Almost every quote leads with a per-employee headline. What decides the real cost is the three things underneath it: the seat minimum, the fixed term, and whether the price can be reviewed at renewal. The number that matters is the total you commit to over the term.
Per seat
The headline rate. Ask whether it is per employee on the payroll or per active user — and get it in writing.
Minimum
Many products bill a floor headcount. Below it, your real per-head cost is higher than the headline.
24, 36 or 60mo
The fixed-term lengths commonly offered. Multiply the monthly figure by this to see the real commitment.
General guidance describing how HR software is commonly priced in the UK, not a statement about any particular supplier. Confirm current terms directly with any provider before buying.
Worked examples on a 36-month term at illustrative rates of £15 and £25 per employee per month, next to the same team on LeaveApprove paying monthly for the same period. Substitute your own quoted rate — the point is the multiplication, not the rate.
| Team size | At £15–£25/mo | 36-month total | LeaveApprove/month | LeaveApprove, same 36 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | £75–£125 | £2,700–£4,500 | £40 (cancel anytime) | £1,440 |
| 10 people | £150–£250 | £5,400–£9,000 | £80 (cancel anytime) | £2,880 |
| 25 people | £375–£625 | £13,500–£22,500 | £200 (cancel anytime) | £7,200 |
The £15–£25rates are illustrative round numbers to show how a per-seat price compounds over a term — they are not any supplier’s published prices. Use your own quote. LeaveApprove totals assume you choose to stay the same 36 months, but nothing makes you.
It varies enormously by what is bundled in. Focused tools that do leave, absence and rotas tend to sit in the single figures per user per month — LeaveApprove is £8. Suites that bundle employment-law advice, an employee assistance programme or payroll are typically priced well above that, and are usually quoted on a call rather than published. Always ask for the per-employee rate in writing.
A seat minimum is the smallest number of employees a supplier will bill you for, regardless of how many you actually have. If a product has a five-seat minimum and you have three staff, you pay for five. For very small teams this can quietly double the real per-head cost, so ask about it early. LeaveApprove has no seat minimum — you pay for the people you have.
No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. Billing frequency and contract length are different things: many products bill monthly while committing you to a fixed term of 24, 36 or 60 months. "Pay monthly" is a payment schedule; "monthly rolling" is a contract. Ask which one you are being sold.
Multiply the per-employee rate by your billed headcount, then by the number of months in the term. On a 36-month term, a rate of £25 per employee per month for a 10-person team is a commitment of £9,000 — before any renewal uplift. That total, not the monthly figure, is what you are actually signing for.
LeaveApprove is £8 per user per month, billed monthly with no fixed term, no seat minimum and no renewal uplift. A 10-person team pays £80/month and can cancel in two clicks at any time.