SquadBear vs Humaans
SquadBear puts leave, project time, 360 reviews and team health in one $4 seat. Humaans is a polished, sales-led HRIS with paid add-ons. Honest comparison.
Comparison last reviewed October 2026.
TL;DR: Humaans is the polished, modular HRIS for a company that already runs an ATS such as Greenhouse and wants a premium system of record. SquadBear is the suite that also does the Tuesday: leave, hours on a Linear issue, a 360 review, a health check, and your assistant can operate all of it. If you are assembling a best-of-breed stack, they are the hub. If you do not want a stack, we are the product.
At a glance
| Capability | SquadBear | Humaans |
|---|---|---|
| Operating model | Web app, Slack and Discord leave, Claude / ChatGPT / Cursor over MCP | Web app, Slack, an MCP server for outside assistants, AI Companion (add-on) |
| AI | MCP server with 210 tools across every module. Ten kinds of admin change wait for a person to approve them in the browser | MCP server for all customers since 8 June 2026, with the same roles as the web app. AI Companion add-on. Athena agent platform sold separately |
| Leave | Policies, coverage, auto-reroute, sick notes | Time-off, calendars |
| Time tracking | Projects and Jira / Linear / GitHub / Asana issues, leave-aware expected hours, submit and approve, R&D / CapEx | Timesheets on Growth: clock in and out or a fixed schedule, reviewed and approved. Their timesheets page does not mention projects or issues |
| Team health | Live health checks, eNPS, retros, actions. On every plan | Engagement surveys with eNPS |
| Performance and goals | 360 rounds: self, peer, manager, and anonymous upward feedback from three responses. Goals freeze when the round opens. Anytime feedback. A draft is written in your own assistant, which can look up the repos and projects you name. You pick every rating and submit. No compensation module. Included in the $4 seat | Performance Management is a listed add-on (self, manager, peer and upward reviews, AI summaries). No published price. Headcount and compensation planning is another add-on |
| Core HR | Directory, custom fields, processes on hire, sign-the-handbook | Employee database, org charts, heavy workflow engine |
| Integrations | Slack, Discord, iCal, Google Calendar app, issue trackers, MCP, REST | Deep ATS / LMS / e-sign catalogue (Greenhouse, Ashby, Lattice, DocuSign, Slack) |
| Free tier | Free for up to 5 people, every module, no time limit | No free plan. Plans are sales-led |
| Price | $4 / active person / month | Paid plans are sales-quoted. We are not quoting a figure. |
Where SquadBear is the stronger choice
Your assistant reaches every module, and a person signs off on the risky changes. Connect Claude once and "log 6 hours on Platform v2", "who's out next week" or "start a health check" happen in the chat you already use. Ten kinds of admin change, such as a leave policy, an erasure or a role change, wait until a person approves them in SquadBear in the browser.
Time tracking for project work, not only attendance. Humaans timesheets record the hours worked. Ours log them against a project or a Jira, Linear, GitHub or Asana issue, with R&D / CapEx categories for the accountant and expected hours that already know about leave. Hide the module if you do not log hours.
Reviews are in the seat. A 360 with anonymous upward feedback, goals that freeze when the round opens, and a draft in your own assistant are included in the $4. Humaans lists Performance Management as an add-on.
Morale next to the roster. An anonymous health check, a retro and an action with an owner, on every plan. Not a second contract.
Self-serve price. Free for 5. $4 after that. No minimum seats, no onboarding consulting to turn the lights on.
Where Humaans is the stronger choice
- ATS-native. Greenhouse, Ashby, Workable: candidates become employees without a CSV. We start after hire.
- A serious workflow builder for IT provisioning, kit shipping, multi-step cross-team sequences. Our processes cover joiner / leaver style work. They go further.
- Compensation and pay data. Headcount and compensation planning, and assistant tools that can update compensation and send documents for e-signature. We do not run compensation.
- AI inside the HRIS. AI Companion answers questions in the app, and Athena is a separate agent platform. We do not ship our own model.
- The data grid. Data tables for bulk edits over hundreds of records. That is their UX bet, and it is a good one.
Who should pick which
- Pick SquadBear if you want leave, project time, attendance, health, records and 360 reviews in one suite at one price, with goals frozen at round open and drafts in the assistant you already use.
- Pick Humaans if you need compensation and headcount planning, a deep ATS, LMS and e-sign catalogue, and a premium system of record with its own AI inside the HRIS.
Related
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between SquadBear and Humaans?
Humaans is a design-forward HRIS for the employee record, ATS/LMS integrations and enterprise workflows, with performance, AI Companion and compensation planning sold as add-ons. Their paid plans are sales-quoted and we are not quoting a figure. SquadBear is leave, issue-linked time tracking, attendance, 360 reviews, team health and core HR in one plan, at $4 per active person a month, free for up to 5 people.
How do their AI features compare?
Both now connect to the assistant you already use. Humaans made its MCP server available to all customers on 8 June 2026, and also sells AI Companion and the separate Athena agent platform. SquadBear's MCP server has 210 tools across leave, issue-linked time, attendance, 360 reviews and team health, under the same permissions as the web app. Everyday writes follow your assistant's own confirmation setting. Ten kinds of admin change, among them leave policies, erasure, workspace settings, role changes and process starts, wait until a person approves them in SquadBear in the browser. The assistant cannot approve them itself.
Does Humaans include time tracking and team health?
Partly. Humaans lists timesheets on its Growth plan (clock in and out, or a fixed schedule, with a review and approval step), and documents engagement surveys with eNPS. SquadBear's time tracking logs hours against projects and Jira, Linear, GitHub or Asana issues, with R&D / CapEx categories and expected hours that already subtract leave. Health checks, retros and eNPS are on every plan.
How do they price?
Their paid plans are sales-quoted and we are not quoting a figure. Humaans lists Performance Management as an add-on without a published price. SquadBear is free for up to 5 people, then $4 per active person per month, with 360 reviews included and no per-module pricing.
Try SquadBear on your own team
Free for up to 5 people, then $4 per active person a month. Product modules are on every plan. Timesheet submit and approve, the audit log and webhooks are on Team.
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