Most UK SME buyers who compare Breathe HR and BrightHR are doing so because their existing system has run out of road. The team has grown past 25 staff, a spreadsheet now drives holiday accrual, and someone in finance has flagged that the 2024 holiday reform makes manual tracking risky. Both vendors target exactly that buyer. Both publish a tier ladder. Both have a parent-company story that matters in 2026.
This guide compares them on the things a procurement file actually needs: what the prices really are, what the contract really commits you to, what's bundled versus billed as an add-on, and what the public review record looks like. Every competitor fact links to that vendor's own page, with a verification date of 10 June 2026. We re-verify quarterly.
If you're skimming, here is the short version. Breathe HR is rolling monthly with a six-tier pricing ladder and several optional add-ons. BrightHR is sold on 24, 36 or 60-month fixed terms with three bundled tiers and a separate health-and-safety stack. The choice is more about contract appetite and module needs than feature parity.
The two platforms in one sentence each
Breathe HR — a UK SME HR platform founded in 2012 and acquired by Australian HR software firm ELMO Software in 2020, now part of the ELMO Group (source, verified 10 June 2026).
BrightHR — a UK SME HR platform launched in 2015 as a sister company to Peninsula, the employment-law and HR-advice business; the about page confirms BrightHR is part of Peninsula Group Global (source, verified 10 June 2026).
The parent-company point matters because each vendor's commercial model reflects it. Breathe sells software. BrightHR sells software bundled with the Peninsula advice line — which is why the contract structure looks so different.
Pricing — what's published vs what's gated
Breathe HR publishes a six-tier monthly pricing ladder on its public pricing page. The tiers are headcount bands, not feature bands — every plan includes the same core HR software. The base plans, as listed on 10 June 2026, are:
- Micro (1–10 employees): £24/month
- Starter (11–20): £44/month
- Regular (21–50): £99/month
- Pro (51–100): £175/month
- Premium (101–150): £419/month
- Plus (151–200): £579/month
Source: Breathe HR pricing page, verified 10 June 2026.
For a 50-employee SME on the Regular tier, that works out to £99/month, or about £1.98 per employee per month. Add-ons sit on top of that — more on those in a moment.
BrightHR publishes three packages on its pricing page, with per-employee rates rather than headcount tiers:
- Core HR Software: from £16.67 per employee per month (minimum £83.35/month)
- Enhanced HR Support: from £21.20 per employee per month (minimum £106.00/month)
- Full HR, Health & Safety Support & EAP: from £28.20 per employee per month (minimum £141.00/month)
Source: BrightHR pricing page, verified 10 June 2026.
For the same 50-employee SME, the Core package is £833.50/month. The Full package is £1,410/month. That is roughly eight to fourteen times the per-employee cost of Breathe's equivalent headcount tier — but the BrightHR bundle includes the Peninsula HR advice line and, on the Full tier, health-and-safety software and an employee wellbeing service. You are paying for a different scope.
Contract terms — what you sign for
This is where the two platforms diverge most sharply, and where most buyer regret originates.
Breathe HR is rolling monthly. The pricing page states: "You can cancel at any time – with no cancellation fees" (source, verified 10 June 2026). Annual prepayment is offered with a discount, but it isn't required.
BrightHR sells on fixed terms. Its pricing page states: "Choose a contract length that suits your business model. We offer 24, 36 and 60 months fixed term with 36 months being available to purchase online" (source, verified 10 June 2026).
For a 50-employee SME on the Full tier, the 60-month contract is a £84,600 commitment signed at the moment you put a name to the agreement. The 36-month online option is £50,760. Even the 24-month minimum is £33,840. Whether the platform proves itself in your business or not, that cheque has been written.
This is the single biggest difference between the two vendors. Breathe asks you to pay each month. BrightHR asks you to commit for two to five years. If your headcount or your needs might change in that window, the contract structure deserves more weight in your scoring than the feature list does.
Modules — what's bundled, what's an add-on
Breathe HR's core plans cover holiday and absence, employee records, document management, performance management and reporting. The following modules are billed separately on top of any tier:
- Rota, Time & Attendance: +£11/month
- Learn (e-learning): +£15/month
- Recruitment Tracking: +£16/month
- Expenses Management: +£14/month
- Health and Safety: +£12/month
Source: Breathe HR pricing page, verified 10 June 2026.
These are flat module fees, not per-employee. They stack quickly if you need three or four of them — but they are also opt-in, which matters if you only use two.
BrightHR bundles modules by tier. The Core package includes HR software with holiday planning, rotas, absence, performance, overtime, time and expense tracking, a payroll navigator and reporting. The Enhanced package adds 24/7 HR advice, employment-law updates and legal document templates plus health-and-safety software. The Full package adds employee wellbeing services and an EAP (source, verified 10 June 2026). Rota, time-and-attendance and basic absence are in the cheapest tier — you don't pay extra for them. The trade-off is the multi-year commitment.
Customer experience — what reviewers report
Capterra UK is the most accessible public review record for both vendors. As of 10 June 2026:
- BrightHR has a 4.6/5 average across 179 reviews. The most-cited complaints are auto-renewal terms, with one reviewer reporting no advance reminder before a 5-year contract rolled over; payroll functionality described as unreliable; and integration gaps causing duplicate data entry (source, verified 10 June 2026).
- Breathe HR's Capterra UK listing is available at capterra.co.uk/software/178419/breathe.
The auto-renewal complaints against BrightHR show up across multiple review sites and are consistent with the published contract structure. If you sign a 36-month deal and miss the cancellation window, the default is another full term. That is a known buyer risk, not a rumour.
When Breathe fits, when BrightHR fits
Breathe HR is the better fit when:
- You want rolling monthly with no exit penalty
- Your team is 10–150 and you want predictable headcount-band pricing rather than per-seat
- You only need core HR (holiday, absence, documents, performance) plus maybe one or two add-ons
- You already have an external EAP, HR advisory or health-and-safety supplier and don't need a bundled one
BrightHR is the better fit when:
- You actually need the Peninsula HR advice line — and you'd otherwise pay separately for employment-law support
- You want health-and-safety software, an EAP and HR in one contract
- You're comfortable committing for 24, 36 or 60 months in exchange for a price freeze
- You're a regulated sector that values the bundled advice line over rolling-monthly flexibility
Neither is universally right. The buyer's job is to be honest about which list they're actually on.
What WagePerks does differently
WagePerks isn't a like-for-like Breathe or BrightHR replacement. It's a combined HR and benefits platform — and the commercial model is built for buyers who don't want to pick between rolling-monthly flexibility and an all-in module bundle.
- £4.50 PEPM, all-in. One per-employee rate. No tier ladder, no module fees.
- Eleven modules included. HR, absence, GPS clock-in, shift and rota, payroll, document management, recognition, employee benefits marketplace, 24/7 GP service, EAP and recruitment portal. The 12.07% holiday accrual rule for irregular-hours workers from 1 April 2024 (gov.uk) is handled in the absence module — no spreadsheet workaround.
- White-label included. Your branding on the employee app and portal, not ours. (more)
- Rolling monthly. No 24, 36 or 60-month lock-in. Cancel with one month's notice. (more)
- Mobile. Full feature parity in any modern browser; native iOS and Android apps launching Q3 2026.
For a head-to-head, see /compare/breathe-vs-brighthr/. For a direct WagePerks comparison against either vendor, see /compare/vs-breathe/ and /compare/vs-brighthr/. Full pricing detail is at /pricing/.
Related reading: How to choose an employee benefits platform — UK checklist, Why 60-month HR contracts are disappearing in 2026, UK holiday entitlement accrual — 2026 guide and the shift and rota feature page.
Sources
- Breathe HR pricing page — supports Breathe's six-tier headcount pricing, add-on fees, and rolling-monthly cancellation terms. Verified 10 June 2026.
- Breathe HR about us page — supports the 2020 acquisition by ELMO Software and Breathe's parent-company status within the ELMO Group. Verified 10 June 2026.
- BrightHR pricing page — supports the three published packages (£16.67, £21.20, £28.20 PEPM), bundled module scope by tier, and the 24, 36 and 60-month contract structure. Verified 10 June 2026.
- BrightHR about us page — supports the 2015 founding date and Peninsula Group Global parent relationship. Verified 10 June 2026.
- BrightHR Capterra UK page — supports the 4.6/5 average across 179 reviews and the auto-renewal, payroll and integration complaints. Verified 10 June 2026.
- Breathe HR Capterra UK page — public review record for Breathe HR. Verified 10 June 2026.
- GOV.UK — Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024 — supports the 12.07% accrual rate for irregular-hours and part-year workers from 1 April 2024.
Sources verified 10 June 2026. We re-verify quarterly.