BambooHR Key Facts
What Is BambooHR?
BambooHR is an HRIS for small and midsize businesses that keeps employee records, time off, hiring and onboarding in one database. More than 30,000 businesses use it, and most buy it to move HR paperwork and leave tracking off spreadsheets and email.
Every plan includes records, reporting, approval workflows and an applicant tracking system capped at 5, 25 or 50 open jobs. Offer letters, new hire packets and e-signatures write to the same record, so onboarding and time-off balances live in one place. Pro adds performance reviews, and Elite adds compensation planning.
Around that core sit paid add-ons: US-only payroll and benefits administration, time and attendance, and global hiring through an Employer of Record service powered by Remote. It fits HR-led US teams. Companies that want payroll software at the center, or that pay staff abroad, usually look elsewhere.
Editor’s Verdict on BambooHR
We’d shortlist BambooHR first for US companies of roughly 25 to 500 staff that want records, time off and onboarding running fast with a list price in hand. It fits less well when you pay people outside the US, need device management or want payroll at the center.
Our 4.1 sits below the 4.4 user average because public reviews rarely weigh quote-only payroll and setup fees, US-only add-ons or weekday-only support.
BambooHR Pros and Cons
BambooHR’s biggest strength is adoption: employees handle time off and e-signatures with almost no training. Its biggest weakness is that payroll and benefits are US-only add-ons with no published price. The plan price is honest, but it is rarely the whole bill.
Strengths
- Employees adopt it quicklyTime-off requests, document signing and profile updates need little training, and the mobile app covers clock-in, paystubs and benefits enrollment.
- Prices published before a demoCore, Pro and Elite list at $10.25, $17.50 and $25 per employee monthly, with volume discounts applied automatically by headcount.
- Month-to-month terms availableMonth-to-month subscriptions can be cancelled anytime and end on the last day of that month, with 30 days to download your data.
- Large integration marketplaceOver 150 apps connect, including Greenhouse, Checkr, TalentLMS and Human Interest, and Slack plus three single sign-on options are labelled free.
Limitations
- Payroll and benefits are US-onlyBoth add-ons serve US-based employees only, and neither has a published price. Staff abroad need payroll partners or the Remote-powered EOR.Alternative: Rippling, from $8 per employee monthly plus a base fee
- Flat floor hurts tiny teamsTeams of 25 or fewer pay $250 a month on Core, which works out at $25 per head for a 10-person company.Alternative: Gusto, Simple at $49 a month plus $6 per person, payroll included
- Support closes at 6pm MountainBasic support runs on weekdays only, in English. Recent reviewers also describe mostly self-guided setup even after paying implementation fees.Alternative: Gusto Premium, $180 a month plus $22 per person with a named advisor
BambooHR Features
BambooHR’s strength is the HR record and everything that writes to it, since onboarding, time off and reporting all sit on Core. Payroll, benefits and time tracking are separate purchases, and only Elite gets compensation planning with Mercer benchmarks.
Core features
- Employee records and reportingOne record per employee feeds a custom report builder, dashboards and approval workflows, plus an AI assistant for HR data questions.Strong
- Time off managementUnlimited custom leave policies and a shared calendar on every plan, though reviewers find future balance projections hard to read.Strong
- Onboarding and e-signaturesNew hire packets, task lists and e-signed documents run from the employee record, and new hires can sign from the mobile app.Strong
- Applicant trackingJob posting, candidate records and offer templates are included, but open jobs cap at 5 on Core, 25 on Pro and 50 on Elite.Adequate
- Performance managementPro adds 360-degree reviews, 1:1s and goals. Teams wanting deeper review cycles often add Culture Amp or Leapsome from the marketplace.Adequate
Extras
- Compensation managementElite only: compensation planning, levels and bands, and salary benchmarking powered by Mercer, alongside turnover and eNPS benchmarks.Strong
- Payroll (US only)Federal, state and local tax filing plus direct deposit for US staff. Unlike Gusto, payroll is never part of the plan price.Adequate
- Benefits administration (US only)Self-service enrollment for medical, dental, vision and retirement plans. BambooHR is not a broker, and carrier feeds cover select national providers only.Adequate
- Time and attendanceClock-in, timesheets, shift scheduling and automatic overtime rules for all 50 US states, sold as a separate quote-only purchase.Adequate
- Global EmploymentRemote acts as the legal employer and syncs both ways with BambooHR, but no country count or price is published.Limited
BambooHR Integrations
BambooHR lists over 150 integrations, and the marketplace leans toward hiring, performance and learning tools. Slack, Indeed, Gifted and three single sign-on options carry a free label, while fees for the rest go unpublished.
