Welcome to the first edition of the Monthly HR Software Review, a recurring series where we check in on what UK businesses are actually saying about their HR software providers on Trustpilot — the good, the bad, and the "why didn't anyone tell me about the cancellation fees."
Each month we pull the UK Trustpilot pages for a cross-section of HR software providers, rank them by their current TrustScore, and round up the top things reviewers praise and complain about for each one. Ratings below are pulled straight from each company's public UK Trustpilot profile as of 31 July 2026 — a snapshot, since scores shift as new reviews land.
Sense HR is included too, rated with the same honesty as everyone else on this list.
The Rankings at a Glance
| Rank | Company | TrustScore | Reviews (UK) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CharlieHR | 4.8 "Excellent" | 99 |
| 2 | BrightHR | 4.7 "Excellent" | 6,487 |
| 3 | Access PeopleHR | 4.7 "Excellent" | 1,027 |
| 4 | Sense HR | 4.6 "Excellent" | 95 |
| 5 | HiBob | 4.2 "Great" | 153 |
| 6 | Personio | 4.0 "Great" | 305 |
| 7 | Breathe (BreatheHR) | 4.0 "Great" | 153 |
| 8 | Ciphr | 2.9 "Average" | 10 (small sample) |
| 9 | BambooHR | 2.8 "Average" | 137 |
| 10 | Zellis (incl. Moorepay) | 1.8 "Poor" | 31 |
Where two providers share a headline score, we ranked the one with the larger review base higher.
1. CharlieHR — 4.8, "Excellent" (99 reviews)
CharlieHR takes the top spot this month.
What customers like:
Reviewers describe it as a genuine substitute for an in-house HR team, with one saying it provides "everything we need as a business without a permanent HR team."
Long-tenured customers (some 4+ years in) consistently name-check individual HR advisors for going above and beyond.
Customers report loyalty over multiple years, which is a rarer pattern than one-off praise.
What customers complain about:
Negative reviews are rare. The few on record mention mobile app quirks (photo upload/cropping issues) and a request for clearer self-service data deletion tools.
2. BrightHR — 4.7, "Excellent" (6,487 reviews)
BrightHR has by far the largest review base on this list.
What customers like:
Staff are repeatedly described as professional, knowledgeable and patient.
Customer service is frequently called efficient, friendly and fast to respond.
The platform itself is described as straightforward, simplifying onboarding and day-to-day HR admin.
What customers complain about:
Some reviewers report slow support response times, including unanswered emails and calls.
Payroll-related queries can reportedly take a long time to resolve, which a few reviewers said affected staff pay.
Long, auto-renewing contracts with notice periods of six months or more, which several reviewers said trapped them for longer than expected.
Unexpected cancellation or early-termination fees not made clear upfront, per a few reviewers.
BrightHR replies to 96% of negative reviews, typically within 24 hours, and points contract-related complainants to the terms in their signed agreement plus a resolution route via its Customer Solutions team.
3. Access PeopleHR — 4.7, "Excellent" (1,027 reviews)
Access PeopleHR also posts a large review base with a strongly positive skew.
What customers like:
Staff are consistently praised as exceptional, patient and knowledgeable.
Customer service is described as responsive, helpful and personable.
The platform is often called intuitive, with queries resolved quickly.
What customers complain about:
A minority of reviewers cite poor communication or slow responses on specific support tickets.
Some describe the interface as complicated rather than user-friendly.
Billing and contract issues surface occasionally — one review described a dispute over an agreed notice period, and inconsistent handling from the renewals team, during a renewal conversation.
Access PeopleHR replies to 100% of negative reviews on Trustpilot, typically within 24 hours.
4. Sense HR — 4.6, "Excellent" (95 reviews)
A strong showing just outside the top three, and one of the highest scores on this list.
What customers like:
Reviewers consistently describe onboarding as smooth and well-supported, with one calling it "one of the smoothest software rollouts we've handled."
The system stands out for flexibility — customers say workflows can be configured to fit their exact processes rather than forcing a rigid one on them.
Support and customer success are repeatedly praised as proactive and genuinely invested in customer success, with regular check-ins on usage and renewal timelines so there are "no surprises."
What customers complain about:
Negative feedback is minimal. The one detailed critical review on record raised a request for a self-serve free trial (Sense HR uses guided demo calls instead) and asked for a faster path to advanced permissions settings — both points Sense HR addressed directly and personally in its reply.
5. HiBob — 4.2, "Great" (153 reviews)
What customers like:
The platform is widely described as user-friendly and intuitive, for both employees and admins.
