SquadBear vs Calamari
SquadBear is one suite you run from Claude. Calamari is modular EU leave and clock-in, strong on shop-floor hardware. Honest split.
Comparison last reviewed 2026-09.
TL;DR: Calamari is the modular EU leave and attendance tool people buy when they have a shop floor, a reception desk, or they only want one module. SquadBear is the whole people stack (leave, project time, attendance, health, records) at a flat $4, a 5-seat free tier, and an assistant that can run it. If you need iBeacons, pick them. If you want Claude to file Friday off, pick us.
At a glance
| Capability | SquadBear | Calamari |
|---|---|---|
| Operating model | Web app, Slack leave (/timeoff, /whos-out, approval DMs), Claude / ChatGPT / Cursor over MCP | Web app, native mobile, Slack / Teams bots |
| AI | First-party MCP. Same permissions, same audit log | Conversational Slack / Teams commands |
| Leave | Policies, coverage, auto-reroute, sick notes | Strong leave and absence |
| Time tracking | Leave-aware timesheets, Jira / Linear / GitHub / Asana, submit and approve, R&D / CapEx | Clock-in, timesheets, billable hours, projects |
| Clock-in | Browser Clock, agent, optional door tablet (card or badge) | Kiosk tablets, QR, iBeacons, GPS geofencing, web / Slack |
| Team health | Live health checks, eNPS, retros, actions. Included | Not a core feature |
| Core HR | Records, custom fields, processes that start on hire, sign-the-handbook | Core HR module, employee data, documents |
| GDPR and hosting | EU files on Cloudflare, export and erasure | EU-headquartered (Poland), GDPR cloud |
| Free tier | Free for 5 people, same product | Free trial only |
| Price | $4 / active person / month. Time, attendance and health can sit off | ~$2–$3 / user / month per module (leave + clock-in often ~$4.50–$6) |
Where SquadBear is the stronger choice
You are not stacking invoices. Calamari's Time Off + Clock In + Core HR is three line items. Ours is one $4 seat. Turn off time, attendance or health if you are not running them. The assistant is not an add-on.
The assistant is the product, not a bot with four commands. Calamari's Slack bot is good at /leave. Claude on SquadBear can check coverage, file the Friday, log six hours on Platform v2, and start a health check. It is you, with your role. Hidden modules drop their tools automatically.
Built for software teams. Time tracking is "what was the day spent on," not a punch for payroll. Issues come from Jira or Linear. Expected hours already subtract leave. Attendance is a separate switch if you also want who is actually in.
Health is in the same workspace. Health checks and retros sit next to the roster. You do not buy TeamRetro on the side.
Where Calamari is the stronger choice
- Shop-floor hardware. Factories, warehouses, clinics, retail: wall tablets, iBeacons, QR clocks. That is their product. Our kiosk is a door tablet with a card or badge, and it stays off until you turn Attendance on.
- GPS geofencing. Field staff punching in on a job site. We do not do that.
- Buy only clock-in. If you truly want nothing else, they will sell you one module. We would rather you hide the rest than invoice you per room, but they will unbundle further.
- Mature native mobile, including offline clock-in.
Who should pick which
- Pick SquadBear if you are a remote or hybrid tech team, agency or product company that wants leave, project time, optional attendance, and health in one suite your assistant can run.
- Pick Calamari if you run physical shifts, need iBeacons / GPS / QR clocks, or you only want a clock and will never care about leave-aware timesheets or health.
Related
Frequently asked questions
How does SquadBear compare to Calamari?
SquadBear is leave, issue-linked time tracking, attendance, team health and core HR in one $4 plan, plus a first-party MCP server so Claude or ChatGPT can operate it. Calamari sells Time Off, Clock In/Out and Core HR as separate modules, and is strongest on physical clock-in (kiosks, iBeacons, QR, GPS) and Slack/Teams bots.
What is the difference in AI?
Calamari has Slack and Teams slash-command bots. SquadBear ships MCP, so the assistant you already pay for (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) can check balances, file leave, log hours and start a health check under your permissions. Same audit trail as the UI.
Does SquadBear support kiosks or iBeacons?
A shared tablet kiosk, yes. People clock in with a card or a rotating badge, and the tablet can log visitors and parcels. iBeacons, GPS geofencing and QR wall clocks, no. That hardware is Calamari's home turf.
Are both GDPR-friendly?
Yes. Both are EU products with European hosting, export and erasure. SquadBear runs on Cloudflare with jurisdiction control on files.
Try SquadBear on your own team
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