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Pulse HR

Free#36 of 40 in Employee Engagement Software

Pulse HR: A broad, self-hostable engagement toolkit with a free entry plan and public-beta limits. Ranked #36 of 40 in Employee Engagement Software by our editors (5.4/10); pricing: Open source; best for open-source, highly flexible engagement tracking.

5.4/10Editor score

Visit Pulse HR

Pulse HR5.4 Visit Pulse HR

At a glance

Editor score
5.4 / 10
Pricing
Open source
Best for
Open-source, highly flexible engagement tracking
Paid from
Free
Pulse surveys
Yes
Facts checked
21 Sep 2026

Where it wins
- Free plan includes all Money, People, and Work modules
- Self-hosting includes source code, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform resources
- Covers kudos, growth, workload, mood, status, and engagement analytics
Where it doesn't
- The current product surface is a frontend-only mock in public beta
- Paid plan pricing is not stated here
- It is designed to complement, not replace, core HR systems

Our verdict on Pulse HR

Pulse HR is an open-source employee engagement workspace for individuals, managers, and HR teams. It combines async status updates, peer kudos, growth tracking, workload check-ins, anonymous weekly mood surveys, company moments, and people insights. The product is intended to run alongside an existing HRIS rather than replace payroll, recruiting, time tracking, or project-allocation systems. Access spans web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, API, and self-hosted deployments, with hosted service and progressive web app access.

Its plan structure gives smaller teams a meaningful starting point. The Free plan supports up to 5 active employees and includes the Money, People, and Work modules, the full API and webhooks, Google and Microsoft SSO, and community support on GitHub. Standard adds teams from 6 to 500, tax GL and journal export, SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, an audit log, and priority email and Slack Connect support. Self-hosting provides the full source code, Docker Compose reference, a Kubernetes Helm chart, and Terraform modules for AWS, GCP, and Hetzner, with no per-seat fees or license keys. A Contractors plan adds full profile and time tracking with separate contractor pricing.

The feature range is wider than a basic pulse-survey tool. Managers can review three-line status updates and sentiment recaps, while employees can give kudos with reasons, coins, tags, and leaderboards. Growth includes achievements, challenges, skill paths, and a 0–100 score; workload provides aggregated eight-week trends; and anonymous mood checks use a minimum response threshold. REST API access, webhooks, a keyboard command bar, and integrations including QuickBooks, Xero, SAP, Okta, and Microsoft Entra support a flexible setup. However, Pulse HR is currently a public beta, and its product surface is a frontend-only mock with backend wiring still in progress. Choose it for open-source control and broad engagement coverage; choose an established operational HR platform when production backend maturity is the priority.

Your product? Our editors can test Pulse HR in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

Pulse HR pricing

Plans Open sourceFree Free to use — no paid tier required for the core job.

See plans on pulsehr.it

Pulse HR fact sheet

Free plan	Not verified
Paid from	Free
Pulse surveys	Yes
Peer recognition	Yes
Anonymous surveys	Yes
Feedback workflows	Not verified
Analytics level	Advanced
Mobile access	Web_ios_android
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop, Mobile
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Compliance & security	GDPR, SSO/SAML
Support	Email, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market (editorial estimate)
Pricing	Open source
Website	pulsehr.it
Facts checked	21 Sep 2026

Alternatives to Pulse HR

See all Pulse HR alternatives →

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Featured on iTechGuides

Pulse HR is listed in our Employee Engagement Software directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update