Toggl Hire vs. BambooHR

Do you want to save time on hiring without losing control over the process or compromising quality? Uh, of course you do. We speak to dozens of hiring managers every week who have the same problem.

Just because it’s common doesn’t mean it has to be the norm, though. You just need to find the right recruiting software. As you likely know, you have several options to choose from.

The best recruiting software combines essential hiring tasks to help you do things like seamlessly screen applicants, send out async video interviews, and move candidates through your pipeline with a simple click.

Add hiring metrics into the mix, and the benefits for HR teams and candidates are massive. At least, they are if you choose the right hiring software. And, today, we’re helping you narrow down your options by comparing two of the best: Toggl Hire vs. BambooHR.

Toggl Hire wins over BambooHR because only Toggl Hire:

• Is a full-cycle hiring platform with a strong emphasis on skills-based hiring
• Ensures a high-quality candidate experience from start to finish
• Helps you manage a thriving talent pool to reduce time spent on candidate sourcing
• Reduces hiring bias with features like skills assessments
• Offers transparent pricing (no forced, pushy sales demos here!)

What is Toggl Hire?

Toggl Hire is an easy-to-use full-cycle hiring platform.

While we were once a skills testing platform, we’ve now evolved into a full recruitment software that still offers all of our candidate assessment features and more to help you make great hiring decisions and deliver an exceptional candidate experience.

Full-cycle hiring means Toggl Hire covers the whole recruitment process. Users can control sourcing, screening, assessment, and offers from a single interface. Create pipelines for each position and filter applications smoothly, using skills-based tests and other assessments to find the right hire.

Toggl Hire also has some standout features many other recruitment platforms lack. With Toggl Hire in your toolkit, you can benefit from the following.

Streamlined talent pipelines

No need to connect an ATS to Toggl Hire. Our hiring platform includes a full applicant tracking system, which we call your candidate pipeline.

The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create and manage a talent pipeline. Mix video interviews, customized skill tests, qualifying questions, and in-person interviews to suit your needs. Automation makes everything simpler and more efficient.

Talent pool management for faster candidate sourcing

Maintain a centralized database of current applicants and past candidates to streamline sourcing.

Our talent pool feature allows you to filter past candidates, stay in touch via personalized outreach, and easily invite the brightest talent when new roles open up. Our updated interface also makes removing old records and updating your candidate database much easier.

Customized, expert-led skills testing

Toggl Hire maintains a massive database of skills tests developed by industry experts. Tests are popular with candidates and deliver revealing insights into their abilities.

For hiring managers, they help reduce hiring bias and filter out unsuitable applicants. Automated feedback keeps failed candidates happy, so they return when the time is right (or, at the very least, don’t leave horrible reviews on your Glassdoor profile).

Insights into your hiring process

Test-specific analytics help you track your hiring process. Use insights (like data that reveals all candidates are scoring low on a particular skills test, indicating the test is probably too hard or inaccurate) to improve various steps in your process.

Check out data visualizations of candidate responses to detect strengths and weaknesses. The benefit here? We built it all so you can make hiring based on your gut instinct a thing of the past.

Collaborative hiring made simple

While smaller teams might have one person handling all of the hiring, most hiring teams involve various members these days, and everybody needs to be on the same page to make a great hire.

With our collaborative hiring features, Toggl Hire connects hiring managers, recruiters, and other stakeholders for maximum visibility. Create hiring feeds for each pipeline and use notifications to keep everyone informed.

Ultimately, while this doesn’t cover the full spectrum of what Toggl Hire offers as a recruitment software, these features do stand out as some of the most popular among our users. That’s the beauty of a full-cycle hiring solution…but not every recruitment platform has the same depth and functionality.

What is BambooHR?

Where does BambooHR fit into the recruitment landscape? The first thing to note is that BambooHR is not a specialist recruitment solution. BambooHR aids recruitment (which is why we are suggesting it here). Full-cycle recruiting platforms are different, and it’s important to understand why.

