BreatheHR Review UK 2026: Honest Verdict for Small Businesses

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Last Reviewed: May 2026 | Fact-checked against G2, Trustpilot, ICO, ACAS, and HMRC guidance.

How We Assessed BreatheHR

BreatheHR is a purpose-built UK HR platform assessed against 12 criteria: UK data residency, GDPR Article 28 compliance, Employment Rights Act 1996 feature coverage, Working Time Regulations holiday calculation accuracy, absence management quality, ACAS-aligned document templates, payroll integration depth, mobile app functionality, ease of use for non-HR users, onboarding workflow capability, G2/Capterra/Trustpilot verified ratings, and value for money at each headcount tier. BreatheHR is not a paying advertiser on kaeltripton.com. This verdict is editorially independent.

The UK has approximately 5.5 million small businesses, accounting for 99% of all UK businesses (ONS, 2024). The majority have no dedicated HR function, making simple, compliant HR software essential.

The average Employment Tribunal award for unfair dismissal in 2023-24 was £11,316 (Ministry of Justice, 2024), underlining the cost of poor HR record-keeping.

Author: Chandraketu Tripathi, reviewed by the kaeltripton.com editorial team.

What Is BreatheHR and Who Is It For?

BreatheHR is a UK-built cloud HR software platform designed for small and medium businesses with 1 to 200 employees. It replaces holiday spreadsheets and paper personnel files with a centralised people management system covering absence tracking, document storage, employee self-service, and ACAS-aligned policy templates, all without requiring a dedicated HR professional to configure or run it.

Launched in 2012 and headquartered in Horsham, West Sussex (Unit 7, Foundry Court, Foundry Lane, RH13 5PY), BreatheHR is developed specifically for UK employment law. Its compliance templates reference the Employment Rights Act 1996, ACAS codes of practice, and Working Time Regulations 1998 by design rather than adaptation. This UK-first architecture is its primary differentiator from US-origin competitors that retrofit UK compliance onto a global codebase. BreatheHR is owned by Centurion and reports over 17,000 UK SMEs as active customers.

For context on where BreatheHR sits in the wider market, see our best HR software UK roundup and our guide to HR software for small UK businesses.

BreatheHR Pricing 2026

BreatheHR's pricing model is its biggest commercial differentiator. Most UK HR platforms (BambooHR, PeopleHR, Employment Hero) charge per employee per month. BreatheHR charges per business, in fixed headcount bands, then lets you stack optional modules on top. For a 10-person business, this works out at £2.20 per employee per month on Core HR alone, materially cheaper than per-employee competitors charging £5 to £8 per head.

Core HR plans (per business, ex-VAT, monthly billing):

Annual billing saves approximately 15% on Micro, Starter, Regular, and Pro plans, and approximately 10% on Premium and Plus. UK-registered charities receive a 50% lifetime discount on all Core HR plans, verified against the Charity Commission register.

Optional add-on modules (per business, on top of Core HR):

Pricing accurate as of 21 May 2026, verified directly at breathehr.com. All figures exclude VAT. 14-day free trial available with no credit card required. For a full market cost comparison across HR software vendors, see our HR software cost UK guide.

BreatheHR Feature Assessment

Holiday and Absence Management

BreatheHR's holiday and absence management correctly calculates entitlement under Working Time Regulations 1998, including pro-rata for part-time workers and Bradford Factor scoring for sickness absence. This is the platform's strongest area, consistently rated highest by G2 verified reviewers. Absence requests flow through a configurable manager approval workflow with email notifications, and return-to-work interview records can be logged directly against the absence event. The platform includes an in-built holiday calculator that handles UK statutory minimum (5.6 weeks, pro-rated for part-time), bank holidays in or out of allowance, and carry-over rules per company policy.

For variable-hours workers, verify during any trial that the platform applies the 52-week reference period for holiday pay calculations introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2023 amendment, rather than the older 12-week reference period. This is a critical UK compliance point that not all platforms have updated correctly.

Document Management and ACAS Templates

BreatheHR's document library includes employment contract templates, offer letters, and HR policies aligned to ACAS guidance, providing compliant starting points for business owners without HR expertise. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees must receive a written statement of employment particulars from day one. BreatheHR's e-signature capability means this can be sent, signed, and stored digitally without paper. Document version history is maintained against each employee record.

Employee Self-Service Portal

Employees access holiday balances, submit leave requests, view documents, and update personal information through a web portal and mobile app. Manager approvals trigger automatic notifications. The mobile app functions on both iOS and Android but G2 reviewers consistently note it carries fewer features than the desktop version, particularly for absence management and document access. Test the mobile experience specifically if your workforce is site-based or mobile-first.

Performance Management

BreatheHR includes basic performance management: goal setting, one-to-one meeting records, and annual appraisal templates. This is adequate for structured annual review cycles but does not extend to OKR management, continuous feedback, or 360-degree peer reviews. Organisations navigating the day-one unfair dismissal rights introduced under the Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 need stronger performance documentation tools than BreatheHR's current module provides.

Payroll Integration

BreatheHR does not include native payroll. Integration with Sage Payroll, Xero Payroll, and QuickBooks Payroll is available, typically via structured data export rather than real-time API connection on standard plans. This creates a manual transfer step on each pay run and a potential error vector. Businesses where payroll integration accuracy is operationally critical should evaluate Employment Hero or Ciphr alongside BreatheHR before committing.

BreatheHR Comparison: Key Metrics

Independent Review Scores

BreatheHR holds materially consistent ratings across the major UK review platforms, which is a stronger signal than a single high score in isolation:

• G2: 4.4/5 from 606 verified reviews, 74.2% small business segment (G2, 2026)
• Trustpilot: 4.4/5 from 189 reviews (Trustpilot UK, 2026)
• Capterra UK: 4.3/5 from 47 reviews (Capterra, 2026)
• GetApp UK: 4.3/5 from 47 reviews (GetApp, 2026)

The consistency across G2, Trustpilot, Capterra and GetApp (all within 0.1 of each other) is the strongest indicator that the headline rating reflects real customer experience rather than platform-specific reviewer bias. Recurring positive themes in verified reviews: ease of use, absence tracking accuracy, UK customer support. Recurring negative themes: lack of native payroll, mobile app feature gaps, and price increases at renewal (a 2025 review noted a 57% increase across two years).

BreatheHR UK GDPR Compliance

BreatheHR stores data on UK servers, satisfying the data residency requirements of most UK employers under UK GDPR. The platform is UK-headquartered and provides a Data Processing Agreement compliant with Article 28 on request, with a reputation for prompt delivery. Role-based access controls ensure line managers see only their team's data, meeting UK GDPR's data minimisation principle (ICO, 2024). Audit logs of data access and modification are maintained. Confirm the current sub-processor list before signing, particularly for any cloud infrastructure that may involve EEA processing.

Who Should Use BreatheHR and Who Should Look Elsewhere

BreatheHR suits: UK businesses with 1 to 200 employees that want predictable, banded pricing rather than per-employee escalation. Particularly strong for business owners or office managers handling people ops without specialist HR knowledge, where ACAS-aligned templates and straightforward workforce management workflows reduce legal risk. The modular add-on structure means you only pay for what you use (Rota, Learn, Recruitment, Expenses, Health and Safety) rather than buying an all-in-one bundle.

Look elsewhere if: You need native UK payroll with HMRC RTI submission inside the same platform; you need OKR tracking, continuous feedback, or 360-degree reviews; your workforce is primarily mobile and needs full feature parity on the app; or you expect to cross 200 employees within two years (BreatheHR caps at 200 and the platform is not designed for enterprise complexity). Also reconsider if you have multi-entity or international operations, where Personio, Bob, or Sage HR handle multi-jurisdiction workflows more comprehensively.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does BreatheHR cost per month in the UK?

