HR Software Pricing: What G2 Data Shows in 2025

Choosing the right HR software is tough enough, but figuring out the pricing? That’s a whole different headache. 

If you’ve ever tried comparing HR software pricing, you’ve probably hit a few roadblocks: hidden fees, vague pricing models, and the classic “Let’s jump on a call to discuss your need”’ response from vendors.

Many HR software providers don’t list their costs upfront, making it difficult to compare options without sitting through multiple sales calls. And even with readily available pricing, extra charges for integrations, customer support, or payroll features quickly inflate the total price. 

With many different pricing models, knowing which one offers the best value for your business is tough without a clear way to compare. That’s why we’ve put together this HR software pricing guide to help you navigate different pricing structures, spot hidden costs, and make an informed decision without maxing out your budget.

HR software pricing models

HR software contains a variety of software solutions that serve a company’s human resource department. These software solutions span different categories, in which the popular ones are: 

• Human capital management (HCM) software offers features to handle key HR tasks like hiring, performance reviews, and employee training in one place. It becomes easier to manage and report.
• Core HR software maintains a centralized record to store employee information, including their details and benefits. 

There are also other categories, like payroll and global employment platforms. Some features overlap between these software categories.

HR software pricing model and cost

How transparent is HR software pricing, and what are their implementation costs?

HR software pricing transparency varies by provider. This is indicated through the transparency level, which calculates how openly an HR software provider shares pricing information. High transparency means the provider lists pricing plans upfront, making it easy for you to compare costs. Medium transparency indicates that while some pricing details are available, you must contact sales for the full breakdown.

Some HR solutions offer upfront costs, while others require direct inquiries. Here’s a quick breakdown:

*Implementation costs are expenses incurred when introducing a new system, policy, or process into the business. Here, the estimates have been sourced from OutSail, a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) comparison platform that helps businesses research and select the right HR software.

Gusto stands out for its clear pricing and lack of setup fees. Other vendors may charge implementation fees up to 20% of your annual software costs.

HR software pricing insights: Factors, unexpected costs, and discounts

The average price of HR software is between $15 to $22 per employee per month. Different factors influence software pricing for the leading vendors on the market. Let’s check them out.

Note: The annual cost range for each HR software product below has been sourced from Vendr. The insights for each product are based on the latest G2 reviews available at the time of writing this article, covering the specified period mentioned for each product.

1. Rippling

• G2 rating: 4.8/5 based on 6,566 reviews
• Annual cost range: $5,962 – $155,922 per year
• Pricing plan: Depending on your plan and the features you want, you’ll pay between $21 and $29 per person/month. The platform also offers IT management features as add-ons, which cost $5 to $20 per person/month.
• Top features: HRIS, recruiting, benefits administration, and compensation bands
• Factors influencing pricing: Integrating payroll costs $8 per employee, and IT and compliance add-ons are also charged extra.
• Unexpected costs: Some fines may be incurred due to non-compliance with tax agency regulations. Inaccurate license distribution ends up adding extra cost.
• Benefits: Faster technology onboarding, improved benefits management process, intuitive and easy-to-use system.

Insights on Rippling based on G2 reviews:

These insights are based on 3,186 reviews submitted by the G2 user community for Rippling between November 1, 2024, and February 24, 2025.

• Pricing: 0.72% of users liked Rippling's pricing, affordability, or value, whereas 1.07% expressed dissatisfaction, often mentioning it as expensive.
• Who uses it? Rippling is primarily used by mid-sized businesses, with 21.52% serving 100-249 employees and 17.09% for 50-99 employees. Smaller businesses also account for a large share, with 16.46% for 25-49 users, 14.87% for 10-24 users, and 8.23% for 5-9 users. Larger organizations (over 250 users) make up a smaller portion, with 7.59% for 250-499 users and 4.43% for 500-999 users.
• Ease of use, performance, and reliability: 29.41% of users praise Rippling for its ease of use, while only 3.3% find it difficult. 2.32% appreciate its performance and reliability, but 1.63% report issues like crashes or slow speeds, indicating mostly positive user experience with some technical challenges.

Rippling costs between $21 and $29 per user/month, which is higher than the average. 

