Absence Management · head-to-head
absence.io vs Urlaubsverwaltung
As of 28 Oct 2026, the panel rates absence.io 2/5 and Urlaubsverwaltung 2.5/5 in Absence Management. Weighted by what each judge cares about, 0 of the 6 judges pick absence.io and 6 pick Urlaubsverwaltung. absence.io scores higher on 1 of 7 criteria (Payroll handover, time tracking & API). Urlaubsverwaltung scores higher on 6 of 7 criteria (Health data, access & works council, Sick leave, eAU & continued pay, European sovereignty, plus 3 more). Provenance — absence.io: EU-Made; Urlaubsverwaltung: EU-Made. Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made.
The short answer
The bench splits along one line. Absence.io takes payroll handover at 5.0 to 3.7, with 6 judges leaning its way and 0 leaning Urlaubsverwaltung — its DATEV connection covers expenses and travel cost reports. Urlaubsverwaltung leads absence data protection 6.0 to 2.5 and sick leave and eAU 5.0 to 3.0, 6 judges leaning its way on each, citing sickness stored without the medical reason. It also leads sovereignty 7.3 to 6.3 and pricing transparency 7.8 to 7.0 — each 5 leans, 1 tie — plus leave policies 4.0 to 3.2. Requests and approvals genuinely split: 1 lean absence.io, 2 lean Urlaubsverwaltung, 3 ties. The five weighted totals listed each favor Urlaubsverwaltung, from 4.6 vs 4.1 to 6 vs 4.6 — yet payroll handover stands 6 to 0 for absence.io. Both list EU only data residency and US CLOUD Act reach subprocessor exposure; absence.io's legal entity jurisdiction is DE, Urlaubsverwaltung's is unknown.
Choose absence.io if
- You hand payroll to DATEV — absence.io leads payroll handover 5.0 to 3.7 with 6 judges leaning its way, and its documented DATEV connection covers expenses and travel cost reports.
- Your team builds custom integrations — absences and time tracking export over the open REST API (v2, OAuth 2.0 and Hawk).
- You need the vendor's legal entity jurisdiction stated — absence.io lists DE, while Urlaubsverwaltung's jurisdiction is listed as unknown.
- You run fewer than five active users — Urlaubsverwaltung's published pricing sets a minimum of five active users and a 10,00 € monthly minimum (plus VAT), while absence.io publishes monthly cancellation with no minimum term.
Choose Urlaubsverwaltung if
- You weigh absence data protection most — Urlaubsverwaltung leads 6.0 to 2.5 with 6 judges leaning its way; sickness is stored without the medical reason and visibility is role-dependent.
- Your team needs sick leave and continued pay handled — sick leave and eAU runs 5.0 to 3.0 with 6 judges leaning Urlaubsverwaltung, and the data protection judge credits a six-week continued-pay reminder.
- You need documented leave policies — Urlaubsverwaltung leads 4.0 to 3.2, with 5 judges leaning its way and 1 tie.
- Subprocessor documentation matters to your review — sovereignty runs 7.3 to 6.3 (5 leans, 1 tie), with hosting in Hetzner's ISO 27001 certified datacentre in Germany and a published subprocessor list.
- Your payroll accountant weighs the whole rubric, not just handover — their weighted total is 5.1 for Urlaubsverwaltung versus 4.2 for absence.io.
Read this comparison as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The bench's picks
Same scores, different priorities: each judge's weighting applied to both products. The split is the finding.
