Calamari is an HR platform from Polish company Chrobrus, used by 130,000+ employees across 106 countries. It is more ambitious than most leave management tools — alongside time-off tracking, it offers a time and attendance module with physical clock-in hardware support, a Core HR document module, and a performance review feature in development.
This makes Calamari a different kind of comparison for actiPLANS. Where tools like Vacation Tracker focus on PTO automation, Calamari is building toward a broader HR stack. Whether that scope is an advantage or a complication depends on what your team actually needs. This Calamari review covers Calamari pricing, features, and how it compares to actiPLANS.
Quick verdict
| Calamari | actiPLANS | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams that need leave management AND physical attendance tracking (clock-in, timesheets, project hours) in one tool | Teams focused on leave management, PTO accruals, location scheduling and payroll-ready reporting |
| Free plan | No — 14-day free trial, no credit card required | Yes — up to 3 users with core features |
| Paid pricing from | $2/user/month (annual, Time Off module only). Minimum $20/month. | From $1.20/user/month annually |
| Core differentiator | Modular HR stack: leave + attendance + documents + performance in one platform; 7 clock-in methods | Focused leave management with work location scheduling and deeper accrual automation |
| Missing | No free plan; modular pricing adds up if you need multiple modules; Performance module still in development | No physical clock-in; no employee document storage |
What is Calamari?
Calamari is a modular HR software platform. You pick the modules you need and pay only for those. The four modules are: Time Off (leave management), Time & Attendance (timesheets and clock-in), Core HR (employee database and documents), and Performance (surveys and peer reviews, currently in development).
The product is designed for small and mid-sized businesses that want to move off spreadsheets without committing to a full HRIS. The team is based in Poland and the product is available in 13 languages. Onboarding takes 3-5 days on average, supported by the Calamari customer success team who help with data import and configuration. All plans include chat and email support.
Feature breakdown by module
Time Off module
This is the core module and the most directly comparable to actiPLANS. It handles leave requests, approvals, policy automation, absence calendars and reporting.
Leave requests and approvals
Employees request leave via the web app, mobile app or Slack. Requests go through configurable approval flows, which can be multi-step and can include backup approvers for when the primary manager is away. Specific leave types can be set to auto-approve (useful for remote work or sick leave tracking).
- Full-day, half-day and hourly leave requests
- Multi-step approval flows per absence type
- Backup approver assignment
- Auto-approval option per leave type
- Full approval history with comments and attachments
Leave policies
Calamari supports unlimited absence types and can configure different policies for different contract types (full-time, part-time, B2B, internship), locations and teams. Policy features include:
- Accrual rules with configurable frequency (monthly, bi-weekly, etc.)
- Automatic carry-over with optional caps and expiry dates
- Proration for mid-year hires
- Request restrictions (minimum notice, maximum duration, past-dated requests)
- Leave entitlement control and manual adjustments per employee
- Hidden leave types (visible only to admins and approvers)
- Attachments required on request (e.g. doctor certificates for sick leave)
Calendar and scheduling
The absence calendar shows all leave types in one view including remote work, sick leave, conferences and public holidays. Filters allow managers to view by team, location or absence type. Notifications go via email, app, Slack or Teams.
Public holiday calendars: 110+ countries supported. Import takes a few clicks.
Reports
Six report types in the Time Off module:
- Leave requests report (all requests, statuses, history)
- Entitlement report (balances, accruals, manual adjustments)
- Payroll report (days taken per period, useful for payroll reconciliation)
- Timesheet details report (combines leave with work hours)
- Attendance overview (planned vs actual)
- Employee data report (profiles, teams, approval flows)
All reports can be filtered by dates, team, location, contract type, absence type and creation/approval time. Export to Excel or PDF. Filter preferences save for future use.
Time & Attendance module
This is what separates Calamari from most leave management tools. The Time & Attendance module adds physical and digital clock-in, timesheet management and project time tracking. It is priced separately and aimed at teams that need to track when employees are actually working, not just when they are on leave.
Seven clock-in methods
- Web browser (manual clock-in/out)
- Mobile app (iOS and Android) with optional GPS location tracking at clock-in
- QR codes (employees scan a code at a fixed location)
- iBeacon technology (Bluetooth proximity detection)
- Kiosk mode (shared device at entrance)
- API (integrate fingerprint scanners or other hardware)
This range of clock-in methods is rare in this price range. Most leave management tools offer none of these; tools with comparable attendance hardware integration typically cost significantly more.