2. BambooHR

• G2 rating: 4.4/5 based on 2,464 reviews
• Annual cost range: $7,029 – $36,690 per year
• Pricing plan: Depending on your plan and the features you want, you’ll pay between $6.19 and $8.25 per person/month. The payroll integration would cost $75 per month for 10 employees and $4.25 for each additional employee.
• Top features: HR data reporting, hiring and onboarding, and employee performance and experience
• Factors influencing pricing: You can get a 15% discount if you bundle payroll and benefits administration with the Core or Pro Plan. This offer is only for US-based employees.
• Benefits: Improves average employee performance, minimizes the unforeseen costs associated with non-compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and makes it easy to onboard employees.

Insights on BambooHR based on G2 reviews:

These insights are based on 151 reviews submitted by the G2 user community for BambooHR between September 4, 2024, and February 14, 2025.

• Pricing: 12.5% of users found BambooHR's pricing affordable or a good value. 12.5% of users found the pricing too expensive or felt frustrated by additional costs (e.g., add-ons). 75% of pricing-related reviews were neutral, discussing cost without strong positive or negative sentiment.
• Who uses it? BambooHR is mainly used by mid-sized companies, with 47.7% from companies with 51-200 employees. Small businesses make up 30.5% (11-50 employees), while 15.2% come from 201-500 employees. Microbusinesses (2-10 employees) and enterprises (1001-5000 employees) each account for 2.6%, with 1.3% from 501-1000 employees.
• Ease of use, performance, and reliability: Users frequently highlight ease of use, with 58.3% of reviews mentioning it as a key strength. Many praise BambooHR’s intuitive interface, easy navigation, and user-friendly design. Performance is discussed in 11.3% of reviews, focusing on system speed, efficiency, and responsiveness. Reliability is explicitly mentioned in 0.7% of reviews, with users noting high uptime and system stability.

Bamboo HR costs between $6.19 and $8.25 per user/month, which is lower than the average price of HR software. 

3. HiBob HRIS

• G2 rating: 4.5/5 based on 1,142 reviews
• Annual cost range: $14,940 – $110,542 per year
• Pricing plan: Ranges between $16 and $25 per person/month.
• Top features: Automated workflows, people analytics, e-sign, and docs management.
• Factors influencing pricing: Off-cycle payrolls are free of cost. Due to the added regulatory scrutiny, a cannabis-related business is expected to be included in the premium plan.
• Unexpected costs: The software may not deliver an end-to-end solution. You might have to add other third-party tools, like an applicant tracking system (ATS).
• Benefits: Increases people engagement, cuts time spent on HR admin tasks, and offers seamless integrations with ATS, payroll, and learning management systems.

Insights on HiBob HRIS based on G2 reviews:

These insights are based on 227 reviews submitted by the G2 user community for HiBob HRIS between November 1, 2024, and February 24, 2025. ​

• Pricing: Around 10.57% of users mention pricing positively, highlighting HiBob's affordability and value compared to competitors. 11.89% of users mention pricing negatively, citing high costs for small businesses, hidden fees for add-ons, and a pricing structure that becomes expensive as teams grow.
• Who uses it? HiBob is mainly used by small to mid-sized businesses (51-500 employees), making up 67% of users. 41.85% come from 51-200 employees, while 25.11% are from 201-500 employees. Larger companies (501-1000 employees) account for 18.94%, enterprises (1001-5000) for 8.81%, and small businesses (11-50) for just 5.29%, indicating its focus on growing companies.
• Ease of use, performance, and reliability: A significant 62.99% of users praise HiBob for its ease of use, describing it as intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to navigate. Performance is another strong point, with 27.31% of users highlighting its speed and efficiency. However, reliability receives fewer mentions, with only 2.20% of users specifically calling it stable or bug-free.

HiBob HRIS costs between $16 and $25 per user per month, closely aligning with the industry average. 

4. Gusto

• G2 rating: 4.5/5 based on 2,293 reviews
• Pricing plan: It starts at a fixed cost of $40 per month plus $6 per person/month and goes up to $180 per month plus $16.50 per person/month, depending on plans and features.
• Top features: Payroll, performance management, time tracking, insights and reporting
• Factors influencing pricing: Time and Attendance add-on costs $6 per person/month after the free trial. The contractor-only plan costs nothing for the first six months.
• Unexpected costs: Gusto’s pricing is transparent, and there are fewer chances of any unexpected costs.
• Benefits: Helps attract top talents, makes it easy to manage payroll, and automatically calculates team’s hours, PTO, and holidays.

