Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment gives a vendor more visibility, higher up on the review pages; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in leave management software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 14 tools, reviewed
#1 Timetastic
Staff leave calendar with approvals and rotas · United Kingdom · timetastic.co.uk
Shared calendar Low price Rota option
Timetastic is the tool to try first when the real problem is a manager who cannot see who is off next week. Unlimited users and departments, allowance records, approvals and a calendar come in the cheapest plan, and the Pro plan adds absence trends and company-wide reports for HR.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Published at $1.50 (Business) and $2.50 (Pro) per user per month on the page checked, $5.50 for Rota & Time Clock, with a 30-day trial and no card. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Offices wanting simple holiday tracking
- Strengths: Shared team calendar; Holiday allowance records; Approvals.
Where it falls short
Some controls are not finished: the plan comparison marks maximum-absent limits and locked dates as coming soon, and booking limits per leave type raise alerts only, not hard stops.
Wrong for
Companies that need hard blocks on overlapping leave, accruals on every plan or US statutory leave cases.
Visit Timetastic →
#2 Leave Dates
Leave planner with wall chart and year chart · United Kingdom · leavedates.com
Lowest entry price Wall chart Hour allowances
Leave Dates gives a small company the full leave model for pennies per head: unlimited employees and leave types, allowances in days or hours, pro-rating, carry-over and approvers on every plan. The wall chart and year chart are the best view in this list of who is away across a quarter.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Three tiers (Starter, Essential, Plus) starting at £0.75 per user per month, exclusive of VAT, with a 30-day free trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small firms and agencies tracking leave
- Strengths: Allowances in days or hours; Pro-rating for starters and leavers; Bank holidays for 230+ countries.
Where it falls short
The entry tier lacks calendar sync and overlap checks, which most managers want, so many teams will pay for Essential. SSO and API access need Plus.
Wrong for
Shift-based businesses or firms wanting leave inside a wider HR record.
Visit Leave Dates →
#3 Vacation Tracker
Time-off tracking that lives in Slack and Teams · Canada · vacationtracker.io
Slack and Teams Location policies Automations
Vacation Tracker is built for companies where nobody wants another login. Employees ask for leave in Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace, approvers answer there, and daily notifications tell the channel who is out.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Core at $2 and Complete at $4 per user per month, with a $50 and $100 monthly minimum, and a 14-day trial without a card. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Chat-first teams wanting approvals in channels
- Strengths: Leave requests in Slack and Teams; Location-specific leave policies; Multi-level approvals.
Where it falls short
The monthly minimum means a six-person team pays the same as a twenty-five-person one on Core. Core is capped at three locations and ten departments.
Wrong for
Companies that need leave tied to payroll, contracts or documents in one HR system, and teams that do not use Slack or Teams.
Visit Vacation Tracker →
#4 absence.io
German leave and time tracking platform · Germany · absence.io
EU-hosted Seven languages Monthly cancel
absence.io started in 2014 as a leave tracker and still treats leave as the foundation of every plan. Pro adds time tracking and Complete adds expense and travel management, so a company can grow into more without switching.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Starter €2.99, Pro €4.99 and Complete €7.99 per user per month, cancellable monthly, with a free trial that needs no payment details. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: European SMEs wanting EU-hosted leave tracking
- Strengths: Leave and absence tracking; Time tracking; Digital personnel file.
Where it falls short
Public information on approval workflows and per-location policies is thinner than for Calamari or Vacation Tracker, so confirm both in the trial.
Wrong for
US employers with statutory-leave duties, or companies wanting a full HR suite with recruiting and performance.
Visit absence.io →
#5 Calamari
Modular HR system with a strong time-off module · Poland · calamari.io
Modular Multi-country policies Accrual rules
Calamari's Time Off module is the most configurable of the dedicated options. It allows unlimited absence types, separate policies per contract type, different public holiday calendars for branches or countries in one account, entitlement calculated from accrual rules, and automatic carry-over. Requests can carry a substitute, a reason and attachments.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Per-employee prices per module (Time Off, Time & Attendance, Core HR, Performance, Scheduling), with a lower rate billed yearly and a 14-day trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Multi-country teams needing flexible leave rules
- Strengths: Unlimited absence types; Multi-country absence policies; Accrual-based entitlement.
Where it falls short
Adding time tracking, core HR and scheduling multiplies the per-employee cost, and SAML sign-on is a paid add-on. Its interface assumes an admin who enjoys configuration.
Wrong for
Companies wanting a quick, opinionated tool with no configuration, or those who want everything in one price.