BreatheHR Core HR starts at £22/month for up to 10 employees (Micro), £39/month for 11 to 20 employees (Starter), £89/month for 21 to 50 (Regular), £159/month for 51 to 100 (Pro), £369/month for 101 to 150 (Premium), and £525/month for 151 to 200 (Plus). All prices are ex-VAT, charged per business rather than per employee. Optional add-on modules (Rota, Learn, Recruitment, Expenses, Health and Safety) range from £11 to £16 per month each on top. Annual billing saves approximately 15% on the lower five tiers and 10% on Premium and Plus. Pricing verified at breathehr.com, May 2026.

What is the cheapest BreatheHR plan?

The cheapest BreatheHR plan is Micro at £22 per month for up to 10 employees, covering Core HR features (holiday and absence management, document storage, dashboard reporting, performance management). For a 10-person business this works out at £2.20 per employee per month, making it materially cheaper than per-employee competitors such as PeopleHR (£5 per head) or Employment Hero (£7 per head) at the same headcount. UK-registered charities receive a 50% lifetime discount.

Does BreatheHR include payroll?

BreatheHR does not include native payroll. It integrates with Sage Payroll, Xero Payroll, and QuickBooks Payroll via structured data export. This means payroll must be managed in a separate tool and data transferred each pay run. Businesses needing native UK payroll with HMRC RTI submission should evaluate Employment Hero or Ciphr instead.

Does BreatheHR have a holiday calculator?

Yes. BreatheHR includes a built-in holiday calculator that handles UK statutory minimum entitlement (5.6 weeks, or 28 days for a 5-day-week full-time employee), pro-rates entitlement for part-time and variable-hours workers, manages bank holidays in or out of allowance, and tracks carry-over against company policy. For variable-hours workers, verify during the 14-day free trial that the platform applies the 52-week reference period under the Employment Rights Act 2023 amendment rather than the older 12-week period.

Does BreatheHR scale beyond 50 employees?

Yes. BreatheHR has Pro (£159/mo for 51 to 100), Premium (£369/mo for 101 to 150), and Plus (£525/mo for 151 to 200) tiers that scale comfortably to 200 employees. Above 200, BreatheHR is not designed for the workflow complexity that enterprise platforms (Personio, Bob, Sage HR) handle, and the absence of native payroll becomes more constraining at scale. For SMEs in the 1 to 200 range, BreatheHR's banded pricing remains competitive.

Is BreatheHR suitable for a business with fewer than 5 employees?

Yes. The Micro plan at £22/month covers up to 10 employees and provides organised HR records, compliant employment documentation, and holiday tracking from the very first hire. At this size, the main value is the audit trail: timestamped records of holiday taken and documents signed that provide evidence in any future employment dispute.

Is BreatheHR GDPR compliant?

BreatheHR stores data on UK servers and provides a Data Processing Agreement compliant with UK GDPR Article 28. Role-based access controls and audit logs are included. As data controller, you must sign the DPA before entering any employee data into the system. Confirm the current sub-processor list directly with BreatheHR before purchasing.

What are the main weaknesses of BreatheHR?

BreatheHR's main weaknesses are: no native payroll requiring a separate payroll tool; limited performance management capability for businesses needing OKRs or continuous feedback; a mobile app that carries fewer features than the desktop version; renewal price increases reported by some long-tenure customers; and a 200-employee ceiling that requires platform migration if you outgrow it.

Auto-enrolment duties apply to all UK employers from the first eligible hire, with minimum employer contributions of 3% of qualifying earnings set by The Pensions Regulator (TPR, 2025).

Disclaimer

For informational purposes only. Not legal or financial advice. Pricing accurate at 21 May 2026, verified at breathehr.com. Independent editorial site, no external links to any platform. Rankings based on independent assessment only.

Sources

• BreatheHR Pricing: https://www.breathehr.com/en-gb/hr-software/hr-software-prices
• G2 BreatheHR Reviews: https://www.g2.com/products/breathe/reviews
• Trustpilot Breathe Reviews: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/breathehr.com
• Capterra UK BreatheHR: https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/126547/breathehr
• ICO UK GDPR Employment Guidance: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/
• ACAS Employment Contracts: https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-contracts
• Employment Rights Act 1996: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents
• Working Time Regulations 1998: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/contents
• The Pensions Regulator Employer Duties: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers