ChiefOnboarding
Dutch open-source (AGPLv3) onboarding platform for preboarding and onboarding, self-hostable for free
Quick Overview
| Company | ChiefOnboarding (KvK 67628486) |
|---|---|
| Category | Employee Onboarding |
| Headquarters | The Netherlands |
| EU Presence | EU (Netherlands) |
| Open Source | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free to self-host (€0, community support via GitHub); Support plan €249/month (self-hosted, priority email support), billed annually, excluding taxes |
| Free Option | Free self-hosted edition; no free managed hosting accounts |
| Replaces | Enboarder, BambooHR onboarding, Click Boarding |
Detailed Review
ChiefOnboarding is an employee onboarding platform based in the Netherlands, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under KvK number 67628486. The company describes itself as completely independent and bootstrapped, and its source code is published on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 licence. The website gives no street address or founding year, and the terms of service state that Dutch law governs.
The product works through onboarding blueprints that hold timelines, to-do items, resources and courses, with a preboarding module for the weeks before the start date, a badge rewards system, a Slack bot, and webhooks that can trigger account provisioning. Branding and domain can be customised, and templates can be reused. Data can be exported and imported between a self-hosted and a managed instance.
The Free plan costs €0 and is self-hosted with community support through GitHub issues; the Support plan costs €249 per month, is also self-hosted, and adds priority email support with a response time the vendor puts under two hours. Prices exclude taxes and are billed annually, and there are no free managed accounts. The terms of service do not say where the managed cloud version is hosted, so buyers who choose it should ask.
What ChiefOnboarding does well
- Source code is open under AGPL-3.0, so the platform can be audited and self-hosted
- Free self-hosted edition at €0, with a €249 per month Support plan for priority email help
- Data can move between self-hosted and managed instances, which limits lock-in
- Slack bot and webhooks cover account provisioning without a bespoke integration
Where ChiefOnboarding falls short
- Self-hosting needs an IT team to run it, and the Free plan has community support only
- The terms of service do not state where the managed cloud version is hosted
- No street address or founding year is published on the pages reviewed
- No digital signing or HR system-of-record features are described on the site
Standout feature. The only open-source onboarding platform in this comparison, free to self-host and licensed AGPL-3.0.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Source code is open under AGPL-3.0, so the platform can be audited and self-hosted
- Free self-hosted edition at €0, with a €249 per month Support plan for priority email help
- Data can move between self-hosted and managed instances, which limits lock-in
- Slack bot and webhooks cover account provisioning without a bespoke integration
Cons
- Self-hosting needs an IT team to run it, and the Free plan has community support only
- The terms of service do not state where the managed cloud version is hosted
- No street address or founding year is published on the pages reviewed
- No digital signing or HR system-of-record features are described on the site
Alternatives to ChiefOnboarding
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ChiefOnboarding?
ChiefOnboarding is an employee onboarding platform based in the Netherlands, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under KvK number 67628486. The company describes itself as completely independent and bootstrapped, and its source code is published on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 licence. The website gives no street address or founding year, and the terms of service state that Dutch law governs.
Where is ChiefOnboarding based?
ChiefOnboarding operates from The Netherlands, which places it under EU (Netherlands).
What does ChiefOnboarding cost?
Free to self-host (€0, community support via GitHub); Support plan €249/month (self-hosted, priority email support), billed annually, excluding taxes. Free self-hosted edition; no free managed hosting accounts.
Who is ChiefOnboarding best for?
Teams with IT capacity that want an open-source, self-hosted onboarding tool. The only open-source onboarding platform in this comparison, free to self-host and licensed AGPL-3.0.
What are the drawbacks of ChiefOnboarding?
Self-hosting needs an IT team to run it, and the Free plan has community support only. The terms of service do not state where the managed cloud version is hosted. No street address or founding year is published on the pages reviewed. No digital signing or HR system-of-record features are described on the site.
Is ChiefOnboarding a good alternative to Enboarder?
ChiefOnboarding is built as a European alternative to Enboarder: Dutch open-source (AGPLv3) onboarding platform for preboarding and onboarding, self-hostable for free. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does ChiefOnboarding compare to other Employee Onboarding tools?
ChiefOnboarding is one of several European Employee Onboarding tools we cover. It is most often compared with Enboarder, BambooHR onboarding, Click Boarding.