11 Best Open Source HR Software For 2023 to Revolutionize your HR Practices

There’s a lot of HR software out there to help companies manage their teams. However, it can often be challenging to find a program that matches your unique business processes and needs. That’s where open source comes in. The best open source HR software for 2023 allows you to make your own customizations, in order to match your company workflows. In this article, we’ll take you through some of the top options out there, so you have all the information you need to decide which one is optimal for you.

1 Why Should Firms Prefer Open Source HR Systems?

Open source refers to software where anybody can view, modify and redistribute the source code. In the case of HR systems, it allows companies to adapt a program for their specific needs and purposes. Open source software is usually free or inexpensive, which is an obvious plus. However, it can also be time consuming to configure. That’s why a lot of companies offer their source code for free, but then charge if you want their in-house team to help you build your customizations.

2. Overview of the 11 Best Open Source HR Software for 2023

Sentrifugo	Best HR open-source software for a broad range of pre-built features
WP ERP	Best HR open-source software for WordPress-based systems
Simple HRM	Best HR open-source software for PHP language coding
OrangeHRM	Best HR open-source software for scalability
OpenHRMS	Best HR open-source software for individual module selection
Monday.com	Best HR open-source software for process customization
Odoo HR	Best HR open-source software for breadth of apps
Bitrix 24	Best HR open-source software for mobile-friendly HR
MintHCM	Best HR open-source software for a completely open-source ethos
Jorani	Best HR open-source software for leave management
IceHrm Open Source Edition	Best HR open-source software for self-hosting

3. Comparison Criteria

3.1 Usability

The topmost consideration for almost all software is how easy it is to use. Software with excellent usability can streamline workflows and boost efficiency.

3.2 UI

A well-designed user interface should be intuitive and pleasing on the eye, without convoluted workflows. Intuitive design and navigation can also minimize the risk of user errors, which can be costly and time-consuming to correct.

3.3 Integrations

Open source HR systems allow you to build your own integrations, but it’s also worth noting if they come with any pre-configured APIs as well. This will save you time and energy.

3.4 Value for money

Each program you acquire should ultimately save more money than it costs. This will usually be seen through improved efficiency.

4 Key Features of Open Source HR Software

4.1 Managing employee leave

There are a few essential features that all the best open HR software for 2023 will cover. Managing employee leave is one of those features, including staff holiday requests, sick days and other time off.

4.2 Employee information

All companies need somewhere to securely store confidential information about their staff, from date of birth and home address, to work experience and qualifications.

4.3 ATS

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are where you manage the hiring process. This can encompass the initial stage of posting jobs ads, all the way to onboarding a new hire.

4.4 Payroll and compensation system

Some HR software payroll modules will automate the monthly payment of salaries. More advanced systems can also manage incentive schemes and employee reward systems.

4.5 Tracking employee development and performance

One of the core functions of HR is to oversee staff training and appraisals. This is reflected in the best open source HR software, which will simplify these processes for your team.

5 11 Best HR Open Source Software for 2023

11 Best HR Open Source Software for 2023

5.1 Sentrifugo – Best HR open source software for a broad range of pre-built features

Best for: small and mid-sized businesses

Sentrifugo is a free and open-source Human Resource Management System (HRMS) software that helps businesses manage their employees' information, performance, and HR-related activities.

What makes it unique?

The Sentrifugo open source HRMS comes with a whole host of features that cover most of the major HR functions. That includes leave management, talent acquisition, analytics, performance appraisals and employee data storage. More unique features include tracking background checks, a disciplinary workflow and a system to submit and approve expenses. You can also manage all your service requests related to IT issues through the interface. However, there isn’t a payroll module.

Key features:

Employee self-service portal
Leave management
Time and attendance tracking
Performance management
Recruitment management
Onboarding
Expense management
Reports and analytics

Pricing:

Price available upon request

Pros:

Highly customizable and can be configured to meet the specific needs of an organization
It has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and use

Cons:

It requires some technical expertise to install and configure
Not be suitable for large organizations with complex HR needs

5.2 WP ERP – Best HR open source software for WordPress-based systems

Best for: small and medium businesses

WP ERP is a free and open-source Human Resource Management System (HRMS) software that runs as a plugin on WordPress. It is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage their HR processes effectively.

What makes it unique?

WP ERP is the best open source HR software for 2023 if your company website is built around WordPress. There are three core modules offered: HRM, customer relationship management (CRM), and accounting. The HRM system takes care of storing company and employee info, processing leave requests, and providing staff analytics. Accounting covers an overview of incomings and outgoings, making payments to vendors, invoicing customers and receiving payment, and building flows to automate tax calculations.

If you want to run your payroll through WP ERP, however, you’ll need to purchase one of the out-of-the-box extensions. There are a number of other plugins available as well, such as recruitment, reimbursement, and attendance.

Key features:

Employee directory
Leave management
Time and attendance tracking
Payroll management
Performance management
Recruitment management
Onboarding
Expense management
Reports and analytics

Pricing:

The core modules are free to use. There’s also a pro tier for $9.99 that features integrations with Salesforce and Zendesk, as well as a more advanced leave management system. Pre-built extensions for things like payroll and recruitment vary between $2.49 and $9.49.

Pros:

It can be customized to meet the specific needs of a business
It is easy to install and use
Integrates seamlessly with other WordPress plugins

Cons:

It is not suitable for larger organizations
It requires some technical expertise to install and configure

5.3 Simple HRM – Best HR open source software for PHP language coding

Best for: small businsses

Simple HRM is a good HRMS software for small to medium-sized businesses that are new to HR management software. It provides a comprehensive solution for managing HR processes, and the fact that it is free and open-source makes it an attractive option for businesses with limited budgets.

What makes it unique?

HRM Script has developed several different open source modules to help manage HR functions, including time and attendance, payroll, and training. Its Simple HRM product includes several core functions, including storing employee data, pay slip creation, and leave management. As the name suggests, it’s a very simple interface, which means it’s easy to build custom workflows, even if it’s not very attractive to look at. The software is predominantly built using PHP, so if you want to do in-house customization, make sure you have programmers who know this particular scripting language.

Key features:

Employee Benefit Management
Centralized HR information
Applicant Tracking (ATS) and Recruiting
Onboarding
Performance management

Pricing:

Simple HRM is available for free.

Pros:

The user interface is simple and easy to navigate, making it ideal for businesses that are new to HR management software
It provides a comprehensive solution for managing HR processes

Cons:

The customer support for Simple HRM is limited
It is customizable enough to meet the specific needs of some businesses

5.4 OrangeHRM – Best HR open source software for scalability

Best for: small, medium and large companies

In the running for best open source HR software for 2023 is OrangeHRM. It boasts a nice, clean-looking UI and great usability. Even its basic functionality is pretty broad, from job posting and management, to 360-degree employee reviews, to leave management, to time tracking.

What makes it unique?

If you upgrade to the paid tier, you can also utilize the interview assistant automation, onboarding task manager and learning management system. The only major thing OrangeHRM lacks is payroll. You can choose to use the standard version on their cloud or download and host on your own server. SMBs can begin with the free Starter package, then scale up to an Advanced subscription as they grow.

Key features:

Document Manager
Insurance Benefits
Leave/Time Off
Time & Attendance Management
Performance Tracking
Recruitment Management
Employment Compliance

Pricing:

Prices are available upon request.

Pros:

It is user-friendly and easy to navigate
It provides businesses with flexibility in terms of deployment options
It has a large and active community of users who contribute to its development

Cons:

The free version of OrangeHRM has limited functionality and is not suitable for larger businesses
Self-hosted solution requires technical expertise to set up and maintain

5.5 OpenHRMS – Best HR open source software for individual module selection

OpenHRMS

Best for:

OpenHRMS offers a wide range of HR features, including employee information management, attendance tracking, leave management, payroll management, and performance management, making it a comprehensive HRMS solution.

What makes it unique?

Developed by Cybrosys Technologies, OpenHRMS is built on top of the Odoo platform. Once you’ve downloaded the core system, you can then choose from a range of different modules that cover everything from employee insurance to project management. Options include an employee database, payroll, appraisal, a dashboard for HR metrics, attendance and leave, disciplinary tracking, timesheets and custody management. Essentially, whatever you want, OpenHRMS has an app for that, albeit often one with simple functionality.

