Factorial vs Breathe

Factorial and Breathe both serve smaller employers, but they sell on different logic. Factorial charges per user, starting at $8 a month, then tailors a plan from the modules you pick. Breathe charges a flat fee per business by headcount band, from GBP 24 for 1 to 10 people, and publishes every band. Factorial is run from Barcelona with subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico and Germany, and Breathe is a UK business that joined Australia's ELMO Group in 2020. The pricing pages show a quote route at one and a 14-day trial at the other.

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Both are reviewed in full in our HR software ranking: Factorial and Breathe.

1. 01

   A flat band against a per-user start

   Breathe bills per business, not per employee, in GBP excluding VAT: Micro (1-10 people) GBP 24, Starter GBP 44, Regular GBP 99, Pro GBP 175, Premium GBP 419 and Plus (151-200) GBP 579. Factorial starts at USD 8 per user per month, but the page does not say which modules that covers and publishes no individual plan prices. For a fixed budget, Breathe is the one you can total before talking to anyone, and the Breathe page states no HR-user limit for any band.

   Edge: Breathe

2. 02

   Modules bought in or built in

   Factorial lists optional modules without prices: Time Off, Time Tracking, Performance, Shift Management, Recruitment, Engagement, Project Management, Expenses, Training, Procurement, SaaS Management, IT Inventory, Multi-OS MDM, and EDR and Cybersecurity. Its product lines also include payroll and cards. Breathe's core holds holiday and absence, reporting, documents and policies, and performance, with rota, learn, recruitment, expenses and health and safety as add-ons. Factorial has the wider catalogue, while Breathe keeps its add-on list short and priced per business.

   Edge: Factorial

3. 03

   Try before you talk

   Breathe offers 14 days with all core features and add-ons included, asks for no credit card at the start, and says cancellation is at any time with no fees. Factorial's pricing page offers a demo and a tailored quote, and a free plan and a trial both go unmentioned there. A buyer who prefers to explore alone and wants to click around alone, without a sales contact, gets that route only at Breathe.

   Edge: Breathe

4. 04

   What every Factorial plan includes

   Factorial says all plans include Factorial Core: the employee directory, onboarding and offboarding, payslip distribution, bulk document sending, legal e-signature, custom notifications and fillable PDFs. Its separate time off page describes policies by location and contract type, accrual and carry over, blocked periods, an approver per team and a data export for payroll. Breathe's equivalent core is narrower, though it includes document and policy management, and no payroll product of its own appears on the Breathe pages.

   Edge: Factorial

5. 05

   Saving on annual payment

   Breathe says annual payment saves about 15% on core software for Micro, Starter, Regular and Pro, and about 10% for Premium and Plus, with add-ons excluded. Add-ons run from GBP 11 for Rota and Time and Attendance to GBP 16 for Recruitment tracking per business per month. Factorial's pricing page states no annual discount at all. Breathe is clearer about how the bill moves with each billing choice, and the Business Essentials Bundle price is ambiguous on its page, so we leave it out.

   Edge: Breathe

6. 06

   Spanish operator or UK-registered company

   Factorial's operator is Everyday Software, S.L., with a registered office at Carrer de Llacuna 56 in Barcelona, and its terms name subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico and Germany. Breathe trades as Centurion Management Systems Ltd, registered in England under company number 3020608, and became part of the ELMO Group in 2020. Procurement teams that want a Spanish operator inside the EU, Factorial fits; Breathe is a UK-registered company, which matters for data and contract questions.

   Edge: Factorial

What does Breathe cost for a 30-person company?

A company of 21 to 50 people falls in the Regular band, at GBP 99 a month per business excluding VAT. Annual payment saves about 15% on the core software. Add-ons are priced separately and are not discounted.

Does Factorial publish a full price list?

No. The pricing page says plans start at USD 8 per user per month and that it tailors a plan to each business. It does not publish individual plan prices or limits.

Which one is for staff based outside the UK?

Factorial lists regional subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico and Germany and sets time off policies by location. Breathe's own material describes a UK-focused product, with no multi-country support stated on the pages we read. A UK firm with overseas staff should test Factorial first.

• Factorial pricing page: the USD 8 starting rate, quote-based plans, Core contents, the module list and the absence of a trial.
• Factorial time off page: time off policies by location, accrual, blocked periods and payroll export.
• Factorial legal page: Everyday Software, S.L. as owner, Barcelona registered office and the three regional subsidiaries.
• Breathe price list: GBP headcount bands, annual discounts, add-on prices, core features and the 14-day card-free trial.
• Breathe about page: Centurion Management Systems Ltd, the company number and the 2020 ELMO Group move.