# Deel vs Horilla HR (2026): Free Alternative to Deel

Canonical: https://caniforkit.com/vs/deel-vs-horilla-hr
Last updated: 2026-08-11

Compare Deel ($49/mo) vs Horilla HR ($0/mo open source LGPL-2.1 alternative to Deel). Side-by-side breakdown of pricing, self-hosting setup, data storage, and practical trade-offs.

## Side-by-Side Comparison Matrix

| Feature / Metric | Deel | Horilla HR |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $49/mo | $0.00 / month |
| 1-Seat Annual Cost | $588/yr | $0.00 / year |
| 5-Person Team Annual Cost | $2,940/yr | $0.00 / year |
| 10-Person Team Annual Cost | $5,880/yr | $0.00 / year |
| License Model | Proprietary Commercial SaaS | LGPL-2.1 |
| Hosting / Runtime | Vendor Cloud | Self-host |
| Data Ownership | Stored on vendor servers | HR records in PostgreSQL by default, with uploaded media on server storage or optional Google Cloud Storage |
| GitHub Stars | Closed Source | ★ 1.4k |
| Code Repository | None | https://github.com/horilla/horilla-hr |
| The Catch / Trade-off | Recurring subscription cost | It has no employer-of-record, country compliance or money-movement service, and the HR server is yours to run. |

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

- **Installation**: Clone the stable 2.0 branch and run docker-compose up -d; a manual Django setup is also documented
- **Setup Notes**: Docker and production configuration: database credentials, secret key, allowed hosts, HTTPS, backups and mail remain the operator's job
- **Data Storage**: HR records in PostgreSQL by default, with uploaded media on server storage or optional Google Cloud Storage
- **Supported Platforms**: web, self-hosted, docker to self-host
- **The Catch vs Deel**: It has no employer-of-record, country compliance or money-movement service, and the HR server is yours to run.

## Cost Savings Breakdown
Switching from Deel to Horilla HR eliminates ongoing per-seat subscriptions:
- **Solo / 1-seat**: Save **$588/year**
- **5-person team**: Save **$2,940/year**
- **10-person team**: Save **$5,880/year**

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is Horilla HR a good free alternative to Deel?
Yes. Horilla HR is a verified open source (LGPL-2.1) replacement for Deel. Hire-to-leave HR in Docker; free forever means you own the updates and backups.

### What is the catch when switching from Deel to Horilla HR?
It has no employer-of-record, country compliance or money-movement service, and the HR server is yours to run.

## Related

- [All Deel Alternatives](https://caniforkit.com/deel)
- [Horilla HR Full Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/horilla-hr)
- [hr Category Hub](https://caniforkit.com/category/hr)
- [All Paid SaaS Alternatives Index](https://caniforkit.com/alternatives)