Category 18 of 22

HR & people

In short

HR and people platforms manage employee records, payroll, onboarding, and performance, processing some of the most sensitive personal data an organisation holds. For EU buyers, what to check first is CLOUD Act exposure and EU data-residency commitments. Strong EU options on EU Vetted include Lucca (France, EU-owned and EU-hosted with no CLOUD Act exposure) and Sage HR (UK, EU-hosted with a public DPA but UK-incorporated).

About this category

About HR & people

HR and people platforms centralise employee records, payroll runs, absence and leave management, onboarding workflows, and performance reviews. They are the operational backbone for organisations of any size, and they process some of the most sensitive personal data a business holds: employment contracts, salary history, health-related leave, and in some cases biometric data for time-tracking. The category spans lean HR core tools aimed at SMBs through to full-scope HCM suites that add talent acquisition, learning management, and people analytics.

Personnel records carry a data-sensitivity profile that makes the operator's jurisdictional exposure a primary procurement concern, not a secondary one. An HR platform holds information that GDPR classifies as both standard personal data and, in some modules, special-category data under Article 9, including health information and trade-union membership. If the platform is operated or ultimately owned by a US-incorporated company, the US CLOUD Act can in principle reach that data regardless of where it is physically hosted. Lucca (France) is the only strictly EU-owned option currently in the catalogue: incorporated in France, hosted on French infrastructure, and not exposed to US parent-company jurisdiction. Personio (Germany) and Factorial (Spain) are European-headquartered but backed by US venture capital, which introduces uncertainty around their corporate-structure exposure; HiBob (UK) is UK-incorporated and US-funded, carrying the highest CLOUD Act risk among listed options.

Country of incorporation, ownership signal, and verified compliance signals, sourced from published DPAs and sub-processor lists, appear on each listing below. Procurement rules that call for strictly EU-owned operators are best served by the ownership filter; the feature filter separates HR core tools from full HCM platforms with payroll, analytics, or talent-management modules.

Showing all 5 alternatives in this category updating

		Cert.	Pricing	Signals	Open
Lucca French sovereign-cloud HR platform (Nantes / Paris, est. 2002); SecNumCloud + ISO 27001; 1M+ users incl. AXA, Deezer.	FR France	ISO/IEC 27001 SecNumCloud	Paid	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Sage HR Sage Group plc's HR cloud product (formerly CakeHR from Riga, acquired 2019); UK-public parent, modular SMB HR.	IE Ireland	ISO/IEC 27001	Paid €7 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Factorial Spanish HR + payroll + finance SaaS (Barcelona, est. 2016); 16K+ customers, ISO 27001 + SOC 2 + AWS EU, US-VC-funded.	DE Germany	ISO/IEC 27001 SOC 2	Paid €7 /mo	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
Personio Munich-based HR flagship for European SMBs (founded 2015); ISO 27001 + SOC 2 + TISAX; ~$770M US-VC-funded.	FRANKFURT · DE Germany	ISO/IEC 27001 SOC 2	Paid	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→
HiBob Israeli-founded modern HRIS for mid-market (Tel Aviv + London); 5,000+ customers, heavy US VC, mostly listed for completeness.	— United Kingdom	ISO/IEC 27001 SOC 2	Paid	Public DPA Sub-processors Open source	→

Feature comparison

Beyond compliance: how these alternatives compare on the capabilities you actually use day to day.

Feature	Lucca	Sage HR	Factorial	Personio	HiBob
Payroll	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time tracking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Employee records	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Time-off / leave	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Recruiting (ATS)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Onboarding	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Performance reviews	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Org chart	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

SWITCHING GUIDES

Switching from US hr & people?

Side-by-side European alternatives (same hosting, ownership and CLOUD Act checks) for the US tools most often replaced in this category.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the best EU-hosted HR software?

Lucca (France) is an EU-owned and EU-hosted HR platform with no CLOUD Act exposure and published DPA and sub-processor documentation, the strongest sovereignty posture in the catalogue. Sage HR (UK) is EU-hosted and publishes a detailed DPA, though it is UK-incorporated following Brexit, which means it is not EU-owned. For organisations that require strictly EU ownership, Lucca is the clearest option currently.

Is there a GDPR-compliant HR platform?

HR platforms that are incorporated in the EU, operate on EU-only infrastructure, and publish a detailed DPA with a full sub-processor list qualify as GDPR-compliant in their processing role. Lucca (France) meets these criteria and publishes detailed documentation. A DPA reflects what the operator states about its own practices, not a guarantee of outcome; review each vendor's DPA against your own requirements and data-transfer obligations.

Does HR software data fall under the US CLOUD Act?

If an HR platform is operated or ultimately owned by a US-incorporated company, the CLOUD Act can in principle compel it to produce data it controls regardless of where that data is stored. HR data is particularly sensitive: it includes employment contracts, salary records, health information, and performance reviews. EU-owned operators such as Lucca (France), incorporated and hosted in France with no US parent, are not directly subject to that exposure. Personio, Factorial, and HiBob are listed as EU-headquartered but US-funded; their CLOUD Act exposure depends on the corporate structure of any US-incorporated parent.

What HR data is covered by GDPR's special-category protections?

GDPR Article 9 defines special-category data to include health and medical information, which frequently appears in HR records (sick leave, disability accommodations, occupational health). Trade union membership, biometric data used for time-tracking, and certain performance data can also qualify. Processing this data requires a lawful basis under Article 9(2) (typically explicit employee consent or a legal obligation) and stricter technical and organisational measures. Verify that any HR platform you choose supports the access-control granularity needed to restrict special-category fields.

Can payroll data be stored outside the EU?

Payroll data includes salary, bank details, and tax identification numbers, all personal data under GDPR. Transferring it outside the EU/EEA requires an adequate transfer mechanism: adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), or Binding Corporate Rules. Transfers to the United States are permissible under SCCs, but the CLOUD Act means US-parent companies can in practice be compelled to access that data. If your compliance posture rules out CLOUD Act exposure, choose an HR platform with EU-only payroll data residency and an EU-owned operator.

What is the difference between HR software and HCM (Human Capital Management)?

HR software typically covers core administrative functions: employee records, absence management, onboarding, and basic payroll. HCM platforms extend into workforce planning, talent acquisition, learning management, and people analytics, often integrated in a single suite. The GDPR obligations are the same regardless of label; what matters is which personal data each module processes and where it is stored. The listings on this page include both HR core tools and fuller HCM options; use the feature filter to narrow by the modules you need.

Do EU HR platforms integrate with standard European payroll and accounting systems?

Most EU-built HR platforms offer direct or API-based integration with major European payroll providers and accounting software. Lucca, for example, integrates with widely used French payroll and accounting systems. Integration coverage varies by country, so verify that the platform supports the specific payroll engine and statutory reporting formats used in your jurisdiction before committing.