The main BambooHR alternatives for US teams are Rippling, Gusto, HiBob, Paylocity, Zoho People and ADP Workforce Now. Which one fits depends entirely on why you're leaving: payroll that costs extra, IT access that nobody owns, reporting you can't bend, or a price you can't forecast. This page starts with the reason, then names the tool, the plan that unlocks the feature and what you'll miss.
We read each vendor's pricing page, a feature or help page that shows how onboarding works, and the G2 listing, and we say where a source blocked us. We didn't run hands-on tests, so read every claim as documentation-level. If you're still deciding whether to leave, our BambooHR review and BambooHR pricing guide cover what you get today, and the HRIS software comparison puts these tools in a wider field.
Which BambooHR alternative fits your reason for leaving?
Each pick below names the reason it wins and the plan or condition that matters. Prices are the entry prices we could read, and "quote only" means the vendor publishes none.
Best if IT access and payroll sit outside your HR recordRipplingA hire can reach HR, payroll and IT products from one record. Pricing starts at $8 per employee per month plus a base fee.
Best for a small team that wants payroll in the base priceGustoMonth-to-month plans from $49 a month plus $6 per person, with payroll in every plan.
Best like-for-like swap for a mid-sized or multi-country teamHiBobCore HR in every subscription, workflows with approvals, payroll and hiring as modules. Quote only.
Best for batch hiring inside a payroll suitePaylocityOnboarding packets with seven required tasks and named I-9 owners. Quote only.
Best on price if you already run Zoho appsZoho PeopleListed from EUR 1.25 per user per month on annual billing, with a free plan for up to 5 users.
Best for a payroll-grade vendor with benefits administrationADP Workforce NowSelect, Plus and Premium packages, with benefits from Plus and time tracking in Premium. Quote only.
Our product · for the gaps between toolsThe People Ops ManagerWorks next to your HRIS and shows which new hire is blocked and who owns the task.
Why teams leave BambooHR
Most teams leave because of scope, not quality. G2 gives BambooHR 4.4 out of 5 from 8,306 reviews on October 27, 2026, and when we read its theme summary on October 19, ease of use led the praise with 906 mentions. The complaints that stand out are about what the product doesn't do, and they're specific.
The documented limits explain those themes. BambooHR's pricing page lists payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance and global employment as quote-only, so the $10 Core price is really the HR record alone. Applicant tracking is included, but open jobs are capped at 5 on Core, 25 on Pro and 50 on Elite. Performance reviews start on Pro at $17. We found no native device or app provisioning, so IT steps stay manual tasks on a checklist. The pricing page also shows $10 and $17 on the plan cards but $10.25 and $17.50 in the FAQ, so confirm the rate in a signed quote.
Capterra reviewers add limited advanced reporting and customization, rigid workflows and an applicant tracking system that's light for heavy recruiting. Those are review excerpts, not BambooHR's own statements, and they don't say how many reviewers hit each issue.
BambooHR alternatives compared
BambooHR is listed first so each row reads as a trade against it. Prices are per employee per month unless noted, and G2 data was read on October 27, 2026.
| Tool | How it differs from BambooHR | Starting price | G2 rating |
|---|---|---|---|
 BambooHR | HR record first; payroll, benefits and time are quote-only add-ons | Core $10 / $10.25, Pro $17 / $17.50, Elite $25 per employee per month; payroll, benefits administration and time & attendance quote only | 4.4 (8,306) |
| Rippling | One record can drive payroll, benefits, devices and app access, each a separate product | Starts at $8 per employee per month plus a monthly base fee; payroll is quote only | 4.7 (14,753) |
| Gusto | Payroll in every plan; custom onboarding tasks and provisioning need Plus | Simple $49/month + $6/person; Plus $80/month + $12/person; Premium $180/month + $22/person | 4.6 (13,677) |
| HiBob | Workflows with approvals; payroll, hiring and performance are modules | Not published | 4.5 (2,711) |
| Paylocity | Payroll-attached suite with onboarding packets and a named I-9 owner | Not published; custom quote | 4.4 (6,320) |
| Zoho People | Cheapest per-user HR record; fewer integrations and less depth | From EUR 1.25 per user per month on annual billing (the page we could read showed EUR, a USD page was not confirmed) | 4.5 (432) |
| ADP Workforce Now | Payroll and HR in Select, benefits from Plus, time tracking in Premium | Not published; Select, Plus and Premium packages, custom quote | 4.2 (4,478) |
| The People Ops Manager Our product | Shows who is ready for day one, what is blocked and who owns it | Subscription via Stripe Checkout, card required | No reviews yet |
Entry prices checked October 2026 on vendor pages. Third-party estimates are labeled as estimates.