Greenhouse- Indeed
- Hireflix
- Culture Amp
- Leapsome
- TalentLMS
- Slack
- Google SSO
- Microsoft SSO
- Cronofy
- Checkr
- Human Interest
- Remote
BambooHR Pricing
BambooHR publishes all three plan prices and the flat rates for teams of 25 or fewer. Payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance and global employment are quoted separately, and the terms confirm a non-refundable implementation cost on top.
Published plans
Billed monthly by card or ACH, or annually upfront by wire or check, with automatic volume discounts and 15% off for nonprofits.
Fees and contract terms
What BambooHR states publicly, and what to get in writing before you sign.
What 50 employees cost a year
Core undercuts Gusto Plus on list price, but Gusto’s figure already includes payroll and BambooHR’s does not.
Who Should Use BambooHR?
BambooHR rewards HR-led US companies that care more about adoption than payroll depth. The fit narrows fast once you employ outside the US or pass 1,000 staff, because payroll, benefits and time tracking stay separate US-focused purchases.
Best for
- US companies with 25 to 500 staff replacing spreadsheets for records, leave and new hire paperwork.
- One-person HR teams that need offer letters, packets and e-signatures without building forms from scratch.
- Finance leads who want a per-employee list price, $10.25 on Core, before booking a sales call.
- Teams already running Greenhouse, Culture Amp or Checkr that want those tools synced to one employee record.
Skip if
- You employ a large share of staff in the UK and Europe and want them on one HRIS with payroll.Consider HiBob, with US and UK Payroll plus a Payroll Hub for other providers
- You want US payroll, time tracking and HR bought and run as one core system.Consider Paylocity, a payroll-led HCM with finance and IT modules, priced by quote
- You run 1,000 or more employees across several legal entities and need HR and finance together.Consider Workday, an enterprise HR and finance suite, quote only
BambooHR Alternatives
Buyers comparing BambooHR usually weigh Rippling and HiBob for wider scope, Gusto for payroll-first simplicity, and Paylocity or Workday as they grow. Only Gusto and Rippling publish a starting price, so the other three need quotes before a fair comparison.
BambooHR vs RipplingWider scope, but the base fee is unpublished.
Choose Rippling if you also manage devices, app access or non-US payroll. Rippling vs BambooHR
BambooHR vs GustoPayroll first, and cheaper for very small US teams.
Choose Gusto if payroll is the main job and you have fewer than 25 staff. Read our Gusto review
BambooHR vs HiBobBetter fit for UK and European headcount.
Choose HiBob if a large share of your staff sit in the UK or Europe. Read our HiBob review
BambooHR vs PaylocityPayroll-led HCM with finance and IT modules.
Choose Paylocity if payroll, time and spend tools must sit in one US system. Read our Paylocity review
BambooHR vs WorkdayEnterprise suite for multi-entity organizations.
Choose Workday if you run several legal entities and need HR and finance in one suite. BambooHR vs Workday
What Users Say About BambooHR
Users rate BambooHR higher than we do, and most of that goodwill comes from day-to-day ease across 11,527 reviews. Complaints cluster around payroll connections, add-on costs and support response, which matches the gaps in the published terms.
What users praise
- Easy for every employeeStaff learn leave requests, profile edits and documents with little or no training from HR.
- Clean, organized interfaceThe uncluttered layout draws 95% positive sentiment across 380 review mentions of the interface.
- Paperless onboardingNew hire packets, offer letters and e-signatures replace printed forms and chasing signatures by email.
- HR tasks run themselvesApprovals, reminders and scheduled reports draw 96% positive sentiment across 445 review mentions.
What users complain about
- Payroll connection gapsLimited payroll integration options draw negative sentiment in 41% of 319 review mentions.
- Bill grows with add-onsPer-employee pricing plus add-ons pushes small-business costs up, negative in 44% of 223 mentions.
- Glitches and slow repliesBugs and slow support draw 64% negative sentiment across 208 mentions, with long phone holds reported.
- Self-guided setupRecent reviewers who paid setup fees describe mostly self-guided onboarding and offers of paid hands-on help.
Is BambooHR Worth It?
Yes, if you’re a US company of roughly 25 to 500 staff that wants records, leave and onboarding live quickly and values a list price of $10.25 per employee. No, if you pay people outside the US, want payroll at the center, or have under 15 staff paying the $250 monthly floor.
