Comparison

Breathe HR vs CharlieHR

A side-by-side comparison of two UK employee platforms — pricing, contract terms, feature coverage. Every claim below is sourced from each company's public website or filings, verified 2026-10-22. This page is published by WagePerks as part of our sourced-claims comparison series; you'll find a "third option" section at the end if you'd like to consider us too.

Pricing

What you'll actually pay

Breathe HR
£24–£579 / business / month

Banded per-business: Micro £24 (1–10), Starter £44 (11–20), Regular £99 (21–50), Pro £175 (51–100), Premium £419 (101–150), Plus £579 (151–200)

  • Contract: Rolling monthly
  • Pricing published: Yes
  • Category: UK HR-only platform for SMEs
  • Customer count: 17,000+ UK SME customers (self-reported)
CharlieHR
£21–£754 / business / month

Banded per business, exc. 20% VAT: £21 (1–4), £47 (5–14), £108 (15–29), up to £754 (250+)

  • Contract: Monthly
  • Pricing published: Yes
  • Category: UK HR platform for small companies and startups
  • Customer count: 3,000+ small businesses (self-reported)
Features

Feature-by-feature comparison

All rows sourced from each company's public website, verified 2026-10-22. See the full source list at the bottom of this page.

Feature Breathe HR CharlieHR
UK brand discounts Not included 30,000+ partner deals (included with subscription)
GP access Not included Not listed
Employee Assistance Programme Not included Not listed
HR management Yes Yes
Rota / shift management Paid add-on (Rota, Time & Attendance; priced per business by headcount band) Paid Papershift integration only
GPS clock in/out Paid add-on (Rota, Time & Attendance; priced per business by headcount band) Not listed
Absence & leave Yes Yes
Payslip / P60 access Yes, via Xero Payroll integration (included in Breathe plans) Not listed
Document management Yes Yes
Recognition & rewards Yes (Employee Engagement, all tiers) Yes (Shout-outs)
Branding Logo upload only Not advertised
Mobile app Yes (iOS + Android shipped) No native app advertised on charliehr.com
Health & safety software Paid add-on (from £12/month per business, by headcount band) Not covered in our sources
Contract length Rolling monthly Monthly
Breathe HR

Where Breathe HR has depth

Sourced from https://www.breathehr.com/en-gb/, verified 2026-10-22.

  • Native iOS and Android apps shipped
  • Performance management module (reviews, appraisals, goals) included in Core HR
  • 17,000+ UK SME customers since launch in 2012

Centurion Management Systems Ltd (trading as Breathe)

Companies House 03020608

Incorporated 10 February 1995 (Breathe launched 2012). Ownership: ELMO Software (acquired Oct 2020); ELMO agreed in Oct 2022 to be acquired by K1 Investment Management.

CharlieHR

Where CharlieHR has depth

Sourced from https://www.charliehr.com/, verified 2026-10-22.

  • 30,000+ partner deals included with a Charlie subscription
  • Startup-segment positioning aimed at small VC-backed teams
  • Performance reviews, goals and 1:1 tracking built in

CHARLIE HR LTD

Companies House 09787589

Incorporated 21 September 2015. Ownership: Independent.

A third option to consider

WagePerks: HR and employee benefits in one platform

Breathe HR and CharlieHR take different approaches. WagePerks puts HR and employee benefits in one platform. HR Starter is £0 / month for up to 25 employees. Employee Benefits is £4.50 per employee per month (exc. VAT), rolling monthly, and adds discounted gift cards at 200+ UK brands, recognition, performance reviews, surveys, e-signatures, onboarding, and payslips & P60s. Rotas, clock-in and GPS are the Shift Management bolt-on (£49 / month for the first team, £39 for each extra team). The optional Health & Wellbeing add-on (virtual GP + EAP) is +£2 per employee per month. WagePerks does not include an employment-law advice line or health & safety software.

£4.50 / employee / month

Employee Benefits plan, exc. VAT. HR Starter is £0 / month for up to 25 staff. Shift Management bolt-on: £49 / month for the first team + £39 for each extra team. Health & Wellbeing add-on (virtual GP + EAP): +£2 per employee per month.

Rolling monthly

Cancel with 30 days' written notice, no setup fees. Annual billing is 15% off with a 12-month term. Independent UK company (Wageperks Ltd, Companies House SC824820).

Your logo and colours

Employee Benefits puts your logo and brand colours on the web portal. We add them when we set up your account, at no extra cost.

Book a 20-minute demo vs Breathe HR vs CharlieHR

Sources & verification

All claims on this page are sourced from each company's public website, App Store listing, or Companies House public filings — verified 2026-10-22. This page is published by WagePerks as part of our sourced-claims comparison series. We re-verify quarterly. Email us if anything's gone stale. Vendors change pricing and packaging without notice: figures are the published list prices on that date, exclude VAT unless stated, and won't reflect promotional or individually negotiated rates — check the vendor's own page before you decide.

Breathe HR sources

  1. Pricing tiers
  2. Customer count & launch year
  3. About / founded 2012
  4. Feature list
  5. Rolling-monthly FAQ
  6. Mobile app
  7. ELMO Software acquisition (7 Oct 2020)
  8. Xero Payroll integration (payslips; included in plan)
  9. Centurion Management Systems Ltd — Companies House 03020608

CharlieHR sources

  1. Pricing (banded per business)
  2. Customer count & deals
  3. Customers page
  4. Performance reviews
  5. Papershift rota integration
  6. CHARLIE HR LTD — Companies House 09787589
  7. Employee engagement (Shout-outs)