BambooHR® vs. Gem

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR®
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an cloud-based human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month (minimum price for 25 employees or fewer)
Gem
Score 9.7 out of 10
N/A
Gem is a recruiting platform that brings together ATS, CRM, sourcing, scheduling, and analytics — plus 800+ million profiles to source from — with AI built into every workflow.
$300
per month
Pricing
BambooHR®Gem
Editions & Modules
Core
$10
per month per user
Pro
Contact Sales
per month
Elite
Contact Sales
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BambooHR®Gem
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
Additional DetailsDiscount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BambooHR®Gem
Features
BambooHR®Gem
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.8
249 Ratings
4% below category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data8.3224 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.2229 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.0223 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.7.7213 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.3230 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.0220 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)7.3130 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.5
168 Ratings
8% below category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Pay calculation8.2123 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors6.892 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.392 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.7129 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.3126 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.0137 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.481 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.6
215 Ratings
5% above category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Approval workflow8.3209 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details8.2200 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment9.2129 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.5
242 Ratings
4% above category average
Gem
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information8.6162 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information8.8238 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation8.3210 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.1154 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history8.7228 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.9
74 Ratings
11% above category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets8.974 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.1
206 Ratings
6% below category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Report builder7.3199 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.4198 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data6.5142 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.0
207 Ratings
0% above category average
Gem
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.3199 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools7.8186 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.8
138 Ratings
3% below category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting7.099 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting7.8132 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility9.069 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking7.5126 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
7.7
155 Ratings
3% below category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.2141 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans7.2119 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking8.597 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.0101 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.7134 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.8
81 Ratings
12% above category average
Gem
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools8.446 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking8.967 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search8.868 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development9.159 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR®
8.0
176 Ratings
4% above category average
Gem
7.6
2 Ratings
4% below category average
Job Requisition Management8.1134 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Company Website Posting7.7144 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Publish to Social Media9.191 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting7.4140 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.588 Ratings4.02 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.2160 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.3167 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Customized Application Form00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Resume Management00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Candidate Search00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Collaboration00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Task Creation and Delegation00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Email Templates00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
User Permissions00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHR®Gem
Small Businesses
Dayforce Powerpay
Dayforce Powerpay
Score 9.4 out of 10
Breezy HR
Breezy HR
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.2 out of 10
Breezy HR
Breezy HR
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
PeopleStrong
PeopleStrong
Score 9.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BambooHR®Gem
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(245 ratings)
9.5
(11 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(17 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(173 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(137 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.6
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.4
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHR®Gem
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
It works very well for submitting PTO requests and identifying information around personnel matters. I love being able to quickly see how long someone has worked for the company or whether there are upcoming birthdays so I can send a personal note. There are analytics and charts around organizational segmentation that are less valuable for a smaller company like ours.
Read full review
Gem
Gem is a in my opinion a necessity for any TA team in this market. It's no longer possible to be competitive with just LinkedIn - it's easy for candidates to lose those messages. Gem allows you to get noticed by candidates and stay competitive in this market!
Read full review
Pros
BambooHR
  • Recruiting- communications are easy for both the internal team and candidates
  • Onboarding- the onboarding tasks are great. I love being able to attach documents as well as delay sending out tasks
  • Communication- the employee community is a great tool to keep our communications clean and organized. I love that we now have insight as to who has viewed the comms
