Pricing
How Dovetail is priced
We do not publish rates, because the number genuinely depends on your size and your scope. What we will tell you up front is exactly how it is charged, what moves it, and who we are not a fit for. You should be able to work out whether this is worth a conversation in about two minutes.
The model
Three things to know before you ask
How you are charged
An annual subscription based on your total employee population, not on the number of HR agents using the system. [CONFIRM]
Employee population
What is included
Quarterly platform updates, standard support, your named CSM, a sandbox environment, and every configuration change your team makes. Forever. [CONFIRM]
No upgrade projects
What is quoted separately
Implementation, scoped and fixed before you sign. Data migration from your current system. Premium support tiers if you want them. [CONFIRM]
Fixed up front
8 months
Payback period, fastest in the category
G2 payback metric for HR case management, against a category average of 14 months.
6 weeks
Actual implementation at a mutual insurer
Quoted 8 to 10 weeks. Their previous system was quoted at 14 weeks and took over a year.
Unlimited
HR users on every plan
Adding HR headcount or opening a new service centre does not change your subscription mid term. [CONFIRM]
Your number
What actually moves the price
Four variables. Nothing else changes your quote.
Employee population
The primary input, priced in bands so growing within a band does not change what you pay mid term. [CONFIRM BANDING]
Primary driver
Modules in scope
Case management is the core. Employee portal, knowledge base, HR Copilot, employee relations and advanced analytics can be taken together or phased.
Modular
Integration scope
Certified Workday and Dayforce connectors are standard. Non standard HCM or third party integrations are scoped separately.
Standard vs custom
Term length
Multi year commitments are priced more favourably than a single year. [CONFIRM POLICY]
Term
Fit
Who we are, and are not, built for
We would rather you found this out here than three calls in. Dovetail is built for organisations running or building a formal HR shared services or HR operations function.
- Best fit above 2,500 employees, and workable from around 1,000 [CONFIRM]
- A defined HR shared services, HR operations or employee relations function
- Not a fit if you want one platform for IT, facilities, finance and HR service desks
- Not a fit if you need a full HRIS or payroll system. We sit alongside those.
Common questions
Why do you not publish rates?
Because a 2,000 employee organisation taking case management only and a 40,000 employee organisation taking the full platform with AI are not comparable, and a single published number would mislead one of them. What we can commit to is that the model above is the whole model. No usage charges, no per case fees, no surprise line items at renewal.
Is it priced per HR user or per employee?
Per employee population. HR users are unlimited on every package, so adding HR headcount or opening a new service centre does not change your subscription mid term. [CONFIRM]
What happens at renewal if our headcount has dropped?
[CONFIRM YOUR TRUE DOWN POLICY. This is one of the first questions enterprise procurement asks and answering it plainly here removes a negotiation cycle later.]
How long does implementation take and what does it cost?
Implementation is scoped and fixed before you sign, so there is no open ended services meter. The standard framework is built around a 12 week project timeline. A leading mutual insurer went live in around 6 weeks.
Do you charge for platform upgrades?
No. Quarterly platform updates are included. There is no upgrade project, no version migration and no associated services cost.
Can we start with one module and add others later?
Yes, and most customers phase it. Case management first, then employee portal and knowledge base once your knowledge content is ready, is a common and sensible sequence.
What are the contract terms?
Annual subscription. Multi year terms are available and priced accordingly. [CONFIRM BILLING FREQUENCY, NOTICE PERIOD AND AUTO RENEWAL]
Get a number in one call
Tell us your employee population and which modules you are considering. You will get a real figure, not a discovery process.