A simpler Breathe HR alternative for holidays and rotas
Breathe HR is a full HR system, and its rota is an add-on. If what you need is leave, absence and rotas, Rotaleave does those in one price, free for 10 or fewer, and reads your Breathe reports.
What it costs
Monthly prices before VAT. Rotaleave includes the rota and clock-in, so the like-for-like Breathe price is core HR plus its Rota, Time & Attendance add-on.
| Feature | Rotaleave | Breathe HR |
|---|---|---|
| 10 people | £0 | £24/month for core HR, or £35/month with the rota add-on |
| 15 people | £10/month | £44/month for core HR, or £61/month with the rota add-on |
| 25 people | £20/month | £99/month for core HR, or £133/month with the rota add-on |
Breathe HR prices are per business per month, billed monthly and exclusive of VAT, from breathehr.com HR software prices, checked October 2026. Yearly billing is about 15% less on the core software. Rotaleave: free for 10 or fewer, then £5/month + £1 per person over 10, plus VAT where applicable.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Rotaleave | Breathe HR |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, up to 10 people, with every feature | No. A 14-day free trial, then from £24/month |
| Price model | Free up to 10, then £5/month + £1 per person over 10 | A flat price per business for each headcount band (1–10, 11–20, 21–50 and up) |
| What it covers | Leave, absence, rota, clock-in and timesheets | A full HR system: holiday and absence, documents and policies, performance, reporting |
| Rota and clock-in | Included in the price | The “Rota, Time & Attendance” add-on, from £11/month |
| Holiday and absence | Included: days or hours in 15-minute steps, a limit on how many are off per department, Bradford factor report | Included in every plan |
| Other HR modules | None. Rotaleave does leave and rotas only | Add-ons for recruitment, learning, expenses, and health and safety |
| Paying yearly | Monthly only, cancel any time | Monthly, or yearly for about 15% off the core software |
| Bringing your history | Breathe HR importer: their Employees report plus an optional Absence report | — |
| Mobile apps | iPhone and Android | An HR mobile app |
Breathe HR details from their pricing page, checked October 2026. Check their site for changes.
Where Breathe HR is better
Breathe is a complete HR system. It stores documents and policies, runs performance reviews, and offers add-ons for recruitment, training, expenses, and health and safety. Rotaleave does none of that. Breathe’s price is per business, not per person, so a team at the top of a band, say 20 people on the £44 plan, pays nothing extra for each new starter. It has also been running far longer.
Rotaleave is the better fit when holidays, absence and rotas are the job, and you would rather not pay for an HR system to get them. It also suits teams who book holiday in hours, or who want the rota and leave checked against each other.
Moving from Breathe HR
Rotaleave reads Breathe’s report downloads, CSV or Excel. Upload the Employees report and, if you want your history, an Absence report. Holiday and sickness both come across. Preview first: nothing is saved until you click Import, and re-running a corrected file updates rather than duplicates.
The step-by-step Breathe HR import guide lists every column it reads and what to check afterwards.
Switching questions
What comes across from Breathe HR?
Download Breathe’s People data export, and optionally its absence and sickness reports for the dates you want, combined into one file. Rotaleave reads people, departments, line managers, start dates, allowances and leavers from the first, and holiday and sickness bookings from the second. You see a preview before anything is saved. Remaining balances and working days are not in the files, so set those afterwards.
Is Breathe HR priced per person?
No. Breathe charges a flat monthly price per business for each headcount band: £24 for 1–10 people, £44 for 11–20 and £99 for 21–50, before VAT, with rotas and clocking in as a paid add-on. Rotaleave is free for 10 or fewer and then £5 a month plus £1 for each person over 10, rota included.
Can I keep Breathe for HR and use Rotaleave for rotas?
Yes, you can. Rotaleave does not hold contracts, documents or reviews, so if you rely on those, keep Breathe for them. But Breathe’s own rota add-on costs £11 to £34 a month at 1 to 50 people, so compare that before running two systems.
Does the Breathe HR import change my own admin access?
It can. Breathe’s file has no roles, so everyone in it becomes an employee, or a manager if someone names them as their line manager. If your own email is in the file, take your row out before importing, or make sure another admin who is not in the file can restore your role.
Compare Rotaleave with
Timetastic alternative
Leave and rota in one price. Import straight from Timetastic.
BrightHR alternative
No fixed-term contract. Import your BrightHR exports.
RotaCloud alternative
Rota, leave and clock-in in one price.
Deputy alternative
No £20 monthly minimum. Free for 10 or fewer.
Leave Dates alternative
A free plan, plus rota and clock-in. Import your Leave Dates reports.
WhosOff alternative
Rota built in. A team of 10 pays £0, not £17.50 a month.
Switching to Rotaleave
Every importer, and the staff CSV for everything else.
Bring your Breathe HR history with you
Import their Employees and Absence reports. 30 days free. Free forever for 10 or fewer.
Start free