# KiwiHR — HR Management

KiwiHR by KiwiHR GmbH holds a panel rating of 2.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: provenance unknown; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: KiwiHR GmbH (https://www.kiwihr.com)
- Category: [HR Management](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): provenance unknown
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/kiwihr
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/kiwihr/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/kiwihr/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-21 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-13

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: KiwiHR GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

KiwiHR, from KiwiHR GmbH, sold on the captured pages within the Tellent HR suite, is strongest on payroll readiness and time and absence, both at 7 with no spread: a maintained DATEV connection into LODAS and Lohn und Gehalt carries variable salary components, returns payslips to distribute, and backs pay runs with approver and review step, while leave balances calculate automatically with regional holidays counted into entitlement and the German time-recording duty is stated as met. Recruiting and onboarding land at 4 — the applicant tracking system is sold as a separately branded add-on beside journey templates, with no public information on a candidate-to-employee handover without re-entry. Weakest are sovereignty at 2 to 3 and employee data governance at 3 to 4: the only captured European statement concerns development origin, no public information appears on hosting location or subprocessors, and employee data remains visible until the employee is manually deleted. No category split the judges by more than a point; the only public cost facts are a free trial, a demo, and implementation stated as free in a few hours.

**Speaks for it:**
- Payroll hands off through a maintained DATEV connection into LODAS and Lohn und Gehalt, with payslips imported back and distributed to employees
- Leave balances calculate automatically with regional holidays counted into the entitlement, with one-click exports of balances and absences
- Time capture runs by app or multi-location clock station with automatic overtime calculation, and the vendor states the German time-recording duty is met
- Access permissions are configurable per profile section, with a change history showing who edited profile data
- Implementation is stated as free of charge and to take only a few hours

**Held against it:**
- Recruiting and onboarding score 4, with the applicant tracking system sold as a separately branded add-on and no public information on a candidate-to-employee handover without re-entry
- Employee data remains visible until the employee is manually deleted, with no public information on retention periods per data category
- Sovereignty scores 2 to 3, with the only captured European statement covering development origin and no public information on hosting location or subprocessors
- The Timeboard shows in real time who is currently working, and no public information appears on limits to that presence view
- Core HR records score 5 to 6, with no public information on effective-dated contract versions or org structures across multiple entities and cost centres

**Best for:**
- You run payroll on DATEV and want a documented handoff into LODAS or Lohn und Gehalt with payslips flowing back to employees
- You need German working-time and absence tracking, with regional holidays folded into the entitlement and the time-recording duty covered
- Your team wants a mid-weight digital personnel file with per-section access permissions and employee self-service

**Avoid if:**
- You need recruitment and onboarding as one connected path from candidate to employee record without re-entry
- Your procurement requires a stated hosting location and subprocessor disclosure before signing
- You need automatic, rule-based retention and deletion of employee data by category
- A works council must approve monitoring tools and will scrutinise a real-time presence view

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The People Lead | The Payroll Officer | The Works Council Advocate | The Data Protection Officer | The IT Integrator | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Digital personnel file & data model | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Payroll handoff | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Absence & working-time | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Recruiting & onboarding | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Employee data protection & co-determination | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 |
| European sovereignty | 1.5/5 | 1/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 |
| Pricing transparency | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The People Lead** (v1.0): Runs HR for 400 people with two colleagues and is replacing a shared drive and eleven spreadsheets. Optimizes for the record being true and the month closing without chasing anyone. Buys breadth that actually connects, and is unmoved by a beautiful org chart sitting next to a manual vacation calculation.
- **The Payroll Officer** (v1.0): Closes payroll every month and answers to the tax adviser when it is wrong. Cares about one thing above all: whether the month leaves this system clean, with backdated changes, mid-month leavers and variable pay handled. Treats "CSV export" as a confession, not a feature.
- **The Works Council Advocate** (v1.0): Sits on the Betriebsrat and has to approve this rollout under BetrVG §87. Reads every feature for whether it can monitor behaviour, and asks what is logged, who can read it and what can be switched off. A tool that cannot answer those questions does not get installed, however good it is.
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Answers for the most sensitive personal data the company holds, about people who cannot decline the processing. Wants retention that executes rather than promises, a published subprocessor list, and applicant data that deletes itself on the stated date. Treats an unpublished DPA as a finding.
- **The IT Integrator** (v1.0): Owns identity and has to make the HR system the source of truth for accounts. Wants SCIM provisioning, SSO that is not an enterprise upsell, and an API with documentation rather than a partner form. Judges onboarding by whether it can create the account, not by whether it has a checklist.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has watched three HR suites promise one system and deliver five modules with a shared logo. Reads every claim for what it does not say: which module the feature lives in, what it costs on top, and whether "integration" means a maintained connector or a documented endpoint someone could build against.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

No sovereignty finding yet.

