Charlie HR is a popular UK HR platform for startups and SMBs — but at £5/employee, it's 2.5x the cost of TimeTally. If you primarily need timesheets and leave management rather than a full HR suite, TimeTally delivers exactly what you need for £2/employee/month.
| Feature | TimeTally | Charlie HR |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing per user/month | £2 | From £5 |
| Timesheet tracking | ||
| Holiday management | ||
| Full HR suite | ||
| UK holiday entitlement | ||
| Payroll integration | Xero, QuickBooks | Limited |
| Overtime tracking | ||
| Custom leave types | ||
| Free trial | 14 days | 7 days |
Charlie HR is a well-regarded HR platform built for UK startups — it handles performance reviews, onboarding, engagement surveys, and employee records. That's valuable if you need full HR. But if your core needs are tracking employee hours, managing leave, and exporting to Xero or QuickBooks, you're paying £5/user for features you won't use. TimeTally gives you dedicated timesheet approval and leave management for £2/user — and it includes features Charlie HR lacks, like overtime tracking and timesheet workflows.
Hours tracking
Employee timesheets
Holiday tracking
UK entitlements built-in
Overtime tracking
Automatic calculations
Payroll export
Xero, QuickBooks, CSV
Need full HR for your startup → Charlie HR
Need timesheets and leave at lower cost → TimeTally
£2
per employee/month
£5+
per employee/month
Example: For 25 employees, Charlie HR = £125/month (and still no timesheets). TimeTally for the same 25 employees = £50/month with timesheets and leave included. That's £900/year saved.
No. Charlie HR is focused on HR management — employee records, performance reviews, onboarding, and leave. It does not include timesheet tracking, hours logging, or overtime calculations. You would need a separate tool for that.
Charlie HR is a full HR platform with many features beyond timesheets and leave — including performance management, onboarding workflows, engagement surveys, and document storage. You're paying for the breadth of HR functionality. TimeTally is focused specifically on timesheets and leave, which is why it costs less.
Only if your primary needs are timesheets and leave management. TimeTally does not offer HR features like performance reviews, onboarding, or employee records. If you need full HR, Charlie HR is the better fit. If you mainly need timesheets and leave tracking, TimeTally is more focused and more affordable.
Yes. TimeTally offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Charlie HR offers a 7-day free trial.
TimeTally integrates directly with Xero and QuickBooks, and also offers CSV export. Charlie HR has limited payroll integrations. For businesses using Xero or QuickBooks, TimeTally provides a more direct export path for both timesheet hours and leave data.
TimeTally costs £2/employee/month compared to Charlie HR's £5+/employee/month. For a team of 20, that's a saving of at least £60/month or £720/year — plus you gain timesheet tracking that Charlie HR doesn't offer.
