8 best HR software for startups in 2025
Running HR at a startup comes with unique challenges. While larger companies have dedicated HR departments, startups often rely on a small team — sometimes just one person — to handle everything from recruitment to compliance. Tight budgets and increasing demands only add to the pressure.*
Without the right tools, HR can become overwhelming, leading to low productivity, hiring bottlenecks, and legal risks. Considering that 90% of startups fail, effective HR management is crucial for success (and defying the odds).**
The right HR software can simplify workflows, centralize processes, and save valuable time. But with so many options available, which one is best for your startup? We’ve narrowed it down to eight top solutions — comparing features, pricing, and user feedback — so you can make an informed decision.
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*Leapsome’s Workforce Trends Report, 2024
**Startup Genome, 2022
The information below is based on our research in January and February 2025. All user feedback referenced in the text has been sourced from independent software review platforms (like G2 and Capterra) in January and February 2025.
1. Leapsome
Leapsome provides world-class employee enablement and management tools at an accessible price point. Our platform’s integrated suite of features covers a broad range of HR and employee engagement processes, from absence management and core HR tasks to performance reviews and learning and development — all working together to support strategic alignment across your company.
Our new people-centered human resources information system (HRIS) means even small but mighty HR teams can access a broad range of people management features. Leapsome’s core HR tools centralize employee data and reduce manual administrative work, freeing up your People professionals to focus on what matters: making your organization a better place to work and driving growth.
The platform can support compliance as you scale thanks to streamlined record-keeping, leave policy localization, and secure document management. Plus, Leapsome’s self-service capabilities enable employees to access and download documents, update their personal information, and request changes and approvals without asking an HR team member.
Top features for startups
- Core HR (including absence management)
- Time Tracking
- Leapsome AI
- Performance Reviews
- Engagement & Pulse Surveys
- Learning & Onboarding
- Competency Frameworks
- Instant Feedback & Praise
- Goals & OKRs
- Meetings tool
- Compensation Management
- People Analytics
- Payroll
Why Leapsome is a good choice for startups
Leapsome is a modular, all-in-one solution perfect for growing companies looking for a fuss-free, highly customizable platform that is easy to use and supports employee adoption. It provides the essential foundations of a comprehensive HR system with built-in people enablement features, giving HR leaders a singular vantage point for employee management — no more messy and disjointed systems.
The platform is easy to adopt and navigate without specialist skills, which is great news for HR professionals and employees alike. Our modular pricing gives you the flexibility of adding new tools and adjusting your plan to suit your changing requirements over time (without paying for anything you don’t need).
- A comprehensive platform that combines employee enablement and core HR processes
- Straightforward adoption
- Available in 38 languages
- Supports a 360° approach to performance management
- Customizable surveys and ready-to-use templates
- Employee self-service capabilities
- Possible to build your own L&D materials or access a built-in, curated content library
- Centralized data and document management
- Market-leading AI capabilities
- Award-winning customer support
- ISO 27001:2022, GDPR, and CCPA compliance
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- Some HRIS features are still in development
- Slight learning curve due to the wide range of products
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Leapsome is saving us lots of time during our performance appraisals and helps us build an open, value-oriented feedback culture. We’ve compared several platforms, and Leapsome stood out convincingly — it’s user-friendly, intuitive, and highly customizable. As a manager, I love how fast and openly the team at Leapsome reacts to our feedback and suggestions.
Dr. Christian Grobe
Leapsome enhances meaningful feedback and employee engagement. It’s a must-have for every company at any stage. We are growing toward 750 employees, but the rollout was easy, fast, and successful nonetheless. The great customer support helped us through the whole onboarding process.
Thore Schӓck
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With the help of the people analytics, you can quickly understand the significance of the results. We also frequently use the 1:1 function, which, although very simple, is extremely useful.
Erica Ancobia
We see the People team as a partner team rather than an admin team. We want to focus on our employees and not on processes. With Leapsome, we have automated the manual work around feedback and career development so that we can spend our time with our people: understanding their needs, guiding them through their very own DCMN lifecycle, and helping them find purpose in what they do.
Theresa Jasaraj
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Book a demo2. 15Five
15Five is a performance management platform focused on employee experience and performance. However, due to that focus, it lacks other key HR capabilities, like payroll and time tracking. Startups that want to create a more comprehensive HR hub would need to invest in external software integrations.
