Our top picks for the best human resources information system (HRIS) are:
Featured partners
1 Rippling
Rippling is the first way for businesses to manage all of their HR, IT, and Finance — payroll, benefits, computers, apps, corporate cards, expenses, and more — in one unified workforce platform. By connecting every business system to one source of truth for employee data, businesses can automate all of the manual work they normally need to do to make employee changes.
2 GoCo
Elevate your HR with a modern, easy-to-use HRIS designed for small businesses. GoCo is a secure, compliant hub for sending, digitally signing, and organizing your sensitive HR documents and data. Manage records, performance, time off, onboarding, benefits, and more – all in one place. With the best support in the industry, every GoCo customer is assigned a dedicated Customer Success Team that is readily available to provide guidance and ensure a smooth and reliable HRIS experience.
3 Paycor
Paycor’s HR software modernizes every aspect of people management, which saves leaders time and gives them the powerful analytics they need to build winning teams. Paycor provides a full suite of HCM solutions with a single source of truth for employee data, so users never have to switch platforms, log-in to multiple systems, re-key data or open multiple spreadsheets. Everyday processes become simplified, allowing organizations to focus on their most important work.
4 Deel
Deel's full-suite of HR tools allows companies to manage the entire employee lifecycle—from recruitment and onboarding and beyond—in 150 countries. All this from a single, easy to use interface. US and Global Payroll allows you to pay any type of worker in 100+ countries, and all 50 states, in whatever currency you choose. And with 200+ in-house legal experts and entities in 120+ countries, using Deel means you’ll always be compliant with local regulations.
5 BambooHR
BambooHR is an award-winning HR platform that helps your growing organizations automate, centralize, and connect your people data all in one place. It gives you a one stop shop to manage data, hire talent, run payroll, and help employees grow.
In this article...
What are the best HRIS systems?
| Standout feature | Starting price | Payroll included? | ||
| Gusto Simple | Automated payroll | $40/mo. + $6/employee/mo. | Yes | Visit Gusto |
| Zenefits | Breadth of benefits offerings | $8/employee/mo. | No | Visit Zenefits |
| ADP RUN Essential | Add-ons features | Contact sales | Yes | Visit ADP |
| BambooHR Essentials | Plug-and-play automations | $108/mo. (for up to 20 employees)* | No | Visit BambooHR |
| GoCo | Customizable forms | $5/employee/mo. | No | Visit GoCo |
*Please see the BambooHR pricing section below for an explanation of discounts.
Gusto Simple: Best HRIS overall
Gusto’s Simple plan includes a lot of features that incur additional fees with other vendors. For that reason, Gusto’s Simple package offers the best value for small businesses that currently need the basics but want to be able to add on and upgrade as needed. However, companies are likely to outgrow Gusto’s top tier eventually.
In terms of payroll, Gusto and ADP RUN offer similar solutions. However, the main difference is that ADP RUN’s base plan supports payroll in multiple states, while Gusto’s base plan supports payroll in one state. So, if payroll is one of your must-have HRIS system features, the geographic distribution of employees will be a deciding factor in choosing Gusto instead of ADP.
Pros
Cons
Learn more about Gusto:
TriNet Zenefits Essentials: Best for benefits administration
TriNet Zenefits’ HR software is for companies that prioritize benefits administration. It provides flexibility to use Zenefits’ brokered benefits at no additional cost or bring-your-own-broker for an extra $5 per month, per employee.
TriNets Zenefits is best for companies that are a bit more mature or have in-house HR experts and therefore don’t need much HR support from their HR software vendor. Zenefits’ base plan does not include as much HR support as ADP, but expert HR support is available as an add-on for customers that need it.
Although Zenefits can accommodate employers with fewer than five employees, it does have a five-employee minimum requirement. This means customers pay at least $40 monthly, even if they only have one or two employees.
Nevertheless, Zenefits is relatively affordable, considering the number of features in its base plan, especially compared to GoCo.
Pros
Cons
Learn more about Zenefits:
ADP RUN Essential: Best for extensibility
Designed for small businesses, ADP RUN is a lightweight HRIS platform that allows companies to bolt on ADP tools as needed or integrate with third-party software. ADP RUN comes in four different price tiers, but its Essential plan offers new businesses access to bare-bones payroll and HR features like simple background check services and onboarding.
Besides access to ADP’s massive array of products and services, ADP RUN Essential is a top HRIS contender because it offers a level of customer support that other HRIS starter packages do not. For instance, in addition to payroll tax compliance and new hire reporting, businesses can access customer support 24/7.
Moreover, for small businesses without a dedicated HR department, ADP offers human resources outsourcing (HRO) or PEO services. These services can take over most of the administrative and support functions of payroll and HR so that companies can focus on the money-making aspects of their businesses.
Pros
Cons
Learn more about ADP RUN:
BambooHR Essentials: Best for HR workflow automation
BambooHR Essentials is one of the best HR software solutions for small businesses that want to eliminate spreadsheets and automate HR tasks in a centralized database. It streamlines core HR processes, particularly approval workflows, which frees HR staff to undertake more meaningful work aligning with the company’s broader goals.
However, as a business grows, it will need to integrate more third-party HR solutions, opt for more add-ons, upgrade to the Advantage plan, or upgrade to another system entirely, such as a human resource management system (HRMS) with more advanced features.
BambooHR’s add-ons for payroll, benefits administration, performance management, and time tracking compete with ADP and GoCo for modularity. However, ADP and Gusto include payroll as a foundational product to build out from. BambooHR is, therefore, better suited for companies that already have a payroll and benefits administration solution that they can integrate with BambooHR. However, they can only do so with the Advantage plan.
