If you’ve been relying on Freshteam for your people data management, you’ve most likely heard the news: Freshworks will no longer renew any accounts, and product renewals will be halted in March 2026, with the full shutdown set for April 2027.
For HR teams across the UAE and the wider Gulf, that means the search for a proper Freshteam HR alternative has become a must-answer this quarter.
The challenge is that most offerings in the market today were developed for the US or the UK, not for compliance and cultural considerations in the Gulf region.
WPS payroll files, end-of-service gratuity calculations, GOSI and pension contributions, and multilingual employee experiences in Arabic and English.
But before you sign anything, it is helpful to know what best core HR software should do in a GCC world, and which platforms genuinely deliver it.
It’s time to understand what to look for, why Freshteam is sunsetting, and which Freshteam HR alternatives to consider for your business if it is in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or the region.
Ensaan Technologies, a regional HR technology provider, this migration question always arises, and the shortlist typically narrows to a few platforms built with Gulf compliance in mind.
Freshteam HR Alternatives Worth Comparing in the GCC
Here are a few platforms that frequently surface in these types of comparisons for the GCC, so here’s a brief overview of each.
1) PeoplesHR
PeoplesHR has supported more than 1,600 HR departments across 40 countries and 20 industries over 26 years.
In the GCC alone, it has won the trust of more than 500 organizations, and that’s through actual deployments in the region.
PeoplesHR is the best Freshteam HR alternative in the GCC region, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, tackling every essential gap head-on.
Payroll is native and GCC-compliant, offering WPS and SIF processing for the UAE, GCC integration with GOSI and Mudad in Saudi Arabia, EOSB calculations, multi-currency payroll, and statutory compliance across 40 countries.
All work is done within the platform itself, not via a 3rd-party add-on.
It’s worth noting that the mobile app is available in 15 languages, and that many frontline workers don’t have English as their first language.
AI capabilities include PeoplesHR’s intelligent HR agent, Lexi, which can answer common employee questions, provide predictive employee retention analysis, and automatically create AI-driven job descriptions.
The PeoplesHR versus ZingHR comparison breaks down how this AI layer actually functions in a GCC context, if you want a deeper look.
Attendance dashboards are simply a small enough sample of what analytics can achieve.
Real-time cockpit views, workforce planning reports, and predictive data provide HR leadership with the visibility that Freshteam’s base reporting never aimed for.
An organization’s commitment to data residency as a governance rule can be met through regional cloud hosting in the Middle East or through deployment in SaaS, on-premises, or private cloud.
2) Adrenalin
Adrenalin is designed for organizations seeking more HR transformation.
It’s MAX HCM suite includes recruitment, workforce management, payroll, talent, engagement, learning, and analytics, all within a single composable platform.
Adrenalin is a top Freshteam HR alternative for enterprise-level businesses in the GCC region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, offering more practical features than Freshteam.
HR queries like leave requests and payroll information, as well as employee interactions, can be done through natural language with Sara, Adrenalin’s AI-powered chatbot.
And it can be integrated with tools such as Microsoft Teams, so employees don’t need to log in to a separate HR system for routine requests.
More than 300 built-in reports deliver real-time talent data directly connected to productivity, performance, and workforce tenure for HR leaders.
Payroll compliance spans multiple countries in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa, with direct data uploads to government portals, thereby covering the same workflows that UAE and Saudi businesses face during payroll cycles.
When facilities have shift workers who can’t be managed by a smartphone alone, attendance integration facilitates accurate payroll entry via biometric devices.
For organizations managing HR across multiple entities, business lines, or regional offices, Adrenalin’s configurable organization structure handles complexity in a way that Freshteam’s simpler org chart tool was never designed to match
Additionally, the platform offers flexible licensing models, such as perpetual, SaaS, and on-premises software rental, catering to businesses with procurement policies regarding subscription or owned software.
You can read more about how core HR and payroll systems like Adrenalin are structured for the GCC on the solution page.
3) Bayzat
Bayzat targets SMEs and integrates payroll, HR, and employee insurance management through a single platform.
It’s expanded its footprint in the UAE and does a fairly good job of managing WPS compliance for smaller companies.
It gets less suitable when an organization requires multi-country operations, extensive talent management, or in-depth reporting.
4) Zoho People
If a company is already using other Zoho products, Zoho People’s seamless integration and competitive pricing make it a great choice for smaller teams.
However, its depth of information and compliance features around payroll are less robust than those of a dedicated HCM platform, in a GCC-specific context.
5) GulfHR
GulfHR is built specifically for the Middle East, which means it starts from a regional compliance foundation rather than adapting a global product after the fact.
Its key features are leave management, attendance tracking, and payroll compliance.