Two of these tools are cheaper than BambooHR at the entry price, Zoho People and Gusto for a very small team, and the rest cost more or simply don't say. That matters, because the usual reason for leaving is that BambooHR's low price covers less than it first appears to.
Who owns onboarding in each tool?
Onboarding ownership matters because the HR record is only half of a start. The other half's who completes the I-9, who creates the accounts and who ships the laptop. This table shows what each tool documents, and where we found nothing we say so.
| Tool | Work eligibility checks | IT access handling | Task owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| BambooHR | Mitratech app; employee does Section 1, an assigned I-9 Manager does Section 2, E-Verify case opens if enrolled | No native provisioning found; manual tasks | Admins assign tasks to people |
| Rippling | Says it automates I-9 and E-Verify; no help article found on who completes each section | Role-based app access and device lock or wipe, sold as the IT product | Automated where IT is bought; managers get reminders |
| Gusto | Digital I-9; Remote I-9 is $20 and E-Verify $5 more per submission, both included in Premium | Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 email on all plans; app provisioning on Plus and Premium | New hire self-onboards; buddy, tour and similar tasks stay human |
| HiBob | No native I-9 or E-Verify found; a Fragomen WorkRight I-9 integration is listed | Equipment requests as tasks; sign-in through Okta | Task lists assigned by role, with approval paths |
| Paylocity | I-9 task with E-Verify once enabled; the E-Verify task isn't added to a customized packet automatically | Separate Access Management and Asset Management products | Admin owns work location; the I-9 task holder completes Section 2 |
| Zoho People | I-9, W-4 and W-9 as e-sign templates that need Zoho Sign or another e-sign tool; no E-Verify found | No native provisioning found; checklist tasks | Each task has a named owner, priority and due date |
| ADP Workforce Now | Not covered on the product page we read | Not covered on the product page we read | Ask in the demo |
Only three of these tools document an I-9 flow with named roles: BambooHR, Gusto and Paylocity. If you're a US employer that wants the I-9 inside the HR system, that narrows the field before price does, and it's worth asking the other vendors directly.
The 6 best BambooHR alternatives
Every entry follows the same order: what changes when you move from BambooHR, what it costs and where the plan gate sits, and who should skip it. G2 numbers come from the listings we read on October 27, 2026.
Rippling
Rippling
A modular platform with a shared employee data model across HR, payroll, IT identity and device management, and finance products.
Rippling fits a team whose HR record's fine but whose payroll, devices and app access live in other systems.
Moving from BambooHR to Rippling swaps a record-first HRIS for a platform where one hire can reach several products. According to Rippling, role-based app access can be granted to each new hire automatically, and welcome packets, first-day agendas and 30, 60 and 90 day check-ins go out on a timer. Device provisioning and lock or wipe at offboarding belong to its IT product, and its device page says the HR trigger needs the core platform. Rippling's own onboarding article adds that you may still need IT to connect some apps, such as Office 365.
What you give up is price clarity, and that's a real cost. BambooHR shows three plan prices, while Rippling's page says only that plans start at $8 per employee per month with a monthly base fee. Everything else is a quote, and G2 reviewers cite costs that rise as modules are added. G2 rates it 4.7 from 14,753 reviews.
- HR and IT jointly own onboarding and offboarding automation
- global payroll or EOR is in scope
- identity and device workflows are consolidation targets
- you only need basic HR records and time off
- you lack owners for configuration and access policies
- Users like
- an intuitive interface and payroll, benefits and time off in one place, per G2 summaries
- Users dislike
- pricing that is unclear and rises as modules are added, and support response times that vary
- Source: G2, 14,753 reviews
How it works in practice
Rippling says it supports unlimited custom fields, a no-code report builder and multi-step approvals that route by threshold and update when the org chart changes. Those are vendor statements, and we couldn't read the configuration steps in public documentation. Don't assume the $8 covers payroll, because it doesn't. If you're leaving BambooHR over reporting limits, you'll want to test a real report in the demo.
