Best PTO tracker for small remote teams
There isn’t one best PTO tracker. The right one depends on how many people you have, whether your team works in Slack, and whether you need a full HR system or only a shared record of who’s away.
What is the best PTO tracker for a small remote team?
For a team that works in Slack and wants requests and approvals there today, Vacation Tracker ($2 to $4 per user a month, $50 monthly minimum) or Timetastic ($1.50 to $2.50 per user a month, no minimum listed) are the simplest fit. If time off is one part of a wider HR system, BambooHR suits US companies, Charlie suits UK companies and Deel suits teams with people in several countries. Homebase fits hourly, shift-based teams. Ample, which publishes this page, is built for small remote teams on unlimited PTO that want coverage checked before a request is approved; it is in early access, with a planned price of $4 per person a month and free for up to five people. Prices and features checked October 24, 2026 on each vendor’s own pages.
Ample makes one of the tools compared here. Tools are listed alphabetically, not ranked. Every price and feature comes from the vendor’s own pricing, feature or help pages, checked October 24, 2026; where a page didn’t say, the table says so. No ratings or review scores.
Which tracker fits your team
- Up to 5 people, unlimited PTO, no HR system yet
- A shared PTO spreadsheet is enough to start. If you want approvals and a coverage check, Ample plans a free plan for up to five people (early access). Timetastic’s 30-day trial is the lowest-cost paid route listed.
- 5 to 25 people who work in Slack
- Vacation Tracker or Timetastic. Both approve requests in Slack. Vacation Tracker has a $50 or $100 monthly minimum, which covers up to 25 users on either plan, so below that you pay the minimum. Timetastic lists no minimum.
- You need records, onboarding and payroll too
- BambooHR for US companies (flat $250 a month for 25 or fewer employees on Core). Charlie for UK companies (£21 a month for 1 to 4 people). Deel if you employ or contract people in several countries ($5 per person a month for HR Core).
- Hourly staff on shifts
- Homebase, which checks time-off requests against the shift schedule. Its Basic plan is free for one location and up to 10 employees.
- Unlimited PTO and you want cover agreed before anyone leaves
- Ample is designed for this case: coverage-aware approvals, async transition plans on Pro and no accrual balances. It is in early access and doesn’t yet deliver to Slack.
PTO tracker comparison
Coverage planning here means seeing who is still available, or limiting how many people are away, before a request is approved.
| Tool | Price per person | Free tier | Slack | Coverage planning | Approvals | Unlimited PTO support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmpleOur product · early access | $4 per person a month on Pro (planned price at launch) | Free up to 5 people (planned) | Not yet. Slack delivery is planned | Coverage-aware approvals; async transition plans on Pro | Any, all or sequential approvers on Pro | Built for it: no accruals or carryover |
| BambooHRHR system | $10 per employee a month (Core); flat $250 a month for 25 or fewer employees | None listed | Slack app: request time off, see balances and who’s out; approver alerts | Who’s Out calendar; no staffing limit listed | Workflows and approvals in Core | Not named on the pricing or time-off pages |
| CharlieUK HR software | Priced by team size: £21 a month for 1 to 4 people, £47 for 5 to 14 (excl. VAT) | None; 7-day trial | Daily who’s-off digest and notifications | Not listed | Line manager or team lead approves | Custom leave types can have no limit |
| DeelGlobal HR and payroll | $5 per person a month (Deel HR Core) | None listed | Approve requests in Slack | Not listed on the HRIS page | Included in Core | Not stated on the HRIS page |
| HomebaseHourly and shift teams | Per location, not per person: $0, $30, $70 or $120 a location a month | Basic: 1 location, up to 10 employees | Not mentioned | Checks requests against the shift schedule; approved time off shows on it | Approve or deny in the app | Not mentioned; PTO policies accrue hourly or fixed |
| TimetasticLeave planner | $1.50 (Business) or $2.50 (Pro) per user a month | None; 30-day trial | Approve or decline in Slack; daily who’s-off summary | “Maximum absent” limit listed in the plan comparison | Holiday approvals on every plan | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Vacation TrackerLeave tracking in Slack and Teams | $2 (Core) or $4 (Complete) per user a month; $50 or $100 monthly minimum | None; 14-day trial | Request and approve in Slack; also Microsoft Teams | “Maximum Users Away” limit and substitute approvers on Complete | Unlimited approvers; multi-level on Complete | Unlimited PTO quotas for selected leave types |
Prices are list prices billed monthly, before tax, as shown to a US visitor. Annual billing discounts aren’t included. Ample’s prices are planned for launch.
