HourSquare vs Sift

HourSquare is an HR platform that brings onboarding, leave, time tracking, payroll, a people directory, and anonymous whistleblowing together around a shared employee record. Approved timesheets and leave feed payroll, while onboarding checklists can begin when a person is added and assign work to IT, managers, and the new hire. Payroll includes tax packs for 24+ countries, payslips, and payment and accountant exports. Integration options include a public API, OIDC single sign-on with Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, or Google Workspace, calendar feeds, and CSV import. Signed webhooks are not available yet; the developer page advises polling time entries with a cursor in the meantime. HourSquare says it is EU-hosted, encrypts traffic in transit and sensitive database fields, logs sensitive access and employee-record changes, and supports data export and erasure. Speak up reports are stored without the reporter’s name or account. Web, iOS, Android, and API are listed, although the features page describes mobile access as a phone layout of the web app and says there is no native app. Teams of up to 10 employees can use every feature for free; larger teams are asked to contact HourSquare for a written plan price. Recruiting, applicant tracking, and job postings are outside the bundle.

Sift helps organizations find colleagues, map reporting relationships, and understand how work is distributed. Its searchable people directory filters profile data by skills, roles, and other information. An automatically updated org chart uses company people data to show formal and informal reporting lines. Profiles can include skills, experience, projects, interests, pronouns, name pronunciation, and languages. Sift aggregates employee data from multiple systems into one profile, using prebuilt identity connectors and SFTP workflows. Listed integrations include Workday, UKG, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, Okta, Ping Identity, CSV files, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. Access is available in browsers, Windows and Mac desktop downloads, and iOS and Android apps, as well as through an API. Sift says customer data is encrypted at rest and in transit, segmented between customers, and regularly tested by third parties for penetration vulnerabilities. It also says it completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit and is GDPR compliant. Plans start at $150 a month, billed annually, for 20 users; a 14-day trial provides access to Sift Complete. Sift does not offer native messaging or chat.