Calamari vs Vacation Tracker (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Calamari grades higher than Vacation Tracker: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Calamari grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Calamari
Modular HR system for time off, attendance, core HR and reviews
Vacation Tracker
Leave and PTO tracking inside Slack, Teams or Google Workspace
Which one is for you
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 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
| 2.4GPACalamariFair | 2.2GPAVacation TrackerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BTime Off and Core HR are $2 per employee a month billed yearly, inside the cheapest quarter. All five modules add up to $11.50, above the category middle. | 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 | C14-day free trial with no card needed, and no free plan. | CA 14-day trial of every feature with no credit card, and no free plan. |
| Features | CTime off, attendance, core HR, reviews and scheduling. SAML is a paid add-on, and the AI review help is marked coming soon. No payroll. | 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. Policies, approval flows and schedules need setting up per module. | 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 7 integrations 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 | picking only the HR modules you need | 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: Calamari and Vacation Tracker. How we grade
Price against what you get
Calamari starts at $2 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vacation Tracker starts at $2 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other HR software on the chart, none scores higher than Calamari 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
- Calamari also covers time tracking, goals, shift scheduling and employee records.
- Vacation Tracker also covers reports.
At a glance
| Calamari | Vacation Tracker | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $2 per employee / month per module, billed yearly | $2 per user / month, billed monthly, with a $50 monthly minimum |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial of every feature, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Calamari | Vacation Tracker |
| Price read from | calamari.io | vacationtracker.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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).
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, Calamari or Vacation Tracker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, they start at the same price. Calamari starts at $2 per employee / month per module, billed yearly, and Vacation Tracker starts at $2 per user / month, billed monthly, with a $50 monthly minimum.
Which has a free plan, Calamari or Vacation Tracker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Calamari nor Vacation Tracker has a free plan. Both have 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.