Prices checked 12 Oct 2026Page updated 12 Oct 2026
Cheapest HR software in the UK: what it actually costs
Every figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page. Choose any product for the full comparison, including what it does that MadyHR.ai does not. Only need sponsor compliance prices? See them lowest first.
Published entry prices
| Product | Entry plan | Published price | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| BrightHR | Core HR | £16.67 / employee / month | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| Breathe | Micro (1–10) | £24 / month | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| myhrtoolkit | 0–5 people | £22 / month | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| SponsorPro | Sponsor Starter | £79 / month | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| SMS System | Starter | £39.99 / month + £5 / sponsored employee / month | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| WPC HR | Professional | £100 / month | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| MadyHR.aiOne flat price, unlimited employees, every module | Annual | £50 a year, or £240 for 10 years | Pricing |
Ex VAT. Entry paid plan shown for each vendor; SponsorPro's Sponsor Starter is shown because its cheaper plans don't cover sponsor duties. Each vendor's other plans are on its comparison page. MadyHR.ai's £50 is what you pay — nothing is added at checkout.
Other HR software we checked on price
For very small teams, free editions cost nothing: Zoho People for up to 5 people and Connecteam for up to 10 people. From 11 employees up, none of the UK-priced HR software we checked publishes a price below MadyHR.ai's £50 a year — the lowest published price we could find.
| Product | Published price | What it covers | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| LuwaSuite | £492 / yearUp to 5 employees | Sponsor compliance and HR, including payroll | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| Zoho People | Free up to 5 users, then £0.83 / user / monthFree edition: up to 5 usersThe price UK visitors are shown. The archived copy shows US dollars, because the Internet Archive saves pages from the US. | Everyday HR (records, leave, documents); no sponsor licence tools listed | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| Factorial | from £5.40 / user / monthQuote-based | Everyday HR and payroll; no sponsor licence tools listed | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| Connecteam | Free up to 10 employeesUp to 10 employeesPaid plans are priced in US dollars, so they are not compared here. | Scheduling, time clock and team chat, with basic HR; no sponsor licence tools listed | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| Root HR | £120 / yearUp to 15 employees (15 billed at minimum) | HR (leave, rota, records) with UKVI compliance monitoring | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| BlazeHR | £19 / month for the first 6 months (the page also shows £29)Up to 25 employeesThe page shows £19 a month for 6 months next to £29 and doesn't say the price after 6 months, so the lower figure is used. | HR with a UKVI module | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
| LicenceGuard | £4.49 / user (seat) / monthCharged per login user, from 1 seatEvery user account and pending invitation uses a seat, so the price rises with the number of people who log in. | Sponsor compliance and HR, including payroll | Source · Archived copy, 12 Oct 2026 |
Before VAT, read from each vendor's own page on 10 Oct 2026. Price only: these products have no full comparison page, so check what each includes before you choose.
What each product is for
| Product | Everyday HR | Sponsor licence duties | Legal helpline | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrightHR | Yes | Not listed | Yes (Enhanced, Full) | Per employee, 24–60 month terms |
| Breathe | Yes | Not listed | No | Headcount band |
| myhrtoolkit | Yes | Not listed | No | Headcount band |
| SponsorPro | Not listed | Yes | No | Worker and user bands |
| SMS System | For sponsored workers (leave, attendance); rota not listed | Yes | No | Base fee + per sponsored worker |
| WPC HR | Yes (leave, attendance, rota listed) | Yes | Advisers via sister firms (billed separately) | Banded by employees, plus setup fee |
| MadyHR.ai | Yes | Yes | No | Flat |
“Not listed” means the capability does not appear on the vendor's public features pages as at 12 Oct 2026. It does not mean it doesn't exist. If we've missed something, tell us and we'll correct it.
Work it out for your own headcount
| Product | Per year | Over 10 years |
|---|---|---|
| MadyHR.ai — unlimited employeesAnnual plan £50 a year · 10-year plan £240 once | £50 | £24010-year plan |
| Breathe (annual billing)Starter | £449 | £4,490 |
| SMS System StarterBuilt around sponsored workers; rota not listed | £720 | £7,199 |
| SponsorPro (annual billing)Sponsor StarterCompliance only — most employers add a separate HR system | £790 | £7,900 |
| myhrtoolkit11–20 people | £894 | £8,940 |
| BrightHR Core | £2,400 | £24,005 |
| WPC HREliteAdd a setup fee from £750 in year one. Above 50 employees: custom quote | £3,000 | £30,000 |
| BrightHR Full | £4,507 | £45,072 |
Competitor figures are ex VAT, core product, cheapest published billing option, no add-ons, using the published prices checked on 12 Oct 2026. Ten-year figures are ten times today's yearly price. Where a vendor's published bands stop below your headcount, the cost is shown as not published. The number of sponsored workers only changes vendors that charge per sponsored employee.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest HR software in the UK?
It depends on the size of your team. Free editions cover the smallest: Zoho People for up to 5 people and Connecteam for up to 10 people. From 11 employees up, MadyHR.ai at £50 a year for unlimited employees is the lowest published price we could find among the UK-priced HR software on this page, and it includes sponsor licence compliance. Prices checked 10 Oct 2026.
What does HR software cost in the UK in 2026?
On published prices checked 12 Oct 2026: the per-employee product here, BrightHR, runs from £16.67 to £31.30 per employee per month; the headcount-band products start at £22 a month (myhrtoolkit, up to 5 people) and at 151–200 people are £315 (myhrtoolkit) to £579 (Breathe Plus) a month; and the cheapest plan here that covers sponsor duties is SMS System Starter at £39.99 a month plus £5 per sponsored employee. MadyHR.ai is £50 a year for unlimited employees.
Which UK HR software includes sponsor licence compliance?
Of the products on this page, MadyHR.ai and WPC HR both list everyday HR for the whole team and sponsor licence duties as at 12 Oct 2026; MadyHR.ai is the only one of the two sold at one flat price for unlimited employees. WPC HR lists leave, attendance and rota alongside its compliance features. SMS System is built for sponsor compliance and lists leave, timesheets and clock in/out for sponsored workers, but not rota. SponsorPro covers compliance only; BrightHR, Breathe and myhrtoolkit cover HR only.
Are these prices current?
They were read from each vendor's own pricing page on 12 Oct 2026. Prices change — Breathe, for example, revised its bands on 1 April 2026 — so we re-check at least every 90 days and log every update at the bottom of this page.
How we keep this page accurate
Competitor prices and features are taken from each company's own public website on the date shown. Every source page is archived with the Internet Archive, so you can see exactly what we saw. We re-check at least every 90 days and update within 5 working days of learning of a change. Think something's wrong? Email support@madyhr.ai and we'll reply within one working day.
Change log
- — Page published. All figures checked 6 Sep 2026.
- — Every vendor's prices re-checked 22 Sep 2026: no change. Added free and lower-cost HR tools (Zoho People, Connecteam, Factorial), checked 22 Sep 2026.
- — Every vendor's prices and features pages re-checked 12 Oct 2026. WPC HR now publishes three price bands by number of employees, and SMS System now lists leave and attendance for sponsored workers; both are updated. Every source page now links to a dated Internet Archive copy saved that day.
MadyHR.ai is not affiliated with any company named on this page. Product names are the trade marks of their respective owners and are used only to identify the products being compared. This page is a comparison prepared by MadyHR.ai; it is not an independent review. MadyHR.ai is HR software, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal or immigration advice.