Timesheets and project tracking
- Employees log and edit their shifts
- Break tracking (paid or unpaid)
- Remote work marking
- Project-specific time tracking (log hours against projects or activities)
- Auto-closing of unfinished shifts with notification
- Manager attendance management (adjust, edit or remove shifts)
- Timesheet approval workflow
Anomaly detection
The module automatically flags late arrivals, early departures, working too short, and uncompleted shifts. Managers receive notifications so attendance issues surface without manual review.
Core HR module
The Core HR module stores employee profiles and documents in one organised place with role-based access control.
- Employee directory with org chart and contact information
- HR document storage with access restrictions by role (admin, manager, employee)
- Document workflows: upload complete documents, send for completion, request documents, send for acknowledgment
- Document approval and rejection with full history
- Custom employee fields (dates, text, checkboxes)
- “Work with me” collaboration cards — employees describe how they prefer to work, communication style, etc.
- Birthday and work anniversary notifications via Slack, Teams or email
- Reminders for custom date fields (e.g. contract renewal dates)
Integrations
| Integration | What it does |
|---|---|
| Slack | Leave requests, approvals, clock in/out, balance checks, status sync, channel digest notifications |
| Microsoft Teams | Leave requests, absence info, timesheet via Teams tabs; Outlook calendar sync; notifications to inbox and channels |
| Google Workspace | User import, SSO, Google Calendar sync, multi-domain support |
| Jira | View absence calendar within Jira; team availability in project context |
| Asana | Absence visibility in Asana |
| Basecamp | Absence visibility in Basecamp |
| API (REST) | Full API access; standard rate: 2 req/sec, 600 req/hour, 6,000 req/day |
| SAML / SSO (add-on) | Okta, Azure AD, Google, OneLogin, Auth0 — $0.80/user/month annual |
| Payroll export | Sage Symfonia, Comarch ERP Optima, Enova 365, WF Gang (Polish payroll systems) |
What is missing or weak
- No free plan — only a 14-day trial. Small teams cannot use Calamari long-term without paying.
- Minimum $20/month fee regardless of team size (equivalent to a 10-seat subscription floor)
- Performance module is still in development — not yet available
- Payroll integrations are primarily Polish-market systems (Sage Symfonia, Comarch, Enova, WF Gang)
- Mobile app described as functional but less polished than the web interface
- G2 reviewers note limited feature depth compared to some expectations, though this may reflect the modular scope rather than a gap
- Apply and Calendar pages in the web UI reported as visually similar and easy to confuse
Calamari pricing
Calamari uses modular pricing: you pay only for the modules you activate. Each module is priced per user per month, with a discount for annual billing.
| Module | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time Off | $2.50/user/month | $2.00/user/month | Leave management, accruals, policies, reports |
| Time & Attendance | $3.00/user/month | $2.50/user/month | 7 clock-in methods, timesheets, project tracking |
| Core HR | $2.50/user/month | $2.00/user/month | Employee database, document storage, custom fields |
| Performance | $3.00/user/month | $2.50/user/month | Coming soon — surveys, peer review, AI summaries |
| SAML Integration (add-on) | $1.00/user/month | $0.80/user/month | SSO with Okta, Azure, Google, OneLogin, Auth0 |
| Minimum monthly cost | $20/month | $20/month | Applies regardless of team size or modules selected |
Example combined costs at 20 users (annual billing):
- Time Off only: 20 x $2.00 = $40/month
- Time Off + Time & Attendance: 20 x $4.50 = $90/month
- Time Off + Time & Attendance + Core HR: 20 x $6.50 = $130/month
There is no free plan. The 14-day trial gives access to all features and modules. Data added during the trial carries over to a paid subscription.
Calamari vs actiPLANS: how they compare
actiPLANS and Calamari both handle leave management, but they have different scopes. actiPLANS is focused on leave, PTO accruals, work location scheduling and reporting. Calamari adds time and attendance tracking and document storage as paid modules.
