Every HR process that quietly depended on people being in the same building has to be rebuilt for a distributed team. Onboarding cannot rely on someone handing over a laptop and a form, absence is no longer visible from across a desk, and the informal culture that used to happen by accident now has to be designed. HR software carries much more of that load in a remote company than in an office based one.
We have ranked these on the things that decide whether a distributed team runs smoothly: the quality of employee self service, how well remote onboarding works without paper, whether the platform supports people in more than one country, and what it costs excluding VAT.
What distributed teams should look for
Self service is the foundation, and it is a different requirement remotely than it is in an office. When someone cannot lean over and ask, every question they cannot answer themselves becomes a message that interrupts somebody and waits for a reply across time zones. A remote first HR platform should let an employee book leave, see the team calendar, find a policy, update their own details and download a payslip without asking anyone, and it should do all of that properly on a phone rather than in a desktop layout squeezed onto a small screen. Judge the employee experience, not the administrator experience, because in a distributed company the employees are the heaviest users.
Then look at onboarding and at country coverage. Remote onboarding has to work as a sequence that runs itself: documents signed electronically, equipment requested, accounts provisioned, introductions scheduled and a checklist that a new starter can follow without a colleague walking them round. Ask to see it demonstrated end to end rather than described. On countries, be honest about your trajectory, because the moment you employ someone outside the United Kingdom the requirement changes completely: local employment law, local statutory leave and often local payroll, and most purely British tools stop at the border. Hiring one person abroad on a platform that cannot support it is a problem you will be living with for years.
How we assessed these tools
Every product here was judged on the things that actually decide whether software works for a UK business: the real published price excluding VAT, how it handles HMRC obligations such as Making Tax Digital, RTI or CIS where relevant, the depth of the core job it is bought for, how quickly a non specialist can get productive, and the quality of UK support. We read each vendor's own pricing pages rather than repeating third party figures, and we weight verified user ratings from people who run these tools day to day.
We also try to be honest about fit rather than crowning a single winner, because the right tool for a ten person business is rarely the right tool for a two hundred person one. Each entry below carries its real starting price, its current Assaylist rating and a clear note on who it suits and where it falls short, so you can match the software to your own situation rather than to an average. Where we earn a commission from an outbound link we say so, and it never changes the order of this list.
The best options ranked
1. HiBob
HiBob was built around the idea that a company's culture needs deliberate support when people are not in a room together, and the engagement and communication side is genuinely ahead of the field. For a distributed company that treats culture as something to design rather than hope for, it is the standout.
What you get: A design led HR system popular with fast growing tech and professional services firms, strong on engagement, culture and analytics. Sold on quote. It holds a 4.0 out of 5 rating across 223 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run HiBob (bob) at a quoted price per user per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Design led and high adoption
- Strong engagement and culture features
- Good people analytics
- Flexible for modern org structures
Bear in mind: it is a premium quoted product, so it is more platform and more cost than a small distributed team needs.
Read our full HiBob review →
2. CharlieHR
CharlieHR is built for the UK small company and is unusually quick to adopt, which matters when there is no office and no one to walk a new starter through the system. For a British remote first startup it covers the essentials without a configuration project.
What you get: A London built HR platform for small and growing teams, with headcount band pricing and a paid HR advice add on for companies without an HR function. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 229 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Core (1 to 4) at £20, Core (5 to 14) at £45 and HR Advice add on at £179 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Polished experience built for startups
- Optional real HR advice line
- Affordable for the smallest teams
- Quick to set up
Bear in mind: the advice and recruitment add ons require an active core plan, so the full package costs more than the headline.
Read our full CharlieHR review →
3. Personio
Personio is the strongest choice once your team spans more than one European country, because multi country employment handling is native rather than adapted. If you are hiring across Europe, this is the platform that will still fit in three years.
What you get: A German built HR system designed for mid sized European businesses, covering the full employee lifecycle with a focus on structured process and multi country compliance. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 215 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Personio at a quoted price per user per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Strong multi country capability
- Process driven and structured
- Good recruitment and onboarding
- Built for mid sized companies
Bear in mind: implementation is a genuine project and the cost is a mid market one, not a small business one.
Read our full Personio review →
4. BambooHR
BambooHR has the most polished employee experience of the established platforms, which is exactly what a distributed workforce needs since they are the ones using it daily. For a fast hiring remote team it keeps records and process consistent without feeling like administration.
What you get: A widely used HR system, American built but common in UK growing companies, known for a clean experience across records, onboarding, performance and reporting. It holds a 4.0 out of 5 rating across 244 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run BambooHR at a quoted price per user per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Excellent user experience and adoption
- Strong onboarding
- Large integration marketplace
- Breadth for a growing company
Bear in mind: pricing is quoted and the UK statutory specifics are worth confirming carefully given its US origins.
Read our full BambooHR review →
5. Sage People
Sage People is aimed at larger, more complex organisations with distributed workforces and the reporting and workflow depth that implies. Where a growing platform runs out of configurability, this is the tier that does not.
