The Best HR Software for Startups I’m Adding for 2025

Last Updated on décembre 13, 2024 by Ewen Finser

If you are looking for the right HR software stack for your startup, this guide is for you.

I’ve started a half dozen companies over the last 10 years and things are SO much easier today. When it comes to HR software, there’s some excellent choices to get started quickly and – most importantly – compliantly.

Not all HR platforms are the same OR can even agree on their definitions. So part of my job in this article is recommend some integration stacks that I’ve seen work really well (for example: bookkeeping + EOR).

As always, if you’ve used one of these platforms – or can suggest alternatives – be sure to comment OR engage with our Reddit page (our forum / community) for follow up.

Let’s get right down to it.

Deel EOR: Best for Global Teams

Résumé: Deel is an excellent, one-stop EOR platform (employer of record) for cost-effectively hiring, managing, supporting globally distributed workers (contractors or employees), while remaining compliant with country specific regulations.

Why I like Deel

• Streamlines Global Hiring: As remote, globally integrated startups have become the norm, having a bunch of peripheral “overseas” contractors isn’t always enough. Making global contractors part of the team (support, benefits, equity), and actually staying compliant with local regulations (a growing challenge) is “why” you need an EOR.
• Leading EOR: There are a few different EOR platforms out there like Oyster HR, Remote, Rippling, etc… but Deel is perfect for scaling startups that do not need the overkill of an ADP (or Rippling), but also plan to grow quickly and need a platform that scales with them.
• Aide à l'immigration/aux visas : Unlike other EORs, Deel specifically offers support for thorny visa issues without the need for an in-house HR or legal team.
• Equity Management: Deel also makes it easy to create equity structures for overseas team members.
• Vérification des antécédents : Deel handles background checks in the same dashboard, doing all of the nitty gritty of local coordination with vetted local agencies to make this happen.
• Equipment Provisioning: Want to provide equipment, but have no idea how to get the right keyword in a different country? Deel sources and securely provisions equipment for your team, regardless of where they are based.

Gusto: Best Payroll Support

Résumé: Gusto is a great, user friendly, SMB payroll solution for any business, but especially startups. I’ve used Gusto for the last 5 years and cannot imagine operating without it.

Why I Like Gusto

• Easy Payroll Processing: It’s so simple to run payroll with Gusto that I’m not sure how business operators did it before. A few clicks and everything is taken care of, including employer and employee taxes, W-2s, 1099s and everything in between.
• Easy Onboarding: Rather than chasing new hires down for paperwork and details, it’s as easy as sending a link! Team members follow an easy workflow to get set up with all of the details and compliance items.
• Intégrations étendues : Partly because Gusto has been around for a while now, they integrate with a wide array of third party partners. Some of my favorites include: Asana, DocuSign, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Microsoft 365, Notion, Slack, QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, Freshbooks, Greenhouse, Breezy HR, and many more (voir la liste complète ici)! It’s honestly a seamless extension of your workspace systems stack.
• Compliance Simplified: All of your taxes (employer and employee) are all configured correctly, as well as any compliance documents are flagged (workers’ comp), etc.. and any additional steps or actions required are CLEARLY articulated to you in the dashboard.
• Multi-user Access: Gusto is built for accounting and CPA access, with easy to onboard team invites. Really anyone on your team or in an external support role, can easily get access to all the documentation they need, with the right permission levels.

Gusto Compared to Others:

• Gusto vs BambooHR
• Gusto vs SurePayroll
• Gusto vs OnPay
• Gusto vs ADP
• Gusto vs Zenefits
• Gusto vs Paychex
• Gusto vs Justworks
• Gusto vs Square Payroll

Zenefits – Best Benefits Administration

Résumé: Zenefits is another multi-faceted HR suite for easily handling payroll, recruiting, scheduling and – as the name suggests – benefits administration. If you plan to administer benefits to your team, this is where Zenefits really shines and is worth the price of admission.

Why I Like Zenefits

• Easy Benefits Administration: As the company name suggests, this is the strong point. Specifically, Zenefits has healthcare plans in all 50 states, including dental, vision, HSAs, FSAs, 401k’s, life insurance, disability insurance, and other supplementals.
• Suivi du temps : Built-in time tracking and scheduling software available on ALL pricing plans (means you don’t need to pay for a third party app that does this).
• Payroll Options: If you do want to roll your payroll under one service, you can add on their full-service state by state payroll services for both W-2s and 1099s.
• Free Trial: Zenefits also offers a fully feature free trial, so if you aren’t quite sure if it’s on-point for your business, you can test it out risk free.

Zenefits Compared to Other HR Platforms:

• Zenefits vs Gusto
• Zenefits vs Namely
• Zenefits vs BambooHR
• Zenefits vs Trinet
• Zenefits vs ADP
• Zenefits vs Justworks

Teamtailor – Best Recruiting Suite

Résumé : Teamtailor is a robust but lightweight applicant tracking system (ATS) and recruiting hub, ideally suited to the fast paced nature of startup recruiting. If you’ve found other ATS software clunky and hard to use, Teamtailor fixes a LOT of these problems with a clean, intuitive UI.

Why I Like Teamtailor

• Instant Distribution: Use one backend interface to easily post to and manage multiple job boards. Streamlines everything into one core workflow.
• Integrates with Everything: One of my fav Teamtailor attributes is how nicely it plays with others (like Gusto) for seamless integrations. It’s not trying to take over the entire HR world, just do it’s one job (recruiting management) really, really well.
• Accessible Mobile App: One of my pet peeves is digitally native deck with no (or bad) mobile experience. This is not the case with Teamtailor as it has a similarly user friendly app for on-the-go recruiting pipeline management.
• Collective Crosstalk: Unlike silo’d HR tech, Teamtailor has built-in cross-functional feedback loops and commenting functionality so any stakeholders can interact seamlessly across the platform on specific applicants or recruiting efforts.

monday.com – Best Project Management

Résumé: monday.com is the best in class “work management” app that solves the most problems for pretty much any startup I can think of. It started as a project management suite (and it still is at it’s core), BUT is flexible for so many use cases, including as a CRM, CSR tool, or Creative / Design workflow for agencies and internal teams.

Why I Like monday.com

• Facilité d'utilisation : FUN to use, the workflow truly is a “work operating system” like “page 1” for business operations
• Visibility: A great “once over the world” view for managers and leaders to get a pulse on projects without having to ask a million questions in Slack!
• Flexibilité : Multifunctional for different types of teams (see all of the use cases here), I particularly like their new CRM presets.
• Intégrations : Integrates with everything and doesn’t get precious about competitors
• Abordable : A free forever plan for up to 2 seats (ideal for the EARLIEST days of the startup journey), and relatively scalable at $9-12/seat per month from there.
• Évolutivité : Enterprise plans with enterprise level security available

Connecteam – Best Non-Desk Employee Management

Résumé: Connecteam is a unique “deskless” workforce management app, ideal for businesses with retail or out of office workforces. Remote HR management apps have evolved MUCH more quickly, so having a system like Connecteam for your field staff can be a huge game changer early on in your startup’s journey.

If you are a startup in the home services or field service industries, this is a MUST look tool.

Pourquoi j'aime Connecteam

• Fonctionnalité : A monday.com-like operating system and virtual work hub, but for deskless teams in the field
• Affordable & Scalable: Completely free tier (all modules) for teams up to 10 members or less (great value for SMBs).
• Unifies Many Otherwise Costly Functions: Unified schedule and shift planning and real-time management & reporting.
• Project Management Elements: Built-in task management system.
• Great Onboarding for new Team Members: Best in class onboarding and retention tools (team member surveys, milestones, feedback loops).
• Great Visibility: Easy to get a “once over the world” for how the system is functioning and identifying problems early.
• Smart Tracking: Saves team members time with remote tracking and geo fencing tech (no need for constant check-ins or wondering where someone is).

Connectteam Compared to Other Deskless Software Suites:

• Connecteam vs Deputy Comparé

Slack – Best Internal Communication System

Résumé: Slack is probably on everyone’s radar, but it goes without saying that having a great, mobile friendly, internal comms structure is key. When I look at competitors like Microsoft Steams (Skype?), etc… they are just much less user and integration friendly compared to Slack.

Why I Like Slack

• Familiarity: Most companies use Slack and it’s generally much preferred by employees (certainly my employees) compared to the more clunky Skype / Microsoft Teams setups.
• Intégrations: Slack is highly integrated into pretty much every mainstream platform I use, with easy to setup alerts, cross-talk, and even fairly complex rule-based notifications.
• Reliability: There’s sometimes downtime, but for the most part Slack is highly reliable, with good up-time compared to many other communications suites.
• Accessibilité: Slack has an excellent UI/UX for mobile, making it truly accessible for the entire team, regardless of what’s going on and where you are. I honestly can’t imagine 10+ years ago PRE Slack (Skype anyone?).

Culture Amp – Best Employee Culture & Engagement

Résumé: The oft vaunted “workplace culture” that all the young folks love is actually pretty difficult to nail down. Culture Amp isn’t about snacks and foosball tables. Instead, they are a platform for open dialogue, continuous feedback, goal setting, and career planning for employees. THIS is what good culture is actually about.

Why I Like Culture Amp

• Outside the Box: Culture Amp isn’t something I would have ever imagined NEEDING, but once I started researching and testing it out, it makes perfect sense. Now I’m wondering what I’m missing by NOT having a platform like this to cultivate that oft-quoted and rarely understood “culture”.
• Learn About Your Employees: Retention IS a competitive advantage and in order to retain the best talent you need to KNOW what makes them tick. Culture Amp helps you do this with innovative development tools that go way beyond “free snacks”.
• Build a Feedback System: Great organizations have excellent built-in feedback loops from employees and key stakeholders. The problem is, it’s a really hard cultural norm to implement. Culture Amp kind of acts like a cheat code. It’s a trainer for good, long term feedback best practices. It’s also easy to use and not overbearing (and doesn’t come in the form of a boring HR powerpoint presentation).
• Measures What Matters: Culture Amp comes with 40+ (base tier) best in class survey formats, OKR frameworks, benchmarks, onboarding and exit surveys, and actionable planning interfaces to follow through on goals & track progress over time.

Final Note on HR Software (that doesn’t suck)

The above are my go-to, innovative HR tools for modern startups. There are certainly PLENTY of other systems out there.

I sometimes change my mind, so definitely be sure to check back here for regular updates around how my thinking evolves (and what new tools hit the market).