Home/Free alternatives/Remote
Remote remote.com

Free alternatives to Remote

Remote costs $29/mo on the Payroll plan, or $348 a year. Here are 4 free and open-source options, what each one does, and what you give up compared with paying.

Prices checked Aug 10, 2026Can AI replace it? Nah

01At a glance

AlternativeTypeWhere it runsWorks on
Connecteam Small Business PlanFreeHosted for youWeb, iPhone, Android
OrangeHRM StarterOpen sourceHosted or self-hostedWeb, Your server
Horilla HROpen sourceYou host itWeb, Your server
Frappe HROpen sourceYou host itWeb, Your server

02Each alternative, in detail

Connecteam Small Business PlanFree

Directory, documents, leave and onboarding for ten people; employee eleven is the business model.

Versus paying: It handles ten people's records but cannot supply Remote's employer-of-record, localized payroll, benefits or compliance.

Setup: Hosted signup, then invite staff to the web and mobile apps

connecteam.com →
OrangeHRM StarterOpen source

The old-school HR suite: records, leave, attendance and approvals, with a real server and no fashion budget.

Versus paying: It is an HR system, not an employer-of-record or international payroll service.

Setup: Use the free hosted Starter signup, or upload the release to an Apache/PHP/MySQL server and complete the web installer

Watch for: Self-hosting requires Apache, PHP and MySQL/MariaDB plus security and backups; the hosted path starts with a 30-day trial before conversion to lifetime-free Starter

1,107 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

orangehrm.com →
Horilla HROpen source

Hire-to-leave HR in Docker; free forever means you own the updates and backups.

Versus paying: It cannot assume employment liability, run localized payroll or provide Remote's global compliance network.

Setup: Clone the stable 2.0 branch and run docker-compose up -d; a manual Django setup is also documented

Watch for: Docker and production configuration: database credentials, secret key, allowed hosts, HTTPS, backups and mail remain the operator's job

1,400 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

horilla.com →
Frappe HROpen source

A complete HR suite without the license bill; the server, backups and upgrades are now in your job description.

Versus paying: It stores employee data but does not replace Remote's legal employment, payroll, benefits and compliance services.

Setup: Launch its Docker Compose stack, or install hrms and ERPNext into an existing Frappe Bench

Watch for: The full Frappe/ERPNext stack brings Docker, MariaDB, Redis, proxy/TLS and version-compatible app upgrades

8,500 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

frappe.io →

03What you give up by leaving Remote

  • global entities, payroll, benefits, compliance, payments, and employment expertise
  • payroll rails
  • tax and labor-law compliance
  • benefits integrations
  • identity checks and global employment infrastructure

People still pay for Remote because HR platforms survive because mistakes affect pay, benefits, immigration, and legal obligations, not because forms are difficult to render. The recurring cost buys sensitive data, access, retention, audit, payroll calculations, filings, benefits, employment law, incident response, and support, not just the visible interface.

04Questions

Is there a free alternative to Remote?

Yes. This page compares 4: Connecteam Small Business Plan, OrangeHRM Starter, Horilla HR and Frappe HR. 3 of them are open source, so you can run them yourself.

How much does Remote cost?

$29/mo on the Payroll plan (monthly per user), which is $348 a year. Prices checked Aug 10, 2026.

What do you give up with a free alternative to Remote?

Most often: global entities, payroll, benefits, compliance, payments, and employment expertise, payroll rails, tax and labor-law compliance and benefits integrations. Each alternative on this page lists its own gap under “Versus paying.”

Can AI build me my own version of Remote?

Nah. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Remote, maintain employee records and leave approvals without payroll or employer-of-record services. The hard boundary is global entities, payroll, benefits, compliance, payments, and employment expertise, plus compliance, payroll, and regulated integrations.

Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.