Capterra reviewers say the custom workflow setup needs upfront time, so you'll want an admin owner.
- Starting price
- Starts at $8 per employee per month plus a monthly base fee; payroll is quote only
- Integrations
- 179 verified on G2; 650+ per Rippling
- Capterra
- 4.9 from 4,886 reviews (October 2026)
- Performance
- Module with reviews, goals, 360, 1:1s and calibration; price not published
- US Payroll
- Separate product; starting rates depend on billing term
- IT
- Identity, access, device and inventory products
- Entry price
- From $8 per employee per month plus a base fee
Gusto
Gusto
Gusto is a payroll-first HR platform for small US businesses, with an employee database, an onboarding checklist and built-in I-9 handling.
Gusto fits a small US team that came to BambooHR for HR and now pays a second vendor for payroll.
Gusto starts from the pay run and adds the HR record around it. Its published plans are month-to-month: Simple at $49 a month plus $6 per person, Plus at $80 plus $12, and Premium at $180 plus $22. For 10 employees that's $109 a month on Simple, by our arithmetic from the published prices, against BambooHR Core's flat $250 for teams of 25 or fewer, where payroll's still extra. The scopes differ, so compare the whole bill.
The plan gate decides how far onboarding goes. Simple gets the default checklist, which invites the employee, sends the W-4 and I-9 and lists tasks such as work email and software accounts. Custom tasks, custom fields and app provisioning need Plus. Remote I-9 costs $20 per submission and E-Verify $5 more unless you're on Premium. G2 rates Gusto 4.6 from 13,677 reviews.
- you're a small US team that wants payroll, I-9 and an onboarding checklist from one vendor
- you want published, month-to-month prices
- you need a native org chart or deep reports: we found no native org chart in Gusto's sources, and reviewers call reporting limited
- you want custom onboarding tasks, custom fields or app provisioning on the cheapest plan: all three need Plus
- Users like
- ease of use and quick setup, per G2 summaries in search results
- Users dislike
- limited reporting and customization, and slow support on complex issues, per Capterra and SoftwareFinder review excerpts
- Source: G2, 13,677 reviews
How it works in practice
Custom fields come in five types and can't be made required, and Gusto sends no reminders to fill them in. Offboarding has a checklist on every plan, but only one template for all team members. We found no native org chart in Gusto's sources, and reviewers call reporting limited.
If you're leaving BambooHR over reporting depth, Gusto probably won't fix it, and you'll hit the Plus gate quickly on Simple.
- Starting price
- Simple $49/month + $6/person; Plus $80/month + $12/person; Premium $180/month + $22/person
- Plans
- Simple $49, Plus $80 and Premium $180 per month, plus $6, $12 or $22 per person
- I-9 and E-Verify
- Remote I-9 is $20 per submission and E-Verify $5 more; both are included in Premium
- Integrations
- 153 verified on G2
- Core plans
- Simple, Plus, Premium
- Single-state payroll
- Simple
- Multi-state payroll
- Plus and Premium
- Contractor-only for new customers
- No, closed October 1, 2026
- Month-to-month
- Yes for core plans
- Payroll runs
- Unlimited
- Next-day pay
- Included Plus and Premium; paid on Simple
- Simple
- Unlimited payroll and tax filing
- Plus
- Multi-state payroll, time tracking, Recruiting and custom onboarding tasks
- Premium
- Named advisor and additional support
- Performance
- Current help center says Plus and Premium
- Broker integration
- Paid when retaining another broker
- Entry price
- $49 a month plus $6 per person
HiBob
HiBob
HiBob (the product is called Bob) is a core HR platform with workflows, approvals and optional modules for payroll, hiring and performance.
HiBob is the closest like-for-like swap for a mid-sized team: a core HR record with workflows, and everything else as a module.
Core HR is included in every HiBob subscription, and payroll, hiring, talent and analytics are separate modules. Its FAQ sorts customers into Growth under 200 employees, Scale at 200 to 1,000 and Enterprise above that, and pricing is custom, so there's no number to compare. Onboarding starts when the offer is signed, a task list can start 14 days before the start date in HiBob's own example, and workflows support multi-step approvals with e-signed documents.