What 10 people would pay a month
Our arithmetic from the list prices above, for a 10-person team billed monthly.
| Tool | 10 people, a month |
|---|---|
| Ample | $40 (planned) |
| BambooHR | $250 (25-or-fewer flat rate) |
| Charlie | £47 excl. VAT |
| Deel | $50 |
| Homebase | $0 on Basic (one location) to $30 on Essentials |
| Timetastic | $15 to $25 |
| Vacation Tracker | $50 to $100 (monthly minimum) |
When each tool is the better pick
Vacation Tracker
Pick it when your team lives in Slack or Microsoft Teams and wants to request and approve time off without leaving chat. The Complete plan adds a “Maximum Users Away” limit and substitute approvers, and the pricing page lists unlimited PTO quotas for selected leave types. Above about 25 people, the per-user price rather than the minimum sets the bill.
Timetastic
Pick it for the lowest listed per-user price with no minimum and Slack approvals with a daily who’s-off summary. A good fit when you have set allowances and want something simple. Already on it and missing something? See Timetastic alternatives.
BambooHR
Pick it when time off is one part of what you need: employee records, onboarding and approvals in one HR system, with a Slack app for requests and balances. For 25 or fewer employees, Core is a flat monthly rate.
Charlie
Pick it if you’re a small UK company that wants HR basics with leave booking, approvals by line manager, and a daily Slack digest of who’s off. Pricing is by team size, so very small teams pay a low flat rate.
Deel
Pick it if you already hire or pay people in several countries through Deel. HR Core includes time off, approvals in Slack and leave policies that match local rules.
Homebase
Pick it for hourly, shift-based teams where approved time off has to show up on the schedule and accruals feed payroll. The free Basic plan covers one location and up to 10 employees.
Where Ample fits, and where it doesn’t
Ample is time off, coverage and handoffs for small remote teams on unlimited PTO. It flags coverage gaps before a time-off request is approved, and Pro adds an async transition plan for each absence. It doesn’t track accrued balances or carryover.
- Status: accepting early-access requests. Pricing is planned for launch: Free for up to 5 people, Pro at $4 per person a month.
- Free plan (planned): time-off requests, coverage-aware approvals, schedule and calendar.
- Pro (planned): unlimited people and teams, approval workflows (any, all or sequential), async transition plans and CSV export.
- Not yet: Slack delivery and Google Calendar sync are planned. If you need accrued balances, payroll integration or enterprise SSO today, one of the tools above is a better fit.
Sources
All checked October 24, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans; confirm on their pages before you buy.
- Ample pricing, checked
- BambooHR pricing, checked
- BambooHR time off, checked
- BambooHR app for Slack, checked
- Charlie pricing, checked
- Charlie Slack integration, checked
- Charlie help: book and view time off, checked
- Charlie help: custom time off types, checked
- Deel HRIS, checked
- Homebase pricing, checked
- Homebase PTO tracking, checked
- Timetastic pricing, checked
- Timetastic Slack tools, checked
- Vacation Tracker pricing, checked
- Vacation Tracker for Slack, checked
Not ready for a tool? Two free templates cover most of what these trackers add: a vacation coverage plan template for who covers what, and an unlimited PTO policy template with minimum days for the rules.