tech from europe
vsRippling

CharlieHR vs Rippling

Last updated October 2026

Looking for a European alternative to Rippling? Here's how CharlieHR compares, on EU hosting, GDPR and what it does.

Our pick for a European buyer: CharlieHR. We weight data residency, GDPR and EU jurisdiction above everything else — that is the constraint this directory exists to solve.

What it is
UK HR software for small businesses with EU-hosted data
Unified platform for HR, IT, and operations management.
Headquarters
🇬🇧 GB
🇺🇸 US · 2016
EU data residency
Yes, for all customers
Available on some plansEU data residency available on request for certain modules.
DSGVO / GDPR
Yes
Yes
Certifications
ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials
ISO 27001, ISO 27018, ISO 42001, SOC 1, SOC 2
Price from
£5/user/mo
No
Free plan
No
No
Open Source
No
No
Integrations
AccessOwl, Apideck, Assembly, Bonusly, Cakewalk +36
Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Zoom +5

Where each one wins

CharlieHR

Strengths

  • +Simple and intuitive interface for non-HR specialists
  • +Centralizes leave, holiday, and sick leave tracking effectively
  • +Streamlined onboarding workflows for new hires
  • +Slack integration for absence notifications
  • +Responsive and helpful customer support
  • +Ideal for small businesses and first-time HR software users
  • +Clear visibility of employee incentives and time-off balances

Limitations

  • −Basic reporting tools lacking depth for advanced HR needs
  • −Limited integration options compared to larger platforms
  • −No native payroll functionality

Rippling

Strengths

  • +Unifies HR, IT, and operations in a single platform
  • +Strong compliance and security certifications
  • +Extensive integration ecosystem
  • +Scalable for growing businesses

Limitations

  • −Pricing lacks transparency
  • −Complex setup for large organizations
  • −Steep learning curve for admins
  • −Modular pricing can become expensive

Data residency & compliance

CharlieHR
Rippling
EU data residency
Yes, for all customers
Available on some plansEU data residency available on request for certain modules.
Transfer mechanism
Not required — data stays in the EU
not established
DPA
not established
not established
Sub-processors
not established
not established
Certifications
ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials
ISO 27001, ISO 27018, ISO 42001, SOC 1, SOC 2

Pricing

CharlieHR

  • Core (Charlie) £5/month (first 6 months, 1–4 team members), then £20/month per team / month7-day free trial, no credit card required · Pricing scales with team size (e.g., 5–9 members: £45/month, 15–29: £105/month, 250+: £735/month) · Limited-time offer for small teams
  • Charlie Recruit (Add-on) From £55/month per monthAutomates manual hiring tasks · Improves recruitment decisions · Requires a Charlie subscription
  • Charlie Advice (Add-on) From £179/month per monthExpert HR guidance · Legal compliance support · Requires a Charlie subscription

Pricing varies by team size; add-ons billed separately. Limited-time offer for 1–4 team members.

Rippling

No published pricing we could verify.

Pricing is not publicly disclosed; custom quotes provided upon request.

Features

CharlieHR

Onboarding
One-click collection of new hire information, Automated profile creation for new starters
Time Off Management
Automated leave requests and approvals, Sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal, Slack integration for leave notifications, Custom leave types and public holiday sync
Performance Management
Performance review workflows, Team growth tracking
Employee Engagement
Team sentiment analysis, Engagement tools and surveys
Perks and Benefits
Perks and benefits administration, Employee discount programs

Rippling

HR & Workforce Management
Employee onboarding and offboarding, Time and attendance tracking, Payroll processing, Benefits administration
IT & Device Management
Device provisioning and deprovisioning, Software deployment and updates, Mobile device management (MDM), Security policy enforcement
Security & Compliance
Role-based access control, Multi-factor authentication (MFA), Data encryption in transit and at rest, Audit logging
Integrations & Automation
Pre-built connectors for 500+ apps, Custom workflow automation, API access for custom integrations, Single sign-on (SSO) support