Top features for startups
- Engagement surveys
- OKRs and goal management
- Predictive impact model
- Employee recognition
- Feedback insights
- Career paths
- 1:1 meeting agendas
Why 15Five is a good choice for startups
15Five is a good option for startups that want to support employee engagement and performance management but don’t help with admin HR responsibilities, like payroll, time tracking, and absence management. You’ll likely need to integrate your HRIS and collaboration tools from a third party.
- Praised performance management and engagement tools
- Effective for setting and tracking goals
- Manager development and coaching capabilities
- Straightforward setup
- User-friendly interface
- Supports HRIS integrations
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- No built-in HRIS
- Some users find it expensive
- Some users have experienced poor customer service
- Some users find the peer review process confusing
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3. BambooHR
BambooHR has tools that support recruitment, performance management, and reporting, as well as time tracking and payroll. It’s considered easy to use, although some features (including those related to employee engagement and satisfaction) might be too basic for the needs of a rapidly scaling startup.
Top features for startups
- HRIS
- Performance management tools
- Time tracking and PTO management
- Onboarding and offboarding
- Payroll
- Applicant tracking system (ATS)
- Benefits administration
Why BambooHR is a good choice for startups
BambooHR is an interesting HR software for startups looking for a simple interface and features that cover most areas of People management. That said, some users say its lack of customization options means it’s not as useful for growing organizations. It also doesn’t have very robust employee engagement or engagement features.
- Suitable all-around HRIS
- User-friendly interface
- Easy-to-use ATS
- Employee self-service capabilities
- Integrations available
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- Payroll and benefits administration are only available for US employees
- Some users say the reports lack customization options
- Some users feel the platform isn’t scalable for growing organizations
- Some users have issues with its “unreliable” pricing structure
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4. Culture Amp
Culture Amp is an employee experience platform designed to help companies improve engagement, performance, and retention. It provides tools for gathering and analyzing employee feedback, conducting performance reviews, and supporting professional development.
The software solution’s scalability and people analytics make it a good option for startups that are growing fast and want to prioritize engagement. However, it’s worth considering if the platform is too expensive and complex for a smaller team.
Top features for startups
- 360° feedback
- Goal-setting
- Employee development tools
- Good customer support
Why Culture Amp is a good choice for startups
Culture Amp may be a good option for more well-established startups that want to focus on performance and engagement. However, it falls short when it comes to core HR functions, like payroll and time tracking. Culture Amp’s plans are also quite expensive, and the platform includes features that might be excessive for small teams.
- Strong people analytics and insights
- Comprehensive employee engagement surveys
- Ready-to-use survey templates
- Strong employee experience capabilities
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- No built-in HRIS
- Some users say the survey questions lack depth
- Some users find the system inflexible
- Some users note a lack of customization options
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5. Deel
Deel specializes in global payroll, compliance, and tax management for businesses with international teams.
The software solution also includes some HR features. However, considering the platform’s first priority in supporting global hiring, we’d recommend it most strongly to businesses that have strong international expansions on their agendas.
Top features for startups
- Global payroll and tax compliance
- Contract management and payments
- Localized benefits and compliance support
- Integrated HR and onboarding tools
- Employer-of-Record (EOR) services
- Expense reimbursement
- Multicurrency support
Why Deel is a good choice for startups
Deel is best suited for businesses that need to hire, manage, and pay employees or contractors across multiple countries without dealing with the complexities of local compliance.
- Solutions for global payroll, tax, and benefits management
- Ideal for international hiring
- Localized benefits and contract templates
- Intuitive user interface
- Automated onboarding and offboarding
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- Some users have noted high fees for services and transfers in specific countries
- Some users report slow loading times
- Some users have experienced payment or transfer delays
- Some features aren’t available in all countries
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6. HiBob
HiBob is a human resources information system (HRIS) that supports HR functions from onboarding to performance management.
However, HiBob’s features come with a steep learning curve and a higher price point for smaller businesses — so it may not be the best choice for early-stage startups.
Top features for startups
- Performance reviews
- Goal management and tracking
- PTO and attendance tracking
- Survey templates
- Analytics and reporting
- Compensation management
- Automated onboarding workflows
- Employee recognition tools
Why HiBob is a good choice for startups
Like Leapsome, HiBob tackles both HR admin and employee enablement within the same platform, which makes it interesting for startups with smaller People teams and limited HR resources. However, some early-stage startups may find that HiBob is too expensive and complex to meet their needs.
