Side-by-side comparison

Cabana vs. Timetastic

Simple online leave planner for small teams. See why Slack-first teams choose Cabana instead.

Cabanavs
Timetastic

Common pain points

Why teams look for a Timetastic alternative

  • No Slack or Teams integration — employees must log in to a web portal
  • UK-focused; US holiday calendar support is limited
  • Basic policy engine; limited accrual and carryover customization
  • No team org chart or department-level management

Feature comparison

Cabana vs. Timetastic — side by side

Feature
Cabana
Timetastic
Slack slash commands
Approve from Slack DM
Microsoft Teams support
Google Calendar sync
Outlook / Microsoft 365 sync
Accrual policies (tiers, tenure, carryover)
Basic
Unlimited PTO support
Multi-location / holiday calendars
UK-focused
Custom leave types
Admin web app
Org chart
Reporting
Basic
Setup time
~5 minutes
~10 minutes
Price per user/mo
~$2–4
£1–2 (~$1.25–2.50)
Free trial / no credit card
Free tier (≤5 users)
No minimum seat count

Timetastic pricing: UK-based product; pricing in GBP

Why Cabana

What makes Cabana different

Set up in 5 minutes, not 5 days

Import your team from Slack or CSV, pick a policy template, and you're live. No implementation project. No onboarding call. A founder can do it between meetings.

💬

Your team never leaves Slack

Request with /cabana request. Approve with one tap in a Slack DM. Check balances with /cabana balance. The whole workflow lives where your team already works.

📊

One source of truth, always accurate

Balances update automatically — accruals, carryover, holiday deductions. Approved leave syncs to Google Calendar and Outlook. No more spreadsheet reconciliation.

Built for Slack

Your team never has to leave Slack

Employees request time off with /cabana request. Managers approve with one button tap in a Slack DM. The daily digest posts who's out every morning — automatically.

/cabana request
/cabana balance
/cabana whosout

#general

C

Cabana App

C

Cabana App

Message #general

Is Cabana right for you?

Switch from Timetastic if…

Timetastic is clean and simple, which is exactly why teams like it early on. But as soon as you want PTO to live inside Slack — requests, approvals, balance checks, who's-out digests — you hit its limits. Cabana is built for Slack-first US teams that want everything handled without ever opening another tab.

  • Your team uses Slack and is tired of logging into yet another web portal
  • You need Slack slash commands so employees never have to switch apps
  • Your team is based in the US and needs US-centric holiday calendars

Teams that made the switch

Join hundreds of small teams who ditched the spreadsheet.

We were paying way too much for software nobody used. Cabana was running in Slack within minutes. The whole team adopted it instantly.

SL

Sarah L.

Head of Ops, 32-person startup

The Slack integration is the real difference. Approving a PTO request used to mean logging into a portal. Now I just tap Approve in a DM.

MR

Marcus R.

Founder, 18-person agency

Balance tracking used to be a monthly reconciliation nightmare. Cabana just… handles it. I haven't touched the spreadsheet in months.

PT

Priya T.

HR Lead, 55-person SaaS

Honest limitations

What Cabana doesn't do (yet)

We'd rather you pick the right tool than churn in month two. If any of these are dealbreakers, Timetastic might still be the right fit.

Timetastic is cheaper for very small teams (free up to 5 users)

If you're a team of 5 or fewer, Timetastic's free tier is hard to beat on price. Cabana is the better choice once you need Slack integration or more than basic leave policies.

If your team prefers a clean web app over Slack, Timetastic still works

Timetastic's web interface is well-designed. If your team doesn't use Slack, the portal-first approach works fine. Cabana's core value is its Slack experience — without Slack, much of the advantage disappears.

Frequently asked questions

Does Timetastic integrate with Slack?

No. Timetastic is a web-portal-only tool. Employees submit requests by logging in to the Timetastic site. Cabana lives in Slack: requests, approvals, balance checks, and daily team digests happen without opening another tab.

Is Cabana more expensive than Timetastic?

Timetastic's paid tier is about £1–2/user/month ($1.25–2.50 USD). Cabana is $2–4/user/month. For a 20-person US team that uses Slack, the extra $20–30/month buys a Slack-native workflow where your team actually uses the tool. Adoption is the hidden cost Timetastic doesn't show.

We're a UK-based team — does Cabana support UK holidays?

Yes. Cabana supports per-location holiday calendars, including England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other regions. You assign each employee to a location and they get the right public holidays automatically.

Give your team the time off experience they deserve

Set up in under 5 minutes. No credit card required.