7shifts vs Fourth (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick 7shifts: it is third in our ranking of shift scheduling apps, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
7shifts grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
7shifts
Restaurant scheduling, time clock, tips and payroll, per location
Which one is for you
Pick 7shifts if
- Fits if you run a restaurant, cafe or bar and plan labor against sales
- Works for a single restaurant with 15 staff or fewer, on the free Comp plan
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't run a restaurant, as most of it is built around one
- Pricey if you add tips, log book and tasks, at $49.99, $14.99 and $12.99 per location a month
- Tight if a location has more than 30 staff on Essentials or 60 on Pro, as each plan caps headcount per site
- Watch out: 7shifts Payroll is US-only at $39.99 per location plus $6 per employee paid; Premium drops the base fee, not the $6
- Watch out: the free Comp plan has no time clock, and every extra location pays its own plan price
Pick Fourth if
- Fits if you run restaurants and want labor cost compared with POS sales
- Works for groups that also buy payroll, tips and inventory from the same vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price before talking to sales, as none is published
- Not for you if you're outside restaurants and hospitality, which is all it targets
- Watch out: the free first year on the scheduling page has no terms shown
- Watch out: products are split between the Fourth and HotSchedules names, with separate US, UK and APAC regions
How we grade them
| 3.0GPA7shiftsVery good | 2.0GPAFourthFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssentials is $39.99 per location a month billed yearly, for up to 30 employees, so 15 staff at one site pay $39.99. That's a little above the middle of this category. The free Comp plan also covers one site of up to 15, without the time clock. | CNo price on the page: every product page routes to a demo. With nothing on record, that sits in the middle by default. |
| Free plan and trial | BComp is free for one location and up to 15 employees, with scheduling, shift trades, open shifts, availability and time-off requests. No time clock, but a small restaurant can really run its rota on it. | FNothing free is confirmed. The scheduling page advertises 1 year of HotSchedules free, but shows no terms, so we can't count it. |
| Features | BSchedules set against POS sales forecasts, trades and open shifts, clock-ins on tablets, phones or the POS, labor-law compliance, tip pooling, payroll, hiring and training. For a restaurant that covers the whole job. | BDemand forecast, auto-scheduling under labor rules, in-app swaps, overtime alerts and POS sync. Nothing in the listing is missing from the scheduling job. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from 30,338 App Store ratings. Staff see shifts, hours and wages in the app and can trade or claim shifts there. | CNo store rating on record. It's a managed suite with several products and regions, so expect some setup rather than a quick start. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with restaurant tills like Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed and TouchBistro, and payroll like ADP, Gusto and Paychex. No desktop app. | BMobile app for staff plus POS links to Toast, Oracle Micros, NCR Aloha and PAR POS and Google Calendar sync. The listing shows no desktop app. |
| Best for | restaurant scheduling tied to sales | restaurant groups that want rotas tied to POS sales |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: 7shifts and Fourth. How we grade
Where they differ
- 7shifts also covers team chat and applicant tracking.
- Fourth also covers reports.
At a glance
| 7shifts | Fourth | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials) | Not published |
| Free plan | Comp plan, free for one location with up to 15 employees: basic scheduling, shift trades and open shifts, availability and time-off requests, and one-way announcements. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Pro plan, no credit card needed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 7shifts | Fourth |
| Price read from | 7shifts.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
7shifts
- Plans are priced per location and capped by headcount: Essentials covers up to 30 employees and Pro up to 60 at each location.
- 7shifts Payroll is US-only at $39.99 per location a month plus $6 per employee paid; Premium includes the base fee but not the per-employee charge.
- Add-ons cost extra per location a month: Tip Management $49.99, Manager Log Book $14.99 and Task Management $12.99. Onboarding packages are $2.99 each.
- Integrations center on restaurant POS systems such as Toast, Square, Clover and Lightspeed, and payroll services such as ADP, Gusto and Paychex.
Fourth
- No prices are published; every product page routes to a demo.
- The scheduling page advertises 1 year of HotSchedules free, but its terms are not shown there.
- Built for restaurants and hospitality; other industries are not the target.
- Product names are split between Fourth and HotSchedules, with separate US, UK and APAC regions.
Key features
7shifts
- Schedules built on sales forecasts
- Labor targets are set against projected sales pulled from the POS and the weather forecast, and higher plans add hourly forecasts, labor recommendations and auto-built schedules.
- Shift trades in the free app
- Staff see schedules, hours and wages in the mobile app, and can offer up, trade or claim open shifts and send availability and time-off requests.
- Time clock on POS and tablets
- Time clocks run on tablets, computers, phones and POS devices, staff are prompted to declare tips, and Pro blocks clock-ins away from the restaurant.
- Labor-law compliance
- Pro adds break tracking, overtime notices, compliance warnings and state-based labor law tools with custom attestations.
- Tips and payroll
- Tip Management calculates and splits tip pools from POS sales and time punches, and 7shifts Payroll runs US pay with tax filings and new-hire paperwork.
- Hiring and training
- Jobs post to online job boards with candidate tracking and interview scheduling, and courses can be built from existing documents with AI.
Fourth
- Demand-based scheduling
- Labor rules and an AI demand forecast generate house shifts, and auto-schedule assigns staff by availability, skill and labor law.
- Shift swaps in the app
- Employees request swaps, drops or pickups in the mobile app; managers approve with compliance warnings shown.
- Labor compliance
- Built-in checks for predictive-scheduling and labor-law rules, with overtime alerts while a schedule is built.
- POS integration
- Syncs sales and labor data with systems including PAR POS, Toast, Oracle Micros and NCR Aloha.
- Team messaging
- Text, message or email staff by department or company-wide, and sync schedules to Google Calendar.
- Wider hospitality suite
- Payroll, tip management, earned wage access, recruiting and inventory are sold alongside scheduling.
Plans
7shifts
Comp$0
One location and up to 15 employees: basic scheduling, availability and time-off requests, one-way announcements.
Essentials$39.99
per location / month, billed annually ($44.99 billed monthly)
Up to 30 employees. Adds schedule templates and breaks, team messaging with SMS reminders, a basic time clock and custom permissions.
Pro$79.99
per location / month, billed annually ($89.99 billed monthly)
Up to 60 employees. Adds PTO accruals, labor compliance and cost tools, clock-in limits by location and the Manager Log Book. Marked best value.
Premium$134.99
per location / month, billed annually ($149.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited employees. Adds tip and task management, training, labor forecasts and 7shifts Payroll, which still costs $6 per employee paid.
Fourth
Pricing could not be confirmed. See fourth.com.
Ways to pay less
7shifts
- Annual discount
Save about 10% with annual billing
Annual billing brings Essentials, Pro and Premium to $39.99, $79.99 and $134.99 per location a month, against $44.99, $89.99 and $149.99 billed monthly.
- Other savings
First 3 months of 7shifts Payroll free
First-time payroll buyers get three months of payroll fees waived after their first pay run, which must happen by January 30, 2027; some self-serve purchases are excluded.
Fourth
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, 7shifts or Fourth?
As of Nov 13, 2026, 7shifts starts at $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials), and Fourth has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, 7shifts or Fourth?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only 7shifts has a free plan. Fourth does not.
Which platforms do 7shifts and Fourth run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only 7shifts lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.