Keeping track of who’s in and who’s off can get complicated fast. Between different schedules, last-minute changes, and scattered requests, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks. That’s why businesses need an attendance tracker app to stay organized and reduce the cost of absenteeism.
Attendance tracking actually means two different jobs. Some teams need to know who clocked in and for how long: hourly, shift and field staff. Others need to know who's off today and why: office, remote and multi-location teams. This list covers the best tools for each.
Updated for 2027: every tool, price and free plan re-checked on the vendor's own site in November 2026.
Attendance Tracker Apps Compared (2027)
Monthly prices, checked on each vendor's site in November 2026.
| Tool | Best for | Clock-in and timesheets | Leave and balances | Microsoft Teams | Slack | Free plan | Paid plans (monthly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jibble | Free time and attendance for any team size | Yes (GPS, face recognition) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited users | Not published on its site |
| Connecteam | Field and deskless teams | Yes (GPS time clock) | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Up to 10 users | Operations Hub (time clock): Basic $35, Advanced $59, Expert $119 per month for the first 30 users |
| Buddy Punch | Flexible clock-in methods and payroll prep | Yes | Yes (PTO) | Not listed | Not listed | No (14-day trial, no card) | Starter $5.99, Pro $7.99, Advanced $13.99 per user, plus a $19 base fee |
| Clockify | Small teams that also track project time | Yes (timer, kiosk) | Yes (time off on Standard and above) | Not listed | Not listed | Up to 5 users | Basic $4.99, Standard $6.99, Pro $9.99, Enterprise $14.99 per seat |
| When I Work | Shift scheduling plus time clock | Yes (add-on) | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed (free trial) | Essentials $2.50, Pro $5, Premium $8 per user (time clock is an add-on) |
| Vacation Tracker | Multi-location teams that track absences and leave in Microsoft Teams or Slack | No | Yes (accruals, rollover, holidays per location) | Yes | Yes | No (14-day free trial, no credit card) | Core $2, Complete $4 per user; both plans have a minimum of 25 users |
| AttendanceBot | Leave plus basic hours inside chat | Yes (in chat) | Yes (balances from Pro) | Yes | Yes | Up to 5 users | Standard $6, Pro $9, Premium $15 per user |
| LeaveBoard | Small teams that want a free absence calendar | No | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Up to 9 people | PRO $1.35 per employee |
| Pause | Slack-only teams that want simple leave tracking | No | Yes | No (Slack only) | Yes | No (30-day free trial) | $1 per user |
| Zoho People | Teams already using Zoho apps | Yes (attendance module) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Up to 5 users | Priced in local currency (Essential HR and up) |
How We Picked These Attendance Trackers
We compared each tool on the things people ask about most: how staff clock in, whether it tracks leave and balances, whether it works in Microsoft Teams and Slack, whether there's a free plan, what it costs on monthly billing, and whether there's a mobile app. Every fact comes from the vendor's own site, checked in November 2026.
Our writer used the original five tools on this list (Vacation Tracker, Jibble, LeaveBoard, Pause and AttendanceBot) hands-on. The newer additions (Connecteam, Buddy Punch, Clockify, When I Work and Zoho People) were assessed from their own documentation. We make Vacation Tracker, so we've kept every other tool's section to the facts.
Best Attendance Apps for Clock-In and Time Tracking
For hourly, shift and field teams who need to know who's working and for how long.
Jibble: Best for Free Time and Attendance Tracking for Any Team Size
Jibble is a free, user-friendly time and attendance tracker built for teams of all sizes. From facial recognition and GPS tracking to customizable PTO policies and detailed reporting, Jibble helps businesses ensure accurate attendance while simplifying payroll and leave management.
Standout Features
- You can request time off, log hours, and manage attendance seamlessly from both mobile and web
- Facial recognition and GPS/geofencing ensure accurate and secure attendance tracking
- Custom leave policies, automatic accruals, and real-time balance tracking simplify PTO management
Limitations
- While great for attendance tracking, Jibble isn’t designed for handling highly complex or variable shift patterns
- Getting everything tailored to your team’s needs can take a little extra time
Pricing
Jibble offers a free plan for unlimited users. Jibble lists leave types, accruals with carry-over and up to 3 approval levels as free. It no longer publishes paid plan prices on its site (checked November 2026).
