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LeadChange Group

Employee Navigator vs BambooHR

Employee Navigator7.8/10

BambooHR6.0/10

Scored in Benefits Administration

The short answer

Employee Navigator, launched in 2008, works through more than 7,000 insurance brokers. Its plans are quoted, and it publishes its fees for 834 EDI feeds, $0.45 per employee a month, and ACA filing.

By LeadChange Research TeamUpdated Based on 19 sources, most recently checked

Employee Navigator

Best for
Insurance brokers running benefits for many employer clients

Choose Employee Navigator if

  • Your insurance broker already works in it: 7,000+ brokers do.
  • You need 834 EDI feeds to your carriers.
  • You file ACA 1094-C and 1095-C forms.
  • You need HIPAA as well as SOC 2 Type II.

Employee Navigator pricingAlternatives to Employee Navigator

BambooHR

Starting price
$250/mo flat up to 25 employees, then $10.25/employee/mo1
Best for
Companies of about 50 to 500 employees, the range BambooHR says it is built for

Choose BambooHR if

  • You want hiring, onboarding and records with benefits.
  • You want to see HR prices first: Core is $250 a month up to 25 employees.
  • You want payroll from the same vendor, as an add-on.
  • You want a free trial with no credit card.

What BambooHR costsBambooHR alternatives

LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.

Scorecard

Employee Navigator wins 2BambooHR wins 03 ties

Employee Navigator vs BambooHR by dimension
DimensionEmployee NavigatorBambooHR
PricingNeither publishes the full cost of benefits administration. BambooHR prices its HR plans, from $250 a month, but not the Benefits Administration add-on. Employee Navigator quotes its plans; its 834 EDI feeds cost $0.45 per employee a month and ACA forms $1.50 to $9.95 each. Quote only2Partly publishedPublished
CapabilitiesEmployee Navigator documents 8 items on our benefits checklist, including life event changes and ACA reporting. BambooHR documents 6, from plan setup to payroll deduction sync. New hire and open enrollment, Life events and beneficiary tracking, Plan comparison and decision support, Carrier, payroll and TPA integrations, 834 EDI feeds, ACA 1094-C and 1095-C reporting, Total compensation statements, Broker and HR analytics28 of 12 core capabilities6 of 12 core capabilities
IntegrationsEmployee Navigator lists 600+ integrated partners, among them ADP, Paylocity, UnitedHealthcare and MetLife. BambooHR lists over 150 integrations. 600+37 documented (vendor says 600+)6 documented (vendor says 150)
SecurityBoth have SOC 2 Type II reports and address GDPR. Employee Navigator also lists HIPAA. Yes4SOC 2, GDPRSOC 2, GDPR
Fit and supportEmployee Navigator’s ACA fee tiers run from companies of 1-50 employees to 1,001+. BambooHR is built for organizations of about 50 to 500 employees. Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises5Small businesses, mid-market companies, enterprisesSmall businesses, mid-market companies

Employee Navigator or BambooHR: what matters most to you?

We match on verified product facts for this need, never on who pays us.

Key differences

Where Employee Navigator and BambooHR differ (8)
AttributeEmployee NavigatorBambooHR
Pricing modelQuote only2Per employee1
Price transparencyPartly published2Published1
Best forSmall businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises5Small businesses, mid-market companies6
Mobile appsiOS7iOS, Android8
Single sign-onSingle sign-on from supported payroll partners' portals9SAML, Google, Microsoft10
Native integrations600+315011
Support channelsEmail, Phone, Knowledge base, Webinars2Phone, email, chat12
HeadquartersBethesda, Maryland, US13Draper, Utah, US14
Show 4 attributes where they are the same
Where they are the same (4)
AttributeEmployee NavigatorBambooHR
API1516
SOC 2 Type II417
GDPR program418
Founded200813200819

Analysis by dimension

Pricing. Neither publishes the full cost of benefits administration. BambooHR prices its HR plans, from $250 a month, but not the Benefits Administration add-on. Employee Navigator quotes its plans; its 834 EDI feeds cost $0.45 per employee a month and ACA forms $1.50 to $9.95 each.

Capabilities. Employee Navigator documents 8 items on our benefits checklist, including life event changes and ACA reporting. BambooHR documents 6, from plan setup to payroll deduction sync.

Integrations. Employee Navigator lists 600+ integrated partners, among them ADP, Paylocity, UnitedHealthcare and MetLife. BambooHR lists over 150 integrations.

Security. Both have SOC 2 Type II reports and address GDPR. Employee Navigator also lists HIPAA.

Fit and support. Employee Navigator’s ACA fee tiers run from companies of 1-50 employees to 1,001+. BambooHR is built for organizations of about 50 to 500 employees.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Employee Navigator cost per month?

Its platform plans are quoted. The published fees are 834 EDI carrier feeds at $0.45 per employee a month on Enhanced Plus and Elite, included on Platinum, and ACA filing at $1.50 to $9.95 per form.

Which is cheaper, Employee Navigator or BambooHR?

Public prices cannot settle it. BambooHR’s Benefits Administration add-on has no list price, on top of HR plans from $250 a month. Employee Navigator quotes its plans and publishes only its EDI and ACA fees.

What companies use Employee Navigator?

More than 195,000 companies across the US, through 7,000+ insurance brokers, according to Employee Navigator.

Does Employee Navigator handle ACA reporting?

Yes. It prepares ACA 1094-C and 1095-C forms, with federal e-file and print-and-mail services priced per form.

Does BambooHR do benefits administration?

Yes, as an add-on: Benefits Administration sits next to Payroll and Time & Attendance, without a published price. Core already tracks benefits, and a 15% discount applies when Payroll and Benefits are combined for US employees.

Which is more secure, Employee Navigator or BambooHR?

Both have SOC 2 Type II reports and address GDPR. Employee Navigator adds HIPAA; BambooHR offers SAML single sign-on.

Who are Employee Navigator’s competitors?

Besides BambooHR, the benefits administration platforms we review include Rippling, Gusto, Paylocity and HiBob.

Which has more integrations, Employee Navigator or BambooHR?

Employee Navigator lists 600+ integrations; BambooHR lists 150 integrations.

How this page was made

  • What it is built from

    35 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Nov 9, 2026.

  • Method

    Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.5. Read the methodology

  • Independent review

    Not reviewed yet by our independent reviewer. How we review

  • Hands-on testing

    We have not tested either product hands-on: this page uses public information only.

  • Who made it

    The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us

  • Independence and errors

    Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction

Employee Navigator or BambooHR? Your answer in 3 questions

Your team size, what matters most and your role: see which one fits more of your answers, from verified facts.

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Employee Navigator vs BambooHR

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Sources

The 19 pages this page's facts come from, with the day we last checked each one. The numbers beside the figures above link here.

Quotes from the sources
  1. BambooHR bamboohr.com/pricing“For companies with more than 25 employees, our HR software is priced on a per-employee, per-month basis. BambooHR pricing starts at $10.25 USD per employee per month for Core, $17.50 USD per employee per month for Pro, and $25 USD per employee per month for Elite. Volume discounts are applied automatically ... We also offer an additional 15% off to registered nonprofit organizations.” “For companies with more than 25 employees, our HR software is priced on a per-employee, per-month basis. BambooHR pricing starts at $10.25 USD per employee per month for Core, $17.50 USD per employee per month for Pro, and $25 USD per employee per month for Elite. For companies with 25 employees or fewer, our HR software pricing is charged at a monthly flat rate of $250 USD/mo for Core, $425 USD/mo for Pro, and $650 USD/mo for Elite.”
  2. Employee Navigator employeenavigator.com/pricing“Enhanced Online enrollment Carrier, Payroll & TPA integrations Enrollment forms library ACA Reporting AI Plan Builds Contact Sales” “New hire & open enrollment Life events & beneficiary tracking”
  3. Employee Navigator employeenavigator.com/modern-integrations“Integrations keep Employee Navigator and our 600+ partners in sync.”
  4. Employee Navigator employeenavigator.com/security“SOC 2 Type II” “GDPR EU General data Protection Regulations (GDPR)”
  5. Employee Navigator employeenavigator.com/aca-reporting“Service 1-50 51-100 101-250 251-500 501-1000 1001+”
  6. BambooHR bamboohr.com/platform“BambooHR is purpose-built for growing organizations, generally in the range of 50 to 500 employees, though many customers scale well beyond that on the same platform.”
  7. Apple App Store apps.apple.com/us/app/employee-navigator/id6797508874“Check your coverage, complete open enrollment, process life events, and review your benefits, all from your mobile phone.”
  8. BambooHR bamboohr.com/platform/hr-data-and-reporting/mobile-app“Yes. The app is free to download, but you’ll need an active BambooHR account provided by your employer to sign in. The app is available for supported iOS and Android devices.”
  9. Employee Navigator Help Center support.employeenavigator.com/hc/en-us/articles/39798319155860-Payroll-Single-Sign-On-SSO-for-all-supported-partners“Allow employees to access Employee Navigator directly from their payroll self-service portal — no separate username or password required.”
  10. BambooHR SAML single sign-on (BambooHR Marketplace)“Installing this app in your BambooHR account will enable you to configure Single Sign-On between your identity provider and BambooHR (as the service provider) using SAML 2.0.”
  11. BambooHR bamboohr.com/integrations“Select from over 150 integrations designed to streamline processes and save time, enhancing your HR solutions.”
  12. BambooHR bamboohr.com/why-bamboohr/services“You can reach BambooHR Support Heroes live Monday to Friday from 6 AM to 6 PM MT by phone, email, or chat (within your BambooHR account). Outside business hours, our AI support chat is always available!”
  13. Employee Navigator employeenavigator.com/about“HEADQUARTERS Bethesda, MD” “Launched in 2008, Employee Navigator serves more than 7,000 insurance brokers, 600+ integrated partners and 195,000+ companies across the country.”
  14. BambooHR bamboohr.com/about-bamboohr/contact“42 Future Way, Draper, UT 84020, USA”
  15. Employee Navigator employeenavigator.com/employee-navigator-releases-api-models-to-speed-the-digitization-of-employee-benefit-administration“Employee Navigator today released its Company Integration and Company Benefit Details Application Program Interfaces (APIs) to support real-time integrations between Employee Navigator’s benefit administration platform, health insurance carriers, and employee benefit providers.”
  16. BambooHR documentation.bamboohr.com/docs/getting-started“The BambooHR API is a RESTful Internet protocol built around making semantically meaningful HTTPS requests”
  17. BambooHR trust.bamboohr.com“SOC 2 Type 2”
  18. BambooHR bamboohr.com/legal/data-processing-agreement“"Data Protection Law" means Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the free movement of such data ("General Data Protection Regulation" or "GDPR")”
  19. BambooHR bamboohr.com/about-bamboohr“We founded BambooHR in 2008 with a mission to set people free to do great work”

What the LeadChange Score means

A 0–10 editorial assessment built only from verified facts, across six weighted dimensions: capabilities, pricing, integrations, security, fit and support, and data confidence.

Payments, commissions and lead fees are never inputs.