Upward365 > BambooHR
Upward365 vs BambooHR:
An Honest Comparison for Mid-Sized HR Teams
The right tool is the one your people open
If you are looking at BambooHR as an alternative, start here: these are different categories of product. BambooHR is a system of record. Upward365 is performance and engagement. Most teams comparing these two do not have to choose. This page covers how well each manager uses it, where performance management sits in BambooHR's plans, and when running both makes more sense than upgrading one.
No pressure. Ever.
Last updated October 2026. BambooHR figures come from BambooHR's published plan pricing as of that date.
The short answer
Upward365 is a focused performance and engagement platform for companies of 50 to 2,000 employees, built around one question: will your managers use it? Every design decision had to answer yes when building Upward365. Every account gets a named Account Manager who knows your configuration, and every Upward365 feature comes at one published price. BambooHR is an HR information system covering employee records, onboarding, time off, benefits tracking and hiring, with performance management arriving at its Pro plan. Upward365 does not do payroll, benefits or recruiting. An HRIS tells you who works here. Upward365 tells you how they are doing and whether they plan to stay. Most companies need both answers.
BambooHR is an HR information system where performance management arrives as part of a higher plan tier, alongside payroll, benefits and recruiting sold separately. Upward365 is a dedicated performance management and employee engagement platform built for manager adoption, with every Upward365 feature at $8 per user per month and no HRIS functions. They solve different problems and are commonly used together.
What both platforms cover, and what Upward365 adds
Performance is the whole product, not the reason to upgrade.
On BambooHR's Pro plan and above, both platforms run performance reviews, 360 reviews, 1:1s, goal tracking and recognition. Upward365 covers that core, plus:
No plan upgrade to get it.
On BambooHR, performance management arrives with the Pro plan. A company on Core that wants review cycles, 360 reviews and 1:1s is looking at a tier change across its entire headcount. On Upward365, Reviews, 360 reviews, cascading Goals, Briefings, Notes, Uplifts, Pulse Surveys, eNPS and Reports are all one purchase.
Engagement next to performance.
Pulse Surveys and eNPS sit in the same platform as reviews, so a dip in one shows up next to the other in time to act.
A named Account Manager
with a direct number, from your first call through setup and every renewal after it.
Why managers open it
A platform only pays off if managers use it between review cycles.
Managers see what is due without being chased.
The Dashboard To Do Queue shows every manager what needs attention and links straight to it, so HR stops sending reminder emails in December.
Every 1:1 has an agenda before it starts.
Briefings give managers and employees a shared agenda, so the platform is part of the conversation instead of an extra step after it.
The annual review arrives with the year already in it.
Notes, Uplifts and Flight Checks capture context as the year happens, and History Hub surfaces it the moment the review opens, so the manager reads twelve months instead of reconstructing them. The Dynamic Template Builder loads the right competencies by department and role automatically.
A real person who knows your account
One Account Manager, from your first call onward.
Every Upward365 account gets a named Account Manager who handles your demo, implementation, configuration and ongoing support. BambooHR supports a platform spanning payroll, benefits, hiring and time off, so your performance question goes into the same queue as everyone's payroll and benefits questions. Your Upward365 Account Manager knows how your review calendar is set up, you have their direct number, and questions and calls get an answer the same day. There is no handoff from sales to implementation to customer success, and the founders are reachable when you want them.
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50 to 2,000 employees
Small and mid-sized businesses
Dedicated Account Manager for your entire lifecycle, direct number, same-day response, founders reachable
Email, chat and phone from Core
Included
Pro and Elite
Included
Pro and Elite
Included
Goal tracking across plans, cascading not published
Included
Not published as a distinct product
Included as Uplifts
Employee Community, Pro and above
Included as Briefings
Pro and Elite
Included as History Hub, Notes, Flight Checks
Not published as a distinct capability
$8 per user per month, every Upward365 feature
Core $10, Pro $17, Elite $25 per employee per month
Locked for the full term. Changes at renewal only
Not published
Objections we hear
"We already pay for performance management inside BambooHR Pro."
Then the question is not price, it is whethe r managers open it. A module inside an HRIS competes for that vendor's roadmap attention with payroll, benefits and hiring. Ask your managers when they last used it outside a review window.
"Managing another vendor is more work."
It is one more contract. It is also one focused vendor with a named Account Manager instead of one broad vendor whose support queue spans every HR function. If nobody opens the performance module you already pay for, vendor count is defending a line item.
"We would have to retrain every manager."
The Dynamic Template Builder loads the right competencies by role automatically, and the dashboard queue tells each manager what is due with a link to it. Your Account Manager also runs the training sessions online, so it is not a rollout you staff yourself.
