WhosOff is a UK-based leave management tool known for simplicity and straightforward leave tracking. It covers leave requests, approvals, and a team calendar with per-user pricing. LeaveBalance is a flat-rate leave management tool with native Slack and Microsoft Teams integration — unlimited employees, unlimited policies, one fixed price.
Both tools handle leave requests, approvals, and team calendars. The difference is pricing model, chat integration depth, and what you get as your team grows.
If you are evaluating both tools for a UK team, this comparison covers pricing, features, integrations, and daily experience.
The Core Difference: UK-Focused Per-User Leave Tracker vs Flat-Rate Leave Management
WhosOff is a UK-focused leave management tool:
- Leave requests, approvals, and team calendar
- UK public holiday management
- Per-user pricing (estimated GBP £1.50–2.50/user/month)
- Web-based portal for all leave activity
LeaveBalance is a dedicated leave management tool:
- $10/month USD (~GBP £8) flat rate — unlimited employees and unlimited leave policies
- Native Slack and Microsoft Teams integration
- Team calendar, analytics, and reporting
- Multi-country support including UK
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
Pricing Comparison
| Team Size | LeaveBalance (est.) | WhosOff (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 users | ~GBP £8/mo | GBP £15–25/mo |
| 25 users | ~GBP £8/mo | GBP £37–62/mo |
| 50 users | ~GBP £8/mo | GBP £75–125/mo |
| 100 users | ~GBP £8/mo | GBP £150–250/mo |
Prices are approximate. Exchange rate: 1 USD ≈ 0.80 GBP. WhosOff pricing varies by plan.
At 10 employees, WhosOff is already nearly 2x more expensive than LeaveBalance. At 50 employees, the gap widens to 9–15x. Every new hire at WhosOff increases your bill. Every new hire at LeaveBalance costs nothing extra.
LeaveBalance’s flat-rate pricing is the most affordable option at every team size.
Leave Management Features
WhosOff’s Approach
WhosOff provides straightforward leave management. Employees submit requests through the web portal, managers approve via email or the portal, and the team calendar shows who is off. The platform handles UK public holidays and basic leave types out of the box.
The experience is clean and simple. However, the web-portal-only workflow means employees must leave their current context to interact with the system.
LeaveBalance’s Approach
LeaveBalance provides a full leave management experience accessible through Slack, Teams, or the web dashboard. Employees request leave through the integration, managers approve with one click, and balances update automatically. The employee dashboard shows balances, upcoming leave, and team availability.
Beyond requests and approvals, LeaveBalance supports configurable leave policies, accrual rules, accumulation limits, and multi-country holiday calendars. The depth of configuration matches teams with real policy complexity.
Which Approach Suits You?
If your team is under 25 people, needs straightforward UK leave tracking, and does not use Slack or Teams heavily, WhosOff covers the basics. If your team uses Slack or Teams, needs configurable policies, or is growing beyond 25 people, LeaveBalance provides more value at a lower long-term cost.
Slack and Microsoft Teams Integration
WhosOff
WhosOff offers a Slack integration for notifications, but the core workflow — requesting and approving leave — happens through the WhosOff web portal. There is no Microsoft Teams integration. The Slack functionality is limited to alerts rather than full in-chat workflow.
LeaveBalance
LeaveBalance provides native integrations for both Slack and Microsoft Teams. The complete workflow — requesting leave, approving requests, checking balances, viewing team availability — lives inside the chat app. No portal switching required.
UK Compliance
WhosOff
WhosOff handles UK leave entitlements including statutory annual leave (5.6 weeks), bank holidays, and sickness absence. The platform is purpose-built for UK teams and manages UK-specific rules well.
LeaveBalance
LeaveBalance supports configurable leave policies that align with UK employment law. You can set up statutory annual leave, bank holidays, sick leave, parental leave, and any other entitlements under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and Working Time Regulations. The multi-country support means UK teams with employees in other regions can manage everything from one account.
Reporting and Analytics
WhosOff
WhosOff provides leave reports covering balances, usage, and absence patterns. Reports are functional for small teams but lack the depth of a dedicated analytics tool.
LeaveBalance
LeaveBalance offers leave trend analysis, utilisation rates, department-level views, and exportable data for payroll. Reports are designed to give you actionable workforce insights.
Setup and Onboarding
WhosOff
WhosOff setup involves signing up, adding employees, and configuring leave types. The process is straightforward for UK teams since public holidays and standard leave types are pre-configured.
LeaveBalance
LeaveBalance is designed for a 15-minute setup. Connect Slack or Teams, add employees via CSV upload or manual entry, configure your leave policies, and go. Most teams are operational on day one.
The Honest Limitations
Where WhosOff Falls Short
- Web-portal-only workflow — employees must leave their chat app to manage leave
- Per-user pricing scales linearly — costs grow with every new hire
- No Microsoft Teams integration — only limited Slack notifications
- UK-only focus — less suitable for teams with employees in multiple countries
- Limited analytics — reporting is basic compared to dedicated analytics tools
Where LeaveBalance Falls Short
- No free tier — $10/month is the entry price
- No attendance tracking — focused purely on leave, not time and attendance
- Newer brand in the UK market — WhosOff has more established UK presence
- USD pricing — UK teams pay in dollars with currency conversion
Choose WhosOff If:
- Your team is under 25 people with simple UK leave needs — WhosOff handles statutory leave well
- Your team does not use Slack or Teams — the web portal workflow works for office-based teams
- You prefer a UK-established tool — WhosOff has been serving UK businesses for years
- Budget for per-user pricing is not a concern — the feature set justifies the cost at small scale
Choose LeaveBalance If:
- You want the lowest possible price at scale — $10/month flat rate regardless of team size
- Your team uses Slack or Microsoft Teams — native integration means leave management happens where work happens
- You manage teams across multiple countries — multi-country support built in
- Your team is growing — flat-rate pricing means your bill never increases
- You need configurable leave policies — accrual rules, accumulation limits, and custom leave types
- You want to start immediately — 15-minute setup with no sales process
The Bottom Line
WhosOff is a solid UK-focused leave tracker with straightforward leave management and statutory entitlement support. For small UK teams that do not use Slack or Teams, it covers the basics well.
But per-user pricing adds up fast. At 50 employees, WhosOff costs an estimated GBP £75–125/month while LeaveBalance stays at $10/month (~GBP £8) flat. You also get Slack and Teams integration, configurable policies, and full analytics included.
Try both and compare. LeaveBalance offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Verify current pricing and features on each vendor’s website.