Its integration capabilities are not as extensive as those of enterprise platforms, which is relevant when HR data must align with broader business applications.
All of these can be sufficient, depending on the company’s size and aspirations.
Still, for a company that wants something done natively and not patchily, while maintaining compliance with UAE payroll, they tend to fall behind compared to platforms built for the UAE.
Why Are Businesses Looking for a Freshteam HR Alternative Right Now?
Freshteam was a good choice for smaller teams looking for a solution that offered ATS and basic HR systems in one package.
Simple, cheap, and it worked for a company with a small number of casually employed employees.
However, with Freshworks new focus on other areas, existing clients are compelled to migrate, and it is not just a data export issue.
Commonly cited limitations that UAE users encounter when seeking Freshteam HR alternatives are the lack of native payroll processing and a lack of more advanced customization options for complex approval hierarchies.
Top HR challenges facing GCC companies consistently point to workflow rigidity as one of the biggest friction points when organizations here try to scale on Western-first platforms.
Factor in the lack of WPS compliance, GOSI integration, and EOSB automation, and the need for a proper Freshteam HR alternative becomes apparent very soon.
What Should a Freshteam HR Alternative Actually Cover for UAE Companies?
It is easy to compare platforms if there is agreement on what the replacement actually has to do.
But a proper Freshteam HR alternative for a UAE business should come with out-of-the-box compliance features of GCC payroll, salary processing in UAE WPS and SIF, EOSB calculations, and multi-currency payroll.
It must provide a proper Arabic UI and not a language switch button on the home page. Whether they’re sitting at a desk or working a shift at the hotel or the warehouse, employees should be able to self-serve from wherever they are.
HR leadership needs real analytics, not just exported spreadsheets.
It also has to be introduced by a team that is familiar with UAE labor law, not by a vendor who treats the GCC as a secondary market. Now, let’s look at the options and how they compare.
Why Does the Implementation Partner Matter as Much as the Platform?
Choosing the right Freshteam alternative for HR is just half the decision.
What that platform means in your organization, how data gets moved, how workflows are set up, and what support is like six months post go-live are just as important as the features.
For almost a decade now, Ensaan Technologies has been successfully working on HR and payroll solutions in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, specifically.
The implementation services team implements the services in a structured, data-driven way: Existing processes are mapped first before anything is configured.
Data from previous platforms, such as employee records, leave history, and payroll data, is migrated smoothly with no data loss.
These support services are then ongoing, and a 24/7 bilingual support in English and Arabic is included.
It turns out that regional differences affect the results in real life.
A platform set up with a team that has first-hand experience with the UAE’s labor law in the context of real payroll cycles, how WPS submissions operate, and how a Dubai-based multi-entity business manages HR approvals works effectively from day one.
For a broader view of how this plays out, HR management across the UAE, KSA, and Qatar, and the comparison of integrated HR and payroll platforms in the UAE, are worth reading before you commit to any platform.
Is It Time to Move Beyond Freshteam for Your UAE Business?
If your business has grown past basic hiring workflows and needs payroll that actually works with UAE labour law, HR analytics that give leadership real strategic visibility, and a platform backed by a team that has done this hundreds of times across the GCC.
Then the search for a better Freshteam HR alternative is not just worth starting. It is overdue.
Both PeoplesHR and Adrenalin, implemented and supported by Ensaan Technologies, are designed with the real operations of the business in mind, here in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the wider U.A.E.
If you wish to look at the whole picture, start with the best HR software overview for businesses in Dubai, or talk directly with the team.
Schedule a free consultation to determine which platform best fits your business needs, or contact Ensaan directly to discuss your unique needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) What is the best Freshteam HR alternative for a UAE business?
People’s HR, implemented with Ensaan Technologies, is the most powerful Freshteam HR alternative for most organizations in the UAE.
It includes full employee lifecycle management, native GCC payroll, mobile self-service, and AI-powered analytics, all on one platform.
2) Does Freshteam support WPS payroll compliance in the UAE?
No, Freshteam is not a native payroll system; it integrates with third-party payroll systems to process salaries.
3) Is PeoplesHR or Adrenalin better for a growing UAE company?
People’s HR is more suitable for most companies that are seeking a fully integrated, GCC-compliant HR and payroll system.
Adrenalin is best for companies seeking a more sweeping HR transformation.
4) Can PeoplesHR or Adrenalin replace Freshteam entirely?
Yes. They’re both all-encompassing HRIS platforms that offer an alternative to Freshteam.
5) How long does it take to switch from Freshteam to a new HR platform?
The usual time to implement structured implementation and data migration is a few weeks to a few months.
Ensaan’s implementation services include migration planning from the outset to minimize disruption.
