Both are good UK-built leave trackers, and they're separated by design style rather than quality. Both will do a solid job for you but Leave Dates wins for teams that want the lowest price and like a visual year planner. That said you'll have to pay annually for its cheapest rate. Timetastic wins for teams that want the established name and don't mind paying extra for single sign-on and analytics from its dearer Pro plan.
If you've got both of these open in browser tabs, you've already worked out the important thing: they do the same core job. Both let your team request leave, let a manager approve it, and keep the calendar, allowances and records straight without a spreadsheet. So this isn't a case of one being a real tool and the other being a toy. It's a case of two solid tools built for slightly different people, and the trick is working out which person you are.
Why Timetastic vs Leave Dates
People usually end up comparing Leave Dates and Timetastic because they're on a spreadsheet and looking for something more robust or they've already got some holiday planning software that isn't working for them or costs too much.
These two tend to come up as the natural choices for two reasons. Timetastic is well established and the bigger 'brand' so it's been mentioned a lot. Leave Dates is the option with the cheapest headline price and that's what often brings it into the conversation. But big name doesn't always mean the best and cheapest can come with its catches too.
Leave Dates vs Timetastic at a glance
The pricing and trial terms were last checked on 23 July 2026. We've also included Book Time Off as a third option here so you can see how it stacks up too as an alternative.
| Feature | Leave Dates | Timetastic | Book Time Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price (per user / month) | From £0.75 annual / £1 monthly (Starter) | £1.20 (Basic) | £1 flat, no tiers |
| Calendar sync (Outlook / Google) | On Essential (£1.50 annual / £2 monthly) | On Pro (£2) | Included - Outlook; Google via read-only iCal feed |
| Slack and Teams | Daily Slack summaries on Essential | Teams on Pro (£2) | Included - Teams and full Slack |
| Single sign-on | On Plus (£1.88 annual / £2.50 monthly) | On Pro (£2) | Included - Microsoft and Slack |
| Carry-over of unused leave | Included (Starter) | On Pro (£2) | Included - with optional expiry window |
| Leave reports | Included (Starter) | On Pro (£2) | Included |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 30 days, no card | 30 days, no card |
Important to note that Leave Dates is the cheapest headline price but only if you're willing to commit to 12 months. That can be costly if you end up paying for seats that don't get used, should a team member leave or you downsize. Timetastic is more transparent but many of the seemingly standard features are chargeable under the Pro plan so that's where things start to unravel. Book Time Off isn't directly comparable to either since it charges the joint lowest monthly price with the most features.
Price and pricing tiers
Price is the obvious starting point for most businesses. After all, a leave tracker is a simple tool and there's only so much you need it to do. It makes sense for cost to be a big factor as a result. The trick is not to get drawn in at an entry level and find you need expensive upgrades later.
Leave Dates starts at £0.75 per user / month on its Starter tier, but that rate is on annual billing which is risky if people leave. Pay monthly makes more sense and the Starter plan is £1. Above Starter, Essentials is from £1.50 and Plus is from £1.88. The headline of £0.75 is real but rather than value, it could prove a cost should someone leave and, with lots of features hidden in the essentials and plus plans you might find the cost creeping up.
Timetastic is simpler to read and it's £1.20 per user / month on Basic, or £2 on Pro. There's no annual-only discount to chase so no risk of waste if someone leaves but the honest catch is that a lot of features people expect as standard, like single sign-on, integrations and leave reporting will cost £2 per month for the Pro plan. Again, easy for cost to creep.
So the honest price picture is this. If you'll pay annually and you only need the Starter feature set Leave Dates is the cheaper of the two. If you pay monthly then the entry tiers are close (Leave Dates £1, Timetastic £1.20). But in both instances, beware of the costs quietly ramping up as you pay to access worthwhile features hidden in the upgraded plans.
An extra few pence per user to integrate your calendar to Outlook might seem cheap in the moment but the costs rack up so be prepared or consider alternatives like Book Time Off that offer the premium features in a flat and more cost effective price bracket to avoid surprises and rising costs later on.
A visual planner vs calendar
The main thing you'll notice when you're logged in is the display itself. Leave Dates is built around a visual year planner and wall chart: you see the whole year laid out, with everyone's leave as blocks across it. Some people love that at-a-glance view of the months ahead. Timetastic leans on a more traditional calendar and list approach, which plenty of people find quicker to scan for "who's off this week" without taking in the whole year.
Neither is better in the abstract. It's a genuine taste call, and it's the one worth trialling both to feel, because you can't tell from a screenshot which layout suits how your team thinks. If you already picture your team's holidays as a year-long wall chart, Leave Dates will feel natural. If you mostly think week to week, Timetastic's calendar view probably will.
