Managing human resources functions becomes essential when your business has employees who depend on you. HR solutions vary widely, but most provide administrative HR services, employee onboarding, payroll processing, HR compliance, benefits administration and performance management. Some organizations handle HR responsibilities in-house using the best HR software. Others opt for more extensive assistance from a professional employer organization (PEO).
Rippling and BambooHR are excellent HR solutions that can take the headaches out of HR management. However, your business, industry and organizational style may make one platform more preferable. We pulled pertinent details from our comprehensive Rippling review and our in-depth review of BambooHR to help you compare these solutions.
Criteria | Rippling | BambooHR |
---|---|---|
Starting price | $8 per user per month (plus add-on features) | Custom quote required |
HR services |
|
|
Payroll and benefits | Domestic and global payroll services | Domestic payroll services |
Usability | Highly customizable and automated | Intuitive and easy to navigate |
Customer support | Email and web chat (optional phone support add-on) | Phone, email and web chat |
Rippling’s powerful HR platform is ideal for companies that want to streamline their HR processes through workflow automation. The software is user-friendly and highly customizable, although employers must have the time and resources to configure the platform’s settings and automations correctly.
Unlike other HR vendors, Rippling isn’t just an outsourced HR platform. It also offers IT and finance features, making it an excellent choice for employers that want to manage numerous functions from a centralized platform.
The following elements make Rippling stand out as an HR solution:
Rippling is considered among the best PEO services because of its scalability. You can transition seamlessly from a PEO model to an in-house HR team.
BambooHR is ideal for employers seeking a highly intuitive and user-friendly HR solution that’s easy to implement and navigate with very little training. It offers two base plans and a few add-on features, making it an excellent choice for small and midsize businesses that want the flexibility of choosing a plan and adding features as they grow.
With its onboarding and performance management features, BambooHR is also ideal for companies that want to track employees’ progress throughout their tenure.
BambooHR is notable for the following reasons:
BambooHR’s performance management and employee monitoring features are extensive. Read our BambooHR employee monitoring software review to learn more about these specific functions.
Rippling
Rippling is a highly customizable HR platform with numerous add-on features. As such, the company doesn’t provide detailed pricing online. However, Rippling does state that its base workforce management platform, Rippling Unity, starts at $8 per employee per month. To get more information, businesses must contact a Rippling representative for a custom quote.
Note these details about Rippling’s pricing structure:
BambooHR
BambooHR offers two HR plans — Essentials and Advantage — that include standard features for onboarding and managing workers, including HR reporting, time-off management and benefits tracking. Additional essential HR features — including payroll, onboarding and offboarding tools, time tracking and performance management — can be included for additional fees.
Similar to Rippling, BambooHR doesn’t list prices online. You must contact a representative for a custom quote.
Note this additional information about BambooHR’s pricing:
Winner: BambooHR
BambooHR edges out Rippling in the pricing category. While we would have liked to see more transparent pricing online, we appreciate that both companies provide a high degree of customizability. The two vendors have similar pricing structures, but we gave BambooHR the win because we like that it includes a seven-day free trial and that users can choose from multiple base plans.
All BambooHR plans include reporting capabilities. Source: BambooHR
HR Services
Rippling
Rippling’s HR services are highly customizable. Here’s what businesses should know:
With Rippling’s automated workflows, you can successfully onboard new employees within 90 seconds.
Rippling’s HR functions extend to detailed device management capabilities. Source: Rippling
BambooHR
BambooHR is also highly customizable and supports a wide range of functions. Here are some notable elements:
BambooHR’s employee survey feature can help you glean insights that increase productivity and reduce turnover.
Winner: Rippling
Rippling and its expansive offerings win the HR services category. While we like that BambooHR offers all of the essential HR features a small business would need, Rippling takes it a step further with its workplace automation capabilities. We also like that Rippling’s services can be configured to meet any business’s specific needs and manage HR, IT and finance functions from one location.
Rippling
Rippling’s payroll functionality is a paid add-on. Here’s some of the vendor’s notable payroll information:
Rippling can help with payroll compliance, legal compliance and risk management. It can handle COBRA documentation and stay on top of labor laws and rules about overtime, minimum wage, and meal and rest breaks.
BambooHR
BambooHR’s payroll services are also paid add-ons. Here’s what you should know:
Winner: Rippling
Rippling is the winner for payroll. While we found BambooHR’s payroll functionality sufficient for small businesses within the United States, we like that Rippling can also handle global payroll. Rippling also offers a range of customization features, allowing users to configure many payroll settings.
Rippling boasts a powerful payroll platform for domestic and global workers. Source: Rippling
Rippling
When we tested Rippling’s software, we were pleased with how intuitive and manageable it was for being such a powerful tool. It’s a highly customizable platform that allows businesses to essentially automate their HR processes and workflows. While the setup may take some time and care, you’ll be able to handle your HR functions with ease afterward. We also appreciate that Rippling allows users to manage HR and IT functions from one location, thus reducing the need to learn and integrate multiple platforms.
BambooHR
We really liked BambooHR’s clean and easy-to-navigate interface and dashboard. During testing, we found the software straightforward to use and learn. We especially appreciate that the platform includes numerous self-service features that enable employees to manage many of their own HR functions.
Winner: Tie
We’re calling a tie on this one. Both platforms are user-friendly, but in different ways. The most user-friendly platform for you will depend on your resources and needs. We like that BambooHR is intuitive and user-friendly from the start, allowing employees to learn the platform easily. On the other hand, it can take a little more time to customize Rippling’s automations and configure its settings. Once they’re established, however, the platform automates your HR processes.
BambooHR’s user interface is clean and easy to navigate. Source: BambooHR
Rippling
All Rippling plans provide email and web chat support. If you want phone support, you must add Rippling’s Help Desk: HR Support feature to your plan. Rippling also has online resources (blogs, templates and a help center) that we found to be on a par with competitors’ offerings.
BambooHR
BambooHR’s Essentials plan includes email support; the Advantage plan includes email, web chat and phone support. Businesses can access customer service Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET. Additionally, BambooHR offers several online resources, including a content library, a webinar library, blogs, guides, glossaries, calculators and product updates.
Winner: BambooHR
This was a close call, but we’re declaring BambooHR the winner here. Both providers offer somewhat limited support for their base plans. However, we like that BambooHR provides phone, email and web chat support for its higher-tier plan instead of charging an extra support fee as Rippling does. We were also pleased with BambooHR’s extensive online resources and product updates.
Choose Rippling if …
Choose BambooHR if …
BambooHR can integrate with 120 third-party applications. However, Advantage plans also include open API abilities for further integrations.
Rippling can integrate with more than 500 third-party applications — more than many competitors offer — lending to the platform’s overall customizability.
No. BambooHR is an HR software solution that offers many of the same HR features as a PEO. However, it does not include the co-employment model of a PEO. And unlike PEOs, BambooHR does not require you to use its payroll platform.
Rippling tends to take a few weeks to implement, which is similar to competitors’ implementation times. However, as with any business software or service, your implementation time will depend on your organization’s size and the features you need. Rippling is highly customizable, so you can expect your implementation time to be a bit longer if you plan to configure several settings.