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Certifications: yes · yes [S1]
- GDPR: yes [S7]
- GDPR 2FA: yes · yes [S2]
- GDPR positioning: yes [S4]

**Data**
- Deactivation: yes [S3]
- Retention: Employee data remains visible until the employee is manually deleted [S3]

**Hosting**
- Developed in europe: In Europa entwickelt, nach europäischen Standards gebaut [S2]
- Developed in europe: yes [S6]
- Development origin: yes · yes [S7]

**Integrations**
- API: yes · every quarter [S1]
- Count: 180 [S4]
- Datev: yes [S4]
- Datev connection path: Settings > Configuration > Integrations/Apps > DATEV [S5]
- Datev optional services: payroll import data service · payroll analysis data service · wage exchange data service (eAU) [S5]
- Datev payslip import: Payslips can be imported from DATEV and distributed among employees [S5]
- Datev rights management URL: https://apps.datev.de/rvo-administration [S5]
- Datev send data: Files can be downloaded or sent directly to DATEV [S5]
- Datev target selection: LODAS · Lohn und Gehalt [S5]
- Datev targets: DATEV Lohn und Gehalt · DATEV Lodas [S5]
- Help center: yes [S6]
- Partner count: 200+ · payroll · Docusign [S1]

**Legal**
- Made in europe: Product made in Europe [S1]

**Pricing**
- Trial: yes · 18 [S7]

**Product**
- Absence management: yes [S1]
- Absence one click requests: Urlaube mit einem Klick beantragen und genehmigen; automatische Saldenberechnung; gemeinsamer Kalender [S6]
- Absence types customizable: Home Office · Schulungen · Elternzeit · yes [S6]
- Absences payroll module: yes [S6]
- Access control faq: FAQ behandelt Zugriff auf erfasste Abwesenheiten [S6]
- Access overview: yes [S3]
- Access permissions: yes [S3]
- Access rights: yes [S2]
- Addon modules: ATS · Performance Management [S1]
- Admin access: yes [S8]
- Approval processes: yes [S7]
- Auto approval: yes [S6]
- Auto team removal: yes [S3]
- Balance export: yes [S6]
- Change history: yes [S3]
- Company count: yes [S6]
- Company count: over 7000 worldwide [S7]
- Compensation variable transfer: yes [S5]
- Core features: Employee Database · Organization chart · Time and Attendance · Absence Management · Expense Management · Payroll · HR Reports · Employee Journeys · Whistleblowing [S1]
- Custom modules: yes [S2]
- Customer count: 7000 [S4]
- Digital personnel file: Digitale Personalakte mit Zugriff auf alle Daten und Dokumente, Employee Self Service [S2]
- Document attachment: FAQ behandelt das Anfügen von Dokumenten zu Urlaubsanträgen [S6]
- Document management: yes [S2]
- Employee database: Centralized employee database with on-demand access to personal HR data [S1]
- Employee journeys: Automated employee journey templates covering pre-onboarding, development, compliance training and offboarding [S1]
- Employee pay access online: yes [S4]
- Employee profiles: Individuelle Profile mit öffentlichen und privaten Bereichen [S2]
- Ess 24 7: 24/7 · yes [S6]
- Expense management: Expense reporting with receipts and team-lead approvals [S1]
- Export: yes [S7]
- Feature list: HR-Datenbank · Mitarbeiterprofil · Mitarbeiterverzeichnis · Klare Organisationsstruktur · Zugriffsrechte · Employee Self-Service · DSGVO-konform · Datenimport und -export [S2]
- Feature list: schneller Antrag/Genehmigung · anpassbare Abwesenheitsarten · Smartphone-Zugriff · automatische Genehmigung · regionale/individuelle Feiertage · automatische Urlaubsanspruchsberechnung · Unternehmenskalender · Export Jahresurlaubsdaten [S6]
- Feature list: fast simple time tracking · short implementation · transparent dashboard · individual working time models · automatic overtime calculation · payroll export · app time tracking · GDPR-compliant data security [S7]
- Free trial: Try for free [S4]
- HR manage description: Tellent HR Manage is an HRIS for tracking time, time off, payroll and compliance [S1]
- HR reports: Real-time HR reports on time-tracking, seniority, headcount, overtime [S1]
- Implementation: free · a few hours [S7]
- Import export: yes [S2]
- Invitation email link: Einladung per E-Mail mit eindeutigem Link; Annahme fügt Person automatisch dem Recruiting-Team hinzu [S8]
- Invite existing or new members: yes · yes [S8]
- Leave visibility: Vacation days visibility can be toggled via Calendar > Timeline sun icon [S3]
- Legal compliance: yes [S7]
- Mobile access: yes [S6]
- Mobile app: yes [S7]
- Monthly export faq: FAQ behandelt monatlichen Abwesenheitsexport [S6]
- Multiple datev connections: Multiple named DATEV connections are supported [S5]
- One click export: yes [S4]
- Org chart: yes [S2]
- Overtime auto: overtime · holidays · sick_days · vacation_days · yes [S7]
- Overview faq: FAQ behandelt Abwesenheitsübersicht [S6]
- Pay run review: yes [S4]
- Payroll admin: Centralized payroll data platform [S1]
- Payroll capabilities: banking and payroll information · salary, bonus, one-time payments · payroll data export · secure and GDPR compliant · data change alerts · payslips upload and download · timely payroll with pay runs · digital paysheets available 24/7 · sa… [S4]
- Payroll integration: yes · yes [S7]
- Payrun creation: Pay runs created under Payroll > Pay runs with pay period, payment date and approver [S5]
- Platform products: Tellent Recruitee · Tellent HR · Tellent HR \| Manage · Tellent HR \| Grow · Tellent Intelligence [S1]
- Private profile: yes [S2]
- Recruiting team: Recruiting-Teams geben Kolleg:innen Zugriff auf Kandidat:innen einer Stelle zur Zusammenarbeit [S8]
- Regional holidays automatic: yes [S6]
- Reminders: yes [S2]
- Reports uncategorized: Deactivated employees appear as 'Uncategorized' in reports until the following month [S3]
- Salary history overview: yes [S4]
- Self capture mobile: smartphone · tablet · yes [S7]
- Self service data entry: yes [S2]
- Self service payroll details: yes [S4]
- Shared company calendar: yes [S6]
- Suite modules: Tellent Recruitee · Tellent HR · Tellent HR \| Manage · Tellent HR \| Grow · Tellent Intelligence [S2]
- Suite modules: ATS · HRIS · Performance-Management [S6]
- Team notifications: Teammitglieder werden über Updates zur Stelle benachrichtigt [S8]
- Time clock station: yes · yes [S7]
- Time tracking: time tracking with overtime balance and time logs · Clock-In Station terminal for shift/deskless workers [S1]
- Time tracking: Digital time tracking product (Zeiterfassung) [S7]
- Timeboard: Timeboard showing real-time presence and absence of all employees [S7]
- Timesheets: yes · yes [S7]
- Trial: yes · yes [S1]
- Whistleblowing: Whistleblowing with anonymized reports and strict access controls [S1]

