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Absenca

CharlieHR alternative

A CharlieHR alternative if you only use Charlie for holidays

CharlieHR is an HR platform for UK small businesses. Every Charlie plan comes with the core features for running HR at a small business, leave management among them.1 If leave is the only part you use, you're paying for the rest. CharlieHR's Charlie plan costs a flat monthly price by headcount, excluding VAT: £21 for 1–4 people, £47 for 5–14, £108 for 15–29 and £185 for 30–49.1 Absenca does leave on its own: free for up to 10 people, and Pro at $37.50 a month for up to 50. Here's an honest side-by-side, with a source and a date for every CharlieHR fact.

In short

Choose CharlieHR if you want the rest of your HR in the same place as leave. Every Charlie plan comes with the core features for running HR at a small business, leave management among them.1 Choose Absenca if leave is the job: a free plan for up to 10 people, leave requests and approvals in Slack on Pro, and Bradford Factor analytics.

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CharlieHR vs Absenca

CharlieHR compared with Absenca
CharlieHR Absenca
Free plan None; a 7-day trial1 Free for up to 10 people
Price £21 to £185 a month per business, up to 49 people1 Pro: $37.50 a month for up to 50 people
What you pay for An HR suite, leave included1 Leave and absence only
Approvals To the manager or a set approver2 To the person's managers, with a department backup approver
Slack A morning absence update2 Requests and approvals in Slack, on Pro
Calendar sync Google, Outlook and iCal2 Google and Outlook, on every plan
Public holidays Added automatically2 190+ countries, built in
Carry-over & TOIL Carry-over and TOIL, with expiry2 Yes, on every plan
Bradford Factor analytics A separate calculator2 Built in, on Pro

CharlieHR's Charlie plan costs a flat monthly price by headcount, excluding VAT: £21 for 1–4 people, £47 for 5–14, £108 for 15–29 and £185 for 30–49.1 Absenca is free for up to 10 people. Pro is $37.50 a month for up to 50 people, or $33.75 a month billed annually ($405 a year). CharlieHR bills by headcount bracket in pounds and Absenca in US dollars, so this page converts neither.

Why teams pick Absenca

Pay for leave, not a suite

Absenca is free for up to 10 people, and Pro is $37.50 a month for up to 50. CharlieHR's Charlie plan costs a flat monthly price by headcount, excluding VAT: £21 for 1–4 people, £47 for 5–14, £108 for 15–29 and £185 for 30–49.1

Leave in Slack

People request leave and managers approve it in Slack, on Pro. CharlieHR's Slack integration posts a morning update on the day's absences, birthdays and anniversaries; its time-off page doesn't say leave can be requested or approved in Slack.2

Absence insight built in

A TOIL balance on every plan. Bradford Factor analytics, on Pro. CharlieHR's time-off page links to a separate Bradford calculator rather than describing built-in Bradford Factor scoring.2

How to switch from CharlieHR

  1. Pick a cut-over date

    Choose the day Absenca takes over, and on that day note each person's remaining balance in CharlieHR. Run CharlieHR's leave report on that day. CharlieHR has ready-made leave reports, and lets you design your own.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 CharlieHR 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 CharlieHR 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, CharlieHR is a perfectly good choice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Absenca a good CharlieHR alternative?

Yes, if leave is the part of Charlie you use. Absenca is a dedicated leave tracker, free for up to 10 people. If you use Charlie for more than leave, keep it. Every Charlie plan comes with the core features for running HR at a small business, leave management among them.1

How much does Absenca cost compared with CharlieHR?

Absenca is free for up to 10 people. Pro is $37.50 a month for up to 50 people, or $33.75 a month billed annually ($405 a year). CharlieHR's Charlie plan costs a flat monthly price by headcount, excluding VAT: £21 for 1–4 people, £47 for 5–14, £108 for 15–29 and £185 for 30–49.1 The two bill in different currencies, so compare the monthly totals for your team size.

Can I approve leave in Slack with Absenca?

Yes. Absenca's Slack bot takes leave requests and approvals, and it's on Pro and the Custom Pack, not on the free Starter plan. Its Microsoft Teams and Google Chat bots are coming soon.

Can I move my data over from CharlieHR?

Yes. Absenca bulk-imports your people from a CSV during setup, on every plan, and you set each person's opening balance from CharlieHR's leave report.

Other comparisons

Vacation Tracker alternative Timetastic alternative Leave Dates alternative Calamari 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 WhosOff alternative What leave software costs All features

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

Sources

  1. charliehr.com/pricing, checked
  2. charliehr.com/product/time-off, checked