Calamari vs Factorial (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Calamari if

• Fits if you only need one or two HR modules and want to pay for just those
• Works for small teams comfortable with a $20 monthly minimum

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want one bundled price, as each module is priced separately
• Tight if you add up modules: all five come to $11.50 a person a month
• Watch out: there is a $20 a month minimum in the pricing calculator
• Watch out: SAML login is a paid add-on, and the page doesn't state its unit
• Not for you if you need payroll, as there is none

Pick Factorial if

• Fits if your staff work shifts and clock in by QR code or location
• Works for firms that want HR, expenses and company devices in one place

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a full price on the page, as only $8 and up is published
• Not for you if you want to try it first, as no trial is on record
• Pricey if you add lots of modules, since each one is quoted on top
• Watch out: monthly plans bill for everyone on staff at the start of each month
• Watch out: the site gives both 12 and 120 customer countries and doesn't list where payroll works

Calamari

• Each module is priced separately per employee; combining all five costs the sum of their rates.
• The pricing calculator applies a minimum total of $20 per month for the selected modules.
• SAML integration is a paid add-on, shown at $1 billed yearly or $2 billed monthly; the page does not state the unit.
• The page labels its AI support for performance reviews as coming soon.

Factorial

• Only the $8 starting figure is published; the real price comes in a quote that depends on the modules and the headcount.
• Monthly plans bill for the employees present at the start of each month; annual plans bill extra only in months above the agreed count.
• Offices are in Spain, Germany and Mexico; the about page says both 12 and 120 countries for its customers and does not list where payroll works.
• The free-trial links on its pages lead to a missing page, so a trial could not be confirmed.

Calamari

Time off management

Policies with unlimited absence types, multi-country rules, automatic carry-over and entitlement calculated from accrual rules.

Time and attendance

Seven tracking methods, listed in the page data as mobile, web, Slack, QR, NFC, GPS and kiosk.

Core HR

A central employee database with documents, permission settings, approval flows and notifications for important dates.

Performance reviews

90 to 360 degree review cycles with questionnaires, goals, reviewer assignment and manager summaries.

Scheduling

Schedules for shift-based or mixed workforces that sync with the leave and time-tracking modules.

Factorial

Core HR and documents

Every plan has the employee directory, onboarding and offboarding, payslip distribution, bulk document sending, fillable PDFs and legal e-signatures.

Time off and time tracking

Unlimited time-off policies and custom absence types, plus clock-ins by geolocation or QR code with overtime compensation.

Shift planning

Build shifts in bulk, set rotating patterns or generate them automatically, and share the schedule with staff.

Recruiting, reviews and training

Post jobs to several boards with AI CV parsing, run 360-degree performance reviews, track goals and manage training with certificates.

Expenses, projects and IT

Read receipts with OCR, route expenses through multi-step approvals, log hours to projects, and manage devices and SaaS licenses.

One, the AI assistant

An AI agent that searches and analyzes company data, builds reports and prepares policies, contracts and payroll documents for review.

Calamari

• Time Off$2

  per employee / month, billed yearly ($2.50 billed monthly)

  Online time-off requests, absence calendar, unlimited absence types, automatic carry-over and balance calculations.

• Core HR$2

  per employee / month, billed yearly ($2.50 billed monthly)

  Central HR database, documents, permissions, approval processes, custom fields and employee requests.

• Time & Attendance$2.50

  per employee / month, billed yearly ($3 billed monthly)

  Timesheets and time tracking with seven tracking methods.

• Performance Review$2.50

  per employee / month, billed yearly ($3 billed monthly)

  Review cycles (self, peer, top-down and external), questionnaires, goals and manager summaries.

• Scheduling$2.50

  per employee / month, billed yearly ($3 billed monthly)

  Weekly or monthly schedules planned per employee or role, with drafts, published versions and sync to leave and time tracking.

Factorial

• Tailored plan$8

  per user / month and up

  Factorial Core (directory, onboarding, payslip delivery, bulk documents, e-signature) plus the modules chosen. Quoted and sold through sales.

Calamari

• Annual discount

  About 20% off with yearly billing

  The pricing calculator shows each module cheaper per employee when billed yearly than when billed monthly (for example $2 against $2.50 for Time Off).

Factorial

No public discounts listed.