Breathe vs Personio
Verified ratings, real UK pricing and the compliance detail, weighed side by side — with a written verdict at the end.
Breathe
HR Software
- United Kingdom
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Personio
HR Software
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Ireland
- Spain
- Netherlands
- Phone
- Knowledge Base
- Forum
Evenly matched on verified reviews — 4.0 against 4.1. Price and fit will decide this one, not the score.
The short version
What each one costs and how each one rates, side by side. Only the rows where leading means something are marked; vendor and availability are in the overview above.
| Detail | Breathe | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | ||
| Starting priceLowest paid tier, excluding VAT | £24/mo | On request |
| Free version | NoNo | NoNo |
| Free trial | YesYes | YesYes |
| How it rates | ||
| Overall ratingMean of verified Assaylist reviews | 4.0 | 4.1 |
| Verified reviewsVolume is evidence, not a score — this row is not a contest | 235 reviews | 215 reviews |
How reviewers score them
Across the four dimensions we ask every reviewer about — and, below, the star split each average is built from.
- Breathe
- Personio
| Dimension | Breathe | Personio | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
| Value for money | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to Personio |
| Customer support | 3.9 | 4.0 | 0.1 to Personio |
| Functionality | 4.0 | 4.0 | Level |
What each average is made of
Two products can share an average and not share a reputation. These bars show the star split behind each score.
| Product | 5 star | 4 star | 3 star | 2 star | 1 star |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breathe | 40% (93 reviews) | 34% (79 reviews) | 17% (41 reviews) | 8% (18 reviews) | 2% (4 reviews) |
| Personio | 44% (95 reviews) | 35% (75 reviews) | 14% (30 reviews) | 4% (8 reviews) | 3% (7 reviews) |
Feature by feature
Everything either vendor publishes, split into what separates them and what they share.
- Both products
- 211%
- Only Breathe
- 844%
- Only Personio
- 844%
18 features listed across both products.
What only one of them does
Breathe
8- Company announcements
- Document storage
- Health and safety add on
- Leave and absence management
+ 4 more in the table below
Personio
8- Approval workflows
- Document management
- Multi country HR
- Onboarding and offboarding
+ 4 more in the table below
Showing 18 of 18 features
| Detail | Breathe | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| Where they differ · 16 | ||
| Company announcements | YesYes | NoNo |
| Document storage | YesYes | NoNo |
| Health and safety add on | YesYes | NoNo |
| Leave and absence management | YesYes | NoNo |
| Reporting | YesYes | NoNo |
| Rota, time and attendance add on | YesYes | NoNo |
| Simple performance tracking | YesYes | NoNo |
| UK statutory leave handling | YesYes | NoNo |
| Approval workflows | NoNo | YesYes |
| Document management | NoNo | YesYes |
| Multi country HR | NoNo | YesYes |
| Onboarding and offboarding | NoNo | YesYes |
| Performance management | NoNo | YesYes |
| Recruitment and applicant tracking | NoNo | YesYes |
| Reporting and analytics | NoNo | YesYes |
| Time off management | NoNo | YesYes |
| Where they match · 2 | ||
| Employee database | YesYes | YesYes |
| Employee self serve | YesYes | YesYes |
A dash means the vendor has not published a feature list — which is not the same as the feature being unavailable.
How they handle UK obligations
Checked against the vendor's own documentation or HMRC's published list. A dash means we have not verified it — never that it is missing.
| Detail | Breathe | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| Verified against vendor documentation | ||
| Data residency | United Kingdom | Not stated |
| UK-based support | UK support team | Not stated |
What each tier costs
Both line-ups on one ladder, so the middle tier on one side sits next to the middle tier on the other.
Breathe
Personio
Micro
£24/mo
- Up to 10 employees
- Leave management
- Employee records
Personio
Contact vendor
- Quoted per employee
- Full employee lifecycle
- Multi country support
Starter
£44/mo
- Up to 20 employees
- Everything in Micro
- Performance tracking
No comparable tier listed
Regular
£99/mo
- Up to 50 employees
- Everything in Starter
- More storage
No comparable tier listed
Rungs are matched by position in each vendor’s own line-up, not by what the tiers include — an entry plan on one side may cover more than the other. Prices exclude VAT unless stated, and per-seat plans are quoted per seat. Always confirm on the vendor’s own site.
Which should you choose?
Two answers, because there are two right ones depending on what you need.
Choose Breathe if
- It lists 8 features Personio does not, including company announcements.
- It covers more of the UK obligations we check — 2 of them against 0.
Choose Personio if
- It lists 8 features Breathe does not, including approval workflows.
On verified Assaylist reviews, Personio currently rates 4.1 against 4.0 for Breathe. That gap is not the whole story: Breathe starts at £24/mo and Personio at a quoted price, so the right answer depends on the tier you actually need and on which one handles your UK obligations. Read both profiles before you commit, and confirm current pricing on the vendor's own site.
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