LeaveBoard alternative: country leave rules built in, Italian interface, GDPR you can verify

LeaveBoard is a leave tracking and HR tool from Romania, best known for a genuinely free plan for up to 9 employees, an employee directory and calendar sync with Google, Outlook and iCal. So why do teams go looking for a LeaveBoard alternative? Usually three discoveries: leave policies are a generic calculator, so statutory mechanics like Italian ROL hours, French RTT or Spanish convenio extras are yours to model by hand; the interface speaks five languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Romanian) but not Italian; and for an EU product the privacy specifics are thin: the policy names no hosting region, lists no subprocessors and there is no public DPA. Here is the honest, point-by-point case for the alternative.

The short answer: Bueggio HR is the LeaveBoard alternative for teams that want statutory country rules already built in (Italian ROL and ex-festività, French RTT and jours ouvrables, Spanish convenios), an interface that also speaks Italian, and GDPR you can verify rather than take on trust: data in Frankfurt and nowhere else, a published DPA, self-serve GDPR export and erasure. One plan at €1.30 per user per month, billed in euros, everything included. Both companies are European, which deserves credit; only one names where the data lives.

At a glance

	Bueggio HR	LeaveBoard
What it is	Staff leave tracking for small teams	Leave tracking plus employee directory and HR reports (see leaveboard.com)
Price	€1.30 per user/month, everything included (−15% billed yearly), in euros	Free up to 9 employees; PRO $1.35 per user/month billed yearly (monthly costs more, yearly saves 17%), in US dollars
Free plan	No free tier: 1-month free trial, no card	✓ up to 9 employees
Free trial	1 month, no card	14 days, no card
Languages	English, Italian, French, Spanish	5 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Romanian), no Italian
Data hosting	EU only · Frankfurt, Germany · EU company	Hosting region not stated · EU company (Romania)
Best for	Teams that want statutory leave rules and verifiable GDPR, in one plan	Teams of 9 or fewer that want a free tool with an employee directory

Pricing: two honest price tags, in different currencies

Credit first: LeaveBoard's pricing is genuinely small-team friendly. Up to 9 employees it is free, full stop. From the 10th person the PRO plan costs $1.35 per user per month billed yearly (billing monthly costs more: the yearly discount is 17%), and it is billed in US dollars, with EU VAT added separately, even though the company is European. Bueggio HR has one plan: €1.30 per user per month with every feature included (calendar sync, Slack and Teams approvals, API, webhooks, SSO), €1.105 with yearly billing, billed in euros. The numbers are close; what differs is what sits inside them, and the sections below are about exactly that.

Bueggio HR · everything included (yearly billing) €22.10

LeaveBoard · PRO at $1.35 per user $27

Below 10 people the comparison flips: a 5-person team pays LeaveBoard nothing and Bueggio HR €6.50 a month. If a free tool for 9 or fewer is all you need, LeaveBoard wins that scenario; the rest of this page is about what you get from the 10th person on, and what is built in at any size.

Feature comparison

	Bueggio HR	LeaveBoard
Wall chart / team calendar	✓	✓ absence calendar per team
Half-day bookings	✓	Not documented
Free plan	1-month free trial, no card	✓ up to 9 employees
Interface languages	EN · IT · FR · ES, per user	EN · DE · FR · ES · RO, no Italian
Slack integration	✓ slash command, interactive approvals, daily summaries, auto OOO status	✓ chatbot: requests, balances and approvals
Microsoft Teams integration	✓ one-click approvals	Not advertised
One-click approvals from email, no login	✓	Approvals happen in the app or via the Slack chatbot
Google / Outlook calendar sync	✓ push sync + iCal feeds, included	✓ Google, Outlook and iCal
Country leave rules: Italian ROL, French RTT, Spanish convenios	✓ built in	Generic entitlement calculator, statutory rules yours to model
Public holidays	✓ 45+ countries, per-person country	✓ 50+ countries
Department absence caps & blackout dates	✓ included	—
SSO	✓ Google and Microsoft, included	✓ Google, Outlook and Slack sign-in
API & webhooks	✓ REST API + signed webhooks, included	Not advertised
AI assistant connection (MCP)	✓	—
GDPR export & right-to-erasure tooling	✓ self-serve, built in	Not advertised
Employee directory / HR database	A light HR record per person	✓ full employee database and HR reports
Mobile	Installable web app (PWA) + push notifications	Responsive web app

Five reasons the alternative wins for European teams

1. Statutory country rules, already built

LeaveBoard's "dynamic entitlement calculator" and configurable leave policies are honest tools, but they are raw material: Italian ROL and ex-festività hour balances, French RTT and jours ouvrables counting, Spanish convenio extras and regional calendars are all yours to model, test and maintain by hand. Bueggio HR ships those mechanics implemented and applies them automatically from your country at signup. If you employ people in Italy, France or Spain, that is the difference between configuring a spreadsheet-with-a-UI and switching something on.