The gap for a US employer isn't features, it's compliance. We found no native I-9 or E-Verify, only a Fragomen WorkRight I-9 integration in the marketplace. HiBob announced US payroll on Gusto's engine for January 2026, and we found no reviews of it. G2 rates HiBob 4.5 from 2,711 reviews.
- you're a mid-sized or multi-country company that wants lifecycle workflows with approvals in one platform
- you need I-9 and E-Verify handled natively: we found only a Fragomen WorkRight I-9 integration in the marketplace
- you need a price before a sales call: the pricing page is a demo request
- Users like
- an intuitive interface (1,186 mentions) and ease of use, per G2 summaries in search results
- Users dislike
- missing flexibility or features and customer support, per G2 summaries, and Capterra reviewers add slow reports and a clunky time-off module
- Source: G2, 2,711 reviews
How it works in practice
HiBob's help center sits behind a login, so you can't preview documentation before buying. Capterra reviewers mention slow reports and a clunky time-off module, and G2 summaries mention missing flexibility and support.
A very small US team that wants the I-9 and payroll in one tool will find Gusto simpler, and you'll need a quote before you can compare costs.
- Starting price
- Not published
- Modules
- Core HR is included in every subscription; payroll, hiring, performance and analytics are modules
- Integrations
- 100+ per HiBob, including Okta and Entra ID
- US payroll
- Announced for January 2026 on Gusto's payroll engine; we found no reviews of it yet
- Performance
- Bob Performance module: 360 reviews, goals, performance mapping; price not published
- Entry price
- Quote only
Paylocity
Paylocity
Paylocity is a US HR and payroll suite whose onboarding runs on event packets with required default tasks.
Paylocity fits a US employer that hires in groups and wants payroll, time and the HR record under one contract.
Paylocity runs onboarding on event packets, and every packet must contain seven default tasks: department and position, employment status, pay rate, personal contact, tax setup, withholding forms and work location. Default tasks can't be edited, so an admin copies and customizes them. For the I-9, the employee does Section 1 and whoever holds the I-9 Employment Verification task does Section 2. E-Verify isn't added to a customized packet automatically, so an admin has to add it.
The price is the change. Paylocity publishes none, and advisors estimate $22 to $33 per employee per month for the suite, an estimate from G2 and OutSail rather than a Paylocity figure. Next to BambooHR's $10 Core, you should expect a larger bill and a sales process. G2 rates it 4.4 from 6,320 reviews.
- you're a mid-sized US employer that hires in batches and wants onboarding packets, I-9 and payroll in one system
- you want a published price: Paylocity sells by quote, and advisors estimate roughly $22 to $33 per employee per month
- you need E-Verify without admin work: it isn't added automatically to a customized packet that contains I-9 tasks
- Users like
- a user-friendly interface, helpful chat and time tracking with mobile clock-in
- Users dislike
- hard to get answers when there is a problem, pushy sales contacts and limited report flexibility
- Source: G2, 6,320 reviews
How it works in practice
Paylocity's own pages returned a bot check when we tried to read them and we didn't bypass it, so the packet details come from its documentation and the product claims from search summaries. Don't treat those as confirmed until you've seen a demo.
G2 reviewers praise the interface and time tracking with mobile clock-in, and complain about getting answers when something breaks, pushy sales contacts and limited report flexibility.
- Starting price
- Not published; custom quote
- Integrations
- Hundreds; one snapshot listed 397
- Cost estimate
- About $22 to $33 per employee per month for the suite, per G2 and OutSail estimates, not Paylocity figures
- Add-ons
- Recruiting and Learning are optional add-ons per the pricing page as summarized in search results
- Entry price
- Quote only
Zoho People
Zoho People
Zoho People is a cloud HR platform from Zoho with an employee database, leave, attendance, onboarding and performance, sold per user on four tiers.
Zoho People is the budget swap, with a free plan and the lowest seat price here, and it works best if you already run Zoho apps.
The page we could read listed EUR prices per user per month on annual billing: Essential HR 1.25, Professional 2, Premium 3 and Enterprise 4.50. We couldn't confirm USD prices from Zoho itself. A free plan covers an employee database and leave for up to 5 users. Onboarding and document management arrive at Essential HR, attendance and timesheets at Professional, and performance, payroll and compensation at Premium.