Read full review
Gem
  • He does great at the moment of follow up candidates.
  • It has a great AI that helps to automatically leave the status of the candidate depending on their response.
  • Save you a lot of time helping you to find the contact info of the candidate automatically.
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • I feel like BambooHR is rolling out a lot of updates all at one time, which is awesome, but I could see somebody who's maybe not as tech savvy, feeling like it's a lot of information at one time. I think the support area of the website has thorough walkthroughs, but sometimes the search functions don't really take you to exactly what you're asking about.
Read full review
Gem
  • Gem's dashboards feature is still a work in progress. It's not incredibly intuitive and there aren't many ways to visualize data.
  • There are often discrepancies between what's in the ATS and what's in Gem and it requires troubleshooting.
  • It would be great if Gem could integrate with data from other sources such as LinkedIn Recruiter so we could see conversion rate data from there as well.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
There's nothing wrong with this platform. I would recommend it to any business starting with more than 10 employees. I will continue to use the program for as long as I need to, hoping they continue being tremendous and finding other ways to incorporate more technology.
Read full review
Gem
No answers on this topic
Usability
BambooHR
It's clear and well appointed with prompts on where to go for each category of information it holds. The user has limited access based on a need to know/job related basis. It has a clear help option with the ability to chat, email or read documentation on how to do something.
Read full review
Gem
For tech-savvy users, using Gem is a breeze. For users with less tech intelligence, the UI can be a bit clunky, and can take some training and adaptation to use properly - it's a very robust tool, but, options can feel a bit overwhelming if you're not sure of the exact location of what you're looking for
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Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
Read full review
Gem
No answers on this topic
Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
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Gem
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BambooHR
I have used their support team over a dozen times. They have chat agents available throughout the day. They have support ticket submissions. They have their own resources website with different programs to learn BambooHR®. They also have onboarding support.
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Gem
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
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Gem
No answers on this topic
Online Training
BambooHR
Overall this training was great and our implementation specialist was wonderful and very helpful. We felt really prepared once our training was completed, But we could get additional help immediately even when we were live. The continuation Support heros after implementation are wonderful and you can always get a LIVE person each time you call into their office.
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Gem
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
We implemented bambooHR in Fall, 2023 then implemented Payroll 1/1/24. A vital piece of information was not known or missed in that we are exempt from State Unemployment Tax and have a Reimbursement Set-up, so bambooHR did not send Payroll Reports to the State. Those reports need to be sent regardless if we are exempt or not.
Read full review
Gem
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
At my previous employer, I evaluated over 20 HRIS platforms before choosing and implementing BambooHR® (in 2019). I love it! The continuous improvements are promising and I actually feel like product feedback is reviewed and, at times, implemented. With BambooHR®, it truly comes down to what you are looking for. If I was solely doing performance management and career ladders, BambooHR® probably wouldn't be a fit. However, it does an overall great job at most things, and is a good quality product.
Read full review
Gem
Gem was able to allow more customization. We were able to see more into our current funnels. Easier to share and collaborate with others. Gem made email campaigns simpler and more customized. Gem took some of the LinkedIn inmail processes and automated them. Gem had better data and after some time got more accurate emails.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
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Gem
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
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Gem
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
Read full review
Gem
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • Time Savings: Automating onboarding, payroll, and employee record management has cut HR admin time by up to 30%, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives instead of paperwork.
  • Improved Onboarding: Streamlined workflows have cut onboarding time by nearly 50%, ensuring new hires are productive faster, reducing turnover risk in the critical first months.
  • - Enhanced Informational Clarity: Centralized employee data means fewer errors and faster access to essential information, reducing compliance risks and increasing accuracy in reporting.
Read full review
Gem
  • I have been able to reach out to more candidates since using Gem.
  • I have been more organized with responses since using Gem.
  • I am able to easily create new sequences using old sequences.
Read full review
ScreenShots

BambooHR® Screenshots

Screenshot of the Job Info tabScreenshot of Onboarding TasksScreenshot of a New Hire PacketScreenshot of an Employee Performance ReportScreenshot of Employee Satisfaction (eNPS®)Screenshot of Open Enrollment

Gem Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of how Gem brings together ATS, CRM, sourcing, scheduling, and analytics — plus 650+ million profiles to source from — with AI built into every workflow.Screenshot of the AI that surfaces the best matches during the application review process, streamlines collaboration with hiring teams, simplifies offer flows, and automates routine administrative tasks.Screenshot of the search tool, used to conduct searches across 650M+ profiles with AI that delivers the best matches for any role.Screenshot of where the AI finds optimal interview times, coordinates across time zones and calendars, and automates reminders — giving recruiters hours back to focus on candidate relationships.Screenshot of where to use AI to personalize messaging to each candidate’s unique characteristics. This can reach across multiple communication channels including SMS.Screenshot of an example of simplified candidate management. Gem’s interactive dashboard helps recruiters grab a quick, visual snapshot of their candidate pipeline, identify candidates that need immediate attention, and hold their hiring managers accountable to SLAs.