Best HR Management Software Of 2024

Editorial Note: This content has been independently collected by the Forbes Advisor team and is offered on a non-advised basis. This content is not part of the comparison service provided by RunPath Regulatory Services. Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.

If you run the human resources (HR) department at your company, you likely have a lot to juggle at once. Using top-rated HR software can simplify your life and make your job much easier. To help you find the best solution for you, we analyzed the leading providers and narrowed it down to the seven best HR management systems based on features, pricing, support, integrations, user reviews, and more.

{{ showMobileIntroSection ? 'Read Less' : 'Read More' }}

The Best Human Resource Management Software of 2024

The Best Human Resource Management Software of 2024

BEST OVERALL

monday.com HR

monday.com HR
5.0
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

Free

$8 (INR 655) per seat per month (3 seat minimum)

Customer support

24/7

Number of app integrations

35

monday.com HR

Starting price

Free

$8 (INR 655) per seat per month (3 seat minimum)

Customer support

24/7

Number of app integrations

35

Why We Picked It

It’s rare for software to get full points in every category, but monday.com HR pulls it off. It offers a robust recruitment pipeline that can automatically coordinate hiring managers’ and candidates’ schedules—all while keeping track of where candidates are in the process. Once you hire an employee, onboarding is simple with a ready-made template that prevents new workers from bombarding you with questions.

monday.com HR also helps with managing current employees by letting you collect feedback to gauge their well-being. If they have leave requests, you’ll get a notification right away—plus reminders if you let them sit for too long. Performance reviews are also easier than ever with a management system that tracks outcomes and schedules meetings.

It’s also possible to use monday.com as a communication platform so you can keep messages from managers and their direct reports all in one place. If your company is looking for work management solutions in other sectors, monday.com can also be used to manage customers, projects, roadmaps and more.

Who should use it:

With stellar consumer reviews and five different pricing tiers, monday.com is an excellent and affordable option for businesses large and small that want an all-in-one, cross-departmental HR management solution.

Pros & Cons
  • Eight ready-to-use HR templates
  • Create your own customized flows
  • Connects to workflow tools for finance, marketing, operations and more
  • Plans are inexpensive—and free plans work great for individuals.
  • Modern interface is easy to use with good user experience (UX) design.
  • 24/7 support.
  • No ability for contractor payments.
  • Can only choose team size in multiples of five.
  • Not a ton of integrations compared to our other picks.

BEST FOR PAYROLL SERVICES

Paycor

Paycor
4.9
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$99 (INR 8,000)

per month plus $5 (INR 400) per employee

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

210

Paycor

Starting price

$99 (INR 8,000)

per month plus $5 (INR 400) per employee

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

210

Why We Picked It

Paycor might be best known as a payroll solutions tool, but it also packs quite the punch with its HR features. It gives you the ability to automate mundane routine tasks to save you a ton of time. The software also has employee self-service tools so that they can update their profiles, sign digital documents and complete any assigned tasks without interrupting your day.

We also like Paycor’s transparent employee reports. You can have instant access to your headcount, turnover rate, compensation levels and absenteeism. Company-wide communication is also easy with mobile push notifications and chat messages.

You’ll get unlimited workflows with Paycor, meaning you can set up as many automated tasks as you’d like. If you’re in the healthcare, manufacturing, restaurant, professional services, education, retail or nonprofit industries, you can use pre-made workflows for recruiting, scheduling and paying staff. You can also use Paycor to design and implement benefits your employees will love.

Who should use it:

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees can benefit a ton from Paycor’s combination of HR and payroll software. If you have more than 50 employees, pricing is obscured until you talk with a rep, so we’re not sure if it still offers a good deal.

