Migrate your OrangeHRM data
Open-source HRMS with a free Starter tier for small teams and a paid Advanced tier for growing organizations needing payroll and performance management modules.
In its favor
Why people choose OrangeHRM
The signal that keeps OrangeHRM on the shortlist. Sourced from G2, Capterra, and customer scoping calls.
Generous free Starter tier lets organizations trial full HR functionality before committing, validating fit against real employee data without per-seat costs.
Highly customizable workflows and user interface allow mid-market teams to adapt the system to their specific HR processes rather than rebuilding outside it.
International deployment with multi-language support serves global teams across Latin America, EMEA, and APAC operating in their native languages.
Active open-source community produces plugins and integrations that extend the base platform beyond its out-of-box module set.
Per-employee-per-month pricing on Advanced tier scales predictably for growing companies without large upfront capital expenditure.
Starter tier lacks an integrated timesheet module, forcing teams to manually track time or pay for a third-party tool to fill the gap.
Initial setup is complex for non-technical administrators; configuration across PIM fields, modules, and custom workflows requires significant time investment.
Email and notification systems are weak out of the box, requiring additional configuration or plugins to deliver reliable alerts to employees and managers.
Customer service scores lag competitors — multiple reviews cite slow or unhelpful support responses as a pain point on both Starter and Advanced tiers.
Platform struggles to scale cleanly past 200 employees without significant customization overhead, pushing growing teams toward enterprise HRMS platforms.
Reasons to switch
Why people leave OrangeHRM
The recurring reasons buyers give for replacing OrangeHRM. Presented as facts, not knocks.
Platform scorecard
Strengths, weaknesses, and where OrangeHRM fits
Grades across six dimensions, plus a SWOT-style view of where the platform shines and where it falls short.
SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, and use-case fit
Strengths
Weaknesses
Where it works
Where it struggles
Pricing tiers
OrangeHRM pricing overview
OrangeHRM uses a two-tier model: Starter is free and open-source with no per-employee cost, while Advanced is sold on a PEPM (per-employee-per-month) basis with estimated ranges of $1.25–$9 PEPM depending on module selection and contract terms. Pricing is opaque — both tiers require contacting sales or a consultant for a formal quote rather than publishing list prices.
Starter (Open Source)
Tier 1 of 2
Free
What's included
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What gets migrated
OrangeHRM object support
Object-by-object support for OrangeHRM migrations. Per-pair details surface during scoping.
Employees
Fully supportedThe core PIM (Personal Information Module) object. Standard fields (name, DOB, contact, job title, supervisor) map 1:1 to any destination HRMS. Custom fields added at the employee level are preserved as additional columns in our export. Employee ID is used as the primary key across all related objects.
Custom Fields (Employee Level)
Mapping requiredOrangeHRM allows custom fields on the Employee screen. We extract these as flat key-value pairs per employee. Naming and data types must be reconciled against the destination's custom field schema, which varies significantly between HRMS platforms.
Leave Entitlements and Requests
Mapping requiredLeave module stores entitlements by leave type and employee. We export leave balances and pending/approved request records. Leave type naming conventions differ between platforms; we normalize these to standard types (Annual, Sick, etc.) during transformation.
Attendance Records
Mapping requiredPunch-in/punch-out records and attendance summaries are available. We extract the attendance snapshot per employee per period. Some OrangeHRM editions store raw punch data differently; we normalize timestamps to UTC before loading.
Performance Reviews
Mapping requiredPerformance module holds review cycles, ratings, and reviewer assignments. We map these to the destination's performance appraisal schema. Goal/competency data requires custom field mapping as naming conventions differ.
Candidates and Recruitment
Mapping requiredRecruitment module stores candidate records, vacancy associations, and application status history. We export candidate profiles and their linked vacancy. Status pipelines must be reconciled against the destination's stage naming.
Onboarding and Offboarding Tasks
Mapping requiredTask types and individual task assignments can be exported via CSV on Starter. On Advanced, ESB/API access allows bulk task export. We preserve task type definitions and completion status per employee as part of the offboarding record.
Job Vacancies and Positions
Mapping requiredVacancy records include title, description, hiring manager, and status. We export vacancies and their associated job specifications. Active vs. closed vacancy status must be set explicitly in the destination.
Organization Structure (Reporting Lines)
Mapping requiredSupervisor-employee relationships define the org chart. We extract direct-report mappings and reconstruct the hierarchy in the destination. Sub-department and cost center assignments require field-level reconciliation.
