5 top picks · 0 audience rankings
Best open source HR software
The best open source HR software is Frappe HR (GPL-3.0, 8,970 GitHub stars, Docker image). Ever Gauzy stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,783), and Horilla stands out for its HTML codebase.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Frappe HR
frappe/hrms
Complete HRMS solution with over 13 different modules right from employee management, onboarding, leaves, to payroll, taxation, and more.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
HR & Time TrackingPythonDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Frappe HR has 8,970 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,970 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
- Rank 2:
Ever Gauzy
ever-co/ever-gauzy
Open business management platform for collaborative, on-demand and sharing economies (ERP/CRM/HRM/ATS/PM).
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
HR & Time TrackingTypeScriptDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,783). Ever Gauzy has 8,635 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,783 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
- Rank 3:
Horilla
horilla/horilla-hr
Django HRMS with employee management, recruitment, onboarding, attendance, leave, payroll and performance reviews.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
HR & Time TrackingHTMLDockerStands out for its HTML codebase. Horilla has 1,474 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-2.1 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,250 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
At a glance
Open source HR software compared
Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 5 HR software apps in the HR & time tracking category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frappe HR | the most GitHub stars | GPL-3.0 | 8,970 | 2,970 | Oct 27, 2026 | Yes |
| Ever Gauzy | the most commits in the last 12 months (5,783) | AGPL-3.0 | 8,635 | 5,783 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| Horilla | its HTML codebase | LGPL-2.1 | 1,474 | 2,250 | Oct 28, 2026 | Yes |
| OrangeHRM | the longest track record (since 2017) | GPL-3.0 | 1,157 | 36 | Jun 28, 2026 | Yes |
| MintHCM | – | AGPL-3.0 | 439 | 48 | Oct 23, 2026 | No |
Full ranking
All 5 picks, ranked
5 of the 5 HR software apps in the HR & time tracking category.
- 1
Frappe HR
Complete HRMS solution with over 13 different modules right from employee management, onboarding, leaves, to payroll, taxation, and more.
HR & Time TrackingDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Frappe HR has 8,970 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,970 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
- 2
Ever Gauzy
Open business management platform for collaborative, on-demand and sharing economies (ERP/CRM/HRM/ATS/PM).
HR & Time TrackingDockerStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,783). Ever Gauzy has 8,635 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,783 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
- 3
Horilla
Django HRMS with employee management, recruitment, onboarding, attendance, leave, payroll and performance reviews.
HR & Time TrackingDockerStands out for its HTML codebase. Horilla has 1,474 GitHub stars, uses the LGPL-2.1 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,250 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
- 4
OrangeHRM
Long-running open-source HR management system covering employee records, leave, time and recruitment.
HR & Time TrackingDockerStands out for the longest track record (since 2017). OrangeHRM has 1,157 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 36 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
- 5
MintHCM
Tool for Human Capital Management based on two popular, well-known business applications SugarCRM Community Edition and SuiteCRM.
HR & Time TrackingMintHCM has 439 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 48 commits in the last year; it replaces BambooHR and Workday.
Is there an open source applicant tracking system?
The catalog has no standalone ATS. OrangeHRM and Horilla list recruitment in their own descriptions, alongside employee records, leave and other HR modules.
What else does an HR team usually self-host?
Besides an HRMS, HR teams often run a wiki for the employee handbook (BookStack or Wiki.js), e-signatures for contracts (DocuSeal or Documenso) and single sign-on for employee logins (Keycloak or authentik).
Is Frappe HR free?
Yes. Frappe HR is open-source software released under the GPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.
Can I self-host these HR software options with Docker?
Yes, 4 of the 5 picks. Frappe HR, Ever Gauzy and Horilla publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.
Are all of these HR software options open source?
All 5 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 5 HR software apps in the HR & time tracking category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.
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