Insights on Gusto based on G2 reviews:

These insights are based on 195 reviews submitted by the G2 user community for Gusto between October 2, 2024, and February 24, 2025.

• Pricing: About 8.7% of users appreciate Gusto’s pricing, while 6.2% dislike it. Users who like the pricing mention that Gusto is affordable, user-friendly, and offers great value for payroll and HR services.
• Who uses it? 29.2% of Gusto users are small businesses, and 8.7% are medium-sized businesses. The platform is primarily used by smaller companies, with limited adoption among larger enterprises.
• Ease of use, performance, and reliability: 62.6% of reviewers praise Gusto for its ease of use, highlighting its intuitive and user-friendly interface. 16.9% appreciate its performance, mentioning its speed and efficiency in handling payroll and HR tasks. However, reliability is rarely mentioned, with only 0.5% of reviewers specifically discussing it.

Gusto’s pricing starts at a fixed cost of $40 per month plus $6 per person/month and goes up to $180 per month plus $16.50 per person/month. It’s costly compared to the average HR software pricing. 

5. Paylocity

• G2 rating: 4.4/5 based on 2,779 reviews
• Annual cost range: $14,502 – $595,009 per year
• Pricing plan: The actual price might come in the $22 – $32 per employee/month range
• Top features: Payroll, workforce management, talent, benefits and employee experience
• Factors influencing pricing: Customizations come at an extra cost.
• Unexpected costs: It takes 2-3 months to implement the software, and there are additional costs for custom features
• Benefits: Easy to integrate HR, payroll, benefits, and efficient onboarding automation.

Insights on Paylocity based on G2 reviews:

These insights are based on 123 reviews submitted by the G2 user community for Paylocity between October 4, 2024, and February 22, 2025.

• Pricing: 4.07% of users praise Paylocity's pricing for its value, cost-effectiveness, and flexible customer service. Meanwhile, 2.44% find it a drawback due to unexpected cost fluctuations, high module prices, and expensive international payroll.
• Who uses it? 47.97% of Paylocity users are from small businesses, while 26.02% come from large businesses.
• Ease of use, performance, and reliability: 15.45% of users appreciate Paylocity's ease of use, highlighting its intuitive and user-friendly interface. 4.07% praise its performance, mentioning speed and efficiency.

Paylocity costs between $22 and $32 per user per month, which is higher than the average. 

6. RUN Powered by ADP

• G2 rating: 4.5/5 based on 1,657 reviews
• Pricing plan: The solution costs $79 per month plus $4 per employee. The actual pricing is available on request.
• Top features: Payroll, HR platform, compliance features, and employee experience
• Factors influencing pricing: Workers’ compensation and employee benefits plans are add-on features that increase the software's cost.
• Unexpected costs: HR support might be limited at the base-level plan. You can move to an advanced plan (added cost) to use it. The platform charges you for every assistance you need, such as support for responding to a tax notice.
• Benefits: Saves time on payroll, taxes, and compliance while scaling with company growth.

Insights on RUN Powered by ADP based on G2 reviews:

These insights are based on 176 reviews submitted by the G2 user community for RUN Powered by ADP between October 9, 2024, and February 19, 2025.

• Pricing: About 2.3% of users praise the pricing for its affordability and ease of payment, while 2.8% find it expensive or costlier than expected. Some appreciate its value for payroll needs, but others feel it's a bit overpriced.
• Who uses it? 42.6% of users for RUN Powered by ADP are small businesses, while 1.7% are medium-sized.
• Ease of use, performance, and reliability: 12.5% of users praise its ease of use, highlighting the intuitive and user-friendly design. 5.7% appreciate its performance, mentioning speed and efficiency, while 1.7% value its reliability, citing stability and dependability.

RUN Powered by ADP starts at $79 per month plus $4 per employee, which is reasonable compared to the average.

HR software pricing: How do top solutions compare overall?

This comparison shows how soon you can expect ROI after implementing HR software. The insights are from user reviews on G2 and are grouped to derive an overall user sentiment. 

Make the most of every dollar you invest

Gusto would be the right choice if you want an easy-to-implement option that takes less time to set up. If faster ROI is your priority, Rippling or Gusto might be a better fit. 

Keep in mind that pricing is just one factor when choosing HR software. Each business’s needs are different, so use this guide to get a general idea of pricing before negotiating with vendors. 

Want a more holistic comparison for everything beyond pricing? Check out my colleague’s analysis of the top 9 HR software for onboarding.