Squadra HR vs Personio
Personio is an HR suite for companies of 10 to 10,000 people, hosted in Frankfurt, with native payroll in Germany and a dedicated EU pay transparency toolset.
Based on public information as of October 2026.
When Personio fits better
You have more than 50 people, run payroll in Germany, or want recruiting, performance and compensation add-ons from one vendor.
When Squadra HR fits better
You're under 10 people, want a free plan instead of a 12-month minimum, or want 2FA required for everyone without an upgrade for Microsoft sign-in.
Price, hosting and modules
| Topic | Squadra HR | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Companies without a big HR department: one HR person, a small team, or HR run next to another job. Across the EU | Companies of 10 to 10,000 employees |
| Price | Free up to 3 employees, then €4 per employee a month, or €6 from 100 employees with the gap report | Quote after a demo |
| Free plan or trial | A free plan for up to 3 employees, with no time limit | No free plan listed; a 14-day free trial |
| Minimum contract | None. Monthly, with no setup fee | 12 months on the yearly subscription, plus a one-time setup fee |
| Where data is hosted | EU only, in a separate database per company in Cloudflare's EU jurisdiction | Frankfurt, in the EU |
| Two-factor sign-in | Required for every user, on every plan | Admins can turn it on, for email and password logins |
| Microsoft sign-in | Microsoft Entra ID and Google sign-in | Microsoft Entra ID on the Core Pro plan |
| Leave | Counted in hours against each person's schedule, with nightly accrual | Unlimited absence management and time tracking |
| Payroll | Excel exports for your payroll provider | Native payroll in Germany only |
| Recruiting | Not included | Recruiting add-on |
| Performance reviews | Not included | Performance and development add-on |
| EU pay transparency | Gap reports and worker pay requests under the EU directive | Dedicated toolset, including gender pay gap reporting |
| Assistant access (MCP) | MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, off until the company turns it on | MCP server in beta, not open to everyone yet |
| Mobile | Every screen works in the phone's browser | Mobile app in both plans |
Where Personio is stronger
- Scale, from 10 to 10,000 employees
- Native payroll in Germany
- A fuller EU pay transparency toolset, with a pay decision log
- Recruiting, performance, compensation and survey add-ons
- ISO 27001 and a mobile app
Where Squadra HR is stronger
- A free plan for up to 3 people, and no 12-month minimum on it
- Built for companies under 10 people, which Personio's range starts above
- Two-factor sign-in required for everyone
- Microsoft sign-in on every plan
- A separate database for each company
Based on public information as of October 2026. If something here is out of date, email us and we'll correct it.
Your first 3 employees are free
Tell us about your company. We set it up on your domain with your public holidays and leave policies, and your team books its first leave the same day.