2. An interface that speaks Italian

LeaveBoard's interface comes in five languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Romanian. Italian is not one of them, which is a hard stop if your team books leave in Italian. Bueggio HR ships in English, Italian, French and Spanish, and the language is per user: the manager in Lyon and the developer in Milan each get the app in their own language, from the same account.

3. GDPR you can verify, not just read

Both companies are European, and that matters. But LeaveBoard's privacy policy stops at "compliant with EU data protection laws": no hosting provider or region named, no subprocessor list, no public DPA, and no export or erasure tooling advertised in the product. Bueggio HR states it plainly and lets you check: data in Frankfurt and nowhere else, a published DPA with a named subprocessor list, and GDPR export and erasure your admins run themselves from the settings.

4. Approvals reach people where they already are

LeaveBoard's Slack chatbot is real and useful: your team can request leave, check balances and approve from Slack. Bueggio HR goes further on the approver's side: one-click approve or decline straight from the notification email with no login, interactive Slack approvals with daily absence summaries and an automatic out-of-office status, and Microsoft Teams approvals too, which LeaveBoard does not advertise at all. The fewer steps an approval takes, the faster your team gets an answer.

5. Built to connect: API, webhooks, AI assistants

LeaveBoard's integrations page lists calendar sync and sign-in options, and invites you to suggest anything missing; a public API or webhooks are not among what is offered. Bueggio HR includes a REST API, signed webhooks and an MCP connection for AI assistants in the one plan, so your leave data can flow into payroll, dashboards or your assistant of choice without waiting for a feature request.

Where LeaveBoard is genuinely strong

An honest comparison cuts both ways. LeaveBoard's free plan for up to 9 employees is one of the most generous in the category, with calendar sync, the absence calendar and HR reports all included at zero cost, and users rate it well (4.5 on Capterra, from a small base of 6 reviews). The built-in employee directory and XLS/CSV reporting make it a light HR system, not just a leave tracker, it covers public holidays for 50+ countries, and it speaks German and Romanian, which Bueggio HR does not. It is also a European company, which already puts it ahead of most US tools in this category. If you are a team of 9 or fewer that wants a free tool with an employee database, LeaveBoard is a legitimate pick.

Switching to the alternative takes an afternoon

1. Export your people from LeaveBoard (its reports export to XLS and CSV) and import them into Bueggio HR with a CSV, or just invite everyone by email.
2. Set your leave types and allowances. Country defaults (including public holidays for 45+ countries and the statutory rules for Italy, France and Spain) are applied at signup; carry-over balances can be set per person.
3. Book from day one. Your team requests time off from their phones and managers approve in one click from email, Slack or Teams. The first month is free, no card required.

Want the wider market view first? Read our ranking of the best leave tracking apps.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best LeaveBoard alternative for European teams?

Bueggio HR: statutory leave rules for Italy, France and Spain built in instead of a generic policy calculator, an interface that also speaks Italian, data hosted in Frankfurt with a published DPA, and one all-inclusive plan at €1.30 per user per month billed in euros. LeaveBoard stays a fair pick for teams of 9 or fewer that mainly want a free tool.

Is LeaveBoard really free?

Yes: the free plan covers up to 9 employees with the absence calendar, leave policies and HR reports included. From the 10th person the PRO plan costs $1.35 per user per month billed yearly, in US dollars, with EU VAT added separately. Bueggio HR has no free tier but one everything-included plan at €1.30 per user per month (€1.105 billed yearly), no user minimum and a 1-month free trial without a card.

Where does LeaveBoard store data, and what about GDPR?

LeaveBoard is run by a Romanian company, so it is an EU business, and its privacy policy says the service complies with EU data protection laws. It does not, however, name a hosting provider or region, list subprocessors or publish a DPA. Bueggio HR is an EU company with data hosted in Frankfurt, a published DPA, and self-serve GDPR export and erasure built into the product.