Both are UK HR products for small businesses, with a permanent free plan and per-employee pricing. Compare the free limit, the paid price and the features on each plan.
No card, no sales call and no trial clock.
The short answer
Choose HollyHR when you have up to 10 active employees and want to stay free, want onboarding and API and MCP access without paying, or prefer £2 rather than £3 per employee. Choose CitoHR when you need expenses, training records or equipment tracking today, or shift scheduling, timesheets and clock-ins on its Pro plan.
HollyHR Free covers up to 10 active employees and Standard is £2 per active employee each month. CitoHR Free covers up to 5 active employees and Pro is £3 per employee each month, charged for every employee.
Monthly prices. HollyHR examples use Free up to 10 and Standard above 10. Volunteer-only profiles do not count towards billing under HollyHR's published policy. CitoHR examples use Free up to 5 and Pro above 5; CitoHR's pricing page does not say whether VAT applies, and the Pro Plus price is not published.
Both products have a permanent free plan with no trial clock. They differ on where it stops and what the next person costs.
HollyHR
Up to 10 active employees
CitoHR
Up to 5 active employees
A 14-day Pro trial needs no card.
HollyHR
£2 per active employee each month
Standard, or £20 per active employee per year.
CitoHR
£3 per employee each month
Pro, charged for every employee. No annual option today.
HollyHR
Included on Free
CitoHR
Included on Free
HollyHR
Included on Free
Unlimited storage (fair use), up to 25 MB a file.
CitoHR
Included on Free
1GB of storage on Free, 10GB on Pro and 20GB on Pro Plus.
CitoHR covers more everyday admin areas today. HollyHR's equivalents are on its roadmap, and some are planned for Plus.
HollyHR
Included on Free
CitoHR
Pro plan
HollyHR
Coming soon
Coming soonPlanned for every plan.
CitoHR
Included on Free
HollyHR
Coming with Plus
Coming soonPlus is not available to buy yet.
CitoHR
Included on Free
Expense tracking and approvals.
HollyHR
Coming with Plus
Coming soonCitoHR
Pro plan
Includes location-based clock-ins.
HollyHR
Evidence and decision in onboarding
CitoHR
Expiry reminders on Pro
Pro also adds HMRC compliance reports and payroll export templates.
Both products connect to AI tools and publish security details. They put these features on different plans.
HollyHR
Ask Holly on every plan
Free includes a usage allowance.
CitoHR
Pro, with your own Gemini key
Pro Plus includes AI usage.
HollyHR
Reads on every plan
On Standard, a System Admin can let other tools make changes.
CitoHR
API reference, MCP on Pro
MCP connects Claude, ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.
HollyHR
EU database, UK files
Records in AWS Frankfurt; documents and backups in AWS London.
CitoHR
London
CitoHR says customer HR data is stored in London.
HollyHR
Optional for everyone
Organisations cannot yet require it.
CitoHR
Optional
Admins cannot yet require it for everyone.
HollyHR
Not certified today
CitoHR
Nothing documented
CitoHR's security page does not mention a certification.
Start with the features your team uses each week. If expenses, training, equipment, shifts or timesheets are part of your CitoHR setup, decide where that work will live before you move.
Export your employee records, leave history and documents, then test a HollyHR import with a small sample. Check leave balances and who can see what before you switch.
Compare the best HR software for UK small businessesPrices and product details checked on 14 November 2026. Suppliers change both, so check their live pages before you sign.
For most small teams, yes. HollyHR is free for up to 10 active employees, while CitoHR is free for up to 5. Above that, HollyHR Standard is £2 per active employee each month and CitoHR Pro is £3 for every employee. At 10 employees HollyHR is £0 and CitoHR Pro is £30 a month; at 25 they are £50 and £75.
CitoHR's Free plan includes expense tracking, training and certifications and equipment tracking, which HollyHR has not launched yet. CitoHR Pro adds shift scheduling, timesheets with location-based clock-ins, custom forms, HMRC compliance reports and immigration expiry reminders.
HollyHR Free includes onboarding, its AI assistant Holly with a usage allowance, and API and MCP reads, and it covers up to 10 active employees. CitoHR places onboarding workflows, AI tools and MCP on Pro, and its AI tools need your own Google Gemini key unless you buy Pro Plus.
CitoHR lists 1GB of storage on Free, 10GB on Pro and 20GB on Pro Plus. HollyHR includes unlimited document storage on every plan, with fair use and a 25 MB limit per file. Check your current document volume before choosing, because scanned contracts and certificates add up quickly.
Yes, if HollyHR covers the work you rely on. CitoHR says that when a paid subscription ends you can ask it to export your data for 30 days. Export your employee records, leave history and documents, test HollyHR's CSV import with a small sample, and reconcile leave balances and permissions. Expense, training, equipment and timesheet records need their own plan.
Bring your team over from a spreadsheet. There is no card, no sales call and no lock-in. For up to 10 active employees, everyday HR is free.
