Book Time Off is the best alternative we'd point most small UK teams to. It's a flat £1 per user / month on any billing, with a 30-day free trial and no card required. There's no annual commitment to get the lowest rate and no Essentials or Plus tier hiding the features you'll actually want. Microsoft 365 single sign-on, Outlook sync, Teams and Slack notifications and admin leave reports are all included from day one at the flat price. It's genuinely the right answer if you're tired of Leave Dates' annual tie in and tiered pricing hiding the features you really want. Where it isn't the right fit, we say so below.
If you've found this page we're guessing you're either thinking about moving from Leave Dates or you're considering joining it for the first time. Most of the dedicated leave trackers (Book Time Off, Leave Dates, Timetastic and Vacation Tracker) share all of the core features so the things to consider are mostly price and the features you'll get for your money. The HR suites (Breathe and CharlieHR) sit in a slightly different category - they're more capable, more expensive and better if you need something broader than just holiday tracking.
The shared calendar. The next bank holiday is called out automatically, and weekends and bank holidays are shaded but never deducted from anyone's allowance.
One thing to get straight early:
Leave Dates is a genuinely good choice for a lot of small businesses. We can't fault it for the basics. But the way its pricing is structured with the lowest rate needing a year's commitment, and calendar sync, Slack integration and single sign-on sit on the Essentials and Plus tiers above it, means the initial low cost that draws teams in can escalate to a much higher premium than the headline £0.75 suggests.
Why teams look for a Leave Dates alternative
In our experience, most people move away from Leave Dates for at least one of these reasons:
- They don't want to tie in annually - Leave Dates will give you a cheap product but only if you pay for the year upfront. Monthly billing is more expensive. People commit for a year and end up paying for seats they don't use when someone leaves.
- Calendar sync and single sign-on sit on higher tiers - Outlook, Google sync and Slack integrations sit on Essentials (from £1.50 annual), and single sign-on sits on Plus (from £1.88 annual). In 2026 these really aren't the kind of features that should sit on tiered plans, and alternatives offer them as standard rather than risking that price creep again.
- The wall chart doesn't suit everyone - The visual year planner can be a genuine strength if you don't mind an alternative visual but others find it harder to answer a simple "who's off this week?" than a traditional calendar or list view would.
If you're ok with these things then Leave Dates could still be the right choice but it's worth knowing what else is out there as you might avoid annualised billing, creeping costs or lack of features elsewhere as well as getting a visual interface that works best for your team.
The alternatives at a glance
Pricing and trial terms below were checked against each provider's own site on 23 July 2026. Figures move, so the dated sources are listed at the foot of the page. Book Time Off is in the first row.
| Feature | Book Time Off | Leave Dates | Timetastic | Vacation Tracker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price (per user / month) | £1 flat, no tiers | From £0.75 annual / £1 monthly (Starter) | £1.20 (Basic) | $2 Core (USD) |
| Calendar sync (Outlook / Google) | Included | On Essentials, from £1.50 annual / £2 monthly | On Pro, £2 | Included on Core, $2 |
| Slack integration | Included - full Slack booking and approvals | Daily Slack summaries on Essentials, from £1.50 annual | On Pro, £2 | Included - native Slack booking |
| Single sign-on | Included - Microsoft and Slack | On Plus, from £1.88 annual / £2.50 monthly | On Pro, £2 | Sign in via Slack, Teams or Google Workspace |
| Carry-forward of unused leave | Included - with optional expiry window | Included (Starter) | On Pro, £2 | Included on paid tiers |
| Leave reports | Included - with insight charts and CSV export | Included (Starter) | On Pro, £2 | Included on paid tiers |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 30 days, no card | 30 days, no card | 7 days, no card (limited free plan also available) |
Breathe and CharlieHR aren't in the grid above because they're full HR suites rather than dedicated leave trackers, priced and tiered around a much wider set of HR features than leave alone, so a feature-by-feature comparison isn't really like-for-like. As a guide, Breathe starts from £22 per business per month (Micro plan, 1-10 employees) and CharlieHR starts from £20 per month for small teams, both with a free trial and both worth a look if leave is only one of several HR jobs you want to consolidate.
The takeaway - on a flat per-user-per-month price with no tiered upgrades, Book Time Off is the value pick and includes all the features you'll need. Leave Dates undercuts it but only if you're prepared to sign up for annual billing and only on its most basic tier. Most teams start on the simple plan but find themselves needing to upgrade and pay more so the costs stack up compared to Book Time Off. Timetastic is close on Basic but expensive on Pro, Vacation Tracker is priced in dollars with monthly minimums, and Breathe and CharlieHR are in a different price bracket because they do far more than just holiday tracking.
Book Time Off - the best all-rounder
Book Time Off
£1 / user / month (free trial - no card required)Premium features at no extra cost - Unlike Leave Dates, there's no Essentials or Plus plan hiding the features you'll actually want. Carry-forward of unused allowance runs with a company-wide limit and an optional expiry window. Microsoft 365 single sign-on, per-user Outlook sync, Teams notifications and a daily who's-off Teams digest are all included, and a full Slack integration is in the same plan. You can add Book Time Off to Google, Apple or Outlook calendars for both you and your team through read-only iCal/ICS subscribe feeds. And admin-only reports summarise leave, so you can track busy leave periods like Christmas or summer months as well as potential patterns by department or by leave type. It's £1 per user / month on any billing, monthly or otherwise, with a 30-day free trial, no card and no minimum users.
