And while Gusto is mostly payroll focused, it also has a robust benefits offering, offering access to healthcare, retirement plans, flex benefits, and other perks that make benefits packages more accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Where Gusto can fall short

• Gusto’s automation, analytics, and reporting capabilities are narrow compared to other BambooHR alternatives.

• Setting up your account can be time-consuming and require a lot of manual data entry.

• Gusto struggles to accommodate large international headcounts and does not handle multiple EINs well.

• Pricing may double the moment you hire in a second state.

Is Gusto right for you?

Gusto is simple and effective for basic HRIS, but just like BambooHR, you will eventually outgrow it once you need deeper HR automation, multi-country payroll, or unified HR, IT, and finance.

Gusto Feature snapshot

5. Namely

Namely is an all-in-one HR solution for HR professionals in mid-sized business teams who need structure without the overhead of enterprise-grade tools.

Why Namely stands out

Namely embeds social tools like company newsfeeds and continuous feedback tools within its HR and talent modules. 

Their employee self-service portal and integrated benefits features extend this social experience, letting employees manage HR and benefits in one place while staying informed and engaged.

Where Namely can fall short

• Namely's pricing model is tiered, but the most affordable one doesn’t include much more than payroll.

• Namely primarily focuses on organizations headquartered in the United States.

• Many reviewers say customer support can be slow to respond, even to urgent queries.

• While custom workflows exist, they’re not fully integrated across modules (e.g., changes to HRIS may not update automatically across payroll).

• Namely works well up to a few thousand employees, but struggles with global workforce management or complex multi-entity setups.

Is Namely right for you?

Namely is laser-focused on meeting the HR challenges of mid-market companies. However, it is not a fit for tech-driven companies with complex international payroll, compliance, or unified IT management requirements.

Namely Feature snapshot

6. ADP Run

ADP is one of the largest, longest-running HR and payroll platforms in the world. ADP Run is its basic, payroll-focused product made for small businesses — typically, those with fewer than 49 salaried and hourly employees.

Why ADP Run stands out

For many HR professionals, ADP represents reliability and scale. And with ADP Run, you can add on just about any of ADP’s other HR tools, like benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, expense management, and more. That means small businesses can pick and choose exactly which features they need.

Where ADP Run can fall short

• The trade-off for ADP's scale is in flexibility and automation. Due to over 100 acquisitions, the platform is disjointed and can limit cross-module automation.

• Payroll isn’t synced to other HR data unless you add on extra features (and pay additional fees).

• Customer support can be difficult to reach and has long wait times, according to reviews.

• Businesses scaling over 49 full-time employees will face a mandatory system re-implementation and migration to ADP Workforce Now because ADP Run does not offer ACA compliance.

• While ADP Run doesn’t publish exact pricing details, pricing is often charged per employee per pay run (rather than a simple base fee structure), plus added fees for implementation, end-of-year tax filing, and add-on features.

• No built-in pulse surveys, feedback tools, or review cycles for employee development.

Is ADP Run right for you?

ADP Run works well for small and mid-sized businesses that value compliance and payroll precision over full automation or IT integration.

ADP Run Feature snapshot

7. UKG Pro

UKG — formed from the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos — targets mid-market and enterprise HR teams. It's popular amongst businesses in compliance-heavy industries (like healthcare, retail, and manufacturing) that require specialized workforce management tools.

Why UKG Pro stands out

UKG is one of the few BambooHR alternatives built to handle complex scheduling, compliance, and payroll across multiple worksites or time zones. It supports payroll processing in 160+ countries with country-specific compliance tools and localized reporting.

Where UKG Pro can fall short

• UKG's platform has a steep learning curve.

• Some features, like reporting, are extremely complex, and extra fees are charged for custom reports.

• Implementation is often lengthy (sometimes as long as 20 months) and requires heavy consulting.

• UKG Pro is made up of many different acquired software solutions, leading to an inconsistent user experience.

Is UKG Pro right for you?

UKG Pro may be a fit if you're looking for a legacy HRIS system. You'll need to consider other options if your evaluation checklist includes quick implementation, modular scaling, or integrated IT management.

UKG Pro Feature snapshot

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Key features to look for in a BambooHR software alternative

In your search, you need to identify the features that will best support your business needs. Here are some to consider:

Attendance and time management features

The best BambooHR alternatives combine attendance, scheduling, and overtime management within one payroll-integrated solution. This will help your HR team reduce time spent on data entry while keeping accurate records for both salaried and hourly employees.

Integration capabilities

When comparing platforms, prioritize:

• Native integrations over basic API connections.

• Automatic syncing of employee data to eliminate double entry.

• Cross-department automation that links employee onboarding, payroll, and even device provisioning.

• The ability to expand with new software, without losing data integrity.

Rippling goes further by connecting HR data with software access and device management, giving you true end-to-end visibility.

Payroll tools

Payroll is where automation and accuracy meet. Look for payroll features that go beyond basic calculations or single-state support. The top BambooHR alternatives support:

• Automated payroll runs with tax filing at the federal, state, and local levels.

• Customizable features like variable pay, bonuses, and commission structures.

• Real-time adjustments that reflect role changes or promotions instantly.

• Advanced analytics for headcount, labor costs, and compensation trends.

Employee self-service features

A great HR system empowers your workforce as much as your HR administrators by including self-service portals that reduce dependency.

Some advanced self-service features include:

• Secure dashboards where employees can view pay stubs, request time off, and manage benefits.

• Feedback collection, goal tracking, and performance review tools.

• Configurable workflows that scale from small teams to unlimited users.

• Mobile-friendly user interfaces with clear navigation and a minimal learning curve.

Why Rippling is your best HR software alternative

While BambooHR positions itself as “one easy-to–use platform for everything HR,” that’s rarely true in practice. They and most competitors are stitched together through acquisitions or rely on integrations. Rippling is different.

Rippling replaces fragmented HR tools with one comprehensive platform that manages every part of your workforce.

Here's why Rippling leads the pack:

• Unified data: Rippling’s apps share one codebase and one employee record. Every update (role, pay, or policy) syncs instantly across payroll, benefits, and IT.

• Automations: Hiring someone? Rippling sets up payroll, benefits, and devices automatically. Offboarding? It removes access and finalizes pay in seconds.

• Global compliance: Rippling supports local payroll and compliance in 185+ countries and can function as both a PEO and standalone HRIS.

• Integration: Rippling integrates with 650+ business tools — triple what most HR platforms offer — and delivers advanced analytics across HR, IT, and finance.

Because Rippling is actually built on unified employee data, you can build reports, automations, policies, and role-based permissions that shape the platform to work the way you want it to. This includes building custom, no-code workflows for any workforce size.

One platform for all your HR management needs

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Frequently asked questions