SquadBear vs Timetastic
SquadBear is leave plus project time, reviews, team health and an assistant. Timetastic is a focused leave planner, with rotas on its top plan.
Comparison last reviewed October 2026.
TL;DR: Timetastic is the simple staff holiday planner with the wallchart everyone understands. SquadBear is leave that already knows about timesheets, health checks and the employee record, and you can book Friday by asking Claude. If leave is the only job forever, they are clearer. If leave is the first job, we are the suite you will not outgrow next quarter.
At a glance
| Capability | SquadBear | Timetastic |
|---|---|---|
| Operate from your AI assistant | Yes. Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor over MCP | Web and mobile app. We found no first-party assistant connector (25 Oct 2026) |
| Leave | Policies, coverage risk, auto-reroute, Slack /timeoff and /whos-out, Discord /squadbear | Holidays and absence, approvals, wallchart |
| Multi-country holidays | 27 country presets, part-time proration | Multi-country public holidays |
| Time tracking | Projects, Jira / Linear / GitHub, leave-aware weeks, submit and approve, CapEx / OpEx | Time clock, breaks and timesheets on the Rota & Time Clock plan. Their pricing page does not mention projects or issues |
| Team health | Live health checks, eNPS, trends, actions, retros | Not offered |
| Performance and goals | Self, named peer, manager and anonymous upward feedback from three. Goals freeze when the round opens. Anytime feedback. A draft in your assistant, which you submit. Included in the $4 seat | Not part of the holiday planner |
| Core HR | Directory, custom fields, processes on hire, sign-the-handbook | Profiles for leave |
| Integrations | Slack, Discord, iCal (Google / Outlook / Apple), Google Calendar app, Jira, Linear, GitHub, Asana, MCP, REST | Slack, Teams, Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal, Zapier |
| Permanent free tier | Free for up to 5 people, every module, no time limit | 30-day free trial, no free plan |
| Price | Team $4 / active person / month, all modules | Per-user plans for leave, and a higher Rota & Time Clock plan. We are not quoting a figure. |
Where SquadBear is the stronger choice
Leave is the start, not the ceiling. Book Friday. Expected hours on the timesheet go to zero. Coverage warns Tomasz before he approves. Health checks and reviews sit on the same roster.
Ask Claude. "Book Friday off and check if anyone else on Design is away." Policy checks, cover, submit. You are not logging into a second dashboard for a day off.
Engineers can log the rest of the week. Hours on a Jira issue, CapEx vs OpEx for R&D credits, no Harvest on the side. Hide time tracking if you do not need it. It is still there when the accountant asks.
Free for five, then $4. Every module is in the free plan, with no trial clock. Timetastic offers a 30-day trial.
Where Timetastic is the stronger choice
- One job, done. If you will never log project time, never run a health check, never store a handbook, they are simpler to roll out.
- The wallchart. Instantly readable for office managers who think in grids.
- Leave-only price. Hard to beat if leave is all you will ever buy.
- Shift rotas. Their Rota & Time Clock plan builds rotas, with shift swaps and open shifts. SquadBear does not schedule shifts.
- Native mobile aimed at booking leave on a phone.
Who should pick which
- Pick SquadBear if you are a tech team or agency that wants leave now and time, health or records without buying the next three tools, plus an assistant that can book the day.
- Pick Timetastic if you want a holiday wallchart, perhaps with shift rotas and a clock, and you do not need project time, documents, health checks, reviews or Claude.
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Frequently asked questions
Is SquadBear a Timetastic alternative?
Yes, if you want leave that lives with time tracking, team health and employee records, and you want Claude to book the day. If you only want a holiday wallchart and nothing else, Timetastic is dedicated to exactly that.
What is the main difference?
Scope. Timetastic is leave, with rotas and a time clock on its top plan. SquadBear is leave, issue-linked time, attendance if you want it, health checks, and core HR, operable from Claude, ChatGPT or Slack. Friday stays in chat; changing the leave policy still needs you in SquadBear.
Does SquadBear have a free plan like Timetastic?
Timetastic offers a free trial, not a permanent free tier. SquadBear is free for up to 5 people with every module and the assistant connector, and no time limit. Timesheet approval, the audit log and webhooks come with the paid Team plan.
Can SquadBear handle multi-country public holidays?
Yes. Prepared calendars for 27 countries (2026 and 2027 nationwide dates), and part-time schedules prorate leave automatically. Regional days (German Länder, Swiss cantons) you add by hand.
Try SquadBear on your own team
Free for up to 5 people, then $4 per active person a month. Product modules are on every plan. Timesheet submit and approve, the audit log and webhooks are on Team.
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