CoDash vs BrightHR
A fair look at one of the best-known HR products for UK small businesses - what it does that CoDash does not, and where a monthly, all-in-one company dashboard takes a different path.
BrightHR bundles HR software with things CoDash does not sell: a 24/7 employment law advice line, health and safety advice, an employee assistance programme and its own payroll. CoDash is software only, with performance, engagement, learning and hiring included in every plan and a contract you can leave monthly. BrightHR's published terms are fixed for 24, 36 or 60 months and renew automatically. If you want advice and insurance-style support in the same purchase, BrightHR is built for that. If you want the whole platform without a multi-year commitment, CoDash is.
Where is BrightHR strong?
BrightHR launched in 2015 and says it is used by more than 100,000 businesses. Its strengths are real, and most of them are services rather than software:
- Advice on the phone. The Enhanced package adds a "24/7 HR and employment law advice line", with optional indemnity insurance against employee claims. CoDash does not offer legal advice.
- Health and safety support. The Full package adds health and safety software with "600+ risk assessment templates" and round-the-clock advice from health and safety professionals.
- An employee assistance programme in the Full package, including a virtual GP and a wellbeing portal.
- Its own UK payroll, sold separately, which produces FPS and EPS files for HMRC. CoDash does not run payroll.
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android, including clocking in.
- Published security certifications. BrightHR states that it is certified to ISO/IEC 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus, and that UK customers' data is stored in the UK.
If you have no HR person and want someone to ring when a disciplinary goes wrong, that bundle is a genuine reason to choose BrightHR.
Where is CoDash different?
- A monthly contract. CoDash's terms let you cancel a monthly subscription at any time, ending at the close of the billing period. BrightHR's pricing page says: "We offer 24, 36 and 60 months fixed term with 36 months being available to purchase online."
- The whole product in the base plan. CoDash Core includes review cycles, 360 feedback and goals, surveys, eNPS and anonymous voice, learning, hiring, expenses, rotas and compliance registers. BrightHR's Core package lists holiday, shifts and rotas, absence, performance management, overtime, expenses and reporting, with health and safety software as an add-on and e-learning priced separately.
- One price list for every size. CoDash is £99 a month including your first 20 people, then £2.50 per person, published for any headcount. BrightHR's online slider runs from 3 to 100+ employees.
- Privacy built into the design. Anonymous suggestions are stored with no author column, and manager-facing mood and survey figures are gated by k-anonymity.
- Your own database. Each CoDash customer has its own database and application instance, hosted in the EU (France).
How do the prices compare?
Both publish prices, which is to BrightHR's credit. The figures below are the ones each vendor shows on its own pricing page; BrightHR's per-person rate falls as headcount rises, so use its slider for your own number.
| CoDash | BrightHR | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry software plan | Core: £99 a month including 20 people, then £2.50 per person | Core HR software: from £16.67 per employee per month at 5 employees (£83.35 a month) |
| Higher plans | Pro: £199 a month including 20 people, then £4 per person | Enhanced HR support from £21.20; Full HR, health and safety support and EAP from £31.30, per employee per month at 5 employees |
| Lowest stated rate | £2.50 per additional person on Core | "Our prices start from £3.00 per person depending on business size" |
| Contract length | Monthly, cancel at any time; or annual, charged as ten months | 24, 36 or 60 month fixed term |
| Renewal | Monthly rolls month to month; annual renews yearly unless cancelled first | Renews for an equivalent term unless either party gives at least 90 days' written notice |
| Price at renewal | List prices are on the pricing page | Fixed for the initial term; may increase by up to 7% for a renewed term |
| Payroll | Not offered | Offered; no price published |
| Setup fee | None | None stated |
The contract rows matter more than the price rows. A five-year fixed term that renews for another five years unless you give 90 days' written notice is a different kind of purchase from a monthly subscription. Read clauses 10 and 11 of BrightHR's terms, and ours, before you sign either.
How do the features compare?
| CoDash | BrightHR | |
|---|---|---|
| Holiday, absence, rotas, expenses | Yes, every plan | Yes |
| Performance reviews, goals, 1:1s | Yes, with 360 feedback, every plan | Yes: goals and 1:1s |
| Engagement surveys and eNPS | Yes, every plan | Not stated |
| Learning | Yes, every plan | E-learning courses, priced separately |
| Recruitment | Yes, every plan | Yes |
| Health and safety | Accident log and compliance registers | Full software, templates and advice (Full package or add-on) |
| Employment law advice line | No | Yes, Enhanced and above |
| Employee assistance programme | No | Yes, Full package |
| Payroll | No | Yes, separately |
| Single sign-on | OIDC, on Pro | Microsoft, Google, Apple and Facebook account links |
| API | Yes, on Pro | Yes |
| Data location | EU (France), one database per customer | UK for UK customers, on Microsoft Azure |
Who should pick which?
Choose BrightHR if you want software and an advice service in one contract: an employment law line at any hour, health and safety support, an assistance programme and payroll from one supplier, and you are comfortable committing for two to five years.
Choose CoDash if you already have, or do not need, an advice line, and you want performance, engagement, learning, hiring and compliance in one login at a published price, on a contract you can leave at the end of any month. Our guide to choosing HR software and the requirements checklist apply whichever way you lean.
Frequently asked questions
Is CoDash a good BrightHR alternative?
It depends what you are buying. BrightHR bundles software with a 24/7 employment law advice line, health and safety support and an employee assistance programme. CoDash is software only, with performance, engagement, learning and hiring in every plan and a monthly contract.
How much does BrightHR cost?
BrightHR's pricing page shows Core HR software from 16.67 pounds per employee per month at five employees, with the per-person rate falling as headcount rises, and says its prices start from 3.00 pounds per person depending on business size. Prices exclude tax. Checked 5 October 2026.
How long is a BrightHR contract?
BrightHR's pricing page says it offers 24, 36 and 60 month fixed terms. Its terms say the agreement renews automatically for an equivalent term unless either party gives at least 90 days' written notice before the renewal date.
Does CoDash include an HR advice line like BrightHR?
No. CoDash is software and publishes free guides and templates, but it does not give legal advice. If you want an employment law advice line included, BrightHR's Enhanced and Full packages provide one.
Sources
Every figure about the other product was read from its own website on 5 October 2026.
- BrightHR: pricing - package prices, contents and contract lengths
- BrightHR: terms - renewal, notice and price increases (clauses 10 and 11)
- BrightHR: security - certifications and data location
- BrightHR: about - launch date and customer numbers
Prices and features move. Everything here was checked on the date shown against each vendor's own published pricing, and we link to it so you can confirm rather than take our word for it. If we have a detail wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
Check it yourself: BrightHR publishes its own terms - see their pricing page. Checked 5 October 2026. Prices and packaging move, and theirs are theirs to state, so confirm before you decide.
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