BambooHR

BambooHR is human resources software for small and mid-sized businesses. It gives HR teams one secure place for employee records and replaces spreadsheets, email chains and paper forms with workflows for hiring, onboarding, time off, performance reviews and reporting.

It's one of the best-known HR systems for growing companies — BambooHR says more than 30,000 companies use it — and its reputation rests on being easy to use, both for HR managers and for employees who use it to request time off, update details or find company documents.

The base plans cover HR software only. Payroll, benefits administration and time and attendance are add-ons, and payroll and benefits are for US-based employees only. For international hiring, BambooHR offers Global Employment powered by Remote, including employer of record services.

How BambooHR works

A typical setup is:

1. Import employee data into secure employee records and set up roles and permissions.
2. Post jobs and track candidates in the built-in applicant tracking system.
3. Send offer letters and onboarding packets with e-signatures and onboarding checklists.
4. Set up time-off policies so employees request leave and managers approve it in a few clicks.
5. Run performance reviews, 1:1s and goal tracking on Pro and above.
6. Use reports, dashboards and the AI assistant to answer HR questions and track trends.

Key capabilities

Employee records — A secure, organised HR database for every employee.

Reporting and dashboards — Standard and custom reports with real-time previews, plus dashboards for key HR metrics.

Workflows and approvals — Built-in workflows for information changes and time-off requests.

Applicant tracking — Job posting and candidate records, with 5 job openings on Core, 25 on Pro and 50 on Elite.

Onboarding — New hire packets, onboarding checklists and e-signatures.

Time off — Requests, accruals, approvals, a shared calendar and unlimited custom policies.

Employee experience — eNPS employee satisfaction surveys with AI-categorised responses, wellbeing tools and total rewards statements.

Performance management (Pro and Elite) — 360° review cycles, 1:1s, goal tracking and instant reporting.

Employee community and recognition (Pro and Elite) — Announcements, interest groups, recognition and redeemable rewards.

Compensation management (Elite) — Compensation planning, salary benchmarking with Mercer data, and levels and bands.

Compliance — Compliance Intelligence powered by VirgilHR, plus compliance training courses powered by EasyLlama: 1 course on Core, 15 on Pro and 300+ on Elite.

AI assistant — Ask BambooHR answers everyday HR questions from your company data on Core, goes deeper into policies and documents on Pro, and adds benchmark analysis on Elite.

On-Demand Pay — Employees can access part of their earned wages before payday, at no cost to the employer.

BambooHR plans explained

All prices are in US dollars and billed monthly per employee, with automatic volume discounts and discounts for non-profits.

Companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat monthly rate: $250 a month for Core, $425 for Pro and $650 for Elite.

Companies with more than 25 employees pay per employee: Core from about $10–$10.25, Pro from about $17–$17.50 and Elite from $25 per employee per month. BambooHR's plan cards and its own pricing FAQ show slightly different figures for Core and Pro, so confirm your exact rate in your quote.

Core — foundational HR: employee records, reporting, workflows, applicant tracking for 5 openings, onboarding, time off, benefits tracking, eNPS, compliance intelligence, 1 compliance training course, On-Demand Pay and the AI assistant.

Pro — everything in Core plus performance management, employee community, recognition and rewards, 15 compliance training courses, 25 job openings and an upgraded AI assistant.

Elite — everything in Pro plus compensation planning, Mercer salary benchmarking, levels and bands, custom dashboards and analytics, HR benchmarks, premium services, 300+ training courses, 50 job openings and the most advanced AI assistant.

Add-ons: Payroll (US only), Benefits Administration (US only), Time & Attendance and Global Employment powered by Remote, each priced by quote. Combining Payroll and Benefits Administration with any plan gives a 15% bundle discount for US employees.

Trial and contracts

BambooHR offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required, and the trial ends automatically. You can choose month-to-month terms or an extended term; no annual contract is required.

Who BambooHR is for

Small and mid-sized businesses moving off spreadsheets — an easy, organised HR system.

US companies that want HR, payroll and benefits together — with the add-ons.

Growing teams that need performance reviews and engagement tools — on Pro and Elite.

Companies hiring abroad — Global Employment powered by Remote.

Getting the most out of BambooHR

Clean up your employee data before importing — your reports are only as good as your records.

Start on Core, and move to Pro when you're ready for formal review cycles or need more than 5 open jobs.

Get a written quote that includes any add-ons, because payroll, benefits and time tracking aren't in the plan price.

If you hire often, compare BambooHR's built-in ATS with a dedicated recruiting tool.