Personio
✓ Verified by EU AltsAll-in-one HR software for SMEs — a European alternative to Workday and BambooHR.
Overview
Personio is a Munich, Germany-based European company building hr saas and saas software since 2015. Despite its EU base, EU Alts has verified that Personio independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Germany, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services) in EU (specific country not further specified), so it may still fall under the reach of the US CLOUD Act — worth weighing against well-known US incumbents on this specific point.
Why European teams pick Personio
Teams in Europe still consider Personio for its hr saas product and Germany presence, operating since 2015, but unlike a fully EU-owned provider, Personio independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Germany, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services) in EU (specific country not further specified) — so it does not fully avoid US CLOUD Act exposure the way some other alternatives to well-known US incumbents do.
See more EU hr saas tools or browse other startups from Germany.
About
Personio is a Munich-based HR platform founded in 2015 and now the leading HR software for European SMEs, with over 10,000 customers across Europe. It covers the full HR lifecycle: recruitment (ATS), onboarding, employee records, absence management, payroll, performance reviews, and reporting. Personio stores all data in German data centres under strict GDPR compliance and is ISO 27001 certified. Its interface is available in German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, and Italian, with built-in compliance for labour law requirements in those markets. Personio is the go-to HRIS for European companies scaling from 10 to 2,000 employees.
Details
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- Munich, Germany
- Ownership
- Independently owned (Germany)
- Hosting
- AWS (Amazon Web Services), EU (specific country not further specified)
- CLOUD Act
- Exposed
- Company size
- 200+ employees
Other EU startups like Personio
- Klang Sweden — Klang turns meetings into searchable knowledge: transcription with speaker ID, summaries and action items. Built in Sweden, ISO 27001:2022 certified.
- Lexio France — French software for professional vehicle rental companies: fleet planning, online booking, digital condition reports, contracts and Factur-X e-invoicing in one tool.
- KSeF Radar Poland — Polish SaaS for monitoring KSeF invoices and keeping accounting workflows under control.
- Ploq The Netherlands — Ploq is EU-built webhook infrastructure: retries, event filtering, and health monitoring, GDPR-compliant end to end. SDKs for Node.js and Java, a WordPress plugin, and a forkable Mac/Windows app for sending and receiving events.
- Git Lisa — Git hosting in Europe
- Postscale — European transactional email and email API platform for sending, receiving, and managing email with privacy-first infrastructure and EU data residency.
Frequently asked questions
What is Personio?
Personio is a Munich-based HR platform founded in 2015 and now the leading HR software for European SMEs, with over 10,000 customers across Europe. It covers the full HR lifecycle: recruitment (ATS), onboarding, employee records, absence management, payroll, performance reviews, and reporting. Personio stores all data in German data centres under strict GDPR compliance and is ISO 27001 certified. Its interface is available in German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, and Italian, with built-in compliance for labour law requirements in those markets. Personio is the go-to HRIS for European companies scaling from 10 to 2,000 employees.
What does Personio do?
Personio is all-in-one hr software for smes — a european alternative to workday and bamboohr. It is listed under hr saas and saas on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European hr saas tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from well-known US incumbents.
Is Personio a good European hr saas alternative?
Personio is a fit for European businesses evaluating hr saas options where data residency and GDPR alignment matter — typical buyers include EU-based SaaS teams, public-sector projects, regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), and any organisation that needs to demonstrate that customer data does not leave the EU. It also overlaps with saas use cases.
Is Personio GDPR compliant?
Personio is headquartered in Munich, Germany and processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by Germany's data protection authority, the Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit (BfDI). However, EU Alts has verified that Personio independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Germany, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services) in EU (specific country not further specified), which means — unlike a fully EU-owned provider — it may still be reachable under the US CLOUD Act, similar to well-known US incumbents in that respect.
How do teams switch from well-known US incumbents to Personio?
Teams evaluating a move from well-known US incumbents to Personio should note: Personio independently owned, with its ultimate ownership based in Germany, and hosts customer data with AWS (Amazon Web Services) in EU (specific country not further specified), so this switch narrows but may not fully close the US CLOUD Act gap. Weigh that against the hr saas workflow fit before treating it as a complete Schrems II fix.
Where is Personio based?
Personio is headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company was founded in 2015. Its main website is https://www.personio.com.