Work Schedules
Mapping requiredVersion 7.13 introduced structured Work Schedules. We extract schedule assignments per employee and per work week. Shift pattern definitions must be mapped to the destination's scheduling model.
Users and Admin Roles
Not in this platformUser accounts and system admin role assignments are considered system configuration rather than HR data. These are not migrated; they are recreated in the destination platform post-migration with equivalent permissions.
Documents
Mapping requiredEmployee document uploads (contracts, ID scans, certifications) are stored as file references. We export document metadata and provide a file copy package. Document content is transferred as a separate binary bundle; file type and naming conventions are preserved.
| Object | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Fully supported | The core PIM (Personal Information Module) object. Standard fields (name, DOB, contact, job title, supervisor) map 1:1 to any destination HRMS. Custom fields added at the employee level are preserved as additional columns in our export. Employee ID is used as the primary key across all related objects. |
| Custom Fields (Employee Level) | Mapping required | OrangeHRM allows custom fields on the Employee screen. We extract these as flat key-value pairs per employee. Naming and data types must be reconciled against the destination's custom field schema, which varies significantly between HRMS platforms. |
| Leave Entitlements and Requests | Mapping required | Leave module stores entitlements by leave type and employee. We export leave balances and pending/approved request records. Leave type naming conventions differ between platforms; we normalize these to standard types (Annual, Sick, etc.) during transformation. |
| Attendance Records | Mapping required | Punch-in/punch-out records and attendance summaries are available. We extract the attendance snapshot per employee per period. Some OrangeHRM editions store raw punch data differently; we normalize timestamps to UTC before loading. |
| Performance Reviews | Mapping required | Performance module holds review cycles, ratings, and reviewer assignments. We map these to the destination's performance appraisal schema. Goal/competency data requires custom field mapping as naming conventions differ. |
| Candidates and Recruitment | Mapping required | Recruitment module stores candidate records, vacancy associations, and application status history. We export candidate profiles and their linked vacancy. Status pipelines must be reconciled against the destination's stage naming. |
| Onboarding and Offboarding Tasks | Mapping required | Task types and individual task assignments can be exported via CSV on Starter. On Advanced, ESB/API access allows bulk task export. We preserve task type definitions and completion status per employee as part of the offboarding record. |
| Job Vacancies and Positions | Mapping required | Vacancy records include title, description, hiring manager, and status. We export vacancies and their associated job specifications. Active vs. closed vacancy status must be set explicitly in the destination. |
| Organization Structure (Reporting Lines) | Mapping required | Supervisor-employee relationships define the org chart. We extract direct-report mappings and reconstruct the hierarchy in the destination. Sub-department and cost center assignments require field-level reconciliation. |
| Work Schedules | Mapping required | Version 7.13 introduced structured Work Schedules. We extract schedule assignments per employee and per work week. Shift pattern definitions must be mapped to the destination's scheduling model. |
| Users and Admin Roles | Not in this platform | User accounts and system admin role assignments are considered system configuration rather than HR data. These are not migrated; they are recreated in the destination platform post-migration with equivalent permissions. |
| Documents | Mapping required | Employee document uploads (contracts, ID scans, certifications) are stored as file references. We export document metadata and provide a file copy package. Document content is transferred as a separate binary bundle; file type and naming conventions are preserved. |
Gotchas
What to watch for in OrangeHRM migrations
Issues we've hit on past OrangeHRM migrations, tagged by severity. FlitStack AI handles every one — surfacing them up front because buyer engineering teams want to know.
API access is Advanced-tier only
PHP max_execution_time blocks upgrades and imports on XAMPP
Timesheet module absent in Starter tier
Leave type normalization required across platforms
Onboarding task bulk upload requires Gold Support contact
| Severity | Issue |
|---|---|
| High | API access is Advanced-tier only |
| Medium | PHP max_execution_time blocks upgrades and imports on XAMPP |
| Medium | Timesheet module absent in Starter tier |
| Low | Leave type normalization required across platforms |
| Low | Onboarding task bulk upload requires Gold Support contact |
Leaving OrangeHRM?
Where OrangeHRM customers move next
5 destinations OrangeHRM can migrate to.
How a OrangeHRM migration works
Four steps, OrangeHRM-specific
Connect
Bearer token into OrangeHRM. Scopes limited to read-only on the data we move.
Map
We translate OrangeHRM-specific structures (custom fields, objects, value lists) to the destination's model.
Sample
Test with a 50–200 record subset to validate OrangeHRM quirks before production.
Migrate
Full migration with OrangeHRM rate-limit handling. Rollback available throughout.
FAQ
OrangeHRM migration FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during OrangeHRM migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
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