Pros
Cons
Built-in workflows
Bamboo’s Essential plan features pre-built workflows like employee information updates, promotions, compensation increases, and time-off approvals. These standard workflows help HR teams, managers, or whoever else is involved make time-sensitive decisions more quickly.
Time-off management
BambooHR’s employee vacation tracking software automatically calculates an employee’s accrued time off, so there’s no need for guesswork or asking the HR department about time-off availability. It also allows you to customize your time-off policies. For example, you can create unlimited PTO or different time-off policies by department, team, or employee.
Implementation
BambooHR includes a one-time implementation fee with a project manager. Companies with 20 or fewer employees can opt for the Quickstart Training for $299.
Essential
- For up to 20 employees: $108 per month flat rate.
- For 21+ employees: $5.40 per employee, per month.
- Volume discount applies after 25 or more employees.
Advantage
- For up to 20 employees: $180 per month flat rate.
- For 21+ employees: $9 per employee, per month.
- Volume discount applies after 30 or more employees.
Add-ons
Payroll (US only)
- One-time implementation fee
- For up to 20 employees: $150 per month flat rate
- For 21+ employees: $7.25 per employee, per month
- Volume discount applies after 21 or more employees.
Note: Additional factors, like the number of FEINs or the number of states you need payroll for, can affect this price. Please contact BambooHR for specific pricing quotes.
Benefits administration (US only)
- $5.25 per employee, per month.
- Volume discount applies after 30 or more employees.
Time tracking
- $3.00 per employee, per month.
- Volume discount applies after 30 or more employees.
Performance management
- $5.25 per employee, per month.
- Volume discount applies after 30 or more employees.
Zoho People Essential HR: Zoho People is a popular HR software as it includes a forever free plan for businesses that only need an employee database and time off features similar to BambooHR Essential. It also has AI-powered HR features and customizable automations to reduce manual tasks and prevent double data entry.
Homebase Essentials: Like BambooHR Essential, you must purchase payroll as an add-on with Homebase Essentials. However, its free plan and time tracking and scheduling features make it a great alternative if you employ mainly hourly workers.
BambooHR targets small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by balancing a user-friendly interface with out-of-the-box automations for simple setup. Like ADP, it also integrates with several third-party applications, making it a great first HRIS for small businesses needing a single system of record and easy-to-understand workflows for first-time users.
Learn more about BambooHR:
GoCo: Best for onboarding
GoCo is an all-in-one HRIS that follows a modular pricing model. All users start with access to its onboarding, employee self-service, and document management modules. However, similar to TriNet Zenefits and BambooHR, they must pay extra for embedded payroll, benefits administration, HR workflows, time tracking, and HR advisory support.
Despite this, GoCo’s onboarding features come standard — unlike BambooHR Essentials — and are particularly advanced. Companies can send onboarding paperwork to new employees to complete before their first day so that managers can focus more on training than administrative work their first week.
GoCo’s onboarding module also includes customizable offer letters, I-9 and W-4 compliance checks, and task lists. For more granular control, companies can add GoCo’s workflow automation to craft preboarding workflows for new hires based on roles, departments, or needed equipment. This allows for collaboration from multiple stakeholders, such as the IT department or executive management.
Employees can even self-enroll in benefits during onboarding if companies add on GoCo’s benefits module. And, unlike other HRIS on this list, GoCo offers workflows to accommodate I-9 Section 2 verification, even for out-of-state remote employees, in accordance with USCIS regulations. Thus, GoCo is suited for employers with distributed teams, reducing onboarding compliance risks.
Pros
Cons
Compliance tools
GoCo ensures you comply with I-9 and W-4 processes during onboarding. With the benefits module add-on, GoCo also monitors employee ACA and COBRA eligibility, removing these administrative functions from you. This is especially useful if you do not have a dedicated HR department to track or follow up with labor law compliance.
Customizable documents
You can move away from paper processes by uploading your unique forms into GoCo’s MagicDocs. There, you can transform these documents into fillable forms and even collect legal e-signatures. As a result, GoCo makes it easier to switch to electronic document management for more efficient data-tracking and audit processes.
Pricing starts at $5 per employee, per month and includes the following modules:
- Hiring and onboarding.
- Employee self-service.
- MagicDocs.
GoCo also includes the following modules, but you must contact GoCo directly for a custom quote.
- Benefits.
- Payroll.
- Time tracking.
- Compliance.
- Remote I-9.
- Performance management.
- Messages.
- HR reports and insights.
- HR support on demand.
- Vaccine tracking.
- COVID-19 paid leave.
ClearCompany: ClearCompany is another great HR software with well-rounded onboarding features. If you prioritize creating a welcoming company culture, ClearCompany allows you to add messages and videos from executives, team members, and managers in your new hire onboarding packets.
Sage HR: Sage HR starts at $5.50 per employee, per month with similar e-signature documents and onboarding features in its starter module to GoCo. Sage HR’s Core HR + Leave Management also includes “recipes” to build your own HR workflows without paying extra for a separate module.
GoCo is highly flexible, with modular pricing, so you can add the features you need when you need them. In particular, GoCo stands out for its onboarding processes that allow you to collect, maintain, and store documents and collaborate with multiple stakeholders.
Even without payroll, time tracking, or benefits administration, GoCo’s document management module can help you move toward 100% electronic recordkeeping. Digitizing your physical employee records can speed up information search processes and free up physical office space that formally housed filing cabinets.
Learn more about GoCo:
How to choose the best HRIS systems
Several HRIS solutions are available today, making it tough to decide which one is the right fit. But our favorites below may offer you a starting point:
Human resources information system FAQs
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