Key features:

Gratuity Settlement
Loan Management
Employee Checklist
Service Request
Time and Attendance
Performance Management

Pricing:

While the software is free, OpenHRMS charges for implementation (prices start from $999) and customer support (prices start from $499).

Pros:

It is highly customizable
It has a modern and intuitive user interface
It can be modified by businesses or developers to add new features or functionality

Cons:

Lacks integration with many other software
There is learning curve for some users who are new to HRMS software

5.6 Monday.com – Best HR open source software for process customization

Best for: small, medium, and large organizations

Monday.com is a popular platform that provides teams with the ability to create custom apps for managing workflows, projects, and everyday tasks.

What makes it unique?

Monday.com Work OS enables you to manage workflows for different business cases, including marketing, sales, project development and, of course, HR. Through the handsome-looking platform you can oversee the recruitment pipeline, onboarding tasks, employee wellbeing, leave requests and performance evals. Alternatively, create your own custom workflows.Strictly speaking, Monday.com isn’t open source software, but it does have a Developer tool that allows you to build your own customized apps and integrations.

Key features:

Recruitment pipeline
Onboarding process
Employee wellbeing
Leave requests
Performance reviews

Pricing:

These apps can then be offered to other companies for free or even sold via Monday.com’s marketplace. You can develop and utilize Monday.com apps for free, but the complimentary tier only allows usage by two people. Any more, and you’ll have to purchase one of the paid subscriptions, which start from $8 per seat per month.

Pros:

It allows teams to create custom apps to fit their specific workflows and processes
It has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for all technical backgrounds
It promotes collaboration by allowing team members to share updates
It offers automation capabilities, allowing teams to automate repetitive tasks and streamline their workflows

Cons:

It can be expensive, especially for larger teams or those that require more advanced features
It can still be complex to set up and manage

5.7 Odoo HR – Best HR open source software for breadth of apps

Best for: small and medium-sized businesses

Odoo is a comprehensive business management software that includes an HR module designed to help businesses manage their HR processes.

What makes it unique?

Odoo’s suite of open source business management software ranges across sales, marketing, productivity and material requirements planning. In terms of HR, the company provides time and attendance tracking, leave management, expense requests and approvals, performance appraisals and recruitment. The comprehensiveness makes it one of the best open source HR software for 2023, with tons of integrations and customizations built by the Odoo community that you can utilize.

Key features:

Recruitment Management
Employee Information Management
Attendance and Leave Management
Performance Management
Payroll Management
Learning and Development

Pricing:

Odoo allows you to have one of its licensed apps for free, plus access to all the open source apps in its apps store (some are free, others have a price tag). If you want to have access to the full set of Odoo’s licensed apps, however, prices start from $46.70 per month per person.

Pros:

It offers a complete set of HR management tools that can help businesses manage all aspects of their HR processes
It is highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor the software to their specific needs and workflows
It is scalable and is designed to grow with businesses

Cons:

It requires technical expertise to set up and configure
There is a learning curve for some users who are new to HRMS software

5.8 Bitrix24 – Best HR open source software for mobile-friendly HR

Best for: med-sized and large companies

Bitrix24’s offering includes collaboration tools, task management, CRM, a tool to manage social media channels and even a website creator. It is a comprehensive business management software that offers a range of features to help businesses manage their operations.

What makes it unique?

The platform is designed to work well on mobile devices as well as desktop. Plus, there are numerous integrations that have been built using the open source code, including with Xero and Mailchimp. The pre-built HR functions mainly focus on time and attendance, though you can create workflows to help you manage leave and oversee the hiring processes. There is also the option to build a knowledge base for your company as well as conduct polls to gauge staff sentiment.

Key features:

CRM
Communication and Collaboration
Project Management
HR Management
Sales Management
E-commerce

Pricing:

While Bitrix24 does offer a free version, some of the HR functions are only included as part of its most expensive tier. This is priced at $199 per month but includes as many users as you like.

