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Leave and absence management · November 2026 Edition

Calamari vs Zoho People

One of fourteen models named Calamari first on the direct prompt; zero named Zoho People. Both were named by all fourteen models and Calamari carries 27 labels and Zoho People 28, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Calamari

accepted challenger

Named in one category this edition.

Zoho People

accepted challenger

Named in fifteen categories this edition.

First-choice share6%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate4%4%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#7A position in a field of 14; printed, not drawn.
Labels2728A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Calamari reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Rippling was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. LeaveBoard vs Calamari · LeaveBoard vs Zoho People · Vacation Tracker vs Calamari

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the leave and absence management page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
CalamariFirst choices, of fourteen modelsZoho People
Direct10
Paraphrase11
Comparative10
Budget-constrained101 against Calamari
Scale-constrained00
Negative001 against Zoho People
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Calamari and Zoho People stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.20
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
GPT-6 Luna
Muse Glimmer 30B
Calamari Zoho People first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Calamari on the left and Zoho People on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Calamari and Zoho People stood in it.

Calamari first, Zoho People not the choice

1 of 14 modelsZoho People was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
GLM 4.7 FlashXCalamari, Vacation Tracker alternatives: BambooHR, Rippling

Neither was the first choice, one was named

6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Perplexity SonarBambooHR alternatives: AbsenceSoft, Deel, Factorial, Rippling, Vacation Tracker, Zoho People
Grok 4.20Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, Calamari, Vacation Tracker
DeepSeek V4 FlashRippling alternatives: BambooHR, Vacation Tracker, Zoho People
Qwen 3.7 FlashFactorial, Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, HiBob, Zoho People
MiniMax M2.5Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, Calamari, TalentHR
Muse Glimmer 30BTalentHR, Vacation Tracker alternatives: BambooHR, Calamari, Deel, Rippling, Zoho People

Neither was named

7 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
Claude Haiku 4.5Paycor alternatives: HiBob, Personio, Rippling
GPT-5.4 miniAbsenceSoft alternatives: BambooHR, Sparrow, Workzoom
Gemini 3.5 FlashRippling alternatives: AbsenceSoft, AttendanceBot, BambooHR, HiBob, Vacation Tracker
Mistral SmallAbsence.io, HiBob alternatives: Jorani, Timetastic
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Kimi K2Rippling alternatives: BambooHR, Personio
GPT-6 LunaAbsenceSoft alternatives: Cocoon, Rippling

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Calamari leads by twelve points.
Calamari12%#3 of 12
Zoho People0%#11 of 12
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Calamari leads by four points.
Calamari6%#5 of 14
Zoho People2%#7 of 14
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Calamari leads by two points.
Calamari2%#8 of 12
Zoho People0%#– of 12
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Calamari

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.

“but slightly pricier—worth it if you need more features later” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · soft negative
“I'd recommend starting with Calamari or Vacation Tracker for their excellent balance of features and pricing” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
“My default pick: Calamari—assuming you want a dedicated PTO tool and already have an HRIS/payroll system.” GPT-6 Luna · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Calamari | Best Overall | Excellent custom absence rules and flexibility” MiniMax M2.5 · comparative prompt · first choice

What the models said about Zoho People

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. One of one in this category shown.

“G2 reviews for Zoho People specifically mention a "steep learning curve," "cluttered and complex" navigation, and limited customization options” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · soft negative
Also compared

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.