Crewkind vs Breathe (BreatheHR)

Crewkind vs Breathe HR

Breathe is a well-liked core-HR tool for small UK businesses, priced by company-size tier rather than per employee. Here's how that compares to Crewkind's per-employee model — and what's core versus bolt-on in each.

Breathe prices in flat per-business bands (Micro at £24/month for 1–10 staff up to Plus at £579/month for 151–200 staff) rather than per employee, which is simple to budget but means a 10-person and a 2-person team on Micro pay the same. Rota, time-tracking and recruitment are optional add-ons on top of the core HR platform, not built in. Crewkind prices per employee from £3.50/month with rota scheduling, recruitment and training native to the higher tiers, and is free for 12 months under five employees.

Facts checked 2026-08 against Breathe (BreatheHR)'s own published pricing pages.

Side by side

 CrewkindBreathe (BreatheHR)
Pricing modelPer-employee, £3.50–£9.00/monthFlat per-business tier by headcount band (£24–£579/month)
Free tierFull platform free for 12 months, under 5 employees14-day free trial, no free tier
Rota / schedulingNative to the Workforce moduleOptional add-on
Recruitment/ATSNative Recruit add-on with right-to-work verificationOptional add-on
Right-to-work checksTrustID-verified, built into RecruitNot a core feature
Training & compliance trackingNative to the Engage module, with sector training packsAvailable as an add-on (e-learning)

When Breathe (BreatheHR) fits better

If you run a very small, single-site team and only need core HR records, leave and document storage — not rota, recruitment or training — Breathe's entry tier is a lean, well-established option.

When Crewkind fits better

If your team is shift-based, hires seasonally, or needs rota, right-to-work checks and training tracking without stacking three separate add-on subscriptions, Crewkind bundles those natively.

Common questions

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