Best HR Software for Managing Remote Teams

Your team is spread across three time zones, and you just realized you haven't had a real conversation with half of them in weeks. Someone's probably burning out, someone else might be job hunting, and your newest hire is likely wondering if they made the right choice, but you won't know until it's too late.The best HR software for managing remote teams helps you stay connected with your people. You can catch small problems before they become big ones. Nobody falls through the cracks or feels forgotten.

Remote work is amazing until you need to actually manage people. Without those casual hallway moments and coffee breaks, staying connected with your team takes real effort. The wrong tools just add more noise, but the right ones help you build genuine relationships even when you're miles apart.

I've evaluated HR software for remote teams to find the platforms that make managing people feel like a breeze. Here's what actually helps.

Best HR Software for Remote Teams by Function at a Glance

Monitoring – Apploye
Best HR software for managing remote teams with lightweight time tracking and productivity monitoring.

Core HR Management – BambooHR
Remote HR software with flexible HRIS features for onboarding, PTO, and performance management.

Global Hiring & Payroll – Deel
HR software for remote working that enables legal, compliant international hiring and payroll.

Communication – Slack
HR software for remote teams that streamlines team communication and automates HR workflows.

Document Storage – Google Workspace
Secure HR software for remote team management of documents, offer letters, and onboarding files.

Payroll – Gusto
Best HR software for small remote teams, offering easy payroll and benefits.

What makes the best HR software for remote teams?

When you understand how your remote team operates, you can identify gaps in communication, engagement, and productivity while making data-driven decisions about your people strategy. Whether you're managing a fully distributed team or a hybrid workforce, HR software designed for remote work can give you complete visibility into employee experiences, performance trends, and team dynamics across locations and time zones.

What do you do with this insight? Perhaps most importantly, remote HR software helps you maintain consistency across your distributed workforce, ensuring every employee receives the same quality experience regardless of where they work.

When evaluating the best HR sorftware for remote teams, I considered the following criteria

When reviewing the best HR software tools for remote teams across categories like employee monitoring, document sharing, HR management, and more, I focused on how well each app served distributed workforces. For every category, I selected one standout solution based on a consistent set of criteria:

Remote-Friendliness: Tools designed specifically or optimized for remote and hybrid teams, offering cloud-based access, mobile compatibility, and real-time collaboration features.

Core Functionality: Robust and reliable features tailored to the specific HR category.

Ease of Use: Intuitive user interface and minimal learning curve for both HR professionals and remote employees.

Security & Compliance: Adherence to relevant data protection standards and strong security measures for handling sensitive employee information.

Integration Capabilities: Ability to integrate with commonly used tools like Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, Asana, Trello and existing HR tech stacks.

Scalability & Pricing: Flexible pricing models and scalability to accommodate teams of different sizes without compromising performance.

Customer Support & Community: Availability of responsive support, thorough documentation, and an active user community.

What's not included in this roundup

Here, I focused specifically on HR software designed for remote and distributed teams. I didn't consider traditional on-premise HR systems or basic HRIS platforms that lack remote-specific features. I did include some platforms that serve hybrid workforces, but the emphasis is on tools that excel in fully remote environments.

Additionally, I have included standalone recruiting tools, payroll-only services, or learning management systems that might have HR-adjacent features. These tools can be valuable components of your remote HR stack.

Best for HR Software for Remote Employee Monitoring

Apploye

If you need visibility into how your remote team is spending their time, Apploye is one of the most reliable and affordable options out there. It lets you track time, monitor activity (if needed), and generate reports for projects or clients.

Why I recommend it:

This is especially useful for teams that wants to improve productivity, work on projects, or just want a clear sense of work patterns without being invasive. You can see app usage, track idle time, and even screenshots/screen recording for distributed teams.

Why it works:

• Clean UI for admins and employees
• Accurate timesheets + proof of work
• App/website usage tracking
• Affordable pricing for small to enterprise teams
• Screenshots/Screen Recording

Use it for: Productivity tracking, accountability, project billing, performance patterns

Best fit: Agencies, dev teams, operations managers

Pricing: Starts at $2.50/user/month

Best for Core HR Management (People Ops)

BambooHR

This is the tool I point to when someone says, “We just need a clean, manageable HR system that actually works for remote people.” BambooHR gives you core features like onboarding, document signing, PTO tracking, and even basic performance management, all in one interface.

Why I recommend it:

The UI is intuitive, and it doesn’t try to overcomplicate things. Employees can log in, handle their own requests, and managers get what they need fast. You can also plug it into Slack for announcements, birthdays, and leave alerts.

Why it works:

• Easy onboarding flows
• Self-service portals
• Custom workflows for remote hiring/offboarding
• Built-in performance management

Use it for: Employee records, reviews, HR compliance

Price: BambooHR’s Core plan starts at $10 per employee each month, but for full pricing details, you’ll need to reach out to their sales team directly.

Best fit: Remote-first companies in the U.S. or hybrid orgs

Pricing: Custom quote, usually ~$5–10/user/month

Best for Software for HR for International Hiring & Payroll

Deel

If you’re hiring outside your own country, you cannot skip legal compliance. Deel makes it simple: you can legally hire contractors or full-time employees in over 100 countries, and Deel handles all the local contracts, tax forms, and payroll logistics.

Why I recommend it:

This tool saves you thousands in legal fees and helps you avoid major compliance risks. I’ve seen teams grow internationally with Deel without ever needing to create a foreign entity. Their dashboard is also easy to navigate.

Why it works:

• Global legal coverage
• Fast contractor onboarding
• Great for scaling remote headcount internationally
• Strong compliance tooling

Use it for: Hiring in new countries, paying global teams

Price: $49/month (contractors), $599/month (EOR)

Best fit: Startups and scaling teams going global

Pricing: $49/mo for contractors; $599+/mo for employees

Best for Team Communication

Slack

This one’s a no-brainer, but it’s worth stating: Slack is where remote work happens. It’s not just chat, it’s where onboarding bots live, where HR announcements happen, and where you can build workflows to notify teams of approvals, birthdays, reviews, and more.

Why I recommend it:

You can integrate tools like BambooHR, Gusto, and even Apploye into Slack to keep your HR processes in the same place your team already works.

Why it works:

• Everyone’s already using it
• Supports async and real-time chat
• Integrates with HR tools like BambooHR, Gusto, and Zapier
• Tons of HR workflow bots and plug-ins

Use it for: All internal team communication + HR notifications

Price: Free for small teams; paid from $7.25/user/month

Best fit: Any distributed team

Pricing: Free for basics; paid plans from $7.25/user/month

Best for Document Storage & HR Records

Google Workspace

I always recommend having a clean, centralized place for all HR docs—offer letters, contracts, onboarding checklists, performance templates, and handbooks. Google Workspace is still the best for this.

Why I recommend it:

It’s familiar, secure, and flexible. You can share folders by department, control access, and integrate it with BambooHR or Slack for easy access.

Why it works:

• Familiar interface for all users
• Access control for sensitive HR data
• Works great with Google Docs for contracts, policies, and templates
• Easily integrates with other tools

Use it for: Storing HR docs, onboarding folders, review notes

Price: Starts at $6/user/month

Best fit: All remote teams

Pricing: From $6/user/month

Best for Payroll (U.S. Teams)

Gusto

If your team is mostly U.S.-based, Gusto is still one of the easiest ways to handle payroll, benefits, onboarding, and compliance. It automates tax filings, health insurance, and new hire paperwork.

Why I recommend it:

You don’t need a full HR department to run payroll with Gusto—it’s made for lean teams. It also supports contractors, so you can pay freelancers and W-2s in the same dashboard.

Why it works:

• Handles all U.S. tax and benefits
• Onboarding checklists + e-sign docs
• Great support and user experience
• Integrates with accounting tools

Use it for: Paying U.S.-based remote teams

Price: Starts at $40/month + $6/user

Best fit: Startups and small U.S. companies

Pricing: $40/month + $6/user/month

Final Thoughts

When people ask me what the best HR software for remote teams is, my honest answer is: there isn’t one. But there’s a stack that works really well if you combine the right tools for the right jobs.

Here’s a quick summary of what I’d recommend:

Conclusions

Managing a remote team isn’t about finding one magical HR tool that does everything. It’s about building a tech stack that actually fits how remote teams work—asynchronously, across time zones, and without in-person processes.

Each tool I’ve shared here solves a specific problem well. Some handle onboarding and payroll. Others help you track productivity or keep communication smooth. The key is picking tools that are simple, focused, and work well together.

If you’re starting from scratch, don’t feel like you need to implement everything at once. Start with what’s broken or missing right now—maybe it’s time tracking, maybe it’s onboarding—and layer on the rest as your team grows.

A solid HR stack won’t just make your operations more efficient—it’ll make your remote team feel more supported, more aligned, and more connected. And that’s what actually makes remote work sustainable in the long run.