Tickin vs Calamari: leave and attendance, with or without payroll
Tickin and Calamari both handle leave and attendance for growing, distributed teams. Calamari sells separate modules, Time Off, Time & Attendance, Core HR and Performance Review, and offers many ways to clock in, from web and mobile to Slack, Microsoft Teams, QR codes, NFC and iBeacon. Tickin keeps time, attendance, leave and payroll in one product and lets teams clock in from Slack on every plan.
In short
Choose Calamari if you want modular leave and attendance with many clock-in methods, such as kiosks, QR codes, geofencing and iBeacon, and you run payroll elsewhere. Choose Tickin if you want payroll with payslips in the same tool as attendance and leave, and a free plan for up to 10 employees.
| Tickin | Calamari | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Teams that want time, attendance, leave and payroll in one tool, run from Slack (or Microsoft Teams on the Scale plan) | Growing and international teams that want modular leave and attendance with many clock-in methods |
| How it is sold | Plans: Free, Starter, Growth, Scale | Modules bought separately: Time Off, Time & Attendance, Core HR, Performance Review |
| Clock-in methods | Slack on every plan, Microsoft Teams on Scale, browser, optional desktop app | Web, mobile app with GPS, geofencing, Slack, Microsoft Teams, QR/NFC kiosk, iBeacon, API |
| Leave requests and approvals | Yes, in Slack or web on every plan; two-step team-lead approval on Growth and Scale | Yes, from web, mobile or Slack, with custom multi-step approval flows |
| Payroll | Built-in payroll with PDF payslips and tax presets, on Growth | Payroll reports and exports for payroll systems; no payroll processing found |
| Shift scheduling | One shift per employee or department, on Growth | Listed as coming soon on Calamari's site |
| Free plan | Free for up to 10 employees | No free plan; 14-day free trial |
| Paid pricing (per user per month) | Starter $2, Growth $3, Scale $6 (monthly) | Per module: Time Off $2.50, Time & Attendance $3 (monthly); $2 and $2.50 billed annually; minimum equal to 10 seats |
What Calamari is great at
Calamari is strong on leave and on flexible attendance. Leave requests can come from web, mobile or Slack, with custom multi-step approval flows, accrued and prorated balances and a team availability calendar. Its Time & Attendance module offers an unusually wide set of clock-in methods: web, a mobile app with GPS, geofencing, Slack, Microsoft Teams, QR codes and NFC at a kiosk, iBeacon and an API. You can buy only the modules you need, which suits teams that want one piece at a time.
Where Tickin is different
Tickin keeps the whole record in one product. Employees clock in and out with /tickin start and /tickin end in Slack on every plan, including Free, in Microsoft Teams on the Scale plan, in the browser or in an optional desktop app. Leave, attendance rules (office hours, grace periods, late-arrival alerts) and approvals sit alongside the hours, and on the Growth plan payroll runs in the same system: salary, deductions and overtime calculated for you, with a PDF payslip for each person and tax presets for 17 markets.
Modules versus one plan
Calamari prices each module per user: Time Off is $2.50 and Time & Attendance $3 per user per month on monthly billing ($2 and $2.50 billed annually), with a minimum equal to a 10-seat subscription, and there is no free plan. Buying leave and attendance together therefore adds up per person. Tickin's plans include time, attendance and leave together, from free for up to 10 employees to $2, $3 or $6 per employee per month, with payroll from Growth.
Which should you choose
If you need kiosk, QR, NFC or iBeacon clock-in, geofencing, or very flexible leave approval flows, and payroll is handled elsewhere, Calamari is a strong fit. If you want payroll and payslips generated from the same hours and leave, with your team clocking in from Slack, Tickin is built for that. Note that Tickin does not offer kiosk, QR or iBeacon clock-in.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is Tickin a Calamari alternative?
- Yes, for teams that want leave and attendance together with payroll. Tickin covers time, attendance and leave on every plan and runs payroll with PDF payslips on the Growth plan. Calamari focuses on leave and attendance and exports data for payroll systems.
- Can employees clock in from Slack and Microsoft Teams in both?
- Yes. Tickin works in Slack on every plan and in Microsoft Teams on the Scale plan. Calamari lets employees clock in and out and request time off from both Slack and Microsoft Teams.
- Does Tickin support kiosk, QR code or iBeacon clock-in?
- No. Tickin employees clock in from Slack, Microsoft Teams on the Scale plan, the browser or an optional desktop app, with GPS clock-in verification available with the Desktop App add-on on any paid plan. If you need kiosk, QR, NFC or iBeacon clock-in, Calamari offers those.
- How does pricing compare?
- Tickin is free for up to 10 employees, then $2, $3 or $6 per employee per month on Starter, Growth and Scale. Calamari prices per module per user, for example Time Off at $2.50 and Time & Attendance at $3 on monthly billing, with a 10-seat minimum and a 14-day free trial. Check each pricing page for current terms.
- Does Calamari run payroll?
- Calamari provides payroll reports, exports and integrations with payroll systems. We found no payroll processing in its product pages. Tickin runs payroll itself on the Growth plan.
Competitor capabilities and pricing change often. Calamari details on this page come from Calamari's own pricing page, product pages and help center as of September 2026; Tickin details reflect Tickin's shipped features. It is not an exhaustive feature audit, so please check each product's own website for current details.