Core HR software, costs and alternatives

When to choose Breathe

Breathe’s pricing page puts core HR for 51–100 people at £175 a month, excluding VAT. It lists leave and absence, documents, reporting and performance in that core scope. That band covers the 75 employees in this example.

Optional products have their own charges, and their prices can vary with team size. In the live calculator at 51–100 people, rota, time and attendance added £57 a month; the £11 entry figure elsewhere on the page was not the price for this workforce. Core plus that addition is £232 a month before VAT.

Compare another product if the required add-ons or next headcount band make Breathe more expensive for the features you need.

What belongs in your quote

£175/month for 51–100 employees; VAT and optional products extra.

Include the required modules, add-ons and any separately charged setup in the total.

Compare the full shortlist and its cost assumptions

Three things to settle before buying

1. Demonstrate a starter, a leave correction and the handoff to retained payroll in the quoted edition.
2. Price today’s workforce and the next likely headcount band, with necessary add-ons.
3. Specify the data import, policy setup, training and responsibility for corrections.

Which alternatives belong on your shortlist?

• 

  Employee records, onboarding, leave and regular performance reviews

  Trade-off: at 75 people, core costs £148 more per month than Breathe, before VAT; compare the onboarding and review features you need.

• Sense HR Elite

  Custom employee fields and screens, Report Writer, payroll connections and access roles

  Trade-off: requires someone on your team to maintain the custom fields, reports and access settings

• 

  Onboarding and e-signatures in Core; performance reviews and timesheets in Pro

  Trade-off: performance reviews, custom reports and single sign-on are available in different editions; confirm the features in your quote