WagePerks vs Breathe HR
Breathe HR is a UK HR-only platform; the company's homepage reports 17,000+ UK SME customers. Breathe was acquired by ASX-listed ELMO Software in October 2020 (ELMO was itself taken private by K1 Investment Management in 2022). WagePerks is an employee management portal that bundles benefits, HR, rotas, GPS clock-in and payslips at £4.50 per employee per month. Every claim below is sourced.
One Breathe HR customer publicly reported on Capterra (Alastair, Managing Director, Staffing & Recruiting, 4 March 2025): "We have now had another price increase so the product has gone up 57% in two years." Other recent reviews echo concerns about renewal pricing. Both Breathe and WagePerks are rolling monthly, so cancellation flexibility is similar — the differentiator is pricing stability over time.
Sources: ELMO acquisition announced 7 October 2020 — elmosoftware.com.au newsroom; Capterra UK reviews — capterra.co.uk/reviews/126547/breathehr. Verified 2026-06-10.
What you'll actually pay
Published per-employee rate, all eleven modules included. Optional 24/7 GP + EAP add-on — quote on call.
- Per-employee pricing, scales with team size
- Rolling monthly — 30 days' notice
- All eleven modules included
- White-label branding included
- Benefits marketplace + voucher codes at purchase
Banded per-business pricing (not per-employee). Core HR product; benefits, GP and EAP not included.
- Micro £24 (1–10 employees)
- Starter £44 (11–20); Regular £99 (21–50)
- Pro £175 (51–100); Premium £419 (101–150); Plus £579 (151–200)
- Rolling monthly per Breathe FAQ
- Rota / time & attendance: paid add-on (~£32/month)
The maths varies by team size: for a 50-person team WagePerks is £225/month; Breathe Regular is £99/month. WagePerks costs more on Core HR alone, but bundles benefits, payslips, recognition and white-label that Breathe doesn't include. For a 150-person team Breathe Premium is £419/month, WagePerks is £675/month — still bundling 11 modules vs Breathe's HR-only feature set. Source: breathehr.com pricing, verified 2026-06-10.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Every Breathe row below is sourced from breathehr.com — what's included, verified 2026-06-10.
Where WagePerks is different
Benefits, GP, and EAP available
Breathe is HR-only — no employee benefits marketplace, no GP, no EAP. WagePerks bundles 200+ UK brand discounts with voucher codes at purchase, plus optional 24/7 GP + EAP. Real money back in employees' pockets vs an HR-only system.
Rota and clock-in are core, not paid add-ons
Breathe sells Rota, Time & Attendance (with geofencing) as a paid add-on on top of Core HR. WagePerks includes the rota planner and GPS clock-in in the headline £4.50 price.
Full white-label branding
Breathe lets you upload a company logo but the platform and mobile app remain Breathe- branded. WagePerks offers full white-label — your logo, brand colours, app name — for every employer, no enterprise tier required.
No private-equity owner
Breathe was acquired by ASX-listed ELMO Software in October 2020; ELMO was taken private by K1 Investment Management in 2022. WagePerks is an independent UK company (Wageperks Ltd, Companies House SC824820), with no PE owner driving renewal-pricing tactics.
Where Breathe HR has depth WagePerks doesn't
A fair comparison: here's what Breathe includes that WagePerks does not, all sourced from Breathe's own product pages on 2026-06-10:
- Native iOS & Android apps shipped: Breathe's mobile app is on the App Store and Google Play. WagePerks runs in any browser today with feature parity; native iOS/Android Q3 2026 (breathehr.com — mobile app).
- Performance management module: Performance reviews, appraisals, objective setting and company goals are included in Breathe's Core HR feature set.
- Established customer base: Breathe reports 17,000+ UK SME customers since launch in 2012 — see the renewal-pricing kicker above for one customer's report of a 57% price rise post-acquisition.
Breathe HR ownership
ELMO Software (Oct 2020) → K1 Investment Management (2022)
Launched 2012. Acquired by ASX-listed ELMO Software 7 October 2020. ELMO taken private by K1 Investment Management in 2022. Two ownership changes in five years.
Which platform fits your business?
Breathe HR may fit if you need…
A standalone HR-only system, if you can absorb annual renewal increases (see the 57% customer-reported figure above) and don't need benefits, GP, EAP, recognition or full white-labelling alongside HR. Performance reviews and Xero/Sage integration are included in Breathe's Core HR feature set.
WagePerks fits if you want…
One platform that covers benefits, HR, rotas, GPS clock-in, payslips and recognition — under your brand, at £4.50 per employee per month, rolling monthly. If your priority is employee engagement and retention alongside HR admin, WagePerks bundles all of it for one price.
Sources & verification
All claims about Breathe HR on this page are sourced from their public website, public-record filings, or named third-party reviews, verified 2026-06-10. Email us if anything's gone stale.
- Breathe HR pricing tiers (£24–£579 per business per month) — breathehr.com — pricing
- Breathe HR customer count (17,000+ UK SMEs, self-reported) — breathehr.com homepage
- Breathe HR founding year (2012) — breathehr.com/en-gb/about-us
- Breathe HR feature set / what's included — breathehr.com — what's included
- Breathe HR contract terms (rolling monthly) — breathehr.com — FAQ
- Breathe HR mobile app — breathehr.com — mobile
- ELMO Software acquisition of Breathe (announced 7 October 2020) — elmosoftware.com.au newsroom
- Capterra UK reviews (including reviewer Alastair, 4 March 2025: "the product has gone up 57% in two years") — capterra.co.uk/reviews/126547/breathehr
- Trustpilot reviews of Breathe HR — uk.trustpilot.com/review/breathehr.com