Checklists and Tasks give every task a named owner, a priority and a due date, and finishing a task can trigger an email, a field update or a custom function. The US edition adds I-9, W-4 and W-9 e-sign templates, which need Zoho Sign or a third-party e-sign tool. We found no E-Verify and no native device or app provisioning. G2 rates it 4.5 from 432 reviews.
- you already run Zoho apps and want the cheapest per-user HR record in this list
- you want a free plan to start: it covers up to 5 users
- you need E-Verify: we found no mention of it in Zoho's US documentation
- IT provisioning is your bottleneck: we found no native device or app provisioning, so those steps are checklist tasks
- Users like
- ease of use and automated attendance tracking, per G2 summaries in search results
- Users dislike
- less depth than BambooHR, reporting limits and slow support, per G2 and Gartner Peer Insights summaries
- Source: G2, 432 reviews
How it works in practice
The integration gap is the clearest trade against BambooHR: 24 marketplace listings, 13 from Zoho itself, against 173 verified listings on BambooHR's G2 page. G2 and Gartner summaries describe less depth than BambooHR, reporting limits and slow support.
If your stack doesn't include Zoho, the low price buys less than it appears to, and you'd be adding connectors yourself.
- Starting price
- From EUR 1.25 per user per month on annual billing (the page we could read showed EUR, a USD page was not confirmed)
- Plans (EUR, annual)
- Essential HR 1.25, Professional 2, Premium 3 and Enterprise 4.50 per user per month
- Free plan
- Employee database and leave for up to 5 users
- Integrations
- 24 in the marketplace
- Performance
- Premium tier (EUR 3 per user per month on annual billing): appraisals, 360, 9-box
- Entry price
- From EUR 1.25 a month, annual; USD not confirmed
ADP Workforce Now
ADP Workforce Now
Workforce Now is ADP's mid-market suite on a single database. The adp.com product page lists payroll and HR in Select, benefits administration from Plus and Time and Attendance in Premium.
ADP Workforce Now fits a mid-market US employer that wants payroll, HR and benefits administration from a payroll-grade vendor.
ADP sells Workforce Now in three packages. Select covers payroll and HR, Plus adds benefits administration, and Premium adds automated time tracking. That ladder's the opposite of BambooHR's, where the HR record is cheap and payroll is the add-on. ADP's page describes a single connected view of workforce data, and G2 reviewers put average implementation at about 3 months.
The page we read says nothing about onboarding workflows, the I-9 or E-Verify, so ask for a demo of the offer-to-day-one path before you commit, because you'll want proof it's covered. ADP publishes no price. G2 rates Workforce Now 4.2 from 4,478 reviews, the lowest rating in this list, and reviewers cite poor customer support and navigation that takes many clicks.
- you're a US mid-market employer that wants payroll, HR, benefits and time from one vendor with a payroll-grade compliance team behind it
- you need benefits administration with carrier connections and ACA data in the same system as payroll
- you want to start with payroll and HR and add modules as you grow
- you need time tracking in the entry package: it's listed only in Premium
- you want a published price: ADP shows none
- you prioritise a modern interface and fast support: recent G2 reviewers call navigation dated and support routing slow
- Users like
- ease of use and payroll, benefits and employee data in one place
- Users dislike
- poor customer support and navigation that takes many clicks
- Source: G2, 4,478 reviews
How it works in practice
G2 reviewers like having payroll, benefits and employee data in one place. If time tracking matters, note that it's listed only in Premium, which is very easy to miss.
A small team that valued BambooHR's clean interface may find this a step back, and you'll need a demo to see the onboarding path.
- Starting price
- Not published; Select, Plus and Premium packages, custom quote
- Packages
- Select, Plus, Premium; benefits from Plus, Time and Attendance in Premium
- Integrations
- 108 listed on G2
- Implementation
- About 3 months on G2
- Entry price
- Quote only
How much do BambooHR alternatives cost?