Visit Calamari →
#6 Kenjo
Berlin HR platform with absence and shift planning · Germany · kenjo.io
HR suite DATEV option Shift planning
Kenjo manages vacation requests, sick days and other absences inside an HR platform that also covers shift planning, documents, workflows, reporting and, on the Growth plan, e-signature, a kiosk app and labor-law non-compliance alerts. It publishes both plan prices, and a calculator shows a monthly total.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Starter at €6 and Growth at €10 per employee per month on the page checked, with a free trial, paid onboarding from €400 and add-ons such as recruiting at €249 a month. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: European SMEs wanting HR and absence together
- Strengths: Absence management; Shift planning; Document management.
Where it falls short
Leave alone costs two to three times the dedicated tools, and the price list contains many add-ons and one-off fees, including onboarding. Several features, such as workflows and APIs, sit in Growth.
Wrong for
A team that only needs a leave calendar and nothing else.
Visit Kenjo →
#7 Humaans
Modern HR platform for growing international companies · United Kingdom · humaans.io
HRIS Remote teams Quote only
Humaans suits a growing company that wants leave, records and documents in one tidy system without the weight of an enterprise suite. Time off is part of the core product, with employee self-service and approvals, and the product is designed for companies with staff in several countries.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote-based pricing across Growth and Enterprise plans; some modules are paid add-ons and a free trial is offered. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Remote and international tech teams
- Strengths: Time off and absence; Employee records; Documents.
Where it falls short
There is no public price list, so comparing totals needs a sales call, and performance reviews, headcount planning and the AI companion are paid add-ons.
Wrong for
Teams of under 20 wanting a calendar and nothing more, or retail and shift-based employers.
Visit Humaans →
#8 Factorial
Barcelona HR suite with time off, time tracking and payroll · Spain · factorialhr.com
HR suite Modular Spanish payroll
Factorial's pitch is breadth: leave, attendance, documents, payroll in some countries, recruiting and performance from one Barcelona vendor. Its time-off module covers requests, approvals, balances and calendars, and the page publishes a starting price of $8 per user per month, which is more than the dedicated tools but covers more ground.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Starts at $8 per user per month on the page checked. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Growing SMEs buying an HR suite
- Strengths: Time off management; Time tracking; Employee records.
Where it falls short
The $8 figure is a starting point; the quote depends on modules, and the page offers no tier table to compare.
Wrong for
Small offices wanting only holiday tracking, and US-heavy companies, where Factorial's payroll coverage thins out.
Visit Factorial →
#9 Zoho People
Zoho's HR system with leave, attendance and shifts · India · zoho.com
Free tier Zoho ecosystem Configurable
Zoho People earns a place for companies already on Zoho CRM, Books or Zoho One, where leave data sits next to everything else the company runs. It supports multiple leave types, holiday lists and approvals, together with attendance, shifts and timesheets, which suits mixed office and factory staff.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Tiered per-user plans with a free plan for small teams as described in earlier checks of the Zoho site. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Budget teams already using Zoho apps
- Strengths: Leave tracking; Attendance and shifts; Timesheets.
Where it falls short
The settings are many and the interface is denser than Timetastic or Vacation Tracker, so employees may need a short walk-through. Leave policy setup needs an administrator comfortable with workflows.
Wrong for
Companies that want a five-minute leave tool or that dislike configuring forms.
Visit Zoho People →
#10 Planday
Shift scheduling with leave and absence · Denmark · planday.com
Shift teams Labor cost Payroll prep
Planday approaches leave from the rota.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Starter from £2.99 per user per month with a five-user minimum, leave and absence management in the Plus plan, Pro on quote, and a 30-day free trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Hospitality and retail teams with rotas
- Strengths: Shift scheduling; Leave and absence management; Time tracking.
Where it falls short
Anyone who needs leave management pays for the middle plan, plus the five-user minimum, and the pricing page is partly rendered client-side, so total costs need a sales check.
Wrong for
An office with salaried staff and no shifts, where rotas are wasted spend.
Visit Planday →
#11 AbsenceSoft
Leave of absence and accommodations case management · United States · absencesoft.com
FMLA Accommodations TPA option
AbsenceSoft handles leave as a legal process. Its compliance engine tracks more than 200 federal, state and territorial leave and accommodation laws, including FMLA, the ADA and the PWFA, calculates eligibility, generates paperwork packets, follows intermittent use and stacks concurrent leaves.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only: pricing is discussed after a demo with a leave specialist, and no public price list was found. Free plan: none.
- Best for: US employers handling FMLA and state leave
- Strengths: Federal and state leave rules; Eligibility calculation; Intermittent leave tracking.
