CharlieHR vs Namely

A detailed comparison of CharlieHR and Namely. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and user ratings.

At a Glance

CharlieHR Namely
Rating 4.7/5 3.9/5
Starting Price $5/mo N/A
Free Trial Yes No
Free Plan Yes No
Features 9 9
Best For SMB Mid-Market

CharlieHR

Simple, affordable HR software designed for small UK and European businesses with 2-200 employees, covering time off, onboarding, and people management.

Rating 4.7/5
Best for SMB
Free trial Yes
Free plan Yes
Start Free Trial →

Namely

HR platform for mid-sized companies providing HRIS, payroll, benefits administration, talent management, and time-and-attendance in a single system with managed services.

Rating 3.9/5
Best for Mid-Market
Free trial No
Free plan No
Visit Namely →

Feature Comparison

Feature CharlieHR Namely
Workflow Automation
Reporting Dashboard
EEO/OFCCP Compliance
GDPR Compliance
API Access
HRIS Integration
Slack Integration
Zapier Integration
Mobile App

Pricing Comparison

CharlieHR

Free Free
Team $5/mo

Namely

Platform Custom

Integrations

Both tools integrate with

Gmail Google Workspace Slack Zapier

Only CharlieHR

Xero

Only Namely

ADP Azure AD Google Calendar Gusto Microsoft 365 Microsoft Teams Okta OneLogin Outlook Outlook Calendar

Pros & Cons

CharlieHR

Pros

  • +Extremely simple setup — most teams are running within a day
  • +Free plan available for very small teams (up to 2 users)
  • +Clean, modern interface designed for non-HR people
  • +Affordable per-employee pricing for UK and European SMBs

Cons

  • -No payroll module — you need a separate payroll provider
  • -Limited API and integrations compared to larger platforms
  • -Feature depth is shallow — not suitable for 200+ employee companies
  • -Performance reviews are basic compared to Lattice or HiBob

Namely

Pros

  • +Mid-market HRIS with payroll and benefits
  • +Employee-friendly interface with social feed
  • +Good compliance and reporting
  • +Managed payroll and benefits services available

Cons

  • -Pricing higher than alternatives for similar features
  • -Platform can feel slow at times
  • -Limited to US-based companies
  • -Customer support quality inconsistent

Which Should You Choose?

Choose CharlieHR if:

  • • Your company is SMB size
  • • You want to start with a free plan
  • • You want to try before committing (free trial available)
  • • Higher user ratings matter to you (4.7 vs 3.9)
  • • Extremely simple setup — most teams are running within a day
Try CharlieHR Free

Choose Namely if:

  • • Your company is Mid-Market size
  • • Mid-market HRIS with payroll and benefits
Visit Namely

How we evaluate tools

Our ratings combine verified user reviews from G2 and Capterra with hands-on feature analysis. Pricing is checked against official sources. We may earn a commission through affiliate links, but this never influences our rankings or recommendations. Read our full methodology.