Last updated on November 14, 2025
Look, I get it. You signed up for Rippling thinking you'd found the perfect HR solution. But now you're drowning in features you don't use, paying way more than expected, and still waiting for support to call you back (unless they want to upsell something).
Here's why people are jumping ship from Rippling's leave tracking:
The pricing is absurdly hidden. You can't find actual numbers on their website. You have to sit through sales calls just to get a quote. And when you finally get that quote? It's at least $8-12 per user per month for basic leave tracking - before they start adding "necessary" features that bump up the cost.
It's overengineered for most companies. Rippling offers lots of business app integrations and a massive suite of HR features. That's great if you're a 500-person company. But if you're a 20-person team that just needs to track PTO? You're paying for 100 features to use three.
Setup takes forever. We're talking months of implementation, not days. And there's often a setup fee on top of everything else.
Real users are frustrated. I found Reddit threads where people complained about paying for employees who'd already left the company, getting ghosted by support, and buying features that weren't actually built yet.
Watch the full breakdown of these alternatives above.
Vacation Tracker: Best for Slack and Teams Integration
Vacation Tracker full-featured maximum plan is just $4 per user per month (with a $100 minimum), but if you want to track just one leave type with very simple setup, then you can use the free plan with unlimited team size. So even the most fully-featured plan that covers every possible leave type costs less than half what you'd pay for the most basic leave tracking with Rippling.
Why it's better than Rippling:
- Actually affordable pricing. No hidden costs, no surprise setup fees. You can see exactly what you'll pay before signing up.
- Setup takes 5 minutes, not 5 months. The tool integrates natively with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace. Sign up with Slack, import your team automatically, and you're done. No sales process, no lengthy onboarding.
- Purpose-built for leave tracking. While Rippling tries to do everything, Vacation Tracker focuses on doing one thing really well. That means it handles all the edge cases: different locations, remote vs. hybrid workers, varying leave policies across countries. Setup takes under 30 minutes compared to Rippling's months-long implementation.
The tool is built for companies outgrowing Excel spreadsheets but not ready for (or needing) enterprise complexity. You get location-based compliance features that automatically adjust to different country requirements - without paying for features you'll never touch.
Timetastic: Best for UK and EU Companies
Timetastic offers comparable pricing to Vacation Tracker and shares the self-service setup model. But here's what makes it special: it's built specifically for UK and EU leave laws, not adapted from US systems.
Key features:
- Mobile app with a clean wall chart view
- No sales process required
- Built-in understanding of EU/UK statutory leave requirements
If your team is primarily in the UK or EU, Timetastic will handle your compliance needs better than a US-centric platform trying to retrofit European requirements.
Buddy Punch: Best for Shift Workers
Buddy Punch costs more than Vacation Tracker or Timetastic, but it includes features you won't find elsewhere:
- GPS tracking
- QR code scanning for clock-in/out
- PIN or kiosk punch
- Webcam punches
If you're managing hourly shift workers who need to clock in and out (not just request PTO), Buddy Punch combines time tracking with leave management. You can still sign up yourself or book a demo - no lengthy sales process.
Calamari: Best for Agencies Billing Client Time
Calamari combines leave tracking with time sheets and time tracking. The pricing is modular: leave tracking alone is cheaper than Rippling's basic features, but costs add up if you need their time and attendance modules or core HR features (document management, etc.).
Perfect for:
- Agencies tracking billable hours
- Companies needing both PTO tracking and client time billing
- Teams wanting some HR features without full enterprise complexity
Like the other alternatives, you can start a free trial and set everything up yourself. No mandatory sales calls or setup fees.
BambooHR: Best Full HR Suite Alternative
If you actually need multiple HR features beyond leave tracking, BambooHR might fit better than Rippling.
What you get:
- Leave tracking
- Employee onboarding
- Performance management
- Recruiting tools
The pricing is also hidden (you'll need to go through sales), but from what I've seen online, it's less expensive than Rippling.
The catch: You're still looking at months of setup time and a bigger price tag than the specialized tools above.
Only go this route if you genuinely need the full HR suite. Otherwise, you're back to paying for complexity you don't need.
Which Tool Should You Actually Pick?
✅ Go with Vacation Tracker if: You need solid leave tracking that works inside Slack or Teams, transparent pricing, and setup measured in minutes. Try it free here.
✅ Go with Timetastic if: Your company operates primarily in the UK or EU and needs leave tracking built around European labor laws.
✅ Go with Buddy Punch if: You're managing hourly shift workers who need to clock in/out with GPS, QR codes, or kiosks.
✅ Go with Calamari if: You're an agency or consultancy that bills client time and needs both time tracking and leave management.
✅ Go with BambooHR if: You need a full HR platform with onboarding, performance management, and recruiting - not just leave tracking.
Stop Paying for Complexity You Don't Need
You can always grow into bigger tools later. All these alternatives have solid export options. When you outgrow them, you can import your data into more comprehensive platforms or integrate them.
But right now? Pick a tool that actually works for your current needs. One that you can set up this week, not next quarter. One with pricing you can see before talking to sales.
Rippling might be right for some companies. But if you're reading this, you already know it's not right for yours.
Annika Helendi
Annika is a fan of marketing and AI.