BambooHR alternatives cost very different amounts, and only three of the six publish a price you can model. This table shows what each charges at the entry level and what raises the bill.
| Tool | Entry price (USD) | Bill drivers |
|---|---|---|
| BambooHR | Core $10, Pro $17, Elite $25 per employee per month | Payroll, benefits, time and global employment by quote |
| Rippling | From $8 per employee per month plus a base fee | Each added module; payroll and IT are separate |
| Gusto | $49 plus $6 per person on Simple | Plus for custom tasks and provisioning; I-9 and E-Verify fees below Premium |
| Zoho People | From EUR 1.25 per user per month, annual billing | Higher tiers for attendance, performance and payroll |
| HiBob, Paylocity, ADP Workforce Now | Quote only | Modules and packages; Paylocity is estimated at $22 to $33 by advisors |
How to move off BambooHR without losing records
Moving off BambooHR is clearly what keeps many teams on a tool they've outgrown, so plan the migration before you sign. We didn't test imports, so treat this as a checklist to verify in each vendor's demo.
- Export the record while you still have access. Run a full employee export and your saved reports, including compensation history, job history and time-off balances.
- Pull signed documents. Confirm how signed W-4s, I-9s and offer letters leave BambooHR, and keep I-9s for the retention period your counsel gives you.
- Export applicant tracking history. Candidates and notes live in BambooHR's applicant tracking system, and a new HRIS may not import them.
- Run payroll in parallel once. If payroll is moving, compare one full cycle against the old system before you cut over.
- Move at a quiet point. Don't cut over during open enrollment or year-end.
- Ask what the vendor imports from BambooHR and what it drops
- Confirm who completes I-9 Section 2 in the new tool
- Get one price covering HR, payroll, time and onboarding
- Test one real report you build today
- Name the admin who owns configuration after go-live
When should you stay on BambooHR?
BambooHR is an HR-first platform for employee records, hiring, onboarding, time off and manager workflows, and for many teams it's still the right call. Stay if your team has 25 employees or fewer and the flat $250 Core price covers what you need, if the built-in I-9 and E-Verify app does the job, and if your complaints are about configuration rather than missing capability.
Switching takes weeks, but the cost is mostly in configuration, not in data. If the gap is only IT provisioning, however, adding a coordination layer may be cheaper than replacing the HRIS. Our BambooHR vs Rippling and BambooHR vs Gusto pages go deeper on the two most common switches.
How to choose: a 15 minute switch test
A 15 minute switch test runs the same hire through each shortlisted demo instead of the vendor's tour. It'll take about 15 minutes per vendor.
- Start from an accepted offer. Ask the vendor to create the hire and assign tasks to HR, IT and the manager.
- Follow the I-9. Ask who completes Section 2 and whether E-Verify runs from the same screen.
- Ask for your report. Build the one report BambooHR won't let you build.
- Ask for the bill. Get a written total for your headcount, with modules named.
For a wider view of the market, see our guides to payroll software and employee onboarding software.
BambooHR alternatives FAQ
Running a larger suite than BambooHR? Our Workday alternatives guide covers the enterprise end of the market.
Who are BambooHR's competitors?
The main BambooHR competitors for US teams are Rippling, Gusto, HiBob, Paylocity, Zoho People and ADP Workforce Now. They're different on whether payroll's included, who owns IT access and whether the price is published.
What is the best BambooHR alternative for a small business?
Gusto fits a small US team that wants payroll in the base price, starting at $49 a month plus $6 per person. Zoho People is cheaper per user and has a free plan for up to 5 users, but we couldn't confirm its USD prices.
Is there a free BambooHR alternative?
Zoho People has a free plan covering an employee database and leave for up to 5 users. The other tools in this list don't publish a free plan, and we won't guess.
Why do companies switch from BambooHR?
Companies switch from BambooHR mainly because G2 reviewers' top complaints are missing features, limited customization and limited features. Documented limits include quote-only payroll, job caps on applicant tracking and no native device or app provisioning.
What is BambooHR used for?
BambooHR is an HR platform for employee records, hiring, onboarding, time off and manager workflows, with payroll and benefits administration sold as add-ons by quote.
Which BambooHR alternative has built-in I-9 and E-Verify?
Gusto handles the I-9 digitally, with Remote I-9 at $20 and E-Verify at $5 per submission below Premium. Paylocity has an I-9 task with E-Verify once enabled. We found no native I-9 or E-Verify in HiBob or Zoho People.