Payroll + HR · United Kingdom
CharlieHR pricing: what it actually costs per employee at 5, 10, 25 and 50
At 10 employees, the cheapest plan CharlieHR publishes is Charlie (10-14 employees): £45 a month — £4.50 per employee per month, base fee included.
- Price statusPublished list price
- Prices read onchecked 2026-08-20
- Last recorded changenone recorded since we started checking
Cheaper at this headcount: Breathe at £24 a month on its Micro plan.
On its cheapest published plan, CharlieHR costs £45 a month for 10 employees, which is £4.50 per employee per month.
What the vendor publishes
| Plan | Base / month | Per employee / month | Eligibility as published | What the vendor states |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie (1-4 employees) | £20 | — | From 1 employees. Up to 4 employees | Standard price £20/mo. Promo: "Limited time offer: get 75% off for your first 6 months" (£5 for first 6 months, £20 thereafter) — standard price recorded. "All prices exclude UK VAT - which is charged as +20% on your base price." |
| Charlie (5-9 employees) | £45 | — | From 5 employees. Up to 9 employees | £45/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (10-14 employees) | £45 | — | From 10 employees. Up to 14 employees | £45/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (15-29 employees) | £105 | — | From 15 employees. Up to 29 employees | £105/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (30-49 employees) | £180 | — | From 30 employees. Up to 49 employees | £180/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (50-99 employees) | £315 | — | From 50 employees. Up to 99 employees | £315/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (100-149 employees) | £420 | — | From 100 employees. Up to 149 employees | £420/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (150-199 employees) | £525 | — | From 150 employees. Up to 199 employees | £525/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (200-249 employees) | £630 | — | From 200 employees. Up to 249 employees | £630/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (250+ employees) | £735 | — | From 250 employees | The vendor does not state an upper headcount for this flat fee, so it cannot be reduced to a monthly figure. £735/mo. +VAT. |
Charlie recruit and charlie advice add-on exact pricing by tier: not stated in the vendor's published documentation (checked 2026-08-20).
What that works out at per employee
Vendors quote a per-employee fee and a base fee separately. What you actually pay per employee is both of them divided by your headcount, so the smaller your team, the further the real figure sits above the advertised one. This table is CharlieHR's published prices put through that division.
| Plan | 1 | 5 | 10 | 25 | 50 | 100 | 250 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie (1-4 employees) | £20.00 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (5-9 employees) | n/a | £9.00 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (10-14 employees) | n/a | n/a | £4.50 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (15-29 employees) | n/a | n/a | n/a | £4.20 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (30-49 employees) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (50-99 employees) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | £6.30 | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (100-149 employees) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | £4.20 | n/a |
| Charlie (150-199 employees) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Charlie (200-249 employees) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Columns are employee counts. Scroll sideways on a phone.
No other adjustment is applied. We do not add estimated tax-filing fees, discounts, or promotional pricing. The full method is at Method.
Where the base fee stops mattering
Against Breathe — the cheapest published alternative at 10 employees — the ordering turns over at 5 employees: below that CharlieHR has the lower monthly total, from there Breathe does. That is arithmetic on two published prices, not a recommendation; the comparison shows both at every headcount.
Who this suits, and who it does not
- If price is the only thing you are deciding on, Breathe is cheaper at 10 employees (£24 against £45) — see its figures.
- If your headcount is under 5, the base fee of £20 dominates the bill. Check the per-employee column at your actual size before comparing anything.
- If you are not ready to decide, wait. Published prices change without notice and the figures here are only as current as 2026-08-20. Confirm on the vendor's own page before you sign.
Where each figure comes from
Every figure above is either a number CharlieHR publishes or a gap it leaves. Field by field: what we hold, which of the vendor's own pages it was read from, the day it was read, and the vendor's wording where we have it. Nothing in this table comes from a third party, and no blank is filled with an estimate.
Show the source of every figure on this page (41 fields)
| Plan | Field | What we hold | Read from | Read on | The vendor's wording |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Free trial | 7 days | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (1-4 employees) | Monthly base fee | £20 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (1-4 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (1-4 employees) | Eligibility | From 1 employees. Up to 4 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (1-4 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | Standard price £20/mo. Promo: "Limited time offer: get 75% off for your first 6 months" (£5 for first 6 months, £20 thereafter) — standard price recorded. "All prices exclude UK VAT - which is charged as +20% on your base price." |
| Charlie (5-9 employees) | Monthly base fee | £45 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (5-9 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (5-9 employees) | Eligibility | From 5 employees. Up to 9 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (5-9 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £45/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (10-14 employees) | Monthly base fee | £45 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (10-14 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (10-14 employees) | Eligibility | From 10 employees. Up to 14 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (10-14 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £45/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (15-29 employees) | Monthly base fee | £105 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (15-29 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (15-29 employees) | Eligibility | From 15 employees. Up to 29 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (15-29 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £105/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (30-49 employees) | Monthly base fee | £180 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (30-49 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (30-49 employees) | Eligibility | From 30 employees. Up to 49 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (30-49 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £180/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (50-99 employees) | Monthly base fee | £315 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (50-99 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (50-99 employees) | Eligibility | From 50 employees. Up to 99 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (50-99 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £315/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (100-149 employees) | Monthly base fee | £420 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (100-149 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (100-149 employees) | Eligibility | From 100 employees. Up to 149 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (100-149 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £420/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (150-199 employees) | Monthly base fee | £525 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (150-199 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (150-199 employees) | Eligibility | From 150 employees. Up to 199 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (150-199 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £525/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (200-249 employees) | Monthly base fee | £630 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (200-249 employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (200-249 employees) | Eligibility | From 200 employees. Up to 249 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (200-249 employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £630/mo. +VAT. |
| Charlie (250+ employees) | Monthly base fee | £735 | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (250+ employees) | Per-employee fee | Not published on the vendor's page | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (250+ employees) | Eligibility | From 250 employees | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | |
| Charlie (250+ employees) | Conditions on the price | — | the pricing page | 2026-08-20 | £735/mo. +VAT. |
The same record, for every vendor, is the sources column of plans.csv on the data page.
Where to check this yourself
Go to CharlieHR and open its pricing page. Everything above comes from https://www.charliehr.com/pricing, read on 2026-08-20.
Related
- CharlieHR compared with Employment Hero
- CharlieHR compared with Breathe
- CharlieHR compared with Onfolk
- Alternatives to CharlieHR
- Put your own headcount against CharlieHR in the calculator
- What payroll software costs, and where the money goes
Written by Kaz, independent publisher.
Page last updated: 2026-10-03. Sources: vendor pricing pages only. Figures checked between 2026-08-20 and 2026-10-03. I have not used these products. Nothing here is a personal test result.
Ranking method and formulas: Method. Listing position on this site is not for sale.
Corrections: contact form.