Breathe
HCM software
Core HR software
Workforce management software
Time tracking software
Absence management software
Employee scheduling software
Time & attendance software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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£22 per business per month
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
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- Real estate and property management
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- Professional services (engineering, legal, consulting, etc.)
What is Breathe
Breathe is a cloud-based HR platform focused on core HR administration for small and mid-sized organizations, with modules for employee records, leave management, and basic people processes. It supports HR teams and managers with self-service workflows for common tasks such as onboarding, policy acknowledgements, and absence requests. The product emphasizes simplicity and UK/Ireland-oriented HR workflows, with optional add-ons for time tracking and rota-style scheduling through integrated or adjacent capabilities.
Strong SMB core HR workflows
Breathe centralizes employee records, documents, and standard HR workflows in a single system designed for smaller HR teams. It supports common processes such as onboarding checklists, policy/document acknowledgements, and manager approvals. For organizations that primarily need a lightweight HRIS rather than a broad enterprise suite, the scope is typically easier to implement and administer.
Absence management and approvals
The platform includes absence/leave tracking with employee self-service requests and manager approval flows. It provides visibility into leave balances and team availability, which helps reduce manual tracking in spreadsheets. This aligns well with organizations prioritizing leave administration as a core HR requirement.
Employee and manager self-service
Breathe provides role-based access so employees can update personal details, submit requests, and access HR documents. Managers can review team information and handle approvals without routing everything through HR. This reduces administrative load and supports distributed teams where HR is not centralized.
Limited enterprise HCM depth
Breathe is oriented toward SMB core HR and does not typically match the breadth of large-suite HCM platforms across complex payroll, advanced workforce management, and global compliance. Organizations needing deep configuration, complex org structures, or extensive automation may outgrow the product. Larger deployments may require additional systems to cover advanced requirements.
Workforce management may be basic
While it can support time-related processes, organizations looking for advanced time & attendance features (e.g., complex rules, union agreements, sophisticated scheduling optimization, or device-based clocking at scale) may find the native capabilities insufficient. Some use cases may depend on integrations or complementary tools. This can add administrative overhead and vendor management complexity.
Ecosystem and analytics constraints
Compared with broader HR platforms, reporting and analytics depth may be more limited for cross-functional workforce insights. If an organization needs extensive BI, custom data models, or a large marketplace of prebuilt integrations, additional tooling may be required. Integration needs should be validated early, especially where payroll, identity, or finance systems must stay in sync.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan (employees) | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Micro (1–10) | £22 per month / business | Core HR included: holiday & absence management, dashboard & reporting, document & policy management, performance management. 14-day free trial available. |
| Starter (11–20) | £39 per month / business | Core HR included (same features). Optional add-ons available. |
| Regular (21–50) | £89 per month / business | Core HR included. |
| Pro (51–100) | £159 per month / business | Core HR included. |
| Premium (101–150) | £369 per month / business | Core HR included. |
| Plus (151–200) | £525 per month / business | Core HR included. |
Optional add-ons (per business, per month): Rota, Time & Attendance +£10; Learn +£12; Recruitment tracking +£21; Expenses management +£12. Source: Breathe official pricing page (breathehr.com).
Seller details
Breathe HR Ltd
Reading, England, United Kingdom
2014
Private
https://www.breathehr.com/
https://x.com/BreatheHR
https://www.linkedin.com/company/breathe-hr