Reviewers say it centralises HR data and automates tasks, cutting manual admin.
Customer support is called responsive and knowledgeable by multiple reviewers.
What customers complain about:
ATS and hiring functionality is criticised by some as adding admin burden rather than reducing it.
A few reviewers cite gaps in communication and limited access to historical payroll data.
Implementation is described by at least one long-time customer as a heavy workload for the internal team managing it, even when the end product is well-liked.
HiBob hasn't recently responded to negative reviews on Trustpilot.
6. Personio — 4.0, "Great" (305 reviews)
What customers like:
Support is described as responsive and willing to take ownership of issues until they're resolved.
The platform's broader HRIS feature set is well regarded by mid-market reviewers.
Several reviewers note proactive follow-up from the Personio team when problems come up.
What customers complain about:
Implementation support is described by some as generic and checklist-driven rather than tailored to the business.
A handful of reviewers report a buggy experience, with broken workflows.
Integrations are described as limited and clunky, sometimes requiring workarounds.
Time-tracking is flagged as inflexible for companies managing multiple countries, time zones or local labour rules.
Personio replies to 29% of negative reviews on Trustpilot.
7. Breathe (BreatheHR) — 4.0, "Great" (153 reviews)
What customers like:
Named account managers are repeatedly praised for responsiveness and going the extra mile.
The sales process is described as low-pressure and consultative during trials.
The AI chat feature is called a genuinely useful way to get quick answers.
What customers complain about:
Pricing has reportedly risen sharply for some long-standing customers — one 10-year customer cited a 57% increase over two years.
There's no dedicated data-export tool when leaving; one reviewer said departing customers must manually download files per employee.
Some reviewers describe customer service communication as slow, with difficulty reaching a human.
Certain functionality (e.g. performance review templates) is described as manual and not intuitive.
Breathe replies to 100% of negative reviews, typically within 48 hours, and addressed the pricing complaint above by pointing to the rising cost of maintaining the product.
8. Ciphr — 2.9, "Average" (10 reviews — small sample)
What customers like:
Self-service functionality was praised in one review for fast staff adoption (90+ logins on day one).
The system is described as highly configurable for admins.
Implementation consultants specifically were praised for understanding what the customer needed.
What customers complain about:
Post-implementation customer service is described as slow ("weeks, not days") by one detailed reviewer.
High account-manager turnover was reported — three different reps in six months.
Promised functionality (an onboarding module, in one case) was reportedly undelivered or dependent on a future system update.
9. BambooHR — 2.8, "Average" (137 reviews)
What customers like:
Time-off tracking and employee self-service profiles are well liked by day-to-day HR admins.
The platform is described as reducing manual admin for standard HR tasks.
Reviewers who focus on core HR record-keeping describe it as efficient for that purpose.
What customers complain about:
Customers report aggressive billing and cancellation practices, including being sent to a debt collection agency over disputed invoices after attempting to cancel.
There's reportedly no clear self-service cancellation option in the dashboard.
Multi-level approval workflows can create bottlenecks — one reviewer described payroll-linked requests stalling when an approver was on leave.
Software limitations are described as requiring complex workarounds for what reviewers considered basic functionality.
BambooHR hasn't replied to negative reviews on Trustpilot.
10. Zellis (including Moorepay) — 1.8, "Poor" (31 reviews)
Zellis is the lowest-rated provider in this month's line-up.
What customers like:
Positive commentary is scarce here, with the clearest example being a review praising a thorough onboarding and training experience.
What customers complain about:
Automated processes (e.g. payment opt-outs) are described as repetitive and frustrating, with one reviewer reporting having to call dozens of times a year to manage them.
Billing and cancellation disputes feature heavily, including a detailed account of unexpected termination charges surfacing months after a cancellation was confirmed, following the Moorepay–Zellis merger.
Slow or absent responses to cancellation and billing disputes were reported, in one case over a five-month gap.
Security and login processes were described as cumbersome by more than one reviewer.
Zellis hasn't replied to negative reviews on Trustpilot.
Where This Leaves Things
CharlieHR, BrightHR, Access PeopleHR and Sense HR all sit firmly in "Excellent" territory this month, with Sense HR's 4.6 built on smooth onboarding, flexible workflows and support customers describe as genuinely proactive. Further down the list, a common thread among the lower-rated providers is unclear cancellation terms and slower complaint handling.
We'll be back next month with a fresh look at UK HR software Trustpilot ratings. If there's a provider you'd like us to include, let us know.
Ratings and quotes sourced from public UK Trustpilot company pages, 31 July 2026 — a snapshot that can shift as new reviews come in.