How much does HR software cost in the UK?
The per-person rate is the number vendors advertise. Seat minimums, setup fees and tier creep are the numbers that decide your budget.
UK HR software for small businesses typically runs £3-£12 per employee per month, or a flat fee from around £100 a month for small teams. The per-person figure is the one vendors advertise; the number that actually decides your budget is the total, because seat minimums, setup fees, module add-ons and annual-only contracts move it far more than the headline rate does.
What are the pricing models?
| Model | How it works | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Per employee per month | a rate multiplied by headcount | seat minimums - "£4/person" with a 25-seat floor is £100 whether you have 8 people or 25 |
| Flat fee with people included | a base price covering a band of staff | what the per-person rate becomes above the band |
| Tiered by module | core HR cheap, everything else extra | the feature you actually came for sitting two tiers up |
| Quote only | no public pricing | time spent in sales calls before you learn the number |
What should a 25-person company expect to pay?
At typical market rates, somewhere between £75 and £300 a month depending on how much sits in the base product. That spread is wide because it isn't really one product category: a leave-booking tool and a full people platform with performance, engagement and hiring are both sold as "HR software".
For context, our own pricing is public: £99/month including 10 people on Starter, £149 on Growth, £249 on Scale including 15 - with a flat per-person rate above the included band, no setup fees and no seat minimums. The pricing page has the calculator.
What the sticker price leaves out
- Setup and implementation fees - common in the mid-market, sometimes a four-figure one-off.
- Seat minimums - the single biggest distorter for teams under 20.
- Module add-ons - performance, ATS, engagement surveys often priced separately.
- Annual-only contracts - fine if you're sure, expensive if you're not.
- Data migration and support tiers - occasionally billed, occasionally just slow unless you pay.
How do you compare fairly?
- Price your actual headcount, including the minimum if there is one - not the advertised per-person rate.
- List the features you'll use in month one and check which tier each sits in. Tier creep is where budgets break.
- Add the one-offs - setup, migration, training - and spread them over 12 months to get a real monthly figure.
- Check the exit. Can you export your people data, and in what format? A platform you can't leave is a price rise waiting to happen.
- Model growth. What does it cost at 40 people? Some pricing gets cheaper per head, some doesn't.
Is HR software worth it for a small team?
The honest test is what it replaces. If leave lives in a spreadsheet three people edit, someone spends a few hours a month reconciling it, and every entitlement question gets answered by hand, then the software pays for itself before you count anything else - our spreadsheets comparison works through where the line falls. If you're five people and everyone knows everyone's holiday, it probably doesn't - yet.
Vendor pricing changes, so always confirm on the vendor's own site before deciding. Our honest comparisons cover where each major UK platform is strong.
Keep reading: All 66 HR guides · 30 free templates · 24 calculators
Pricing you can read without a sales call
CoDash publishes every price: from £99/month including 10 people, flat per-person above that, no setup fees and no seat minimums.