What you get: Sage's enterprise HR platform for organisations above the Sage HR ceiling, covering the full employee lifecycle across multiple countries. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 298 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Sage People at a quoted price per user per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Multi country HR in one system
- Workforce analytics
- Built on Salesforce
- Full employee lifecycle
Bear in mind: it is an enterprise product quoted to scope, so it is well beyond what a small remote team requires.
Read our full Sage People review →
6. Breathe
Breathe keeps a remote team's leave, records and documents in order at a flat per company price that does not climb with every hire, which suits a small distributed business that needs the basics handled properly and nothing more.
What you get: A UK built HR platform aimed squarely at small businesses, with flat per company pricing by headcount band. Popular for replacing the holiday spreadsheet without a big commitment. It holds a 4.0 out of 5 rating across 235 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Micro at £24, Starter at £44, Regular at £99 and Pro at £175 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Flat per company pricing, not per employee
- Simple enough for a non specialist
- UK built for UK small businesses
- Predictable band based cost
Bear in mind: it is deliberately simple, so a distributed team wanting engagement and performance tooling will outgrow it.
Read our full Breathe review →Comparison at a glance
Here is how the shortlist compares on what it is best for, the starting price excluding VAT and the current Assaylist rating.
| Software | Best for | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| HiBob | Best for culture and engagement | Custom pricing | 4.0 |
| CharlieHR | Best for UK remote startups | From £20 / month | 4.1 |
| Personio | Best for multi country teams | Custom pricing | 4.1 |
| BambooHR | Best user experience | Custom pricing | 4.0 |
| Sage People | Best for larger distributed organisations | Custom pricing | 4.1 |
| Breathe | Best value | From £24 / month | 4.0 |
How much should you budget?
The two pricing models behave very differently as a distributed team grows. Flat per company plans such as Breathe start around twenty four pounds a month excluding VAT and rise in headcount bands, keeping the cost predictable through a hiring push. Per employee plans run from roughly three to ten pounds per person per month, which is cheaper while you are small and more expensive at scale. If you expect to grow quickly, model both at the size you plan to reach rather than the size you are, because the crossover often arrives sooner than people expect.
Premium platforms such as HiBob, Personio, BambooHR and Sage People are quoted individually and sit at the upper end, and for those the implementation and configuration effort belongs in the first year budget alongside the licence. One cost that catches distributed companies specifically is international expansion: employing someone in another country usually means local payroll and often a different HR tier, so if that is on your roadmap, price it now rather than discovering it after you have made the offer.
Our verdict
For a UK remote first startup, CharlieHR is the most sensible starting point because it is quick to adopt without anyone available to walk people through it, and Breathe is the value alternative if you need the basics handled and nothing more. Both keep a small distributed team organised without a configuration project.
Companies that treat culture as something to design should look hard at HiBob, which is genuinely ahead on engagement for teams that never share a room. If you are hiring across Europe, Personio is the platform that will still fit in three years, and BambooHR is the pick where the polish of the everyday employee experience matters most. Larger distributed organisations will find Sage People has the depth the others run out of.
The bottom line
Judge these on the employee experience rather than the administrator one, because in a distributed company the employees are the heavy users and every question the software cannot answer becomes an interruption across time zones. CharlieHR or Breathe for a small UK remote team, HiBob where culture is a deliberate priority, Personio the moment you employ people in more than one country. And decide the multi country question before you buy, not after you have made an offer abroad.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best HR software for a remote team in the UK?
CharlieHR is the strongest starting point for a UK remote first startup because it is quick to adopt without hands on support, and HiBob is the best choice for a distributed company that wants real engagement and culture tooling. Breathe is the value option for a small team needing the basics done well.
Can HR software handle employees in multiple countries?
Some can, most cannot. Personio supports multi country employment natively and is the strongest choice for teams across Europe, and Sage People handles larger international organisations. Most purely UK tools stop at the border, so decide this before you hire abroad rather than after.
What does remote onboarding need from HR software?
A sequence that runs itself: electronic document signing, equipment requests, account provisioning, scheduled introductions and a checklist a new starter can follow alone. Ask to see it demonstrated end to end rather than described, because this is where the difference between platforms is largest and least visible on a feature list.
How much does HR software cost for a remote team?
Flat per company plans start around twenty four pounds a month excluding VAT and rise in headcount bands. Per employee plans run from roughly three to ten pounds per person per month. Premium platforms such as HiBob, Personio and BambooHR are quoted individually and sit above both, with implementation cost on top in the first year.
Does HR software include payroll for remote teams?
Usually not. HiBob, Personio, BambooHR and Breathe are HR platforms that integrate with payroll rather than running it, so budget a separate payroll subscription. This matters more for distributed teams, because employing someone in another country typically requires local payroll in addition to your UK provider.
Prices were checked against each vendor's UK pricing on 7 August 2026 and exclude VAT unless stated. Vendors change pricing, so confirm the current figure on the vendor's own site before you buy. Some links are commercial; where we earn a commission it never affects our ratings or the order of this list.
