Vacation Planner 2026 [Free Excel Template]

For 2026 I present a free vacation planner for smaller companies and employees.

In the fast-paced world of business, ensuring the well-deserved vacations of your hardworking employees are managed efficiently is crucial. That’s why I’ve taken the initiative to create a specialized vacation planner tailored to the needs of diligent professionals like you, who are responsible for overseeing their team’s time off.

Click here to go directly to the download.

In this article, I’ve crafted a vacation planner that considers all aspects of employee leave management, from optimizing coverage during absences to accommodating individual preferences.

Use of the Vacation Planner 2026

Users of the vacation planner from last years already know it: It’s quite simple.

First, download the Excel template at the end of the article and open it with Microsoft Excel or similar software such as Numbers from Apple or LibreOffice, a free Office alternative.
Now you have two options: Either you edit the file directly in Microsoft Excel or you print it out and mark the holidays of your employees by hand.
Fill out the fields for “Employees”.
Enter the number of remaining vacation days from 2025 for each employee in the next column.
Enter the number of vacation days for each employee for 2026 in the next column.
If there is any additional vacation you can enter it in the next field.
No you’re ready to edit and plan the holiday of your employees.

Editing the Holiday Planner 2026 with Excel

You have probably already received holiday requests from your team and can now enter them directly into the calendar. The easiest way is to put a cross (x-key) in the corresponding fields. If you like it colorful, you can also use colored symbols or color the whole cell accordingly.

Vacation planner 2025 in use — Screenshot of how to use the planner

It is best to save the file in a location that only the holiday planner can view, so that an employee cannot jump the queue 😉
If you want to be on the safe side, you can of course install a lock with password protection so that nothing really can happen.

But if you have some computer knowledge, you will probably be able to crack the password protection.

Analog Use of the Holiday Planner

As already mentioned above, it’s possible to print out the holiday planner, hang it on the notice board and have the employees fill it in directly with a ballpoint pen or colored pencil. However, a meeting with a detailed discussion is probably better in order not to create any injustice.

Using the planner by hand — Printed vacation planner

Screenshots of all 4 Vacation Planner for 2026

Version 1: For 7 employees:

Vacation Planner 2026 for 7 Employees (Screenshot from the Excel Template) — Screenshot of 6 months of the vacation planner for 7 employees

Version 2: For 20 employees:

Excel Template Vacation Planner 2026 (Screenshot of the free Template) — Screenshot for 20 employees

Version 3: For up to 60 people:

Holiday Planner 2026 for 60 People - free Excel Template (Screenshot) — Part of a screenshot for holiday planning for up to 60 persons

Note: This template is only available as an Excel file. It doesn’t make sense for a PDF as it is too big for printing. For better handling, the top and left part is fixed, so you’ll have the important data always visible.

Version 4: Vacation planner for the Middle East (weekend on Friday and Saturday):