Pros:

It offers a comprehensive suite of tools to manage a range of business processes in one platform
It can be customized to fit the specific needs of a business, including branding and workflow customization
It has a mobile app that allows users to access their account and work on the go

Cons:

It can be complex to set up and manage
Bitrix24 does offer some integrations with third-party software. However, the selection is limited

5.9 MintHCM – Best HR open source software for a complete open source ethos

Best for: Small and mid-sized businesses

Not to be confused with Mint HR, MintHCM is another contender for best open source HR software for 2023. Sticking fast to the ‘free for all’ principles of open source, it’s very much a community of developers. There is a broad range of modules available, including recruitment and onboarding, time and attendance, leave management and staff appraisal.

What makes it unique?

There’s also a robust analytics platform where you can build your own reports, or you can take advantage of the pre-existing ‘dashlets’ that track things like absence figures, hiring success and hours worked. Via the MintHCM community, there are integrations and extensions you can access for free or a small fee.

Key features:

HR Management
Recruitment
Time and Attendance
Payroll Management
Performance Management

Pricing;

You can use MintHCM for free if you host the platform on your owner server. If you want to have your HR system hosted on the MintHCM cloud, pricing starts from $40 per month for up to 10 employees.

Pros:

It can be customized to fit the specific needs of a business
It has an intuitive and user-friendly interface
It has an active community of developers and users who provide support and guidance

Cons:

It lacks advanced features as other HR management software
Not suitable for large businesses

5.10 Jorani – Best HR open-source software for leave management

Best for: small, medium and large companies

Jorani is a free and open-source leave management software that allows businesses to manage employee leave requests and approvals.

What makes it unique?

Jorani helps you manage leave and staff overtime. The focus on just one thing means it has a very simple, clean UI, making for excellent usability. The leave approval is complemented with a calendar feature that makes it easy to get an overview of all requests and approvals, as well as a reporting function that aids managers in monitoring staff absence. All data can be easily exported to Excel. The software can be complex to configure, but there is extensive documentation on the Jorani site to get you up and running.

Key features:

Leave Management
User Management
Reporting & Notifications
Integration

Pricing:

Pricing is completely free.

Pros:

It can be used by businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises
It uses encryption to protect sensitive employee data

Cons:

It has limited integration options with other software
It does not offer formal customer support options

5.11 IceHrm Open Source Edition – Best HR open source software for self-hosting

IceHrm

Last but not least on our list of the best open source HR software for 2023 is IceHrm. This cool customer offers two different usage models: you can either run it off the IceHrm cloud or download and self-manage the program yourself.

What makes it unique?

Additionally, you can track all learning and development undertaken by staff, as well as manage performance appraisals. There is a free tier, but this doesn’t include the recruitment and payroll modules. This software is a full-service offering, with secure employee data storage, leave management, time and attendance, payroll processing, expenses management and applicant tracking.

Key features:

Employee Management
Leave Management
Time and Attendance Management
Recruitment Management
Performance Management

Pricing:

Pricing for the complete package starts from $9 per month. If you self-host, there is a one-off fee of $699, plus a recurring, optional subscription fee of $349 if you want ongoing IceHrm upgrades and support.

Pros:

It has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for employees and managers to navigate and use
It can be customized to fit the specific needs of a business, including branding and workflow customization
Strong and versatile features
Good community support

Cons:

It requires technical expertise to set up and customize
It has limited integration options with other software

6 FAQs

What is the future of HRM in 2025?

Many of the trends already in evidence today are expected to continue up to 2025. Namely, increased automation and machine learning to facilitate routine tasks and ever more detailed data analytics to help companies continuously improve their workflows.

Which is the best software for HR?

The best open source HR software for 2023 is, of course, subjective. If you want a complete solution, IceHrm might be the best choice. For something that specifically focuses on leave management, then Jorani is a more cost effective option.

Which is the best HR software for startups?

While there are lots of good options, Odoo is arguably the best open source HRMS for startups due to its flexibility. You can select the modules that your company needs without paying for anything extra.

Is OrangeHRM open source?

Yes, OrangeHRM is open source. It can either be used via the cloud or download it onto your own systems and host it yourself.