Pricing comparison
| Calamari (Time Off only) | Calamari (Time Off + T&A) | actiPLANS (1-40 users) | actiPLANS (41-200 users) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing | $2.50/user/month | $5.50/user/month | $1.90/user/month | $1.50/user/month |
| Annual billing | $2.00/user/month | $4.50/user/month | $1.50/user/month | $1.20/user/month |
| Minimum charge | $20/month | $20/month | None | None |
| 200+ users | Contact sales | Contact sales | N/A | $270/month |
| Free plan | No | No | Yes (up to 3 users) | N/A |
| Free trial | 14 days, all features | 14 days, all features | 30 days, all features | 30 days, all features |
For a 20-person team using leave management only: Calamari costs $40/month (annual), actiPLANS costs $30/month (annual). If you add Calamari’s Time & Attendance module, the same team pays $90/month. actiPLANS does not have an attendance module.
Feature comparison: leave management focus
| Feature | Calamari | actiPLANS |
|---|---|---|
| Custom leave types | Yes | Yes |
| PTO accrual automation | Yes | Yes |
| Hourly leave requests | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-level approvals | Yes | Yes |
| Leave policies by contract type | Yes | Yes |
| Location-based policies | Yes | Yes |
| Public holiday calendars | Yes | Yes |
| Work location scheduling (office/remote) | Yes | Yes |
| Payroll-ready reports | Yes | Yes |
| Custom date range in reports | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar sync | Yes | Yes |
| Slack / Teams integration | Yes (deep — requests, approvals, notifications) | No (web app only) |
| Mobile app | iOS and Android | iOS and Android |
| Time & Attendance module | Yes (separate paid module) | No |
| Physical clock-in hardware | Yes (QR, iBeacon, fingerprint via API) | No |
| Employee document storage | Yes (Core HR module) | No |
| Free plan | No | Yes (up to 3 users) |
| actiTIME integration | No | Yes |
Value analysis
Calamari is better value if your team needs leave management and time tracking in one tool. The Time Off module alone is more expensive than actiPLANS, but if you were going to buy a separate attendance tracking system anyway, combining both in Calamari may be cheaper and simpler than running two products.
actiPLANS is better value if you need leave management only. It is cheaper per user with no minimum charge, has a longer 30-day trial, and includes a free plan for small teams. Its work location scheduling is more developed than Calamari’s. If you do not need clock-in tracking or employee document storage, paying for Calamari’s broader platform brings no benefit.
Calamari: our scorecard
| Area | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 9 / 10 | Consistently praised; employees adopt it without training; setup in days |
| Leave management depth | 8 / 10 | Full accrual automation, multi-step approvals, 110+ holiday calendars, contract-type policies |
| Time & Attendance | 8 / 10 | Seven clock-in methods including hardware; anomaly detection; project tracking |
| Reporting | 8 / 10 | Six report types with custom date ranges; Excel/PDF export; good payroll report |
| Pricing value | 6 / 10 | Modular approach is fair, but leave-only users pay more than alternatives; $20 minimum affects small teams |
| Slack / Teams integration | 8 / 10 | Deep integration; leave, attendance and notifications all covered; status sync in Slack |
| Customer support | 9 / 10 | Consistently the highest-rated aspect; named support contacts in reviews |
| Mobile app | 6 / 10 | Functional but less polished than the web app; improving over time |
| Overall | 8 / 10 | Strong product with genuine depth; best fit when attendance tracking is in scope |
Conclusion: should you use Calamari?
Calamari is a well-built HR platform with genuine depth, particularly if your team needs more than leave tracking. The Time Off module is solid — accrual automation, multi-country policies, multi-step approval flows and a good set of reports cover most leave management scenarios.
The Time & Attendance module is where Calamari earns its higher price point, offering seven clock-in methods including QR codes, iBeacon and hardware integration via API, which is unusual at this price level.
The modular approach means you are not forced to pay for features you do not use. But if all you need is leave management, you will pay more per user than with actiPLANS and get no free plan option. For a 20-person team using Time Off only, Calamari costs $40/month on annual billing versus $30/month for actiPLANS. That gap widens at smaller team sizes due to Calamari’s $20/month floor.
actiPLANS is the better choice for teams focused on leave management, PTO accruals and work location tracking who do not need physical clock-in or employee document storage. It is cheaper, has a free plan for small teams, and includes a longer 30-day trial. If you use actiTIME for time tracking, the native integration between the two products adds further efficiency that Calamari cannot match.
If your team does need attendance tracking alongside leave management, Calamari deserves a serious look. The 14-day trial covers all modules and requires no credit card. If you are looking for a Calamari alternative, actiPLANS gives you leave management, PTO accrual automation, location scheduling and payroll-ready reports — with a free plan for small teams and no minimum monthly charge.
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