Best / HR software
Best open-source HR software
The best self-hosted HR split in the c17.io catalog is Frappe HR for employee records, leave, payroll, and recruitment (the published BambooHR/Greenhouse/Gusto/Rippling stack), OrangeHRM when you want a GPL-3.0 PHP HRIS, and ERPNext as the GPL-3.0 ERP Frappe HR sits on. Aureus ERP is the other suite already ranked for CRM-shaped ops. This is not Gusto tax filing or Rippling device management. A sales CRM stays on /best/open-source-crm.
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Ranked picks
1
Frappe HRGPL-3.0 HR, payroll, and recruitment (frappe/hrms) — the c17 BambooHR/Greenhouse/Gusto/Rippling path.
When to pick it: Employees and applicants on the Frappe stack.
8,941 stars in the catalog
2
OrangeHRMGPL-3.0 comprehensive HRM system. Commercial OrangeHRM editions are separate.
When to pick it: A PHP HRIS if Frappe is not the shape.
1,155 stars in the catalog
3
ERPNextGPL-3.0 ERP. The framework app Frappe HR wants next to it.
When to pick it: ERP plus HR, not a single HRIS binary.
40,366 stars in the catalog
4
Aureus ErpOpen-source ERP with CRM already on /best/open-source-crm.
When to pick it: Inventory and books alongside people ops.
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frappe HR | GPL-3.0 | Medium | Employees and applicants on the Frappe stack. |
| OrangeHRM | GPL-3.0 | Medium | A PHP HRIS if Frappe is not the shape. |
| ERPNext | GPL-3.0 | Medium | ERP plus HR, not a single HRIS binary. |
| Aureus Erp | Not listed | Medium | Inventory and books alongside people ops. |
Related pages
- Frappe HR stack
- Twenty or Krayin + n8n stack
- Akaunting / Invoice Ninja stack
- Replace BambooHR
- Replace Greenhouse
- Replace Gusto
- Replace Rippling
- Replace HubSpot
- Replace Salesforce
- Replace Pipedrive
- Replace Zoho CRM
- Replace QuickBooks
- Replace FreshBooks
- Replace Xero
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- Gusto or Rippling?
- Same published stack — /replace/gusto and /replace/rippling. Frappe HR plus ERPNext. Tax filing and device management stay behind.
- BambooHR or Greenhouse?
- Same box — /replace/bamboohr and /replace/greenhouse. Employee record versus applicant record. Frappe HR has both.
- Frappe HR or OrangeHRM?
- Frappe HR if you will run ERPNext (the published path). OrangeHRM if you want the PHP HRIS.
- Are these free?
- Frappe HR, OrangeHRM, and ERPNext are GPL-3.0. You pay hosting and any payroll processor you attach. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/frappe-hr. MariaDB, Redis, workers, one employee or one job opening.
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