Sense HR ranges from a banded core plan to a broader workforce platform with performance, recruitment, time and location tools. HollyHR is designed for teams of roughly 5 to 100 employees and starts free for up to 10 active employees.
No card, no sales call and no trial clock.
The short answer
Choose HollyHR when people records, leave, sickness, documents and onboarding cover the job for a team of roughly 5 to 100 employees. Choose Sense HR when native mobile, e-signatures, expenses, performance, recruitment, time and attendance, multi-entity administration or location features need to be available now.
HollyHR is cheaper at 10 active employees. At the published limits for 25, 50, 100 and 200 employees, Sense Team costs less, but it also uses full team-size bands. Compare the actual headcount and the plan that contains the features you need.
Monthly prices before VAT. Sense examples use the published Team band limits. The result can differ at headcounts between those limits because Sense charges the full band price. Professional is £4 per employee, Elite £6 and Enterprise £8.
Sense Team uses employee bands, while its higher plans and HollyHR Standard use per-person pricing. A fair comparison starts with the plan, not only the headline rate.
HollyHR
Free
No card and no trial clock.
Sense HR
Team £20 per month
Sense offers a 14-day Professional trial with no card.
HollyHR
£2 per active employee
No employee bands on Standard.
Sense HR
£45 to £270 per month
Published limits cover 25, 50, 100 and 200 employees.
HollyHR
One Standard plan
Sense HR
£4 PEPM
Adds e-signatures, expenses, work patterns and payroll connectors.
HollyHR
Plus is coming soon
Coming soonPlus is not available to buy yet.
Sense HR
£6 and £8 PEPM
Both are annual; Enterprise adds multi-site and location capability.
The entry plans overlap on records, leave, absence and reporting. Sense moves signatures, appraisal and full performance into higher tiers.
HollyHR
Included
Sense HR
Included on Team
HollyHR
Responsive web product
There is no native mobile app today.
Sense HR
Included on Team
HollyHR
Not included today
Sense HR
Professional
Sense's current matrix does not include basic appraisal on Team.
HollyHR
Coming with Plus
Coming soonPlus is not available to buy yet.
Sense HR
Elite
Sense Elite and Enterprise are already broader workforce products. HollyHR's comparable Plus modules remain roadmap work.
HollyHR
Coming with Plus
Coming soonPlus is not available to buy yet.
Sense HR
Included on Elite
HollyHR
Focused onboarding today
A broader workflow builder is not included today.
Sense HR
100+ workflows on Elite
Enterprise adds a workflow designer and service connectors.
HollyHR
Coming with Plus
Coming soonPlus is not available to buy yet.
Sense HR
Full tooling on Elite
HollyHR
Not included today
Sense HR
Enterprise
Sense lists multi-entity, location, safety hardware and a sandbox on Enterprise.
Both products publish routes for connected workflows, but access begins on different plans and the supplier evidence is at a different scale.
HollyHR
Reads on every plan
Standard adds governed writes with explicit scopes.
Sense HR
Elite and Enterprise
Sense lists read and write API access on both plans.
HollyHR
MCP and bounded signed events
Events cover documented public API-origin changes, not every product action.
Sense HR
Webhooks on Elite and Enterprise
Sense documents REST and webhook routes; no MCP comparison is inferred.
HollyHR
No native catalogue
Sense HR
Payroll connectors from Professional
Core productivity integrations start on Elite; Enterprise adds custom routes.
HollyHR
New in 2026
Sense HR
1,000+ UK teams
Sense HR states this figure on its essential HR page.
Map the Sense plan and features your team uses before you compare subscriptions. Mobile, signatures, expenses, appraisal, performance, recruitment, workflows, time, integrations and multi-site tools all need an owner if you move.
Ask Sense HR for the records and files available to export, then test a small HollyHR import. Reconcile leave, sickness, permissions, documents and connected workflows before ending the old service.
See more Sense HR alternativesPublic prices and product details were checked on 28 August 2026. Packages can change, so confirm the terms of any quote.
HollyHR is cheaper at 10 active employees because its Free plan is £0 and Sense Team is £20 per month. At the published Sense Team limits for 25, 50, 100 and 200 employees, Sense costs less than HollyHR Standard. The result can differ between those limits because Sense charges the full band price, so compare your actual headcount and required plan.
Sense HR publishes a 14-day trial with no credit card, using Professional features. It does not publish an ongoing free plan. HollyHR Free is ongoing for up to 10 active employees and has no trial clock or card requirement.
No. Sense HR's current plan matrix places basic appraisal on Professional and full performance reviews on Elite. Team includes core records, documents, holidays, absence, reports, mobile, SSO, MFA and an HR assistant, but not basic appraisal or full performance reviews.
Elite adds full performance, recruitment and ATS, more than 100 workflows, time and attendance, core productivity integrations, read and write API access, webhooks and dedicated implementation. Enterprise adds a workflow designer, service and custom connectors, multi-entity administration, location and safety tooling, and a sandbox. Elite is £6 per employee per month and Enterprise £8 on annual contracts before VAT.
Sense HR offers the broader workforce integration surface, but its read and write API and webhooks begin on Elite. HollyHR includes API and MCP reads on every plan, governed writes on Standard, and signed events for documented public API-origin changes. Compare exact endpoints, permissions, connectors and event coverage before choosing.
Sense Team is cheaper at the published 25-person limit, at £45 per month compared with £50 for HollyHR Standard. HollyHR may still fit better if you value its focused workflow, API and MCP access from lower plans or organisation export. Sense may fit better if native mobile, SSO, MFA, reports and its HR assistant are the stronger priorities.
You can move the records HollyHR supports, but there is no one-click Sense HR migration. Ask Sense for the available exports, test a small HollyHR import, and reconcile leave, sickness, permissions and documents. Signatures, expenses, appraisal, performance, recruitment, workflows, time, integrations and multi-site data need a separate retention or replacement 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.
