An HR platform used by more than 16,000 organisations, with core HR, onboarding, absence and time tracking, native German payroll, Personio Assistant and 200+ Marketplace integrations.
Personio is built for European HR. October People is built for the whole lifecycle.
Personio is an HR platform for growing organisations, founded in Munich, with core HR, absence and time tracking, native German payroll and add-on apps for recruiting, performance, surveys and compensation. October People is an AI-first HCM on one employee record. Here is a fair comparison.
October PeopleOne record · 34 modulesPersonio
HR platformsIndependent comparisonNative payroll is available in Germany, with partners elsewhere. Recruiting, performance, surveys and compensation are add-on apps, and its compliance positioning centres on Europe and the UK.
Recruitment with Cara, performance, learning, careers, compensation, surveys and planning on one AI-first record, with B-BBEE, Employment Equity and SETA tooling for South African organisations.
What your HR team
actually gets.
Personio is a strong choice for European HR teams. October People brings recruitment with Cara, careers and succession, learning and South African compliance tooling onto one AI-first record.
Offered See detailsModules, plans and regional coverage vary, for both providers. Confirm scope for the countries you operate in.
Swipe across the table to compare both providers.
| Feature or service | October PeopleWhat you get — and why it matters | Personio |
|---|---|---|
| The employee recordCore HR, the employee lifecycle and time. | ||
| Employee records and documents | One record everything else runs onProfiles, contracts, documents, e-signatures, org charts, assets and an HR inbox. Why it mattersEvery module reads from the same current profile. | Employee profiles, org chart, documents |
| Onboarding and offboarding | Every transition is a planStructured onboarding, offboarding, alumni and internal mobility. Why it mattersNew starters, movers and leavers follow a structured plan. | Onboarding and offboarding workflows |
| Time, leave and attendance | Leave, shifts and clock-in in one placeLeave balances and planners, shifts, clock-in, schedules and billable time. Why it mattersManagers plan cover and approved time flows on to payroll and finance. | Absence and time tracking; confirm shift planning |
| Performance and growthGoals, reviews, learning and careers. | ||
| Goals and performance reviews | Company to individual, in one cascadeGoals and OKRs, review cycles, calibration, 9-box talent grid, 1:1s and feedback. Why it mattersReviews, calibration and 1:1s draw on the same goals. | Performance & Development add-on app |
| Learning and development | Learning connected to the roleCourse catalogue, learning paths, live sessions, CPD, mandatory training and SCORM uploads. Why it mattersMandatory training and development paths sit on the employee record. | Training sessions; confirm LMS capabilities |
| Careers and succession | A next step for every employeeAI career coach, career roadmaps, development plans, succession and high-potential tracking. Why it mattersLeaders can see succession cover and high-potential talent. | Confirm career pathing and succession |
| Reward and engagementCompensation, payroll and employee feedback. | ||
| Compensation and benefits | Total rewards on one recordSalary benchmarks, job architecture, merit cycles, equity, benefits, expenses and payslips. Why it mattersMerit cycles and benefits use the same job architecture. | Compensation Management add-on app |
| Payroll | Keep your payroll providerOctober People integrates with payroll providers. It does not run payroll itself. Why it mattersApproved changes flow to payroll without re-keying. | Native in Germany; partners elsewhere |
| Engagement surveys | Feedback analysed by team and tenureSurvey builder, engagement and eNPS, pulse checks and AI analytics. Why it mattersSee where engagement is moving and follow up. | Surveys add-on app |
| Planning, compliance and AIWorkforce planning, regional compliance, hiring and AI assistance. | ||
| Regional compliance | B-BBEE, Employment Equity and beyondB-BBEE, Employment Equity, SETA and CCMA; US I-9, ACA and EEO-1; ER cases and Speak Up. Why it mattersPrepare South African submissions from the same record. | Europe and UK focus; confirm SA specifics |
| Workforce planning | Plan around current skills and capacityHeadcount forecasting, scenario planning, skills-gap analysis and budget planning. Why it mattersModel headcount and budget scenarios before you commit. | Workforce Planning on Core Pro plan |
| Recruitment and ATS | Hiring on the same recordCara AI sourcing, 13 job boards in one click, visual pipelines, scorecards and hiring analytics. Why it mattersCandidates become employees without a second system. | Recruiting add-on app with AI screening |
| AI assistance | AI built into every moduleCara, the career coach, 1:1 intelligence, manager nudges, meeting transcription and sentiment. Why it mattersEmployees, managers and HR get help in the flow of work. | Personio Assistant |
Based on public provider descriptions reviewed 31 October 2026. “Confirm” means the scope is not established by the linked sources.
Growing organisations based in Europe, especially Germany, that want native German payroll and European compliance in their HR platform.
Organisations that want recruitment, performance, careers and planning on one AI-first record, particularly those operating in South Africa.
See October in contextQuestions,
answered.
Is October People an alternative to Personio?
Yes. Both hold the employee record and cover onboarding, absence, performance, surveys, compensation and recruiting. October People also includes Cara AI sourcing and interviews, careers and succession, and South African compliance tooling on the same record.
Does October People run payroll like Personio?
No. Personio offers native payroll in Germany. October People manages compensation, benefits, expenses and payslips and integrates with payroll providers so approved changes flow through without re-keying.
Can we migrate from Personio?
Yes. October imports employee data, documents and organisational structure, and integrates with 40+ HR and workplace systems, so you can run the shared record first and phase other modules in.
Does October People support South African compliance?
Yes. The compliance module covers B-BBEE scorecards, Employment Equity reports and plans, Workplace Skills Plans and Annual Training Reports, learnerships and CCMA case files. Personio positions its compliance around Europe and the UK.
Is recruitment included?
Recruitment is a module of October People, with Cara AI sourcing, AI screening and interviews, assessments, October Verified and a connected applicant tracking system. Personio offers recruiting as an add-on app.
Switching providers
Switching from Personio?
Moving your HR platform is about keeping one accurate record throughout, without disrupting payroll. Here is what a move to October looks like.
- 01
Import your data
October imports employee data, documents and organisational structure.
- 02
Phase the move
Run the shared record first and phase other modules in, rather than switching everything on one day.
- 03
Keep payroll connected
October People integrates with payroll providers and 40+ HR and workplace systems, so approved changes flow through without re-keying.
- 04
Scoped rollout support
Data preparation, migration, integrations, testing and training are scoped up front, with ongoing administration and adoption support.
In a 30-minute conversation we look at what you use today, what moves and in what order. A scoping conversation then sets out the package, delivery responsibilities and rollout plan.