Pros & Cons
  • On-demand pay
  • Low-tier plan includes automated payroll
  • Seven industry-specific builds
  • Expensive, especially if you have a lot of employees
  • Extra fees for setup
  • No integration with QuickBooks or Xero

BEST FOR AUTOMATED WORKFLOWS

Rippling

Rippling
4.7
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$8 (INR 655)

per user per month

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

100 plus

Rippling

Starting price

$8 (INR 655)

per user per month

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

100 plus

Why We Picked It

One of the interesting things about Rippling is that it helps four major departments in your company: HR, information technology (IT), finance and engineering. That means you can use automated workflows in HR and beyond. In particular, Rippling excels at automation based on trigger actions, such as an employee’s PTO balance, tenure or job title. You can set up your own if/then statements that perform whatever tasks you desire, including tasks on third-party apps, based on a specified factor.

If you don’t know where to get started with your workflows, you can choose from hundreds of recipe templates, including options, such as a work-life balance enforcer, benefits enrollment deadline reminders and upcoming PTO notifications.

Benefits administration, payroll, applicant tracking and learning management are also some of the impressive features included in a Rippling subscription. It takes 90 seconds to run payroll, and the system also calculates all payroll taxes automatically to eliminate your payday headaches. When it comes to benefits, you can browse over 4,000 plans to find the best medical, dental and vision coverage for your employees. Rippling also lets you send offer letters, run background checks and perform other onboarding tasks with a few simple clicks.

Who should use it:

Companies that want to get their HR, IT, finance and engineering departments running on the same software while also taking advantage of simple, preset automations will appreciate Rippling.

Pros & Cons
  • If/then automated workflows
  • Integrates data between four departments
  • Hundreds of recipe templates
  • Benefits and payroll support
  • Products can be purchased separately for a customized plan
  • Pricing isn’t transparent
  • No custom branding
  • No free trial
  • Limited customer support hours compared to our other picks

BEST FOR EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE

BambooHR

BambooHR
4.7
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

Not disclosed

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

131

BambooHR

Starting price

Not disclosed

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

131

Why We Picked It

If you’re tired of having employees bombard you with questions, BambooHR could help slim down your inbox with a ton of employee self-service features. All plans allow self-editing of employee profiles, along with a robust employee directory and org chart that provides contact info with a few clicks. A company calendar also lets everyone know their coworkers’ paid time off (PTO) schedules and work holidays. Best of all, these features can be accessed via mobile app for added convenience.

Customized data inputs let you record any stats you’d like about your employees. And all of this information can be synced up to third-party apps to eliminate double entry and improve accuracy. As with the other picks on this list, BambooHR also includes automated HR workflows so you can stop spending your time chasing down paperwork.

One downfall—basic features, such as payroll, performance management and time tracking are all add-on components. Since pricing isn’t listed online, we can’t say for sure whether these tools are worth it or if you’d be better off with a more comprehensive system.

Who should use it:

Companies that would like to give employees more hands-on access to their information will love the self-service tools BambooHR provides.

Pros & Cons
  • Mobile app helps employees find their own answers
  • Offer letter templates included
  • Auto-post job openings on major job boards
  • Electronic signatures on e-docs
  • Pricing isn’t transparent
  • No onboarding, offboarding or applicant tracking support in base plan
  • No chat or telephone support with base plan
  • Payroll, performance management and time tracking not included.

BEST FOR GLOBAL WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Workday

Workday
4.6
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

Not disclosed

Customer support

24/7

Number of app integrations

600

Workday

Starting price

Not disclosed

Customer support

24/7

Number of app integrations

600

Why We Picked It

Workday excels at offering customized reports about your workplace. You can set up your home screen to show data automatically, such as year-to-date (YTD) turnover—sorted by voluntary, new hire and high performer turnover—headcount, open positions and hire and terminations by quarter.

But perhaps its most unique feature is its global compliance support. Managing HR for a company with employees in different states—or even different countries—can be a headache. Workday eliminates the stress by helping you stay on top of regulatory changes in over 80 jurisdictions to reduce labor or tax violations. You can spend less time investigating location-specific laws and more time improving your company’s culture.

Another feature that makes Workday a top pick is its informative org charts that allow you to give feedback or promotions right from the same drag-and-drop interface. Talent procurement is also easy thanks to a skill-focused strategy that narrows down applicants based on their knowledge. Workday even offers benefits administration that lets you manage eligibility and available plans easily, no matter where your workers are located.