Price the full stack, not the plan. Ask for implementation, payroll, benefits and time tracking as separate quote lines, and check the employee minimum on any extended term, because the terms bill that minimum regardless of actual headcount.
Confirm these before you buy
None of them appear on BambooHR’s pricing page.
- Implementation fee as a line itemThe terms say implementation costs are non-refundable, so get the exact amount quoted before signing.
- Payroll and benefits ratesAsk for per-employee rates, multi-state filing charges and exactly how the 15% bundle discount applies.
- Employee minimum on extended termsExtended-term bills use an employee minimum that stays in force even when your headcount falls.
- A written renewal price capExtended terms fix prices only until renewal, so ask for a cap on increases in the order form.
- Volume and prepay discount ratesVolume discounts apply automatically by headcount, but neither those rates nor any prepay discount is published.
- Who configures your accountConfirm what setup help the fee covers and whether hands-on configuration carries extra service charges.
BambooHR: Common Questions
These answers come from BambooHR’s pricing page, terms of service and product pages, checked in October 2026. Where BambooHR publishes nothing, we say so and tell you what to ask for.
How much does BambooHR cost?
Core costs $10.25, Pro $17.50 and Elite $25 per employee per month for companies with 26 or more employees. Teams of 25 or fewer pay flat monthly rates of $250, $425 or $650.
The plan tiles round the first two prices to $10 and $17. Payroll, benefits, time and attendance, global employment and implementation are all quoted separately.
Does BambooHR offer discounts?
Volume discounts apply automatically by headcount, registered nonprofits get an extra 15% off, and adding Payroll and Benefits Administration to any plan earns 15% off for US employees.
Does BambooHR have a free trial or free plan?
Yes, a seven-day free trial with no credit card required. Trial accounts cannot hold live employee data, and there is no free plan.
Does BambooHR charge an implementation fee?
Yes. The terms of service refer to implementation costs and say they are non-refundable, but the amount is not published. Ask for it as its own line on the quote.
Does BambooHR include payroll?
Not in the base plans. Payroll is an add-on for US-based employees, with federal, state and local tax filing and direct deposit.
A dedicated payroll project manager helps with setup and the first payroll run. Pricing comes by quote, and bundling payroll with Benefits Administration takes 15% off.
Can BambooHR pay employees outside the US?
Not through its own payroll. Teams outside the US use local payroll integrations for the UK, Australia and New Zealand, global payroll partners from the marketplace, or the Employer of Record service powered by Remote.
Can I cancel BambooHR anytime?
Month-to-month subscriptions can be cancelled anytime, effective the last day of that month. Extended terms cannot be cancelled early and renew for 12 months unless you give 60 days’ notice before the term ends.
Can BambooHR raise its prices?
On month-to-month plans, yes, with at least 60 days’ notice and no more than one change per package per calendar year. Extended-term prices stay fixed until renewal.
Does BambooHR have time tracking?
Time off management is on every plan. Clock-in, timesheets, shift scheduling and overtime rules for all 50 US states come with the separate Time and Attendance add-on, priced by quote.
How many jobs can I post with BambooHR’s ATS?
Core allows 5 open jobs, Pro 25 and Elite 50. Hiring managers can review candidates and move them through stages from the mobile app.
What integrations does BambooHR support?
Over 150, including Greenhouse, Checkr, Culture Amp, TalentLMS, Human Interest and Remote. Slack, Indeed and Google, Microsoft and SAML single sign-on are listed as free apps.
Is BambooHR secure?
BambooHR runs annual third-party SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits, an annual penetration test and native multi-factor authentication. Data is hosted in the US, Canada or Ireland, and the SOC 2 Type 2 report is available in its Trust Center after you sign an NDA.
What happens to my data if I leave BambooHR?
You can download your data for 30 days after the subscription ends, and payroll data may be kept for seven years.
Does BambooHR have a mobile app?
Yes, on iOS and Android. Employees request time off, clock in, view paystubs and sign documents, while managers approve requests and review candidates in the same app.
Is BambooHR better than Rippling?
For HR-led teams that want a simple HRIS with published plan prices, often yes. Rippling fits better if you also manage devices and app access or pay staff outside the US.
See our Rippling vs BambooHR comparison for the full breakdown.
Is BambooHR better than Gusto?
They solve different problems. BambooHR is an HRIS with payroll as a US add-on, while Gusto is payroll-first with HR tools included from $49 a month plus $6 per person.
