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Absenca

PTO by Roots alternative

A PTO by Roots alternative with more than just Slack

PTO by Roots made Slack leave requests easy. Absenca keeps leave in Slack with a PTO bot on Pro, and adds a full web app, with documented accruals, TOIL and public holidays. It's free for up to 10 people, and Pro is $37.50 a month for up to 50.

In short

If a Slack-only bot is all you need, PTO by Roots may be enough. If you want leave in Slack plus a web app and a published price, Absenca is the fuller choice.

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What happened to PTO by Roots?

Roots, the company behind PTO by Roots, is now part of Deel.1 The Slack app once called PTO by Roots is now listed as Time Off by Deel, published by Deel.2 Deel's separate plugin handles time-off requests in Slack and Microsoft Teams for Deel customers.3

PTO by Roots vs Absenca

PTO by Roots compared with Absenca
PTO by Roots Absenca
Free plan None; a free trial2 Free for up to 10 people
Price Not published4 Pro: $37.50 a month for up to 50 people, published
Chat platforms Slack only2 Slack, on Pro
Web app (calendar & wallchart) Slack only2 Yes
Approvals In Slack1 In Slack and on the web
Calendar sync Google and Outlook2 Google and Outlook, on every plan
Accruals, carry-over & seniority Not documented5 Yes, on every plan
TOIL (time off in lieu) Not documented5 A TOIL balance, on every plan
Public holidays Not documented5 190+ countries
Bradford Factor analytics Not documented5 Yes, on Pro
Reports Not documented5 CSV, XLSX and PDF; scheduled reports on Pro
Leave attachments Not documented5 Yes

Time Off by Deel publishes no price, so this page compares no team totals.

Absenca vs PTO by Roots →

Why teams pick Absenca

Keep Slack, add a web app

Absenca works in Slack, and has a full web app with a calendar and wallchart. The app runs entirely in Slack.2

More than a leave bot

Accrual schedules, TOIL, public holidays for 190+ countries and blackout periods, all documented. No official page documents its accruals, TOIL, public-holiday calendars, Bradford Factor, reporting or attachments.5

A published price

Free for up to 10 people, and Pro is $37.50 a month for up to 50. No official page publishes a price for Time Off by Deel.4

Moving from a Slack PTO bot to Absenca

  1. Pick a cut-over date

    Choose the day Absenca takes over, and on that day note each person's remaining balance in PTO by Roots. Write down the leave rules you ran, such as accruals and carry-over, to set them again in Absenca. No official page documents its accruals, TOIL, public-holiday calendars, Bradford Factor, reporting or attachments.5

  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 PTO by Roots 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 PTO by Roots 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, PTO by Roots is a perfectly good choice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Absenca a good PTO by Roots alternative?

Yes. The Slack app once called PTO by Roots is now listed as Time Off by Deel, published by Deel.2 Absenca keeps leave in Slack and adds a web app, with accruals, TOIL and public holidays. It's free for up to 10 people.

Does Absenca work in Slack like PTO by Roots?

Yes. Absenca's Slack bot takes requests and approvals, and it's on Pro and the Custom Pack, not on the free Starter plan.

Can I move my data over from PTO by Roots?

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

How much does Absenca cost compared to PTO by Roots?

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). No official page publishes a price for Time Off by Deel.4

Other comparisons

Absenca vs PTO by Roots → 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 absentify alternative BrightHR alternative CharlieHR alternative WhosOff alternative What leave software costs All features

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

Sources

  1. deel.com/blog/roots-joins-deel, checked
  2. slack.com/marketplace/AELEX1TU3-pto-by-roots, checked
  3. deel.com/solutions/plugin, checked
  4. tryroots.io/pricing, checked
  5. tryroots.io/sitemap.xml, checked
  6. tryroots.io/docs/pto-bamboohr-integration, checked