Can I sync with Outlook, Google and Slack?
If you don't mind paying extra then you can sync Leave Dates or Timetastic with your calendars in the usual places. Leave Dates will do it for £2 per user per month (reduced to £1.50 if you sign them up for a year) and Timetastic are similar at £2 per user per month (with no annualised discount).
It's the same with SSO (Single Sign On) - if you want to login with your Microsoft or Google account to save the hassle of remembering passwords, you'll find that option in the £2.50 per month (£1.88 annually) option for Leave Dates and the £2 per month option for Timetastic.
It feels genuinely worth noting here that Book Time Off, our own product, includes Microsoft 365 single sign-on, Outlook sync and a full Slack integration (including sign-in with Slack) in its standard flat pricing of £1 per month, plus a read-only iCal feed if you'd like the same leave showing in Google or Apple Calendar. It's the premium features included in the low, flat price that make it a genuinely viable third alternative.
An alternative option worth noting - Book Time Off
We built Book Time Off because we knew we could build a product that offered all of the basics and the vast majority of the premium features for one flat and cost effective price. We're not the big brand and we're not drawing you in with annualised discounts or premium pricing tiers that hide standard features. We're determined to save businesses money without them having to compromise on quality.
Book Time Off
£1 / user / month (free trial - no card)Book Time Off is 30 days free with no card, the same as Leave Dates and Timetastic. Add a few people, set allowances and book a request to see how it compares before you commit.
Which one should you pick?
If you're still unsure, run yourself through this rather than trusting a single headline price.
- Want the lowest price and are happy to commit to pay annually to get it
- Like seeing the whole year on a visual planner
- Don't mind paying more for Outlook, Google and Slack integration
- Don't mind paying even more for single sign-on
- Want the established, widely used brand
- Prefer a calendar view to a year-long wall chart
- Don't mind paying more for single sign-on and calendar integrations
- Don't mind paying more for leave analytics
And if neither list is a clean fit, that's usually the signal to trial a third option. If you'd prefer the cheapest monthly price point with the integrations, single sign-on and analytics features of both then Book Time Off is an honestly viable third option to consider.
Our Timetastic alternatives guide and Leave Dates alternatives guide each set the market out fully from their own starting point, and the best leave management software guide ranks the realistic options with dated prices.
Frequently asked questions
On headline price Leave Dates is lower - its Starter tier is from £0.75 per user per month but on annual billing, or £1 on monthly billing, with Essentials from £1.50 and Plus from £1.88 above it. Timetastic is £1.20 per user per month on Basic and £2 on Pro. So on monthly billing the entry tiers are close (Leave Dates £1, Timetastic £1.20) but both will expect you to pay more for upgraded features on their higher tiers.
Layout and pricing shape. Leave Dates is built around a visual year planner and wall chart, priced in tiers with the lowest rate on annual billing. Timetastic is the more established name and gates single sign-on and deeper analytics behind its £2 Pro plan. If you like seeing the whole year laid out visually, Leave Dates suits you.
Yes. Both run a 30-day free trial with no card required to start, so you can set up your real team on each and compare them side by side before paying anything. That makes the trial a tie, and pushes the decision onto price and layout. Book Time Off offers the same here but more for less once you're actually paying.
Book Time Off is a third UK-built leave tracker worth knowing about, and in the interest of full disclosure it is the tool we make. It is a flat £1 per user per month with no separate Pro tier, so Microsoft 365 single sign-on, Outlook sync, a full Slack integration, carry-forward with an optional expiry window and leave reports are all included (plus a read-only iCal feed for Google or Apple Calendar), and it imports the Timetastic full-organisation export (the .xlsx file) if you are moving across.
Pick Leave Dates if you are cost-led, happy to pay annually for the lowest rate and you like a visual year planner. Pick Timetastic if you want the established brand and you do not mind paying for the Pro plan to unlock single sign-on and analytics. Book Time Off is worth a look if you want everything included at a flat £1 with no tier to upgrade to. All three run a free trial with no card, so trialling your shortlist costs nothing but time.
Sources
Every competitor fact above was checked against each provider's own site on 23 July 2026, including which features sit on which tier. 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; 25% annual discount; 30-day trial, no card) | 23 July 2026 | leavedates.com/pricing-plans |
| Timetastic (Basic £1.20; Pro £2 adds single sign-on, integrations including Teams, carry-over and absence analytics; 30-day trial, no card) | 23 July 2026 | timetastic.co.uk/pricing |
| Book Time Off claims (flat £1 pricing, included integrations, sign-in with Microsoft or Slack, Outlook sync, read-only iCal feed for Google and Apple Calendar, carry-forward with expiry, Timetastic XLSX import) | 23 July 2026 | Book Time Off product (see help centre) |