- Built-in HRIS
- Advanced people analytics and reporting
- Employee self-service capabilities
- Efficient customer support
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- Some users say the platform is “not worth the price tag”
- Some modules aren’t as developed as others
- Some features and functionalities are missing or limited
- Some users feel the leave accrual options are rigid
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7. Personio
Personio’s HR platform is best known for centralizing core HR, talent management, and employee experience features.
The software solution is most popular in Europe, specifically among small to mid-sized businesses that need a comprehensive HR solution tailored to European regulations.
Top features for startups
- Performance and development
- Employee surveys
- Reporting and analytics
- Compensation management
- Time tracking
- Absence management
- Recruitment and workforce planning
- Workflow automation
Why Personio is a good choice for startups
Personio offers reliable HR and employee experience features for startups operating in Europe. However, the pricing may be high for early-stage startups.
- Comprehensive HR solution
- Automated and customizable workflows
- Single source of truth for employee data
- User-friendly interface
- Employee self-service capabilities
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- “Would require improvement to make it scalable for multiple locations”
- Some users find there’s a constant learning curve due to tool updates
- Some users say the platform frequently has bugs
- Some users have had bad experiences with customer support
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8. Rippling
Rippling’s platform for HR, IT, payroll, and spend management is used by a range of companies, including small businesses and startups. It has a workforce management platform and a human capital management (HCM) solution to cover many elements of HR. However, smaller organizations and startups may find it to be overly complex for their needs.
Top features for startups
- Global payroll
- IT management
- Finance automations
- Built-in HRIS
- Benefits administration
- Time tracking
- Global workforce support
- Custom reporting and analytics
Why Rippling’s a good choice for startups
Though Rippling may have a wider breadth of features than some startups need (and this comes at a higher price point), it may be interesting for companies that want to streamline HR, IT, and finance.
- Unifies HR, finance, and IT
- Supports payroll compliance at a global scale
- Robust security
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- “It feels outdated and like it was designed years ago”
- Some users say that platform navigation could be more intuitive
- Steep learning curve at the outset
- Customer support can be “hit or miss”
- Not ideal for small businesses that only need basic HR functions
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Why customers love us
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Leapsome has been an absolute game-changer for me in terms of my professional growth and development. What I love best about Leapsome is how it has empowered me to take control of my career journey. The user-friendly interface and intuitive design of Leapsome have made it incredibly easy for me to navigate and utilize the platform.
Victor J.
Enterprise (1000+ employees)
Leapsome stands out as a best-in-class platform that seamlessly addresses a spectrum of organizational needs, excelling in performance management, employee engagement, OKRs, and learning. Its unparalleled strength lies in its deep integration with existing tools, effortlessly connecting with our HRIS, Slack, Calendar, and Jira.
Jamie S.
Mid-market (50-1000 employees)
Our company is new to Leapsome, but the onboarding has been fantastic. Our Leapsome contact has worked with us every step of the way to make sure that the review process will be easy on HR and all employees. He has walked us through the process step by step to create a review that will be ready to roll out pretty much immediately.
Karen H.
Mid-market (50-1000 employees)
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Pricing questions
Startups benefit from HR software by streamlining operations, improving employee engagement, and ensuring compliance. These platforms also provide real-time insights for better decision-making, helping startups scale efficiently and sustainably.
The key features to look for in HR software for startups depend on your short- and long-term goals. For example, some platforms focus more on performance reviews and learning and development, while others lean more toward core administrative tasks.
Ambitious startups should ensure their HR system can provide the following:
- Performance management tools, such as automatic review cycles and 360° feedback
- Employee engagement survey features, including best-practice templates
- Flexible goal-setting frameworks
- Advanced automations to reduce manual work and speed up repetitive tasks
- AI capabilities that help you work smarter rather than harder
- Straightforward time-tracking and absence management tools
- Employee self-service dashboards to reduce HR workloads
HR software for startups refers to platforms designed to support day-to-day core HR responsibilities — think administrative tasks, absence management, time tracking, payroll, and performance reviews.
While every platform is different, these solutions centralize HR processes and automate routine tasks to free up busy People teams. By implementing fit-for-purpose software, HR leaders can stop operating in siloed systems, streamline compliance, and easily access up-to-date information to generate reports and inform decision-making as the company grows.
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