Where it falls short
There is no public price, and the demo process points to enterprise buying. Ordinary holiday booking is not its focus, so a team calendar for annual leave is better handled elsewhere.
Wrong for
Any company outside the United States, or one with no statutory leave cases.
Visit AbsenceSoft →
#12 Personio
Munich HR and payroll suite for mid-sized companies · Germany · personio.com
Major vendor Quote only European payroll
Personio is where a European company of 50 to 500 people goes when the leave spreadsheet is the first of five problems. Its absence module connects to employee records, contracts, documents and payroll, so a vacation balance and a salary calculation come from the same person record.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote-based per-employee pricing across tiers, with recruiting, performance and payroll as extras, and a free trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Mid-sized European firms replacing their HR stack
- Strengths: Absence management; Employee records; Document management.
Where it falls short
Pricing is by quote and aimed at companies that buy more than leave; the setup involves a project with the vendor.
Wrong for
Small teams or any buyer needing only leave.
Visit Personio →
#13 HiBob
HR platform for mid-sized, fast-growing companies · United Kingdom · hibob.com
Major vendor Quote only Multi-country
HiBob, usually written Bob, manages time off as one of several modules around a central employee record. Companies running offices in several countries use its policies per location, holiday calendars and approval flows to keep leave consistent while respecting local rules.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote-based per-employee pricing, with core HR and modules such as performance, compensation and payroll packaged separately. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Mid-market companies standardizing HR across countries
- Strengths: Time off; Core HR; Org chart.
Where it falls short
Pricing is quote-only and bundled, with no public entry price.
Wrong for
Companies with under 50 employees or only a leave requirement.
Visit HiBob →
#14 BambooHR
US small-business HR system with time-off tracking · United States · bamboohr.com
Major vendor US-centric HR record
BambooHR is a US HR record first and a time-off tool second. Employees see balances and request leave from a calendar, managers approve, and the data sits next to onboarding, documents and reports. Its HR assistant can answer questions about PTO and holidays from company data.
- Pricing: Per employee / month. Core $10, Pro $17 and Elite $25 per employee per month on the page checked (marked with an asterisk), with quotes after a form. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: US small and mid-sized employers wanting one HR record
- Strengths: Time-off tracking; Employee records; Onboarding.
Where it falls short
Per-employee pricing is several times that of a dedicated leave tool, and the price page asks for a quote form.
Wrong for
Non-US companies, firms of under 25 people wanting only a calendar, and legal teams handling FMLA cases.
Visit BambooHR →
Questions and answers
What is the best leave management software in 2026?
Timetastic ranks first of 14, best for offices wanting simple holiday tracking. Leave Dates is second (small firms and agencies tracking leave) and Vacation Tracker third (chat-first teams wanting approvals in channels). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
How much does leave management software cost?
Dedicated tools start between £0.75 and $2.50 per user per month.
Do I need a separate leave tool if I already have an HR system?
Often not. Personio, HiBob, BambooHR, Factorial and Zoho People all include time off, with approvals and balances.
Can leave software handle part-time staff and mid-year starters?
Yes, in all the products here that publish their features, but the method varies. Leave Dates states that it pro-rates allowances for starters and leavers and tracks allowances in days or hours.
How do public holidays work across several countries?
The tool needs one holiday calendar per location and a way to assign each employee to it.
Is leave management software the same as absence management software?
The words overlap. Leave management usually means planned time off such as holidays, while absence management also covers unplanned absence, sickness and return-to-work follow-up, often with reports like the Bradford Factor.
Can employees request leave from Slack or Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Vacation Tracker is built around requests and approvals inside Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace.
What happens to unused leave at the end of the year?
That is a policy you configure, not a default. Tools in this ranking support carry-over of unused days, usually with a cap and an expiry, and Calamari lists automatic carry-over of unused entitlement.
Does leave software connect to payroll?
Direct payroll connections are less common than calendar and chat integrations. Timetastic lists Sage 50 and QuickBooks, Vacation Tracker lists an ADP integration, and Kenjo sells a one-time DATEV integration service for payroll in Germany.
How long does it take to switch leave management software?
For a small team with a clean export, a day. The work is loading opening balances, matching approvers and importing booked future leave, which should be done close to a leave-year boundary so balances reset cleanly.
When should a company choose a statutory leave system like AbsenceSoft?
When leave arrives as cases, not requests: FMLA, state paid family and medical leave, ADA accommodations, intermittent leave and concurrent entitlements. AbsenceSoft states it tracks more than 200 federal and state leave and accommodation laws.
