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Absenca

Calamari alternative

The Calamari alternative without per-module pricing

If you want Calamari's leave management without paying for modules you may not use, Absenca is the closer fit. Calamari prices Time Off, Time & Attendance, Core HR and Scheduling as separate per-user modules, with Performance marked as coming soon.1 Absenca has no modules: Pro, at $37.50 a month for up to 50, puts leave tracking, a Slack bot and analytics in one plan, and leave tracking alone is free for up to 10 people. Here's an honest side-by-side, with a source and a date for every Calamari fact.

In short

If you want Calamari-style leave management at one simple price instead of separate modules, and free for a small team, Absenca is the closer fit. Absenca costs less than Calamari's Time Off plan for teams of 10, 20, 30 and 50 people.2 If you need clock-in and timesheets, Calamari's attendance module is the stronger option.

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Calamari vs Absenca

Calamari compared with Absenca
Calamari Absenca
Free plan None; a 14-day trial2 Free for up to 10 people
Price $2.50 a user a month for Time Off; 10-seat minimum2 Pro: $37.50 a month for up to 50 people
Leave calendar & approvals Yes2 Yes
Chat bots Slack and Teams; no Google Chat2 Slack, on Pro
Public holidays 110+ calendars3 190+ countries
Accruals, carry-over & seniority Carry-over and seniority rules4 Yes, on every plan
TOIL (time off in lieu) Overtime declared, then taken as leave5 A TOIL balance, on every plan
Bradford Factor analytics No; an AI prompt for exports6 Yes, on Pro
Clock-in / attendance / timesheets Yes, a separate module2 No; Absenca tracks leave only

Calamari pricing explained: Absenca vs Calamari →

What a team pays each month

Monthly price by team size on Absenca and on Calamari Time Off
TeamAbsencaCalamari Time Off
10 peopleFree$252
20 people$37.50$502
30 people$37.50$752
50 people$37.50$1252

Monthly prices in US dollars, before tax. Absenca bills Pro for all 50 seats, so every team from 11 to 50 people pays $37.50.

Why teams pick Absenca

One plan, not modules

Leave tracking, a Slack bot and analytics come in one plan, not stacked per-module bills. Calamari prices Time Off, Time & Attendance, Core HR and Scheduling as separate per-user modules, with Performance marked as coming soon.1 Absenca costs less than Calamari's Time Off plan for teams of 10, 20, 30 and 50 people.2

A free plan you can run on

Up to 10 people at no cost, with no time limit. Calamari has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial.2

Absence insight built in

Reports come with every plan. Bradford Factor scoring comes with Pro. Calamari has no built-in Bradford Factor report; it publishes an AI prompt that scores an exported absence report.6

How to switch from Calamari

  1. Pick a cut-over date

    Choose the day Absenca takes over, and on that day note each person's remaining balance in Calamari. Keep that day's report on file. Calamari exports reports to Excel and PDF.2

  2. Set up your office

    Add your office with its work week, leave year start and public holidays for its country. Then add your leave types and policies: accrual schedules, carry-over caps and expiry, and seniority tiers.

  3. Import your people from a CSV

    Fill in Absenca's template with each person's name, email, department, role, office and start date. Absenca checks every row before it imports anyone, then emails each person an invitation. CSV import is on every plan.

  4. Set opening balances

    Adjust each person's balance to what Calamari showed on the cut-over date. Absenca records each adjustment, with your reason, in the audit log.

  5. Go live

    Your team signs in with a Google, Microsoft or Slack account. Approved leave syncs to Google or Outlook calendars, on every plan. Turn on the Slack bot, on Pro, to request and approve leave in Slack.

The full walkthrough, with what to check before and after the cut-over: move your leave data.

Where Calamari might be the better fit

We'd rather you pick the right tool than the loudest one. If the points above matter more to you than price, Calamari is a perfectly good choice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Absenca a good Calamari alternative?

Yes, if your priority is leave management rather than attendance. Absenca covers the leave calendar, approvals, accruals and TOIL free for up to 10 people, and adds Bradford Factor analytics on Pro. Calamari has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial.2

Does Absenca do clock-in or timesheets like Calamari?

No. Absenca tracks leave and absence, not time and attendance. Calamari's Time & Attendance module clocks people in by kiosk, mobile app with GPS, Slack, Teams or fingerprint scanner.2

Can I migrate from Calamari?

Yes. Absenca bulk-imports your people from a CSV during setup, on every plan. Calamari exports reports to Excel and PDF.2

Other comparisons

Absenca vs Calamari → Vacation Tracker alternative Timetastic alternative Leave Dates alternative Day Off alternative LeaveBoard alternative absence.io alternative BambooHR alternative Factorial alternative Flamingo alternative Personio alternative Sage HR alternative Breathe HR alternative PTO by Roots alternative absentify alternative BrightHR alternative CharlieHR alternative WhosOff alternative What leave software costs All features

Every Calamari fact on this page links to its source and the date we checked it. Features and prices change, so check Calamari's own pages before you decide.

Sources

  1. calamari.io/pricing, checked
  2. calamari.io/pricing, checked
  3. calamari.io/leave-management, checked
  4. help.calamari.io/en/articles/96292-how-to-configure-an-absence-type, checked
  5. help.calamari.io/en/articles/24440-declaration-of-working-overtime-and-claiming-overtime-collection, checked
  6. calamari.io/ai-in-hr, checked
  7. developers-assets.calamari.io, checked