Sesame HR Alternative: reviews, pricing and comparison (2026)

Sesame HR is, by number of clients, the leading HR software in Spain: 15,000 companies use it. And even so, every month hundreds of SMEs search for a “Sesame alternative”. The reason is almost never the product, it is the bill: a €82.50/month minimum even if you have 5 employees, add-ons that pile up in the background and the feeling of paying for an entire suite just to use the clock-in. In this guide we analyse Sesame in depth: history, features, real pricing with add-ons, reviews, and the alternatives depending on your case.

Transparency: this is written by the Cleverfy team. Data verified in July 2026 from public sources (Sesame’s website, business press, review platforms). Sesame is a great product for a certain type of company, and we tell you which one in its section.

What Sesame HR is and who is behind it

Sesame was born in Valencia in 2015, founded by Albert Soriano, who initially developed it as an internal tool for his own companies (Zeus and Summon Press). The turning point was the 2019 time tracking law: the legal obligation to clock in turned Sesame into a sales machine, as Soriano himself has recounted, “suddenly every team was picking up the phone and selling Sesame”.

Today it is a company of more than 350 employees with around 21 million euros in annual recurring revenue, funded with about 33 million in capital (a €10M Series A in 2022, a €23M Series B with GP Bullhound in 2024, plus €50M of debt with BBVA). It competes head to head with Factorial for the Spanish lead: less revenue (21 vs ~100 M€) but more clients (15,000 vs ~13,000), with a very aggressive sales-support strategy, they boast of closing 60% of the quotes they issue.

Why am I telling you this? Because it explains their pricing model: a 350-person sales machine is not paid for by €7/month clients. Hence the billing minimum.

What Sesame does well

• A complete, well-executed suite: time tracking, shifts, holidays, performance reviews, climate surveys, recruiting, document management, internal communication.
• A polished interface, among the best on the market for user experience.
• Guided onboarding: their team configures and trains you (it is part of what you pay for).
• A living product: with €33M of investment, they ship features constantly (AI, for example, paid, we will get to it).

Where Sesame falls short (or gets expensive)

1. The €82.50/month floor. It does not matter whether there are 3, 5 or 8 of you: the minimum bill is €82.50. A 5-employee company pays €990/year for a legal obligation that costs €90/year with a specialist. It is the number one complaint.
2. The add-ons. The plan’s per-user price is the entry fee; the menu comes separately: AI +€49/month, WhatsApp communication +€0.80/user/month, expense management +€25/month, payroll manager +€13/user/month, API +€0.50/user/month (according to their public information, verified July 2026). The first bill and the sixth do not look alike.
3. You buy the suite, whatever you use. If your need is the time record, you also pay for the ATS, the surveys and performance management.
4. Annual commitment on the published prices.

Sesame HR pricing in 2026

Plan	Price (annual billing)	Notes
Starter	€5.50/user/month	€82.50/month billing minimum
Professional	€6.25/user/month	Same
Enterprise	€8.00/user/month	Same
Add-ons	AI +€49/month · WhatsApp +€0.80/user · Expenses +€25/month · Payroll +€13/user · API +€0.50/user	Added to the plan

Real examples: 5 employees → €82.50/month (the minimum rules). 10 employees → €82.50/month. 20 employees → €110/month. Add payroll for 20: +€260/month.

Real reviews of Sesame HR

Cross-platform reputation (verified July 2026):

Platform	Rating	Reviews
Capterra	4.3/5	71
G2	1.8/5	2
Trustpilot	2.9/5	2
App Store ES	3.5/5	497
Google Play	3.2/5	2060
Google Maps	3.9/5	64

On Capterra, Sesame scores 4.3/5 across 71 reviews (verified July 2026): ease of use 4.4, customer service 4.3 and, the lowest score, value for money 4.1. 87% of the opinions are positive and 11% negative.

Real positive quote: “Having control of all the information I need in one place. An intuitive and dynamic interface.”

Real critical quote (from an administrator): “The clock-in system fails, which is what should work well. The QR system doesn’t work and the other systems work whenever they feel like it.”

Most valued: interface, breadth of features, support during onboarding. Most criticised: the fact that the worst-scoring dimension is precisely value for money says a lot, and the critical reviews point to clock-in failures and to post-sale follow-up.

Why SMEs leave Sesame (summary)

1. The €82.50/month minimum with teams of 3-10 people.
2. The bill grows through add-ons that activate with a single click.
3. They only use clock-in and holidays, 20% of the product for 100% of the price.

Cleverfy as a Sesame alternative: a direct comparison

Cleverfy does the part of Sesame that the law requires you to have, the time record, at the price of that part:

	Cleverfy	Sesame HR
Price	€1.20-1.50/user/month (Pro €2.00-2.50)	€5.50-8.00/user/month
Billing minimum	No minimum	€82.50/month
5 employees	€6-7.50/month	€82.50/month (11×)
10 employees	€12-15/month	€82.50/month (5.5×)
20 employees	€24-30/month	€110/month (3.7×)
Web/app/Chrome/QR-PIN kiosk clock-in	✅ All plans	✅
Holidays and absences	✅ Pro plan	✅
AI assistant	✅ All plans (more volume on Pro)	+€49/month
Payroll, ATS, performance, surveys	❌ (we don’t do it)	✅
4-year history + traceability	✅	✅
Lock-in	No lock-in	Annual commitment
Sign-up	10 min self-service	Guided onboarding

The key row is the first column we do not have: if you genuinely need payroll, ATS and performance, Sesame holds its ground. If you do not need them, you are paying €810/year too much (with 10 employees) for closed modules. Cleverfy’s public pricing here.

When to stay with Sesame, and when to switch

Stay if: you have 20+ employees, actively use 3+ modules (payroll, evaluation, recruiting and so on) and value the human support. In that case Sesame is possibly the best Spanish suite.

Switch if: you have fewer than 15 employees and the real usage is clocking in and requesting holidays. Do the last-month test: open Sesame and look at which modules you used. Divide the bill among them.

How to migrate from Sesame to Cleverfy

1. Check your annual renewal date, it is your no-cost exit window.
2. Export employees, clock-ins and balances from Sesame.
3. Sign up for Cleverfy (10 minutes) and run a 14-day trial in parallel, no card required.
4. Free import with history valid for an inspection.

Other Sesame alternatives

• Factorial, the other giant: more revenue, an even higher minimum (€115.90/month). Swapping Sesame for Factorial rarely fixes the price problem.
• Woffu, a clock-in specialist from the Visma group, cheap up to 10 employees.
• TramitApp, a mid-range suite with ISO 27001.

Conclusion

Sesame has built the HR software with the most clients in Spain and charges accordingly: minimums, add-ons and an annual commitment. If you are the suite profile, go ahead, it is a great product. If you are an SME that needs to meet the time tracking requirement, you are funding someone else’s sales machine.

Try Cleverfy free for 14 days, no minimums, no add-ons, no lock-in. Free migration from Sesame. Or book a 15-minute demo with your real team and compare bills.