Add a few people, set their allowances, book and approve a request, and watch the bank holidays appear on the calendar. 30 days free, no card.
Timetastic - the established name
Timetastic
£1.20 Basic / £2 Pro / user / monthVacation Tracker - the Slack and Teams model
Vacation Tracker
$2 / $4 per user / month (USD)Breathe - the broader HR suite
Breathe
From £22 / business / month (Micro plan, 1-10 employees)CharlieHR - the larger HR platform
CharlieHR
From £20/month for small teams, tiered by headcountShould I really switch from Leave Dates?
Leave Dates is a good product, so don't just switch without giving it serious consideration. Here's a checklist with a direct comparison to our top pick to help you choose:
- Are tied to the visual year planner layout some don't like
- Prefer to risk annual commitment to get a low headline price
- Don't mind paying more for integrations and single sign-on
- Would rather stay put than save money and add features
- Don't want to commit to a year's billing for a good price
- Want all features included rather than upgraded into
- Still want all the same usual features for a flat monthly amount
- Are happy with a few short clicks to switch
If most of your list falls in the right-hand column, the switch is straightforward and the saving is real. If several fall on the left, Leave Dates may still be the better fit for now.
How to switch from Leave Dates
Moving from Leave Dates over to Book Time Off couldn't be simpler. The set up wizard will have your team and approver up and running in a moment, ready for your team to get booking their next holiday. You can quickly:
- Add your departments (with a manager and a max-absent limit if you want them).
- Add your team members and set each person's annual allowance.
- Add any leave already booked or approved for the rest of the year.
Most are set up in a matter of minutes, even for larger teams with multiple offices. It's really straightforward and the free trial allows you to set it up for a few people first, without obligation.
Weighing up Leave Dates against Timetastic first? Our Leave Dates vs Timetastic head-to-head covers that match-up directly, and the wider best leave management software guide sets every option here in the context of the whole UK market.
Leave Dates is a great product but Book Time Off offers monthly flexibility and fully loaded features all at one low price. With a free 30-day trial on offer it makes sense to try Book Time Off now and see how your team get on with it.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Book Time Off is £1 per user per month with a 30-day free trial, no card required to start and no minimum number of users. There's no Essentials or Plus tier to climb - everything's included at one price and you only pay for the people you actually add.
No, but for most small teams the set up wizard has them up and running in minutes, not hours.
Leave Dates' lowest headline rate, from £0.75 per user per month on its Starter tier, is only available if you commit to a year upfront; monthly billing on the same tier is £1. That's a common software pricing pattern, but it means paying for a seat for the full year even if that person leaves partway through, which is a real risk for a small business with any staff turnover.
On a flat, no-commitment monthly price, Book Time Off is the cheapest at £1 per user per month with no annual tie-in and no tier to upgrade to. Timetastic is £1.20 per user per month on its Basic plan. Leave Dates itself can be cheaper at £0.75 but only on annual billing, and only for its most basic Starter tier. Breathe and CharlieHR are full HR suites priced well above dedicated leave trackers.
Only if you need HR features beyond leave, such as document storage, contracts, performance reviews or onboarding workflows. If your real problem is tracking who's off, approving requests and keeping allowances tidy, a dedicated leave tracker is cheaper and faster to run. Breathe and CharlieHR are worth their cost when leave is one of several HR jobs you're consolidating, not the only one.
Yes. Book Time Off offers Microsoft 365 single sign-on, per-user Outlook calendar sync (approved leave is written to that person's Outlook as Out of Office; it adds and updates events only and never reads the calendar). There are also read-only iCal/ICS subscribe feeds for Google, Apple and Outlook calendars (a personal feed and a privacy-aware team feed).
Sources
Every competitor fact above was checked against each provider's own site on 23 July 2026. Prices and trial terms change, so verify on the day you decide.
| Provider | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Leave Dates (Starter from £0.75 annual / £1 monthly with carry-over and reports; Essentials from £1.50 adds calendar sync and Slack summaries; Plus from £1.88 adds single sign-on; 30-day trial, no card) | 23 July 2026 | leavedates.com/pricing-plans |
| Timetastic (Basic £1.20, Pro £2, 30-day trial, no card, per-type balances on Pro) | 23 July 2026 | timetastic.co.uk/pricing |
| Vacation Tracker (free plan; Core $2, Complete $4 USD; monthly minimums; 7-day trial, no card) | 23 July 2026 | vacationtracker.io/pricing |
| Breathe (per-business banded pricing, Micro plan from £22/month for 1-10 employees, 14-day trial, no card) | 23 July 2026 | breathehr.com pricing |
| CharlieHR (per-employee tiered HR suite from £20/month for small teams, 7-day trial, no card) | 23 July 2026 | charliehr.com/pricing |
| Book Time Off claims (features, pricing, Timetastic XLSX import, Microsoft 365) | 23 July 2026 | Book Time Off product (see help centre) |