BrightHR vs Vacation Tracker (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vacation Tracker grades higher than BrightHR: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
BrightHR grades higher on features. Vacation Tracker grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BrightHR
HR software with holiday, rota and absence tools and advice lines
Vacation Tracker
Leave and PTO tracking inside Slack, Teams or Google Workspace
Which one is for you
Pick BrightHR if
- Fits if you run a small UK firm and want an employment-law advice line with the software
- Works for shift-based teams that need rotas and holiday cover on one screen
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are in the US, as no US edition was found
- Pricey if you add support: £21.20 for the advice line, £31.30 with health and safety
- Watch out: prices exclude tax, and insurance is quoted separately
- Watch out: contract length isn't stated beyond 'fixed-term', and the FAQ says quotes come from a demo
Pick Vacation Tracker if
- Fits if your team already lives in Slack or Microsoft Teams
- Works for small companies that want leave approvals without an HR system
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you are a team of one to five, since the minimum is $50 a month
- Skip it if you want to stay free, because there is no free plan
- Watch out: blackout periods, accruals, TOIL and hourly leave need Complete at $4
- Watch out: Core caps at 3 locations and 10 departments
- Too light for HR records or payroll
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABrightHRFair | 2.2GPAVacation TrackerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C£16.67 per employee a month excluding tax, about $22, near the top quarter of the category. £83.35 a month at 5 employees; advice lines and safety tools push it to £31.30. | C$2 a user a month, but a $50 monthly minimum for up to 25 users means a team of five pays $10 each, above the category's middle of $5. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is on record in the listing or on its pricing page. | CA 14-day trial of every feature with no credit card, and no free plan. |
| Features | BHoliday, absence, rotas, overtime, expenses, documents and reporting, plus a payroll navigator. The listing names no gap in the core HR work; payroll itself is not run. | CRequests, policies, calendars, reports and an AI assistant. It does the leave job fully, which is smaller than HR software, and Core caps locations and departments. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Holiday rules, rotas and documents need setting up. | CNo store rating on record. Policies, locations and approvers have to be set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, with an integrations page (5 on record). No desktop app. | BWeb, iOS and Android, working inside Slack, Teams and Google Workspace, with ADP, Zapier and Outlook. No desktop app. |
| Best for | UK small firms wanting HR software with advice lines | leave tracking inside Slack or Teams |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BrightHR and Vacation Tracker. How we grade
Price against what you get
BrightHR starts at about $22.34 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vacation Tracker starts at $2 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
BrightHR scores higher, and starts $20.34 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other HR software on the chart, 1 scores higher than BrightHR for less, and none scores higher than Vacation Tracker for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BrightHR also covers payroll, shift scheduling, time clock and employee records.
At a glance
| BrightHR | Vacation Tracker | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | £16.67 per employee / month (£83.35 a month at the smallest size shown) | $2 per user / month, billed monthly, with a $50 monthly minimum |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of every feature, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BrightHR | Vacation Tracker |
| Price read from | brighthr.com | vacationtracker.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BrightHR
- Prices are in pounds, excluding tax, and the site is aimed at UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; no US edition was found.
- The FAQ says prices start from £3.00 per person depending on business size and that quotes come from a demo.
- The pricing page does not state the contract length beyond calling them fixed-term contracts.
- Insurance is not in the online prices; it is quoted separately.
Vacation Tracker
- There is no free plan; the minimum is $50 a month on Core and $100 on Complete, covering up to 25 users each.
- Yearly plans are priced in user tiers; the page shows a yearly price only for a team size typed into its calculator, so only the monthly rate is recorded here.
- Core caps at 3 locations and 10 departments; blackout periods, accruals and hourly leave need Complete.
- You pay only for active users, and there is no cap on admins or approvers.
Key features
BrightHR
- Holiday and absence management
- A staff holiday planner with booking and approvals, plus tools for recording sick leave and lateness across the team.
- Shifts and rotas
- Create and edit shifts across any working pattern, including an open shifts feature, and let staff clock in and out from the Blip app.
- Expenses, documents and reporting
- Expense tracking, HR document storage and a custom reporting system sit in the core package.
- Advice lines and templates
- Higher packages add a 24/7 HR and employment law advice line and a library of HR document templates.
- Health and safety software
- Accident and near-miss reporting, 600+ risk assessment templates, task reminders and hazardous substances management.
- Payroll navigator and payroll service
- A payroll navigator is in the core package, and a separate payroll software and managed payroll service is sold on its own pages.
Vacation Tracker
- Leave requests and approvals
- Requests are routed to approvers automatically with reminders. Complete adds multi-level approvals and substitute approvers.
- Leave policies
- Custom leave types and allowances, public holidays per location, carryover and negative balances. Accruals, blackout periods and TOIL need Complete.
- Where it runs
- Manage leave inside Slack or Microsoft Teams, in Google Workspace, or on iOS and Android, with daily or weekly who-is-off updates.
- Reports and calendars
- A wallchart, calendar view and reports. Core shares calendars through an iCal link, and Complete adds direct Google and Outlook sync.
- AI and developer access
- The Vee AI assistant, an MCP server, an open API and webhooks are listed, with the integrations included on both plans.
Plans
BrightHR
Core HR software£16.67
per employee / month, excluding tax
Holiday planner, rotas, absence, performance, overtime and expense tools, reporting, and a payroll navigator. £83.35 a month at 5 employees.
Enhanced HR support£21.20
per employee / month, excluding tax
Core package plus a 24/7 HR and employment law advice line and document templates. Insurance is quoted separately. £106 a month at 5 employees.
Full HR, health and safety support£31.30
per employee / month, excluding tax
Enhanced package plus health and safety software and advice and a wellbeing portal. £156.50 a month at 5 employees.
Vacation Tracker
Core$2
per user / month, billed monthly; $50 minimum, up to 25 users
Up to 3 locations and 10 departments, custom leave types, approvals, wallchart and reports, all integrations and the Vee AI assistant.
Complete$4
per user / month, billed monthly; $100 minimum, up to 25 users
Everything in Core plus unlimited locations and departments, blackout periods, multi-level approvals, hourly leave, accruals, TOIL and calendar sync.
Ways to pay less
BrightHR
No public discounts listed.
Vacation Tracker
- Annual discount
About 10% off with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as saving about 10%, with prices set by user tier.
- Nonprofit
Non-profit discounts on request
The pricing FAQ says non-profits can contact support to set up a discount.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BrightHR or Vacation Tracker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Vacation Tracker is cheaper to start with: $2 a month for each person, against about $22.34 a month for each person for BrightHR. BrightHR starts at £16.67 per employee / month (£83.35 a month at the smallest size shown), and Vacation Tracker starts at $2 per user / month, billed monthly, with a $50 monthly minimum.
Which has a free plan, BrightHR or Vacation Tracker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither BrightHR nor Vacation Tracker has a free plan. Vacation Tracker has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.