- The Team Lead absence.io Urlaubsverwaltung picks Urlaubsverwaltung
- The Managing Director absence.io Urlaubsverwaltung picks Urlaubsverwaltung
- The Payroll Accountant absence.io Urlaubsverwaltung picks Urlaubsverwaltung
- The Data Protection Officer absence.io Urlaubsverwaltung picks Urlaubsverwaltung
- The HR IT Integrator absence.io Urlaubsverwaltung picks Urlaubsverwaltung
- The Skeptic absence.io Urlaubsverwaltung picks Urlaubsverwaltung
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | absence.io | Urlaubsverwaltung |
|---|---|---|
| Entitlements & German leave rules | 1.5 of 5 | 2 of 5 |
| Requests, approvals & team calendar | 2.5 of 5 | 2.5 of 5 |
| Sick leave, eAU & continued pay | 1.5 of 5 | 2.5 of 5 |
| Payroll handover, time tracking & API | 2.5 of 5 | 2 of 5 |
| Health data, access & works council | 1.5 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 3 of 5 | 3.5 of 5 |
| Pricing transparency | 3.5 of 5 | 4 of 5 |
| Criterion | absence.io | Urlaubsverwaltung | The bench leans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entitlements & German leave rules | Urlaubsverwaltung, 5 of 6 judges | ||
| Requests, approvals & team calendar | Urlaubsverwaltung, 2 of 6 judges | ||
| Sick leave, eAU & continued pay | Urlaubsverwaltung, 6 of 6 judges | ||
| Payroll handover, time tracking & API | absence.io, 6 of 6 judges | ||
| Health data, access & works council | Urlaubsverwaltung, 6 of 6 judges | ||
| European sovereignty | Urlaubsverwaltung, 5 of 6 judges | ||
| Pricing transparency | Urlaubsverwaltung, 5 of 6 judges |
Stars show the bench average per criterion; the lean counts which product each judge scored higher. Open a judge's tab for their reasoning on both sides.
Sovereignty, side by side
| Dimension | absence.io | Urlaubsverwaltung |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | Not determined |
| Ownership | Not determined | Not determined |
| Data residency | Not determined | Not determined |
| Subprocessors | US CLOUD Act reach | US CLOUD Act reach |
Facts, side by side
Only facts both products carry under the same definition — anything else would not be a fair row.
| Compliance · DPA | Auftragsdatenverarbeitung/AVV · yes1 | yes2 |
|---|---|---|
| Data · Deletion policy | yes3 | yes4 |
| Hosting · Region | Deutschland · yes5 | Germany6 |
| Legal · Address | 80637 · München · Landshuter Allee 49 · Deutschland7 | 76189 · Karlsruhe · Lindenallee 126 · Deutschland8 |
| Legal · Company | 80637 · München · absence.io GmbH · Landshuter Allee 499 | Focus Shift Software GmbH10 |
| Legal · Controller | absence.io GmbH · Ridlerstraße 31, 80339 Deutschland11 | datenschutz@urlaubsverwaltung.cloud · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland · Focus Shift Software GmbH4 |
| Legal · Entity | 80637 · München · absence.io GmbH · Landshuter Allee 495 | Focus Shift Software GmbH12 |
| Legal · Register | HRB 211629 · Handelsregister · Amtsgericht München7 | HRB 737998 · Mannheim13 |
| Legal · VAT id | DE2948083237 | DE33616160713 |
| Pricing · Annual discount | 109 | 106 |
| Pricing · Free trial | yes · no14 | yes6 |
| Pricing · Payment methods | Visa · Master Card · American Express · europäisches Lastschriftverfahren9 | bank transfer · SEPA direct debit · email monthly in arrears15 |
| Pricing · Trial | 14 · no16 | yes · 30 · yes · no15 |
| Product · Modules | Urlaubsplaner · Digitale Personalakte · Zeiterfassung · Digitale Stempeluhr · Spesen- und Reisekostenabrechnung1 | Urlaubsverwaltung · Zeiterfassung17 |
| Product · Time tracking | Time tracking via stopwatch, clock terminal or manual entries5 | digitale Arbeitszeiterfassung18 |
Questions about absence.io and Urlaubsverwaltung
Which is better, absence.io or Urlaubsverwaltung?
As of 28 Oct 2026, the panel rates Urlaubsverwaltung higher: 2.5/5 against 2/5. Weighted by what each judge cares about, 0 of the 6 judges pick absence.io and 6 pick Urlaubsverwaltung. Which one fits depends on the criteria that matter to you; the table on this page shows both side by side, and each judge’s reading has its own page. Both were scored by the same AI bench under the same rubric, from public evidence only, as the methodology describes.
Is absence.io or Urlaubsverwaltung European?
absence.io is European (EU-Made). Urlaubsverwaltung is European (EU-Made). Provenance is read from each company’s own legal pages: who builds it and who owns it.
Where do absence.io and Urlaubsverwaltung store customer data?
Per the vendors’ own pages as captured — absence.io: Default not stated; pages mention Germany. Urlaubsverwaltung: Default not stated; pages mention Germany.