Leave Dates vs LeaveBoard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Leave Dates and LeaveBoard share a 2.6 GPA, and only LeaveBoard has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Leave Dates grades higher on value for money. LeaveBoard grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Leave Dates
Annual leave planner and absence tracker for small teams
LeaveBoard
Leave tracking and employee records for small companies
Which one is for you
Pick Leave Dates if
- Fits if you run a small team and only need to track who is off when
- Works for teams that want Outlook or Google Calendar showing leave
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want payroll, performance or hiring, as it is leave only
- Tight if you want calendar sync or time off in lieu, which need the £1.50 Essential plan
- Tight if you need SSO, the API or webhooks, which need Plus at £1.88
- Watch out: prices are in pounds, excluding VAT, and the USD and EUR switch could not be read
Pick LeaveBoard if
- Fits if you have fewer than 10 people and want leave tracked for free
- Works for small firms that need leave and a staff directory
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow past 9 employees, where the free plan stops
- Watch out: cancelling means contacting the vendor, who suspends the plan at the next renewal
- Pricey if you're in the EU, since VAT goes on top of listed prices
- Too light for payroll or hiring, which aren't listed
How we grade them
| 2.6GPALeave DatesGood | 2.6GPALeaveBoardGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A£0.75 per user a month billed yearly, about $1, under 60% of the category's cheaper quarter. Calendar sync needs Essential at £1.50, still under $2. | B$1.35 an employee, in the cheapest quarter of this category, though the listing doesn't say if that's monthly or yearly. |
| Free plan and trial | C30-day free trial of every feature with no card needed, and no free plan. | BFree for up to 9 employees with the dashboard, time off tracking, directory, reports, absence calendar and leave policies, plus a 14-day trial. |
| Features | CWall and year charts, requests and approval, allowances, time off in lieu and reports. It does that one job fully, and it is a small job: no payroll, performance or hiring. | CLeave, records and reports, but the pages read list no payroll or hiring tools. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Allowances, leave years and approvers need setting up for each team. | CNo store rating on record, and you'd set it up with your own people data first, so it's an ordinary C. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, with Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack and Zapier. No desktop app. | BWeb only, with five listed integrations. No mobile app named. |
| Best for | a shared leave calendar for small UK teams | leave tracking for small companies |
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: Leave Dates and LeaveBoard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Leave Dates starts at about $1 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LeaveBoard starts at $1.35 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Leave Dates starts $0.35 a month lower. Of the other HR software on the chart, none scores higher than Leave Dates for less, and none scores higher than LeaveBoard 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
- Leave Dates also covers calendar.
- LeaveBoard also covers employee records and dashboards.
At a glance
| Leave Dates | LeaveBoard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | £0.75 per user / month, billed yearly | $1.35 per employee / month, rate basis not stated |
| Free plan | None | Free plan for a maximum of 9 employees, with the HR dashboard, time off tracking, employee directory, HR reports, absence calendar and leave policies. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of every feature, no credit card needed | 14-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Leave Dates | LeaveBoard |
| Price read from | leavedates.com | leaveboard.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Leave Dates
- The pricing page shows prices in GBP by default, exclusive of VAT, with a currency switch for USD and EUR that could not be read here.
- Calendar sync, time off in lieu and overlap limits need Essential; SSO, API, webhooks and Zapier need Plus.
- The price scales with the number of users, and the page shows the per-user figure billed yearly.
- It covers leave and absence only; there is no payroll, performance or hiring module.
LeaveBoard
- The free plan stops at 9 employees.
- Cancellation is by contacting the vendor, who suspends the plan at the next renewal.
- EU businesses are charged VAT on top of the listed prices.
- Covers leave, records and reports; the pages read do not list payroll or hiring tools.
Key features
Leave Dates
- Wall chart and year chart
- A shared calendar view of who is away, so managers can plan around absences.
- Leave requests and approval
- Staff drag over dates to request time off, the approver is notified, and the requester is told the outcome.
- Allowances and carry over
- Allowances can be tracked in days or hours, pro-rated for starters and leavers, and carried over between years.
- Calendar sync
- Leave records can be synced to Outlook or Google Calendar, including a shared company calendar, on Essential and above.
- Time off in lieu
- Staff can log overtime and the balance is tracked as time off in lieu, on Essential and above.
- Reports
- Daily or weekly email summaries, downloadable reports, and a daily Slack summary on Essential and above.
LeaveBoard
- Time off tracking
- Employees request leave in a self-service portal and managers approve it, with allowances, accruals and custom leave types.
- Absence calendar
- A shared team calendar shows who is off, with public holidays and custom work schedules.
- Employee directory
- Keeps employee records in one searchable place, arranged by the company's organizational chart.
- HR reports
- Reports on leave balances, sick leave and attendance can be exported, including in Excel format, for payroll or accounting.
- Calendar sync
- Time off, birthdays, work anniversaries and public holidays can be pushed to Google, Outlook and Apple calendars through feeds.
- Single sign-on
- Sign-in through Google, Outlook and Slack accounts using OAuth2 and OpenID.
Plans
Leave Dates
Starter£0.75
per user / month, billed yearly (£9.00 per user a year)
Unlimited employees and leave, allowances in days or hours, bank holidays, wall and year charts, reports and email summaries, web and mobile apps.
Essential£1.50
per user / month, billed yearly (£18.00 per user a year)
Starter plus Outlook and Google Calendar sync, overlap and leave limits, multi-person requests, time off in lieu, a Slack daily summary and company-wide policies.
Plus£1.88
per user / month, billed yearly (£22.50 per user a year)
Essential plus personal leave-year start dates, unlimited allowances, SSO, API, webhooks and Zapier, and policies by leave type.
LeaveBoard
Free$0
Up to 9 employees, with time off tracking, employee directory, HR reports, absence calendar and leave policies.
PRO$1.35
per employee / month, monthly or yearly rate not stated
Unlimited users, priority support and advanced leave policies. The page does not say whether $1.35 is the monthly or yearly rate (save 17%).
EnterpriseCustom
Aimed at companies larger than 81 employees, adds an account manager. Priced on request.
Ways to pay less
Leave Dates
- Annual discount
25% off with yearly billing
The pricing page's Monthly and Yearly toggle states a 25% saving for yearly billing.
LeaveBoard
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
The pricing page labels its Yearly switch as saving 17% over monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Leave Dates or LeaveBoard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Leave Dates is cheaper to start with: about $1 a month for each person, against $1.35 a month for each person for LeaveBoard. Leave Dates starts at £0.75 per user / month, billed yearly, and LeaveBoard starts at $1.35 per employee / month, rate basis not stated.
Which has a free plan, Leave Dates or LeaveBoard?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only LeaveBoard has a free plan. Leave Dates does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Leave Dates and LeaveBoard run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Leave Dates lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.