Connecteam: Best for Field and Deskless Teams
Connecteam is a mobile-first, all-in-one app for teams that don't sit at a desk. Its Operations Hub covers the time clock, scheduling, forms, checklists and tasks, and the other hubs add chat, updates and time off. Employees clock in and out from their phones with GPS, and managers can set a geofence that clocks people out when they leave a site.
Standout Features
- Real-time clock in and out with GPS, plus automatic clock-out based on a geofence
- Scheduling with open shifts, and checklists, forms and tasks in the same app
- Time-off requests with approvals, alongside team chat and updates
- A free Small Business plan with all hubs and features for up to 10 users
Limitations
- Built for deskless teams, so office teams that already work in Microsoft Teams or Slack may find it a separate app to open.
Price
On monthly billing, the Operations Hub (where the time clock lives) costs Basic $35, Advanced $59 or Expert $119 per month for the first 30 users, then $1, $3 or $5 per additional user.
Free plan
Free for up to 10 users, with all hubs and features.
Buddy Punch: Best for Flexible Clock-In Methods and Payroll Prep
Buddy Punch is a time clock with scheduling, PTO tracking and payroll in one tool. Its strength is choice: staff can punch in from a phone or computer, a shared kiosk or a QR code, and managers can add a photo at each punch and GPS checks. It's aimed at businesses that need clean hours for payroll.
Standout Features
- Several ways to punch in: web and mobile, a shared kiosk with a PIN, QR codes, and a photo at each punch
- GPS tracking and geofencing to check where people clock in
- PTO tracking with automatic accruals, time-off requests and PTO included in payroll
- Drag-and-drop scheduling, plus tracking of late arrivals, early outs and missed shifts
Limitations
- Every plan adds a $19 monthly base fee to the per-user price, which weighs more on very small teams.
- There is no free plan, only a trial.
Price
On monthly billing, Starter costs $5.99, Pro $7.99 and Advanced $13.99 per user per month, plus a $19 monthly base fee.
Free plan
No free plan. There's a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Clockify: Best for Small Teams That Also Track Project Time
Clockify is a time tracker first: people start a timer or fill in a timesheet against projects and tasks, which suits agencies and teams that bill or budget by the hour. For attendance, it adds a shared kiosk where staff clock in with a personal QR code, and the paid plans add time off, attendance and overtime.
Standout Features
- Timer, timesheets and a shared kiosk, with sign-in by personal QR code
- Time off policies and holidays, leave requests and approvals, and a view of who's away, from the Standard plan
- Attendance and overtime tracking, plus formal timesheet approvals
- A free plan with unlimited time tracking for up to 5 users
Limitations
- It's a time tracker first; leave is a feature, not the focus.
- The free plan covers time tracking only; time off starts on Standard.
Price
On monthly billing, Basic costs $4.99, Standard $6.99, Pro $9.99 and Enterprise $14.99 per seat per month. Every active or invited user counts as a seat.
Free plan
Free for up to 5 users, for time tracking.
When I Work: Best for Shift Scheduling with a Time Clock
When I Work is built around the weekly schedule for hourly teams. Managers build shifts with auto scheduling and templates, staff pick up open shifts or swap with each other, and the time clock add-on turns any device into a clock that tracks attendance, breaks and time off.
Standout Features
- Auto scheduling, schedule templates and multi-week scheduling
- Open shifts and shift swapping, with in-app team messaging
- A Time Tracking & Attendance add-on that turns any device into a time clock for attendance, breaks and time off
- Multi-location scheduling
Limitations
- Built around shifts, so salaried office teams won't use most of it.
- The time clock is an add-on, not part of the base plans.
Price
Essentials costs $2.50, Pro $5 and Premium $8 per user per month. Time Tracking & Attendance is an add-on you can switch on for any plan.
Free plan
Not listed. There's a free trial.
Best Apps for Tracking Absences, Leave and Who's Out
For office, remote and multi-location teams where the question is who's off today, why, and how much leave they have left.
Vacation Tracker: Best for Multi-Location Teams That Track Absences and Leave in Microsoft Teams or Slack
Vacation Tracker stood out as the most comprehensive yet easy-to-use attendance tracking tool I tested. It works inside Microsoft Teams and Slack, so people can request and approve time off without leaving their communication app. The full dashboard is just as powerful, giving both admins and employees access to everything they need. Google Workspace teams use the web dashboard and email with Google sign-in. Each location gets its own leave policies, public holidays and work week.
What really impressed me was how thoughtfully it’s built. It’s a dedicated absence and leave tracker, not an add-on buried inside a bigger HR system. Every part of it, from custom leave types and accrual rules to department-based approvals and holiday calendars, feels like it was designed by people who’ve actually managed PTO. It was the only tool that felt like it considered every angle of leave tracking, without ever being complicated to use. I had everything set up and running in under 30 minutes. And that’s without any workarounds needed!
Watch: Vacation Tracker for Microsoft Teams Demo
Standout Features
- Microsoft Teams and Slack integration: Time-off requests and approvals happen right inside your workspace. I could request leave in Slack and get notified about approvals without switching tabs.
- Custom policies and leave types: I set up everything from statutory vacation to birthdays and jury duty. You can configure accruals, carryovers, and even probation periods, it adapts to most policies without any roadblocks or workarounds needed.
- Support for distributed teams: I added multiple office locations with different holidays and set up department-specific approvers. Despite the complexity, it all syncs into a single calendar view.
- Employee self-service: Everyone had access to their own profile where they could check leave balances and history, and make and edit requests independently. That alone cut down on a lot of “how many days do I have left?” messages.
- Detailed reporting: Vacation Tracker offers built-in reports that give you a clear view of who’s taking time off, how often, and why. Plus, I could filter reports by department, leave type, locations, time period, and more, and consult the data straight from the dashboard or export it.
"Recently pitched Vacation Tracker to my company and they seem to love it! Makes leave management and tracking so useful - all for a great price! Not to mention the customer support is fantastic 😀" - Capterra, 2023
Limitations
- It’s a dedicated absence and leave tracker, not an all-in-one HR or time tracking system, which might be a dealbreaker if you’re looking for bundled tools.
- It doesn't do clock-in or timesheets. If you need to track hours, pair it with a time clock from the first list.
Price
Core: $2 per user per month. Complete: $4 per user per month. Both plans have a minimum of 25 users per month. 14-day free trial, no credit card. See pricing for what each plan includes.
Manage leave across all your locations
Leave policies and public holidays for every office, state or country, in Microsoft Teams, Slack or Google Workspace.
AttendanceBot: Best for Leave Plus Basic Hours Inside Microsoft Teams or Slack
AttendanceBot is a Slack- and Microsoft Teams-based time and attendance tracker that also handles PTO, time tracking, clock-ins, and status updates. I’d say it’s geared more toward teams with hybrid or hourly staff who want to keep everything in one platform instead of jumping between systems.
Standout Features
- You can request time off, log hours, or set a WFH status straight from Microsoft Teams or Slack.
- It also supports time tracking, allowing employees to punch in and out straight from Slack. If your company has hourly workers, this can be a plus.
- Calendar sync is included, so approved time off can be reflected in Google, Outlook, or Apple calendars.
Limitations
- If your team doesn’t rely on Microsoft Teams or Slack, much of the value is lost since the platform is built entirely around chat.
- It’s one of the pricier options here for leave alone, which may be hard to justify if you don’t need the extra features beyond leave tracking.
- The built-in reporting felt pretty limited without filtering ability. I had to export files to dig into any real data.
Price
On monthly billing, Standard costs $6, Pro $9 and Premium $15 per user per month. Leave accruals and balances start on Pro. It’s free for teams of up to 5 users, with a 14-day trial of Pro.
LeaveBoard: Best for Small Teams That Want a Free Absence Calendar
LeaveBoard is another attendance tracker I tried, and it takes a more no-frills approach. It’s a web-based leave management system that covers the basics, like requests, approvals, and calendars, in a clean, uncomplicated interface. I got the sense it’s built for small to mid-sized businesses that want to automate PTO tracking without too much complexity.
