Shift Scheduling

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Shift Scheduling page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Build the rota, let staff swap shifts from their phones and clock in when they arrive.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about shift scheduling apps, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 13 shift scheduling apps

   7 of them are free or have a free plan, and 6 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $5.65 a month in the middle

   From $1.70 (Sling by Toast) to $39.99 (7shifts), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: When I Work and Sling by Toast

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   12 of 13 have iPhone and Android apps

   13 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.6

   3 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Connecteam, at 3.2.

6. 6

   Best free option: Connecteam

   Connecteam has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.2. Employee app for shifts, time clock, chat and HR, free up to 10 users.

7. 7

   13 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 13 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three shift scheduling apps we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.2GPA

   Homebase

   Free plan · from $24/mo

   For: Most small businesses with hourly staff

   Homebase is free for one location with up to 10 employees, with basic scheduling, time tracking and a POS link, though timesheets are kept only 90 days. Essentials is $24 a location a month billed annually ($30 monthly) for unlimited employees, and adds shift trades, open shifts, location-based mobile clock-in, payroll links and team messaging. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android, and its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 96,000 ratings. Know the limits: each address needs its own plan, payroll is an add-on at $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid, and PTO accruals need Plus at $56.

   The Homebase Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.2GPA

   Connecteam

   Free plan · from $29/mo

   For: Teams of up to 10, and crews who clock in on the move

   Connecteam is free for up to 10 users across all three of its hubs: GPS, NFC and kiosk clock-ins, scheduling with open shifts, forms and checklists, chat, time off and training. Past that, scheduling and the time clock are $29 a month for up to 30 users, billed annually ($35 monthly). Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.9 from about 61,000 ratings. It is second because the paid price climbs faster than Homebase's for a single shop: chat and HR are separate hubs from $29 a month each, every user past 30 is charged on each hub, and the free plan has no payroll link.

   The Connecteam Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   3.0GPA

   7shifts

   Free plan · from $39.99/mo

   For: Restaurants, cafes and bars

   7shifts is built for restaurants: labor targets are set against POS sales forecasts, staff trade shifts and clock in on tablets, phones or the POS, and higher plans add labor-law tools, tip pooling and US payroll. Comp is free for one location with up to 15 employees, without a time clock, and Essentials is $39.99 a location a month billed annually for up to 30 employees. Its iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 from about 30,000 ratings. It is third because much of it goes unused outside restaurants, it costs more per location than Homebase, and Tip Management is an add-on at $49.99 a location a month.

   The 7shifts Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, When I Work and Sling by Toast give the most for the money among shift scheduling apps: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $5.65 a month across the 13 that charge, from $1.70 (Sling by Toast) to $39.99 (7shifts).

3 of the 13 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 3 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded shift scheduling apps, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Connecteam	B	B	B	A	B	3.2
Homebase	B	B	B	A	B	3.2
7shifts	C	B	B	A	B	3.0
Sling by Toast	B	B	B	C	B	2.8
When I Work	C	C	B	A	B	2.8
Deputy	D	C	B	A	B	2.6
Planday	C	C	B	B	B	2.6
Shiftbase	C	B	B	C	B	2.6
Findmyshift	B	C	C	C	B	2.4
RotaCloud	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
ZoomShift	C	B	C	C	B	2.4
Atto	D	C	C	B	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where shift scheduling apps land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 13

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every shift scheduling app we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1ConnecteamFree plan · from $29/mo3.2
2. 2HomebaseFree plan · from $24/mo3.2
3. 37shiftsFree plan · from $39.99/mo3.0
4. 4Sling by ToastFree plan · from $1.70/mo2.8
5. 5When I WorkFree trial · from $2.50/mo2.8
6. 6DeputyFree trial · from $5/mo2.6
7. 7PlandayFree trial · from $2.99/mo2.6
8. 8ShiftbaseFree plan · from €27/mo2.6
9. 9FindmyshiftFree plan · from $24/mo2.4
10. 10RotaCloudFree trial · from £10/mo2.4
11. 11ZoomShiftFree plan · from $2/mo2.4
12. 12AttoFree trial · from $5.65/mo2.2
13. 13ShiftieFree trial · from £2.75/mo2.0

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 2,021

  tools graded

• 54

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries