10+ Best Free HR Software Tools for Startups & SMBs (2024)

Deel makes it easy for us to pay our international contractors. It ensures we are adhering to each country's legal and compliance standards. It is very easy to process separate payroll along with our regular payroll system. The tool is affordable and straightforward, and it only charges us for what we use each month.

We implemented Deel in order to pay our international contractors. The software we were using did not offer international payroll services and it became a necessity for us to look for one that offered such a feature. In addition, we also had to adhere to the compliance and pay standards of other countries, so we needed a third-party payroll system. We've been using Deel for over 2 years now, helping us solve all the problems we had before.

It does not integrate with our HRIS, Rippling. It does integrate with several other HRIS tools, however. No other negative feedback to share.

I like how simple Deel is. I can create contracts and payment schedules for contracts easily. I can terminate a contractor quickly and I feel confident that I am doing so in a compliant way. It is easy for new admins to be added to the tool so my finance team is involved with payments and contracts.

You should use Deel if you have international contractors. If your current payroll tool does not offer an easy or affordable way to pay global employees, consider using Deel.

Some new features I've seen in the tool include an onboarding tracker and a global payroll feature with more robust offerings. They add new countries as well and service 90+ countries currently.

One with global contractors.

I really love the time-clock app, which makes time recording more efficient and reduces time theft. I love that Homebase is highly expandable—we started with just the rota and expanded to include the time clock, timesheets, and payroll. I think it is well-priced, and you get a lot of value for your money.

We were using an Excel-based rota to manage staff hours, but as staff numbers increased, it became cumbersome. The rota had macros that were proving unreliable on different platforms. We wanted an online system to manage our rotas. The key benefits Homebase provided were a lot of automation, including staff shift-swapping. I have used Homebase on and off for about five years.

The geolocation on the time clock can be glitchy at times. It's only suitable for US employees, as you can only pay in dollars, and customer service is US-centric. The mobile app seems to be somewhat limited on iOS.

I think Homebase offers more expandability compared to its competitors. It is also reasonably priced in comparison. The pricing model suited us better than others because we have just a few locations with quite a few staff, and Homebase's pricing is driven by the number of locations rather than the number of employees.

Since it's primarily a scheduling tool, it needs to have a high-quality rota with plenty of automation and shift-swapping as a minimum. Rotas, timesheets, and payroll are closely linked workflows, so it's best to look for software that includes all three areas of functionality to maximize efficiency.

Homebase has gradually expanded its service offerings, allowing users to treat it as a one-stop shop for HR functionality. While this can be more expensive than using separate tools, the convenience of available add-ons is beneficial for those who want an all-in-one HR solution.

Homebase is ideal for US-based organizations with a tech-savvy workforce.

I like Monday.com because you can collaborate with others in your organization. Monday.com is a great way for me to stay organized. It’s also wonderful if you want to keep your teams engaged.

As an HR Consultant, I started to use Monday.com in an effort to organize my clients and the projects that I am working on. I have recently started using it.

I wish that there would be an easier way to track time and expenses. I wish that there was a start and stop time for each project. It would be nice to change the color schemes.

This is a great tool if a manager is trying to effectively and efficiently manage projects. This is a great tool to keep your staff engaged and accountable. Don't get left in the dark, this tool gives you the opportunity to know what steps have been taken toward the completion of the project.

Law firms, I think it will easily track the progression of a client's case. As a previous HR professional (10 yrs) with a law firm, I could see how this could be a great tool.

• One standout feature of Connecteam is its user-friendly design, offering various options to customize team collaboration.
• Users can easily upload their own documents and files from any device, making resource sharing simple.
• The intuitive interface allows you to manage your team from a single dashboard, where you can view the status of tasks at a glance, reducing miscommunication and boosting productivity.
• Tasks can be assigned directly from the dashboard, eliminating the need for additional communication methods.

I used Connecteam for three months while on contract with my previous employer. As of late 2024, I believe they are still using the platform. We chose Connecteam because it is a comprehensive employee app designed to streamline communication, optimize daily operations, and boost professional skills. It allowed us to schedule shifts, monitor employee work hours, and send automated reminders, all within a single platform.

• While Connecteam offers a flexible pricing structure, some users find frequent upgrade prompts frustrating.
• For smaller teams with fewer than 30 members, the pricing can be relatively high, which might discourage some users.
• The costs can add up depending on the desired features and team size, so businesses should carefully assess their needs and budget before committing to the platform.

Connecteam stands out for its ease of use, featuring an intuitive and user-friendly interface. The layout is clean, with clearly labeled tabs for each function, making navigation straightforward.

For example, team members can easily create individual profiles with personal information, promoting better collaboration and engagement within the organization. The app’s simplicity ensures that even users with limited technical skills can navigate it effectively, fostering team integration and productivity.

Connecteam offers a flexible pricing structure compared to other employee scheduling tools. The software includes three distinct hubs, each offering five unique plans: Free, Basic, Advanced, Expert, and Enterprise.

Pricing is fixed for the first 30 users, making it affordable for small teams, but as your team grows, additional charges apply. This tiered structure allows businesses to choose a plan that fits their needs while accommodating future growth.

Connecteam has evolved by empowering managers to automate business processes, allowing them to focus on growth strategies while helping employees enhance productivity, professionalism, and job satisfaction. By streamlining tasks and reducing administrative burdens, the platform creates a more engaged and efficient work environment, ultimately driving better results for the organization.

Connecteam is ideal for teams of 30-50 employees, especially those with non-desk workers who need streamlined communication and scheduling tools.

• Easily application process for leaves: You can apply for leaves according to the leaves calendar, and things are easily trackable.
• Events can be created and notifications are broadcasted through open channels.
• Salary slips and payroll information: Getting payslips and salary information is easy. It also provides a dashboard and shows downloadable payslips, which are easily accessible.

Not Zoho People exactly, but we purchased the full ecosystem of Zoho, called Zoho One, which consists of several tools that we wanted. From their (Zoho) demo, we liked the interface and capabilities of most of the tools. We were looking for a platform through which people can get most things under a single umbrella, so we had the demo, used it for a month, customized it to our liking, and they delivered. That’s when we decided to subscribe for a whole year.

Zoho People is full of features. The only con is the UI. Besides that, the software is really future proof. I’d suggest for the dev team to build in smarter UI features.

I have used Darwinbox and SugarCRM, but this software has way more added features to make things easy for the employees and the HR management.

The tool is expensive, if you have a large pool of employees then it would be great if you could talk with their representatives and ask for a discount. But it's well worth it. My only suggestion is get the demo, use it, if you think it's worth the price, go for it.

Yes, I have used it before, but back then there were a lot of bugs. But now the software has become smoother and easier to use.

If you are managing a big pool of employees.

• Better communication through instant messaging, group chats, and video calls. One is in the loop of whatever is going on and gets updates quickly.
• Document sharing option. Every member can share a document, and other members can work on the same document simultaneously.
• Better collaboration. This can mainly be attributed to enhanced communication.

My company was mainly trying to solve issues in relation to collaboration and communication. This has led to increased productivity and improved efficiency. We are able to share documents and properly manage our projects better than before. The tools being offered have streamlined our operations a great deal. I have been using Bitrix for 1.5 years now.

• It can be a bit expensive compared to other similar tools out there. Having regular discounts would go a long way.
• Someone who's not familiar with it will have a really hard time navigating through it. A short introductory video of how it works would really help.
• Technical support varies with the different plans available, and this may cause agitation since the responses they are getting aren't necessarily the ones they're hoping for. I feel like the support should be the same regardless of the package one is using.

It has an inclusive tool where one can do product management, CRM and communication. This means that my organization wouldn't have to use different software to achieve the same results.

Pricing. Because there are different plans, one needs to be sure they get a plan that's within their budget.

Ease of use. One needs to make sure that learning how to use it wouldn't be a problem for its members and they'll navigate easily.

I can confidently say that the enhanced features have improved communication and productivity for its members.

Small-sized business, project management, and customer relationship management.

I like that it has the ability to consolidate multiple features/apps into one software program. I enjoy the "Discuss" feature, which essentially creates a company intranet allowing employees to communicate with others privately or with groups/departments. I also like that it allows me to send documents requiring a signature without having to use another external app, such as DocuSign.

My organization chose Odoo because it is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that promises to consolidate and automate several processes. I work for a manufacturing facility that produces food and beverage items, and the processes from creation to delivery of our products include many steps and a lot of paperwork to remain compliant with industry regulations.

We wanted a tool that could be used by several departments, including production, accounting, fulfillment, distribution, and HR. We were hoping we could use Odoo to house our timekeeping, scheduling, and payroll as well. I have been using Odoo for about three months.

I think it is a complex system that requires months of training before it can be fully functional. We cannot use it for payroll because it doesn't track and record tax payments and would require manual journal entries each time. I don't like that the timekeeping feature doesn't allow us to use biometrics (fingerprints via hardware device) when employees clock in and out of their shifts. Although it can integrate with several apps, these drawbacks keep me from recommending it as an HR solution.

Odoo has several functions that it offers to automate processes company-wide. I find the interface to be mostly user-friendly. There are some navigational difficulties when visiting one "app" and then returning to the dashboard, and their training videos could use some work. I find it about average as far as an ERP goes.

Identify exactly which processes you intend to utilize this service for and have a realistic implementation plan. If you're only using it for two or three processes, then a shorter training and implementation plan may work. If you have four or more processes you're looking to integrate, allow yourself and your team several months to meet with their implementation team and demo the trial software so that you can familiarize yourself with it before rolling it out to employees. Training is vital to understanding the full capabilities of the system.

They seem to have a lot of options for different processes that they say continually expand, such as inventory, appointments and to-do lists, project boards, discussion boards, manufacturing, shop floor, quality assurance, etc.

A mid to large-sized manufacturing facility that wants all employees using the same software to meet as many business needs as possible will find Odoo very useful.

• We can manage time and attendance records.
• We can manage onboarding and offboarding.
• We can manage the overall performance management of each employee.

Payroll, time and attendance, performance management, learning & development, recruitment -  all of these were pain points that led us to buy this tool. Prior to WebHR, we were using excel sheets / doing manual work. I have been using this tool for the last 4 years.

• Limited report tracking and analysis.
• Limited customization.
• Occasionally, the system can be slow to respond.

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The appealing quality of WebHR is that it can support the overall performance of each employee, both in small and large organizations.

From time to time, they roll out enhancements to their existing features.

There is no specific type of organization required to buy the WebHR. Any organization can buy this tool to enhance their overall performance and reduce manual work.