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Software · head to head

Breathe HR vs Fantastical

Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

Software

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fantastical logo

Fantastical

Software

The calendar app you'll love to use

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fantastical has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Breathe HR pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50; Fantastical premium subscription required for advanced features at $56.99/year
  • They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Fantastical covers Natural language input.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Breathe HR and Fantastical actually diverge.

Attributes where Breathe HR and Fantastical differ
AttributeBreathe HRFantastical
Starting price£13/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows
Founded20122011

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Breathe HR

  • Employee Database
  • Absence Management
  • Document Storage
  • HR Reporting
  • Performance Management
  • Training
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace

Only in Fantastical

  • Natural language input
  • Calendar sets
  • Weather integration
  • Scheduling
  • Tasks
  • Google Calendar
  • Outlook
  • iCloud

Both cover

  • Ios support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Breathe HR

  • Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot Fantastical
  • Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot Fantastical
  • Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot Fantastical

Fantastical

  • Schedulingnot Breathe HR
  • Appointment bookingnot Breathe HR
  • Time trackingnot Breathe HR
  • Resource managementnot Breathe HR
  • Team coordinationnot Breathe HR

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Breathe HR

  • Pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
  • Plans are capped by band up to 151 to 200 people, so it is not sold to organisations above that range on the published ladder
  • The free trial is 14 days
  • Health and safety, e-learning and other modules are sold as add-ons on top of the core HR plan
  • Pricing is quoted in pounds and the product is marketed to UK SMEs

Fantastical

  • Premium subscription required for advanced features at $56.99/year
  • Primarily designed for Apple ecosystem; Windows version is resource-intensive
  • No native Android app, limiting cross-platform usage
  • No web interface for calendar access
  • Shows events but lacks event management capabilities compared to specialized task tools

Pricing, plan by plan

Breathe HR

£13/month
  • Core$13/month
    • Employee Database
    • Absence Management
    • Documents
  • People Management$18/month
    • All Core features
    • Performance
    • Goals

Fantastical

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic calendar views (day, week, month, quarter, year)
    • Natural language event entry
    • 3-day weather forecast
  • Individual Premium$56.99/year
    • All free features
    • Task management with Todoist and Google Tasks
    • Unlimited calendar sets
  • Family Premium$89.99/year
    • All Individual Premium features
    • Up to 5 family members
    • Shared calendars

Which should you pick?

Choose Breathe HR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want absence management.
Breathe HR review

Choose Fantastical if

  • You need natural language input.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows.
  • You also want calendar sets.
Fantastical review

Questions people ask

Is Breathe HR or Fantastical better?
Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Fantastical at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or Fantastical?
Fantastical has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £13/month for Breathe HR and Free for Fantastical.
Does Breathe HR or Fantastical run on more platforms?
Breathe HR runs on Web, Ios, Android. Fantastical runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows.
Can I use Fantastical for free?
Yes. Fantastical has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Breathe HR starts at £13/month.
What is Breathe HR best used for?
Breathe HR is most often used for holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business, storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures, performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teams. Of those, holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business and storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures are not what Fantastical is typically brought in for.
What can Breathe HR do that Fantastical cannot?
Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Fantastical covers Natural language input, Calendar sets, Weather integration, Scheduling. Both handle Ios support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fantastical: Does Fantastical have a free plan?

Yes, Fantastical offers a free tier with basic calendar views (day, week, month, quarter, year), natural language event entry, and 3-day weather forecast. Premium features including task management integrations and family sharing require a paid subscription at $56.99/year or $6.99/month.

Source
Fantastical: Can I create events using natural language?

Yes, Fantastical's signature feature is natural language processing, allowing you to create events by typing or speaking in plain English. You can type things like 'dinner tomorrow at 7 pm with Sarah' and it automatically parses the date, time, and attendees.

Source
Fantastical: What calendar services does Fantastical support?

Fantastical integrates with Google Calendar, iCloud, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Office 365, and Fastmail. It supports multiple account types and syncs changes across all connected services.

Source
Fantastical: What task management apps can I integrate with Fantastical?

Fantastical supports Todoist, Google Tasks, and Microsoft 365 tasks. Tasks sync bidirectionally, and changes made in Fantastical reflect back in your task service.

Source
Fantastical: Does Fantastical work on Windows?

Fantastical for Windows was released in October 2024, though it is resource-heavy compared to the macOS and iOS versions. The app is feature-complete but less polished than the Apple platform versions.

Source
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