13 Best Free HR Software for Small Businesses and Startups

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The deployment of HR Software in today’s workplace is becoming one of the fast-paced routes towards success. Most of these software programs come with modern-age goal-oriented features and offer an edge in day-to-day HR operations. Further, with an increased dependency on AI, the need for using dependable HR software has also increased. 

Additionally, a recent report from FinancesOnline predicted a 9.4% increase in core HR software size from 2017 to 2025, which has almost taken its pace in 2020 itself.

Here are some more common facts proving that HRMS software is a basic necessity:

• With no proper HR software to interact timely with the employees, almost 85% of them globally have reported feeling disengaged at work – Source: Gallup
• Fewer than 16% of companies worldwide utilize HR software that can “simplify work” or help an employee deal with stress – Source: FinancesOnline
• The core HR market is forecasted to grow almost 10 billion USD by 2022 – Source: Marketsandmarkets

So if you are planning for useful HR software, you need to check out this list of the most promising open-source HR software below. Along with its features, pros, cons, and pricing, you can select the one that matches your needs.

Top Free HR Software for Small Businesses

1. Gusto

Gusto is a complete HR software package designed for small businesses as well as start-ups. This software offers everything from comprehensive services like employee onboarding, payroll, insurance to finance-related tools. Gusto is one of the best payroll & benefit partners as it helps make tedious and complicated tasks simple. With 60,000+ customers in the US alone, approximately 75% of its customers testify for its ability to run payroll in 10 minutes or less.

Features:

• ACH payment processing
• Automated taxes
• Child-support garnishments
• New hire reporting
• Payroll reports and dashboard
• Integrated pre-tax benefits
• Expense integration
• Federal R&D Tax Credit
• Paperless employee onboarding
• Digital signatures
• Chats and collaboration
• HIPAA compliance
• Organizational charting
• QuickBooks integration

Pros:

• Easy to use and eases a lot of difficult work like running payroll, taxes, adding perks, etc.
• Seamless tools (Employer Tax Calculator, Burn Rate Calculator, New Hire Checklist, etc.) and features make it a better buy than other HR software competitors in the market.
• Reliable licensed advisors from Gusto mentors offer compliant employee benefits like medical insurance, health reimbursements, HSAs and FSAs, Flexible spending accounts, etc.

Cons:

• PTO function could be better
• A shorter turnaround time for direct reports and deposit is much expected
• Not helpful for those having a policy of different shift and mixed pay wages

Pricing:

Gusto pricing is available in four different variants:

Basic	Core	Complete	Concierge
$19/month base price	$39/month base price	$39/month base price	$149/month base price
$6/month per person	$6/month per person	$12/month per person	$12/month per person

2. BambooHR

BambooHR is a well-designed HR software solution that helps to automate the operational HR-related tasks. This data-centric HR software collects valuable employee lifecycle information and transforms them into insights which the HR team can work upon to streamline HR processes and nurture employees. With over 1.1 million users worldwide, BambooHR is the fastest way to organize all your employee data securely in an easy-to-use, responsive system.

Features:

• Centralized employee database
• Job application management
• Data management, exporting, reporting, visualization.
• Performance management module
• Third-Party integrations
• Information security
• Online signature
• Open API
• Time and attendance tracking
• PTO accruals and tracking

Pros:

• Excellent reporting
• Great customer support
• Remarkable leveraging of third-party services

Cons:

• Poor mobile application version
• Tough to  use
• Not suitable for a large organization with 1000+ people

Pricing:

BambooHR offers a pay-per-employee per month pricing model.

Essentials Package	Advantage Package
$6.19 per employee/month	$8.25 per employee/month

3. WebHR

WebHR is free HRM software designed to fulfill the ‘hire to retire strategy’ to simplify organizational HR operations. It essentially bridges the gap between Human Resource Management and Information Technology.

Features:

• Document management
• E-Verify/I-9 Forms
• Training and development management
• Employee activity monitoring
• Scheduling
• Reporting/analytics
• Shift swapping
• Self Service portal
• 360 Degree feedback
• Timesheet management

Pros:

• Extremely user-friendly and very cost-effective cloud-based HR solution
• Comprehensive reports and graphs make it a complete recruitment solution
• Online job portal with good extensive employee profile
• Excellent attendance system 
• Seamless integration with QuickBooks, ADP, and other payroll processing services

Cons:

• Poor iOS mobile app API
• Shortlisting of candidates can be improved
• Lacks proper customer support

Pricing:

WebHR software starts from $2/month for per employee, offering all the base features.

4. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is a collaborative, communication, and project management software best known for its robust features. Bitrix24 has free human resources information management system (HRIS) that comes with 25 additional features.

Features:

• Custom workflows
• Automate leave approvals
• Purchase requests and expense reports
• CRM Integration
• Compatible intranet services including wiki, files, conversations
• HR management system
• Cloud storage (unlimited) 
• Advanced document management system 
• Task automation
• Mind Map

Pros:

• Excellent CRM support with an  option of free scheduling and resource booking 
• Efficient cost management and control features with expense tracking option
• Works well on every device with a cloud-hosted premium plan
• Multiple on-premise solutions available

Cons:

• CRM system needs more improvement
• Only compatible with small projects
• UX could be better

Pricing:

Bitrix24 currently has the following three different plans:

Free	Special Plan	Business Plan
$0 for all users	Starts from $24/mo (2 users)	Starts from $99/mo (50 users)

5. IceHRM

IceHRM is one of the simplest and most effective HR software due to its security and accessibility. Most companies prefer IceHRM due to its centralized support, making managing the company and its resources easy. It has a rich UI, which makes it extendable and customizable.

Features:

• Attendance management
• Expenses management
• Payroll processing
• Time tracking
• Recruitment and applicant tracking
• 360° Feedback and performance review
• Email integration
• Employee self-service management

Pros:

• The recruitment model of IceHRM functions as an applicant tracking system, making it convenient for job posting and recruitment.
• With its pro version, the software can be deployed on-premises in the users’ system.
• Easy to configure with excellent customer support

Cons:

• Hard to understand some functions
• Too many features sometimes confuse the users on the dashboard.
• Some features don’t work in the offline version

Pricing:

Lite	Cloud
45 days of a free trial	$9 per month for the first ten employees

6. Jorani

Jorani is free overtime and leave management software. It employs simple workflows of the employee and other features like built-in reports and lists, which are easy to export to Excel. Leave balancing and management is made more comfortable than ever.

Features:

• Leave management
• Overtime tracking
• Employee scheduling
• Calendar management
• Reporting
• Data analysis
• Approval process control

Pros:

• Supports overtime registry
• Easy reporting and simple workflow management support
• Includes many built-in reports
• Easy to configure a complex organization structure

Cons:

• Doesn’t support devices like android, Linux, iPad
• Miss important features like FMLA tracking
• No self-service portal

Pricing:

It is a free OSS software with no hidden price.

7. Factorial HR

Factorial HR software strengthens companies to make data-driven HR-related decisions, and at the same time, this revolutionary platform optimizes and streamlines your HR processes. This simplified solution manages everything by automating tasks efficiently and helps in getting rid of tedious HR tasks.

Features:

• Time tracking and attendance management
• Shift management
• Expense management
• Applicant tracking system
• Performance management
• Employee onboarding
• Payroll management
• Digital signature

Pros:

• Easily create a clear organizational chart for your company and its various departments
• Highly automated and self-starting software
• Excellent data security as the database information is encrypted at rest (AES-256)
• The document manager will safely store important documents for your company on a secure platform available 24/7

Cons:

• The mobile app lacks certain features
• Not very compatible for companies having Flexi-hour working as it misses total weekly progress features

Pricing:

Essential	Business	Enterprise
$3 / month per employee	$4 / month per employee	Custom price
Three admins	Ten admins	Customized

8. Farsight

Farsight is an all-inclusive HR software integrated with the leave and attendance system abiding by statutory compliance. With speedy computation, the Farsight payroll system processes over 1000 employees’ salaries within a minute, saving valuable time for its users. Its adaptable performance assessment system provides 90-360 degree reviews and offers two-way communication.

Features:

• Attendance management
• Task management
• Payroll management
• Travel management
• Employee database handling
• Documentation management
• Swap Card
• Workforce management
• Performance appraisal
• Biometric integration
• People management

Pros:

• It helps in identifying, screening, and hiring the best talent with ease
• The flexible mobile app helps in managing employee attendance
• Abides by all the statutory compliances hence safe to use
• Employees can record feedback

Cons:

• Not compatible with popular platforms like iOS, Android, and macOS
• The website is not very impactful

Pricing:

Essential	Professional	Enterprise
$0.47/user/month billed annually	$1.34/user/month billed annually	$2.7/user/month billed annually

9. HRcogs

HRcogs is a free HR software that is an Approved Provider with HRCI. The company has designed it to ease employee engagement by aligning several popular HRMS features matching its goals.

Features:

• 360-degree reporting functionality
• Absence management
• Benefits enrollment 
• Compensation disciplinary 
• FMLA manager
• Self Service performance 
• Management training 
• Workforce analytics
• Recruitment management
• Onboarding

Pros:

• Easy to use and resolves problems like streamline of HR Workflows
• Compatible with devices like Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone/iPad, Mac, etc.
• Cloud-hosted makes it accessible from remote locations
• Supports horizontal and vertical goal alignment

Cons:

• Needs improvement in the time & attendance management feature 

Pricing:

HRcogs price differently than its competitors. They use the commission of the health benefit plans to fund their services and give you their HR software to use for free. If you have a different broker, you can still use the software by paying $2/employee/month.

10. Ozosoft

Ozosoft is a well-designed human resources management system best suited for small and medium-sized enterprises. This simple HR solution for SMEs enables storing, tracking, and managing of all relevant employee information from one place.

Features:

• Leave tracking
• Time and attendance tracking
• KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) tracking
• Personal information management
• HR & Payroll
• Taxation Management
• Workflow Administration
• Data Security
• Expense Management
• Email Integration

Pros:

• User-friendly interface and a customer support team that’s available 24/7
• Offers huge bulk of features to help companies in managing employee performance 

Cons:

• Poor to use website 
• Not compatible for big sized businesses 
• Features are a bit challenging to understand 

Pricing:

The standard plan starts from $19 per month and supports unlimited users.

11. HR.my

HR.my is a crowdfunded multi-user free HR software. This cloud-based human resources (HR) solution for businesses is designed for all business sizes and fits well across various industry verticals.

Features:

• Payroll processing
• Leave management
• Attendance management
• Automated announcements
• Knowledge management and training management 
• Employee discussion boards and forums
• Functionality to print and export documents related to the organization

Pros:

• Affordable price 
• Easy to use for both employees as well as the employer
• Allows integration with any other software
• Highly secure database
• Mobile application for both Android and IOS

Cons:

• The dashboard is not attractive.
• No Graphical representations on the dashboard
• The interface isn’t that friendly 
• Customer service not available on the web and mobile applications

Pricing:

The pricing model of HR.my is not available online.

12. Zoho Recruit

Zoho Recruit is a cloud-based open-source HR software built to provide diverse, end-to-end hiring solutions. It is widely popular with staffing agencies, corporate HRs, and temporary workforce. This one-size fit for an online HR software solution is rated as the best choice for HR professionals looking to streamline their CRM processes. 

Features:

• Advanced Search
• An applicant tracking system with CRM
• Candidate status
• Careers website page
• Create job openings
• Emails inside Zoho Recruit
• Embed the resume form
• Import from Zoho CRM

Pros:

• You can customize every field, dropdown, and form
• It can even start by creating its interface
• It has excellent potential to grow along with the business

Cons:

• sometimes its usage is affected by poor internet connections derailing its use.
• Hard to add a resume to current candidates
• The app has minimal functionality and does not allow us to manage the entire recruiting process via mobile.

Pricing:

Free Trial	–
Free Edition	–
Standard	$25/user/month
Professional	$50/user/month
Enterprise	$75/user/month

13. Findmyshift

This free hr software is a very finely designed solution with unique features. Here, there is no software to be downloaded and installed. It is entirely web-based, which makes it easier for employees to work from home and for you to manage them from wherever you are. It comes with a fully customizable database.

Features:

• Customizable filters
• Vacation management
• Smart pay rate calculation
• Absence management
• Accounting integration
• Attendance management
• Automatic backup
• Automatic notifications
• Daily shift reminders
• Budget control
• Calendar management

Pros:

• It is effortless to use
• Great to customize and change the view
• Good functionality 
• Easy to schedule

Cons:

• Lack of some features such as averaging annual leave 
• Lack of integration with other products such as payroll
• There are no possibilities to apply to hide comments to cells

Pricing:

Free	Business	Volunteer
$0	$35 per team	$26.25 per team

The Parting Note:

We hope this list of a few popular open-source HR software that most companies prefer to streamline their HR processes and employee management helps you chose one for your organization. Let us know in the comment box which online free HR software you choose to use and name the standard features you look for in an HR software. You can check the list of more HR Mobile Apps.