The best absence management software of 2026

Timetastic is the tool to hand a manager who still tracks vacation days in a spreadsheet. Staff request time off from the web or the mobile app, a manager approves it with one tap, and everyone sees the same calendar of who's off. It's a UK company, so the site talks about "holiday" and "rota", but visitors outside the UK and Ireland see US dollar prices.

When we checked on November 4, 2026, there were three plans, priced per user per month and billed monthly:

• Business, $1.50: leave approvals, the shared calendar, allowance records, leave accruals, the mobile app, and connections to Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Sage 50 and QuickBooks.
• Pro, $2.50: adds absence trend reports, company-wide absence reports and the Burnout Board with risk alerts.
• Rota & Time Clock, $5.50: adds shift scheduling, clock-in and timesheets on top of leave.

There is no minimum term, and the 30-day trial needs no card. Charities, certified B Corps and NHS trusts get 50% off.

Choose it if you want a leave planner your team understands on the first day and a bill that stays small as you hire. If your leave rules differ by country or need several approvers, compare Calamari and Vacation Tracker's Complete plan, which both list those features.

Vacation Tracker puts leave requests where your team already talks. People ask for time off in Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace, managers approve in the same place, and the iOS and Android apps cover anyone away from their desk. The price is the same whichever chat tool you use.

Two plans were listed on November 4, 2026, both per user per month on monthly billing:

• Core, $2, with a $50 monthly minimum that covers up to 25 users: up to 3 locations and 10 departments, full and half days, a single approver, on-demand reports and an iCal shared calendar.
• Complete, $4, with a $100 monthly minimum: hourly leave, multi-level approvals with substitutes, accruals, time off in lieu, blackout periods, limits on how many people can be away, direct Google and Outlook calendar sync, scheduled reports and unlimited locations.

Yearly billing saves about 10%, though the yearly rate depends on your team size and only shows once you enter it. You pay for active users only, with no cap on admins or approvers. Both plans connect to ADP Workforce Now and Zapier and include an API and webhooks. The 14-day trial includes every feature and needs no card.

Choose it if a leave request that never leaves Slack or Teams is the main thing you want. Skip it if you have fewer than 25 people and want to pay per head, because the $50 minimum applies either way.

absentify is built for companies that run on Microsoft 365. Staff request vacation, sick days and work-from-home days inside Microsoft Teams or Outlook, and absentify can set the out-of-office reply for them. It is certified as a Microsoft 365 app, works with Entra ID, and you can buy it through Microsoft Marketplace at the same price as buying direct. The company says it stores data in EU data centers.

The free plan is the reason it's on this list. It has no time limit and no user limit, with these caps:

• 2 departments and 1 admin
• 1 absence allowance type, counted in days and half days
• yearly Excel export and email support

Three paid plans, Mini, Essentials and Plus, are priced per user per month plus VAT, with 15% off yearly billing. They raise the department and allowance limits, add unlimited admins, Outlook calendar sync, document uploads on requests, Power Automate and webhooks. The pricing page did not show the paid amounts when we checked on November 4, 2026, so get a quote before you plan around a paid tier.

Choose it if your team already works in Teams and Outlook and one allowance type is enough to start. Skip it if you use Slack or Google Workspace day to day; Vacation Tracker treats those as first-class.

Connecteam is a phone-first work app sold in three hubs: Operations (time clock, scheduling, forms and checklists), Communications (chat, updates, a knowledge base) and HR & Skills (hiring, training, documents and time off). A small business can handle leave requests in the same app staff already use to clock in and check their shifts.

The free Small Business plan covers up to 10 users and includes every hub, time off included. Once you pass 10 people, you pay for the hub you need. The HR & Skills hub prices on November 4, 2026, each covering the first 30 users:

• Basic: $29 a month billed yearly or $35 monthly, plus $0.50 to $0.60 per extra user.
• Advanced: $49 yearly or $59 monthly, plus $1.50 to $1.80 per extra user.
• Expert: $99 yearly or $119 monthly, plus $3 to $3.60 per extra user.

Yearly billing saves 18%. The 14-day trial needs no card.

Choose it if you run a crew of hourly or field staff and want time off, schedules and the time clock in one app. Skip it if your team sits in an office and only needs a leave calendar; a dedicated tool like Timetastic costs less per head and takes less setup.

Calamari sells HR in modules, and Time Off is the one most companies start with. It handles unlimited absence types, automatic carry-over and balances, different policies per country, restriction rules and multi-step approval flows, with requests through Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google.

Prices on November 4, 2026, per employee per month in US dollars:

• Time Off: $2.50 monthly or $2 billed yearly.
• Time & Attendance: $3 monthly or $2.50 yearly, with clock-in by web, kiosk, mobile with GPS, Slack, Teams, NFC and more.
• Core HR: $2.50 monthly or $2 yearly, for a people directory, documents and custom fields.

Performance reviews, scheduling and SAML single sign-on are extra modules. The FAQ says the minimum charge equals a 10-seat subscription, you don't pay for archived employees, and nonprofits can ask for a discount. You can pay in US dollars or euros. The 14-day trial opens every module with no card.

Choose it if you employ people in more than one country and need each office's leave rules and public holidays handled separately, or if you want clock-in in the same system. Skip it if you have one office and simple rules; Timetastic does the basics for less.

BambooHR is a full HR system, and time off is one part of it. Every plan includes time-off requests with accruals and approvals, a time-off calendar and unlimited custom policies, alongside employee records, hiring tools and a custom report builder. If you are already shopping for HR software, that can save you buying a second tool just for leave.

BambooHR now publishes its prices. On November 4, 2026:

• 25 or fewer employees: a flat $250 a month for Core, $425 for Pro and $650 for Elite.
• More than 25 employees: per employee per month, from $10 for Core, $17 for Pro and $25 for Elite on the plan cards. The FAQ on the same page says $10.25, $17.50 and $25, so confirm the rate on your quote.

Volume discounts apply automatically as your headcount grows. The pricing page did not mention a free trial; its buttons lead to a quote form.

Choose it if you need an HR system anyway and want leave tracking included. Skip it if leave is the only problem you're solving: a team of 20 pays $250 a month here, against $30 a month on Timetastic's Business plan.