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Absenca

Personio alternative

A Personio alternative for teams that only need leave

Personio is a strong all-in-one HR suite for European companies. Personio sells two HR plans, Core and Core PRO; recruiting, surveys, performance and compensation are add-on apps.1 Personio lists HR plans from €7.60 per employee a month and quotes each company after a demo, by headcount and add-on apps, plus a one-time setup fee that depends on company size.1 If what you need is leave and absence tracking, Absenca does that on its own, with a published price: free for up to 10 people, and Pro at $37.50 a month for up to 50.

In short

If you want one system for hiring, payroll and performance, Personio is the broader choice. If your need is leave, Absenca is the focused, self-serve option with a public price and no setup fee.

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Personio vs Absenca

Personio compared with Absenca
Personio Absenca
Free plan None1 Free for up to 10 people
Price From €7.60 per employee a month, by quote after a demo, plus a setup fee1 Pro: $37.50 a month for up to 50 people, published
Contract Monthly, or at least 12 months2 Month to month
Scope An HR suite with add-on apps1 Focused leave and absence management
Shared absence calendar Yes3 Yes
Public holidays Built-in calendars, or your own4 190+ countries, built in
Accruals, carry-over & seniority Yes5 Yes, on every plan
TOIL (time off in lieu) Overtime converted by an admin6 A TOIL balance, on every plan
Slack Daily who's-out updates7 A bot for requests and approvals, on Pro
Microsoft Teams Daily updates; no requests in Teams8 No Teams bot yet
Leave attachments Yes9 Yes

Personio quotes each company after a demo, so this page compares no team totals.

Absenca vs Personio →

Why teams pick Absenca

Pay for leave, not a whole HR suite

If you don't need hiring, payroll and performance, Absenca covers leave on its own, with a published price. Personio sells two HR plans, Core and Core PRO; recruiting, surveys, performance and compensation are add-on apps.1

Start today, no sales call

Sign up yourself and go live the same day, with no demo, quote or setup project. Personio runs implementation projects led by implementation specialists.10

Leave in Slack

Request and approve leave in Slack; the Slack bot is on Pro and the Custom Pack, not on the free Starter plan. Personio's Slack integration posts daily updates on who's absent and sets Slack status from full-day time off.7

Without the overhead

The team energy score comes with every plan. Bradford Factor analytics come with Pro.

How to switch from Personio

  1. Pick a cut-over date

    Choose the day Absenca takes over, and on that day note each person's remaining balance in Personio.

  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 Personio 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 Personio 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, Personio is a perfectly good choice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Absenca a good Personio alternative?

For leave and absence tracking, yes. Absenca isn't a full HR suite, so it won't replace Personio's payroll, recruiting or performance apps. Personio sells two HR plans, Core and Core PRO; recruiting, surveys, performance and compensation are add-on apps.1

How much does Absenca cost compared with Personio?

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). Personio lists HR plans from €7.60 per employee a month and quotes each company after a demo, by headcount and add-on apps, plus a one-time setup fee that depends on company size.1

Can I switch from Personio to Absenca?

Yes, for leave. Absenca bulk-imports your people from a CSV during setup, on every plan.

Other comparisons

Absenca vs Personio → Personio-Alternative (Deutsch) Vacation Tracker alternative Timetastic alternative Leave Dates alternative Calamari alternative Day Off alternative LeaveBoard alternative absence.io alternative BambooHR alternative Factorial alternative Flamingo 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 Personio fact on this page links to its source and the date we checked it. Features and prices change, so check Personio's own pages before you decide.

Sources

  1. personio.com/pricing, checked
  2. personio.com/terms, checked
  3. personio.com/product/absence-management, checked
  4. support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/115005034909-Overview-of-the-Company-and-Customization-settings, checked
  5. support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/34330701068701-Create-time-off-policies, checked
  6. support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/37338523068701-Manage-overtime-new-experience, checked
  7. support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/360018734057-Set-up-the-Slack-integration-with-Personio, checked
  8. support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/4408183346705-Microsoft-Teams, checked
  9. support.personio.de/hc/en-us/articles/22089774701853-Overview-of-the-Personio-mobile-app, checked
  10. personio.com/implementation, checked
  11. personio.com/personio-vs-bamboohr, checked
  12. personio.com/about-personio, checked