Who should use it:

Workday is best for mid- to large-sized companies who need custom HR and financial management over several locations.

Pros & Cons
  • Second highest number of app integrations among our picks
  • 24/7 phone and online support
  • Integrates HR and finance
  • Employee profile support for 200-plus countries
  • Pricing isn’t transparent
  • No free version
  • Software can be difficult to navigate

BEST FOR MANAGING FREELANCERS

Zenefits

Zenefits
4.5
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

$8 (INR 655)

per month per employee

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

46

Zenefits

Starting price

$8 (INR 655)

per month per employee

Customer support

Monday to Friday

Number of app integrations

46

Why We Picked It

Unlike some of the other picks on our list, Zenefits is totally upfront about its pricing. You can easily see what each plan costs and includes without needing to reach out to a company rep. Furthermore, services, such as payroll, advisory services, recruiting and using your own benefits broker, are all add-on costs, meaning you only pay for what you need.

According to Zenefits, it helps you with everything from hiring to retiring. You can create a compensation package directly in the system and then auto-send offer letters to new hires. One unique feature of Zenefits is that it can also manage contractors and freelancers in addition to full-time employees. Once employees join your organization, they can then onboard themselves as well as edit their own records.

Zenefits allows you to take things digitally with electronic documents, including W-4s and I-9s. This makes things easy come tax or payroll time when everything can be handled online without the time and labor of physically mailing documents. Finally, we also like Zenefits time off tracking features, which let you manage your company’s PTO policy, including time-off blackout dates and automatically calculated balances.

Who should use it:

Companies who manage a lot of freelancers and only want to pay for features they’ll actually use via add-ons will appreciate Zenefits.

Pros & Cons
  • Ability to choose which add-ons you need
  • Configurable people analytics dashboards
  • Complete performance management suite
  • Five-employee minimum requirement
  • Adding on every service is quite costly
  • You have to pay to use your own benefits broker

BEST FOR STAYING ORGANIZED

ClickUp

ClickUp
4.4
Our ratings take into account a product's rewards, fees, rates and other category-specific attributes. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

Starting price

Free

$5 (INR 400) per member per month

Customer support

24/7

Number of app integrations

1,000 plus

ClickUp

Starting price

Free

$5 (INR 400) per member per month

Customer support

24/7

Number of app integrations

1,000 plus

Why We Picked It

Though ClickUp is more well-known as a project management software, it also comes with a specific setup for HR management. Your HR team will have its own Space—basically a place to store all of your files and information. Within that Space, you can add new folders and create unlimited lists of tasks organized by stage, due date or priority.

ClickUp works well for recruiting since you can organize applicants easily and keep track of all your outreach efforts. Just add them into your Space, and you’ll be able to move them around depending on the stage of the process they’re in. The same goes for onboarding—you can create trackable tasks and docs, as well as leave comments and feedback right from the app.

Keep in mind—since ClickUp is primarily for managing projects, it doesn’t come with a lot of extra features like some of our other picks. It can help you stay extremely organized, but it doesn’t offer things, such as payroll, benefits administration, contractor payments or peer reviews.

Who should use it:

If you’ve got other solutions for things, such as payroll or benefits and just need help staying organized with everything you need to do, then ClickUp is a good option.

Pros & Cons
  • Free forever plan
  • Affordable premium plans
  • Unlimited users on every plan
  • Native time tracking
  • Most app integrations of all our picks
  • Can get expensive for larger companies
  • Support via phone not available
  • Limited HR-specific features

Summary: Compare the Best HR Software


Company Forbes Advisor India Rating Starting price Customer support Number of app integrations Learn More
monday.com HR 5.0 Free; $8 (INR 655) per seat per month (3 seat minimum) 24/7 35 View More
Paycor 4.9 $99 (INR 8,000) per month plus $5 (INR 400) per employee Monday to Friday 210 View More
Rippling 4.7 $8 (INR 655) per user per month Monday to Friday 100 plus View More
BambooHR 4.7 Not disclosed Monday to Friday 131 View More
Workday 4.6 Not disclosed 24/7 600 View More
Zenefits 4.5 $8 (INR 655) per month per employee Monday to Friday 46 View More
ClickUp 4.4 Free; $5 (INR 400) per member per month 24/7 1,000 plus View More