**Support**
- Help center: help center · trust center · mobile apps for Recruitee and HR [S1]
- Help center: Help Center offered in support section [S7]
- Trial data: FAQ zum Umgang mit Testphasen-Daten vorhanden [S2]
- Trust center: yes [S2]
- Trust center: Trust Center offered [S7]

## Questions

### Is KiwiHR European?

Not determined: the vendor’s pages as captured do not say where KiwiHR is based.

### Where does KiwiHR store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### Does KiwiHR have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to KiwiHR?

As of 21 Oct 2026, the panel rates [rexx systems (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/rexx-systems), [HRworks (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/hrworks) and [Kenjo (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/kenjo) highest among the other 30 HR Management products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [rexx systems](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/rexx-systems) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [KiwiHR alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/kiwihr/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 10 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 data fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor page: https://www.kiwihr.com (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S2] Digital personnel file & data model — found from sitemap: https://tellent.com/de/hr-manage/digitale-personalakte (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S3] Digital personnel file & data model — found from sitemap: https://support.tellent.com/de/articles/11991035-mitarbeiterdatenmanagement (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S4] Payroll handoff — found from sitemap: https://tellent.com/hr-manage/payroll (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S5] Payroll handoff — found from sitemap: https://support.tellent.com/en/articles/10056902-datev-integration (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S6] Absence & working-time — found from sitemap: https://tellent.com/de/hr-manage/abwesenheitsmanagement (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S7] Absence & working-time — found from sitemap: https://tellent.com/de/hr-manage/zeiterfassung (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S8] Recruiting & onboarding — found from sitemap: https://support.tellent.com/de/articles/10617647-dein-recruiting-team-einrichten (checked 2026-10-13)

---

Cite as: whats-best.ai, "KiwiHR — HR Management", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-21. https://whats-best.ai/software/hr-management/kiwihr

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/714?target=page