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 is 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 is 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
- Verified
- 2026-07-31
- Last checked
- 2026-07-31
- Company size
- 200+ employees
Also from Germany
10 other listed companies are based in Germany. In the same categories as Personio:
Other EU startups like Personio
- Leapsome ✓ Verified by EU AltsGermany — People management platform for reviews, OKRs and learning — a German alternative to Lattice.
- Factorial ✓ Verified by EU AltsSpain — All-in-one HR software for SMEs — a Spanish alternative to BambooHR.
- Kenjo ✓ Verified by EU AltsSpain — Intuitive HR software for people management — a European alternative to BambooHR.
- ContractHero ✓ Verified by EU AltsGermany — Contract management software for legal and finance teams — a German alternative to DocuSign CLM.
- Userlike ✓ Verified by EU AltsGermany — GDPR-compliant live chat and messaging for websites — a German alternative to Intercom.
- Softr ✓ Verified by EU AltsGermany — Build web apps and portals from Airtable or Google Sheets — a German no-code alternative to Bubble.
Frequently asked questions
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 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 is 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 is 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.