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BambooHR

Review by ALEX MCOMIE
Updated December 22, 2023

BambooHR is HR software that packs a surprising range of features into a simple, straightforward package. With tools like feedback, time-off management, onboarding, and applicant tracking, it’s a true all-in-one solution. You’ll have to start a free trial and talk to the company for pricing, but overall, BambooHR is a very good option for HR software.

Pros

  • Strong onboarding features for new hires
  • Comprehensive reporting and analytic tools
  • Easily connect to third-party job boards
  • Positive user reviews
  • Evolving integrations
Cons

  • No standard pricing, only custom quotes
  • No talent ranking feature
  • Lacks a variety of robust sourcing features
BambooHR logo
Best for small businesses
4.8
Features
5
Pricing
4
Support
4
Reputation
5

What is BambooHR?

BambooHR is an independent HR software provider based out of Lindon, Utah. With a straightforward, inviting interface, it’s clear that the main goal of BambooHR is to make complex HR practices more accessible to HR managers as well as other employees.

bamboohr dashboard screenshot

Viewing schedules, benefits, recent events, and other information in the BambooHR dashboard. Source: BambooHR free trial.

BambooHR is available through two different subscription tiers: Essentials and Advantage. Essentials is limited to core HR tools like employee records, basic reporting, and time-off management, and support is only available via email. With Advantage, you can access phone and live chat support plus more advanced features such as onboarding/offboarding, e-signatures, applicant tracking, and access to an open API.

When evaluating BambooHR, we were particularly impressed by its ease of use. You should experience little to no learning curve, which is unique for such a robust application. Our feelings were corroborated by more than 5,000 user reviews, with the vast majority of customers leaving positive notes about the platform’s design and interface.

bamboohr employee satisfaction dashboard screenshot

Employee satisfaction dashboard with information about recent eNPS (employee net promoter score) trends. Source: BambooHR free trial.

On the other hand, we were disappointed by BambooHR’s opaque pricing system. While most HR platforms offer a handful of clear subscription options, BambooHR only offers custom prices for each business. This makes it impossible to perform a one-to-one comparison — you will only be able to make an informed decision after contacting them and getting a quote from their team.

We also found that despite its robust feature set, it’s missing opportunities regarding talent sourcing. A Director of Talent Acquisition who uses BambooHR daily told us she has to source directly from old job postings because BambooHR does not offer a universal search and sourcing feature.

How much does BambooHR cost?

BambooHR provides custom quotes for each business, so there’s no way to tell how much you’ll pay without talking to them directly. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to compare BambooHR against its competitors — your best bet is to contact their team and wait for a response.

BambooHR plans have customized pricing for each use case.

Get Started Free Visit BambooHR’s website.

Starting price:
Varies
Free trial:
7 days
Free version:
Not Available
BambooHR Pricing & Plans
Essentials Advantage
Core HR Tools + Email Support
Custom Pricing
Advanced Features + Phone & Live Chat Support
Custom Pricing
Unlimited users Unlimited users

What’s included in every BambooHR plan? Both the Essentials and Advantage subscriptions come with standard HR features like time-off management, document storage, basic reporting, and employee records.

Which features does BambooHR offer?

Applicant Tracking Systems Features
Onboarding
Job posting
E-Verify/I-9 forms
HIPAA compliance
Payroll management

Other notable BambooHR features

  • PTO management
  • Employee feedback
  • Custom workflows with easy approvals
  • Employee records
bamboohr employee directory screenshot

BambooHR employee directory with social profiles, contact information, reporting details, and more. Source: BambooHR free trial.

What types of support does BambooHR offer?

Data Migration
1-on-1 Live Training
Self-Guided Online Training
Knowledge Base
FAQs/Forum
Email Support
Live Chat
Phone Support
bamboohr help center screenshot

BambooHR help center including support articles about various aspects of the service. Source: BambooHR website.

BambooHR user review highlights

We considered more than 5,000 BambooHR user reviews from five different third-party review websites to provide the most comprehensive analysis possible.

While all software has a mix of positive and negative reviews, our research showed that BambooHR is one of the most popular HR platforms among real users. In particular, we noticed that customers consistently had great things to say about the solution’s streamlined setup and overall ease of use.

In particular, reviewers noted that the dashboard made it easy to understand BambooHR’s features and design. We felt the same, as the dashboard does a great job of presenting lots of information in a straightforward way. Many of them mentioned the time-off schedule, which makes it easy for the entire team to see when other employees will be out of the office.

The Director of Talent Acquisition that we spoke to really appreciates the collaboration features that BambooHR provides, like collaborating with hiring managers on an open position from drafting jobs to reviewing candidates and receiving notifications when a team member comments on an application.

Feedback was generally positive in all areas, but customer service was clearly the feature with the most inconsistency. Some reviewers had seamless experiences with support, while others felt that the team didn’t offer helpful answers or took too long to respond. This was an especially common complaint among users outside the US, since their time zones don’t match up as well with American business hours.

  • Ease of Setup – You might take an hour or two to get fully onboarded with BambooHR, but most customers agree that it’s easy to set up for such a robust platform.
  • Ease of Use – This is one of BambooHR’s strongest points, with nearly unanimous praise from real users. The clear, approachable design distills a wide range of features into simple navigation.
  • Features – Despite generally positive reviews, we found notes about various missing features such as time clock changes, better support for non-US customers, and more robust tools for benefits administration.
  • Quality of Support – Feedback for customer support is slightly more mixed, but still mostly positive overall. Keep in mind that responsiveness will depend on whether you’re reaching out during business hours. The knowledge base is more limited than we’ve seen from other HR systems.
  • Value for Money – While pricing varies for each individual user, we found that clients are generally satisfied with the functionality they’re getting for the cost of their subscription.
bamboohr hiring dashboard screenshot

Hiring dashboard with a list of open positions, hiring leads, and other details. Source: BambooHR free trial.

Get Started Free Visit BambooHR’s website.

BambooHR Contact Information

Parent Company:
None
Headquarters:
Lindon, UT
Year Founded:
2008
Website:
bamboohr.com
Facebook:
facebook.com/bamboohr
Twitter:
twitter.com/bamboohr
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/bamboohr
Instagram:
instagram.com/bamboohr
TikTok:
tiktok.com/@bamboohr

BambooHR alternatives

Software Starting Price B2B Reviews Score
BambooHR Varies 4.8
Workable $129 / month 4.8
Freshteam $59 / month plus $1 / month / employee 4.4

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