BambooHR brands itself as “the complete HR platform”, and its features extend beyond hiring. Users can manage payrolls, maintain employee databases, handle compliance issues, track employee performance, and leverage HR analytics.

These are great features for general HR tasks, but BambooHR’s recruiting functions are less comprehensive. For recruiting, BambooHR users benefit from:

• Intuitive collaboration: Permissions let you bring stakeholders into the hiring process when needed. Automatic alerts keep milestones in mind, and you can push hiring data to remote devices. That’s handy for dispersed teams.
• Automated templates: BambooHR provides ready-made templates for job descriptions and job offers. Offer letters also include the ability to request e-signatures to automate the acceptance process.
• The BambooHR App: BambooHR’s mobile app keeps recruiters connected and informed 24/7 — great if you need your team available whenever emergencies arise.

BambooHR’s applicant tracking system covers the basics well but with relatively little depth. Users can create job ads, manage applications, and make offers, but that’s about it.

Talent pool management, recruiting analytics, and skills-based testing are not part of the package.

Full-cycle recruiting solutions include these extra features, often allowing users to control every stage of recruitment and confidently assess candidates to find the perfect hire. If you need that level of detail, BambooHR isn’t a great fit.

Toggl Hire is best for…

• Hiring for skills: Our testing library is the largest in the recruitment software industry. Tests are all created by recognized experts and cover various subject areas popular in today’s job market. If you need to test JavaScript capabilities, for example, we’ve got pre-built tests for that created by someone with actual JavaScript experience. The same applies to general problem-solving or leadership skills. Mixing hard and soft skill assessments is easy.
• Managing a seamless talent pipeline: Unlike BambooHR, Toggl Hire covers every aspect of the recruiting process. Manage passive candidates in your talent pool. Tailor job descriptions to skills and target job ads at relevant channels. Screen applicants with quick tests before managing high-potential candidates through interviews, tests, and homework assignments. It’s all there for you.
• Optimizing the candidate experience: Toggl Hire makes life easy for candidates (and HR teams). Skills test feedback means unsuccessful candidates don’t get totally ghosted, while communication tools keep everyone in the loop. Other helpful features like async video interviews and screening save time, easing the best applicants onto the next recruitment phase.

BambooHR is best for…

BambooHR may not be a full-cycle hiring contender, but it does do other things well. BambooHR will be best for:

• Integrating hiring with HR systems: BambooHR integrates hiring with payroll, performance management, and employee analytics. Recruiting is part of the BambooHR system. This kind of setup reduces the risk of compatibility issues.
• Simplicity: Not all companies need comprehensive recruiting solutions. Sometimes simplicity is best. For instance, BambooHR works well when hiring large numbers of low-skilled employees. Just create job descriptions, zap them over top high-volume channels, and filter the leading candidates.
• High-pressure recruiting: BambooHR serves teams 24/7 with sophisticated collaboration tools and the BambooHR App. Not every HR team prefers 24/7 availability, but sometimes, working around the clock is part of the job. In those situations, BambooHR has your back.

You deserve more from your recruitment software

Companies should always choose the best recruitment software based on their needs.

While that means different things for different teams, the best hiring platforms should allow you to cover some essential bases, such as helping you deliver a great candidate experience, filter for skills, allow for some level of collaboration, and reduce hiring costs.

Sadly, some hiring software fails on every front, leaving recruiters in trouble. BambooHR isn’t one of those failures, but the platform is far from perfect if your goal is an efficient hiring process.

The ATS functions are minimal. HR teams can create descriptions and ads and track candidates through the interview phase. There are few screening and testing features and no talent pool management options.

BambooHR also lags in candidate experience. The interview and job offer functions are good, but testing and feedback are missing from the current feature stack. This absence matters because skills tests are the best way to reduce hiring bias. Relying on interviews makes it difficult to guarantee a fair candidate experience. Finding the best candidates is also far harder.

BambooHR customers have also reported payment problems, including features being moved into higher price brackets without informing users. With Toggl Hire, transparency is a core value. Users know what they’re paying (and basic functions are even available for free).

Many companies report positive experiences with BambooHR, especially when adding hiring functions to an implementation. Installing recruitment software from scratch is a different matter. In those cases, companies can do better, and many options are available.

Toggl Hire vs. BambooHR pricing

By now, you likely have a pretty good idea of which recruitment software is best for you. However, before we wrap this up and you make your final decision, it’s important to touch on pricing. After all, good recruiting platforms come with a cost, but value for money varies…greatly.

BambooHR

BambooHR customers must purchase a monthly subscription to the BambooHR platform. You cannot just buy the recruitment suite. It’s all or nothing.

The company does not publish prices on its website. Instead, customers must enquire for a quotation. Prices depend on company size and required features, and they rise as capacity is added.

There are two subscription tiers:

• Core: Delivers “foundational” HR automation. This tier includes all BambooHR recruiting features but limits users to five job openings, making it a good match for smaller enterprises.
• Pro: Adds more HR functions but does not expand recruiting features. Pro customers can manage 25 openings, making it suitable for larger businesses.

Toggl Hire

At Toggl Hire, we take a very different approach to pricing. Our prices are transparent and tailored to customer needs. There are no hidden add-ons to discover further down the line. What you see is what you get, and there are four pricing tiers.

• Free: Customers can try Toggl Hire before they buy. Free users can create as many tests as they like but are limited to five candidates.
• Basic: Customers pay $20/month or $240/year. This tier covers 20 candidates. Users have full access to the testing library and can build candidate databases. Simple analytics are also available to track campaigns.
• Premium: Customers pay $75/month or $900/year. Candidate numbers vary from 45 to 300 (prices rise if you need to add capacity). Premium users benefit from anti-cheating features, extra automation options, API integrations, and candidate email logins. However, there are also exporting options to analyze candidates offline.
• Business: Customers pay $469/month or $5,628/year. There is no candidate limit. Extra features include customized email templates, URL redirects for candidates, and bulk candidate management. This plan is ideal for larger companies.

The verdict: What makes Toggl Hire the best BambooHR alternative to manage full-cycle hiring

Toggl Hire and BambooHR have different use cases. Even so, we think it’s fair to compare the two as both products claim to make hiring easier. In the battle between the recruitment brands, Toggl Hire comes out on top for the following reasons.

Toggl Hire is a true full-cycle solution

BambooHR makes it easier to integrate new hires into payrolls and employee databases. Toggl Hire allows HR teams to source and filter candidates to find a perfect fit. If you are serious about hiring well, there’s only one winner.

Skills matter

Companies depend on skilled workforces. Sooner or later, failure to hire people with the right skills and attitudes shows up in your bottom line. Toggl Hire makes it easy to test every candidate for core competencies. Identify talent that suits your business strategy, not just “good” candidates who seem to fit the bill on paper (er—screen).

Hiring bias is a huge problem

Bias ruins the hiring process, often leading you to exclude otherwise great candidates with the potential to take your team to the next level. Toggl Hire enables fair hiring via neutral homework assignments and digital tests. Use data on candidate abilities with interview feedback to remove individual biases from the picture.

Transparency rules

BambooHR may offer great value for money, but how would you know? The website doesn’t provide pricing details, and hidden costs could apply. Toggl Hire is completely different. Affordable plans and clear plans provide total certainty about what you’re paying for.

Candidates deserve great experiences

Finally, Toggl Hire delights candidates throughout your talent pipeline. Applicants love personalized messaging, async video interviews, enjoyable skills tests, and comprehensive feedback. Great experiences boost your brand and encourage candidates to stay the course.

Try Toggl Hire for free

Choosing a recruitment solution can seem like another annoying task to cross off your checklist, but it’s an important decision to get right. So, take your time!

If you want to discover more before making your final decision, sign up for a free Toggl Hire account and explore for yourself.