Standout Features
- The interface is clean and easy to navigate. I didn’t need a walkthrough to figure out how things worked.
- The shared calendar view makes it easy to spot overlapping time off.
- It supports basic custom leave types and workflows, including watcher notifications, which I didn’t expect from something this lightweight.
Limitations
- No Microsoft Teams app (it connects to Slack, Google Calendar and Office 365 calendars).
- The design starts to feel a bit cramped once more users are added.
- Setting up roles and permissions wasn’t super intuitive. I had to consult the help docs more than once.
Price
Free for up to 9 employees. PRO costs $1.35 per employee per month, with a 14-day trial.
Pause: Best for Slack-Only Teams That Want Simple Leave Tracking
Pause is a Slack-first attendance tracker that keeps things stripped down and focused. It’s clearly made for teams that work inside Slack and want a low-effort way to manage time-off requests without logging into yet another dashboard. I tested it within Slack and didn’t need to consult a settings page for days.
Standout Features
- Requesting time off through Slack was genuinely fast, just a few clicks and done.
- It can notify teams weekly and daily about upcoming leave.
- There’s a shared time-off calendar that lives inside Slack, so you can quickly check who’s away
Limitations
- Pause only works in Slack, if your team uses Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, prefers email-based workflows, or is considering migrating to another platform in the future, this isn’t an option.
- There’s limited control over policy setup compared to other tools; it’s designed to stay lightweight.
- All approvals and visibility happen in Slack channels, which may not work well for teams with strict privacy rules or those needing a more formalized approval structure.
Price
Pause costs $1 per user per month, with a 30-day free trial.
Zoho People: Best for Teams Already Using Zoho Apps
Zoho People is an HR suite with attendance (check-in and check-out), leave policies, approvals and holiday tracking, alongside employee records and other HR modules. It makes the most sense if your company already runs on Zoho apps.
Standout Features
- Attendance with check-in and check-out
- Leave policies, approvals and holiday tracking
- Microsoft Teams, Slack and Google integrations listed
- Free for up to 5 users
Limitations
- It's a full HR suite, so it takes more setup than a dedicated tracker.
Price
Paid plans, from Essential HR up, are priced in the visitor's local currency, with a 5-user minimum. There's a 30-day free trial on all plans.
Free plan
Free for up to 5 users.
What Our Data Shows About Absences and Approvals
According to what we're seeing in Vacation Tracker (anonymised leave data from November 2024 to September 2026, published in our Leave Trends report), most absences are short and booked only a couple of weeks ahead.
- About six in ten vacation requests are for one day or less: 44.8% are for a single day and 16.5% for half a day. Short absences are what attendance tools have to handle well.
- Vacation makes up 59.9% of all time off logged, working remotely 14% and sick leave 10.8%.
- The median vacation request is booked 14 days ahead.
- Requests decided inside Microsoft Teams or Slack get a decision in a median of 32 minutes, versus 153 minutes outside chat, and 57.6% are decided within an hour, versus 39.3%. That's a correlation, not proof chat causes it.
- 86.5% of requests are approved and 5.2% expire without a decision.
These are patterns in our customers' data, not legal entitlements or industry averages. But they show why it pays to track leave where the team already works: short, frequent absences need a quick request and a quick answer.
Which Attendance Tracker Should You Choose?
- If you need a free time clock for any team size → Jibble
- If you manage field or deskless staff → Connecteam
- If you want flexible clock-in methods and payroll exports → Buddy Punch
- If you also track project hours → Clockify
- If you schedule shifts for hourly staff → When I Work
- If you run more than one location and book leave in Microsoft Teams or Slack → Vacation Tracker
- If you want leave plus basic hours in chat for a small team → AttendanceBot
- If you have 9 or fewer people and want a free absence calendar → LeaveBoard
- If you work only in Slack and want something simple → Pause
- If you already use Zoho → Zoho People
My advice? Figure out where your current system causes the most friction, whether that’s visibility, approvals, or policy setup, and use that to guide your decision. Choosing the right tool makes a real difference.
Tracking class attendance instead? See our guide to student attendance tracking.
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