"Switching sounds like a project."
It is smaller than it sounds. The interface is straightforward enough that managers find their way around without a training manual, your Account Manager handles configuration around your existing review calendar, and you can often import your team and start the same week.
Switching to Upward365
One call to see whether it fits.
No pressure ever, and if the answer is no, we will say so on the call rather than after it. But the transition from another platform to Upward365 is straightforward and relatively quick and easy.
Your Account Manager sets it up around your calendar.
They work with you to configure the platform around how your review cycle already works and run your training sessions online. You can often import your team and start the same week, and most accounts are fully live within a month, and often sooner, depending on your availability.
Sequence the rollout.
Some companies switch on the review workflow and year-round context first, then bring surveys and eNPS online once managers are in the habit. Others roll everything out from day one to take advantage of the link between performance and engagement. It's totally your call. Every Upward365 feature is included from day one, so nothing you turn on later costs more.
What each one costs
Every Upward365 feature. One transparent price.
Upward365 is $8 per user per month with a $4,000 annual minimum. Every Upward365 feature is included, performance and engagement in the same purchase, with no fee for setup, implementation or support. Your price is locked for your full contract term, and any change happens at renewal rather than mid-term.
BambooHR publishes three plans: Core at $10 per employee per month, Pro at $17 and Elite at $25, for organizations above 25 employees. Companies at 25 or fewer pay a flat monthly floor of roughly $250 regardless of tier. Performance management, including 360 review cycles and 1:1s, starts at Pro. Payroll, benefits administration and time tracking are priced separately and quoted. Volume discounts apply as headcount rises and are not published.
The comparison worth running is your quote for BambooHR Core plus Upward365 against your quote for BambooHR Pro. At list rates the two land close enough that this is rarely a price decision. It is a decision about whether you want performance management that came with your HRIS or performance management that is somebody's entire product.
Upward365 is built for companies of 50 to 2,000 employees.
Upward365 is not an HRIS. If you are shopping for payroll, benefits administration or employee records, that is a separate purchase, and BambooHR or another HR administration platform is built for it. Upward365 works alongside whatever system you use today.
Upward365 can easily support larger organizations, but was designed for the small to mid-sized markets. If you're already outside that range, you may be better served by a platform focused on larger organizations.
If you are between 50 and 2,000 employees and want a platform your managers open and a person who knows your account and is there when you need it, that is exactly who Upward365 is built for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Questions When Comparing Platforms
Yes, starting at its Pro plan at $17 per employee per month, which adds review cycles, 360 reviews and 1:1s to the Core plan's HR administration. Upward365 includes performance management and employee engagement together at $8 per user per month as its entire product, with no HRIS functions. Its sole focus is helping employees perform better and stay engaged.
No. Upward365 does not handle employee records, time off, benefits tracking, payroll or recruiting. It is the performance and engagement layer that sits alongside a system of record. Companies typically run an HRIS and Upward365 together rather than choosing between them.
At list rates the two land close enough that this is rarely a price decision, and BambooHR applies volume discounts it does not publish, so get both quotes. The real question is whether you want performance management as a tier feature or as somebody's whole product.
Yes. Upward365 integrates with BambooHR and other major HRIS platforms. If you prefer, users can also be provisioned by CSV import with a template, and your Account Manager will walk through the setup during implementation.
User and organizational data imports by CSV at setup, using a template. Historical reviews and other records cannot be imported in bulk, but they can be added to an employee's Notes one at a time, which means they surface in History Hub when a manager writes that employee's next review. The old records end up where a manager will read them rather than in a folder nobody opens.
No. There are two ways to evaluate it instead. Book a Demo and your Account Manager will walk you through the platform set up around how your team runs reviews. Or take the self-guided tour of a fully populated environment: name and email, at your own pace, no call required.
A dedicated Account Manager who stays on your account from first call through setup and beyond, and you get their direct number. There is no handoff from sales to implementation to customer success. Upward365 is not a 24-hour call center, so there is no live agent at three in the morning. Questions and calls get an answer the same day, depending on the time the call comes in, and the founders are reachable. Support is not a paid tier. Every account gets the same Account Manager access. Our founders are hyper-focused on serving all customers at the highest possible level.
You can often import your team and start the same week but this will depend on your availability and scheduling. Your Account Manager helps you with configuration around your existing review calendar and runs your training sessions online, and most accounts are fully live within a month or sooner.
The right tool is the one your people open.
And the one whose team picks up the phone. If that is what has been missing, take a look.