Best HR software for small business

How we chose for small business

The parent roundup, best HR software, ranks all five reviewed tools. This page keeps the tools whose reviews describe a fit for small and mid-sized employers. It leaves out Workday, which its review describes as strongest for large, people-centric enterprises, and which an aggregator summary says smaller teams find oversized (third-party reported). The order stays by overall score, so this list differs from the parent list by dropping Workday and moving Gusto, Paylocity and Rippling up one place each.

The 4 best HR software tools for small business ranked

1. BambooHR: 7.1/10

BambooHR publishes Core, Pro and Elite at $10, $17 and $25 per employee per month, with flat monthly rates of $250, $425 and $650 for teams of 25 or fewer (vendor-sourced). Capterra shows 4.6/5 from 3,343 reviews (review platform). The catch is that payroll, benefits administration and time and attendance are add-ons with unpublished prices, and payroll and benefits administration are US only.

2. Gusto: 6.7/10

Gusto suits a small US employer that wants payroll, tax filings and basic HR in one product, and Capterra reports that small businesses make up 88% of its reviewers (review platform). The Solo plan is $49 a month plus $6 per person (third-party reported). The catch is that Simple covers payroll in one state only, so a hire in a second state moves you to Plus.

3. Paylocity: 6.5/10

Paylocity's vendor case studies describe customers from about 78 to more than 400 employees, and G2 shows 4.4/5 from 5,302 to 6,080 reviews depending on the snapshot (review platform). Third-party estimates run $26 to $33 per employee per month for the full suite. The catch is that no list prices are published, and implementation adds roughly 10% to 20% of first-year spend (third-party reported).

4. Rippling: 6.3/10

Rippling's core platform and US payroll each start at $8 per employee per month (vendor-sourced), and eligible venture capital backed US startups can get 6 months of free access (third-party reported). The catch is that the Unity base is required for every module, modules are billed on top, and reported implementation fees run from $1,500 to $20,000.

How we ranked these tools

Each tool is scored out of 10 on six criteria: proof of results at 30%, output quality at 25%, ease of use at 15%, pricing and value at 15%, customer support at 10% and security and compliance at 5%. The overall score is the weighted average, rounded to one decimal, and it is the same score shown on each review. Scores come from desk research and aggregated public data, and every number carries its source type.

How to choose HR software for a small business

• You have 25 or fewer employees and want published prices: BambooHR, which lists flat monthly rates for each plan.
• Payroll is the main purchase and you are in the US: Gusto, with Plus as the realistic start if you hire in more than one state.
• You expect to grow past a basic setup and can negotiate a contract: Paylocity, which covers payroll, HR, onboarding, benefits and performance reviews.
• You are an eligible venture capital backed startup that wants HR, payroll and IT on one employee record: Rippling.

What the scores show

Small teams feel the gap between the entry price and the real price more than large ones. BambooHR and Gusto both score 6.5/10 on pricing and value, the highest in the category. Paylocity and Rippling score 5.5, because Paylocity publishes no list prices and Rippling bills modules on top of a required base. Before you choose, price the modules you need, including payroll, and ask what implementation costs for a team your size.