Methodology

To rank the best HR management systems, we evaluated 25 of the industry’s leading software across five main categories for a total of 34 different metrics. After compiling this data, we used it to rank the systems and determine the overall best human resource management systems for small businesses. Here is the breakdown of the categories we used to rank the providers that made the top of the list.

Pricing – 10%

For pricing, we considered whether the company offered an affordable solution as well as a free trial or version of its software. Companies that offered upfront pricing received higher ratings here than those that require making a call to its sales department or filling out a lead capture form. This accounted for 10% of our weighted scoring.

General Features – 30%

When looking at an HR management software’s general features, we consider whether the company offered common HR management solutions, such as benefits administration, payroll and org charts. Other general features we looked for included access to a mobile app, reporting dashboard, applicant tracking system and learning management tools. We weighted general features at 30% of our total score.

Additional Features – 20%

For features unique to HR management software, some of what we considered included if the company went beyond with offerings, such as engagement tools, shift scheduling and PTO tracking. Tax functionality and third-party software integrations also played a role in our evaluation of these providers. Additional features accounted for 20% of our final score.

Third-Party Reviews – 10%

We wanted to know what other users thought of each of these services, so we looked at reviews to gain insight into each software provider’s offering. This entailed ranking both the overall score from customers and the number of reviews for these providers, focusing on how many of these reviews were at least higher quality (3.5 out of 5) for each one. These accounted for 10% of the total score.

Expert Score – 30%

We looked at how experts in the field ranked the service’s features, value for the money, popularity and ease of use. The scores from each of these categories were adjusted accordingly, leaving us with the highest-rated picks for your company. These criteria made up 30% of the total score.

How To Choose HR Software?

When choosing HR management software, your main consideration should be how much time a service can save you. You want a robust application that can handle mundane tasks, such as sending out onboarding emails or calculating payroll, for you automatically.

If you’re part of a larger company, it might also be important to find software that lets you see all members of your organization at once. Smaller HR departments likely don’t have trouble remembering everyone’s role and pay grade, but at bigger companies, this can be an impossible task if it’s something you have to manage manually.

Since one of your biggest responsibilities as an HR manager is hiring and firing, you also want software that can assist you with this. The best human resource management systems offer tools for recruitment and interview management workflows so you know exactly where you are in the process with a candidate at any given time. Systems that also offer performance review tools, such as feedback, reminders and improvement task lists can also make your life a lot easier.

Benefits of HR Software

Here are just a few of the benefits of using HR software:

  • Save money by lowering administrative costs. HR software simplifies the process and requires a smaller team to do the same work.
  • Happier employees. When employees are able to self-manage their time cards, benefits and PTO, they feel empowered. The result is happier employees.
  • Automates vital functions. Software automates certain activities and sends reminders for others. This allows managers and employees to never miss an important action.

Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.

{{ showReadFullArticleContent ? 'Hide the article' : 'Read the full article' }}

What are the three types of HR systems?

The three types of HR systems are Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), Human Capital Management (HCM) software and Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS).

How do I choose an HR system?

How much does human resource management software cost?

Why is HR software so important?

The Forbes Advisor editorial team is independent and objective. To help support our reporting work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive payment from the companies that advertise on the Forbes Advisor site. This comes from two main sources.

First, we provide paid placements to advertisers to present their offers. The payments we receive for those placements affects how and where advertisers’ offers appear on the site. This site does not include all companies or products available within the market.

Second, we also include links to our advertisers’ offers in some of our articles. These “affiliate links” may generate income for our site when you click on them. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the listings or commentary our editorial team provides in our articles or other impact any of the editorial content on Forbes Advisor.

While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, Forbes Advisor does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof.