7shifts vs Planday
We give 7shifts a 3.0 GPA and Planday a 2.6, out of 4.0. 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
Planday
Rota planning, punch clock and payroll reports for shift-based teams
How we grade them
| 3.0GPA7shiftsVery good | 2.6GPAPlandayGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CStarter is $2.99 a user a month, billed in bundles of five, so 15 staff are three bundles: $44.85 a month, with no yearly rate listed. That's the dear end of normal here. Plus, which has leave and payroll links, is $30 plus $4.49 a user, so $97.35 for 15. |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a 30-day trial of Plus with no credit card needed, which is plenty of time to build a few real rotas. |
| 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's the whole job and then some. | BRota templates built around availability, working-time warnings, a geolocated punch clock, shift swaps in the staff app, and wage costs set against revenue. Across its plans that's the whole job, with auto-scheduling only on the custom-priced Pro. |
| 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. | B4.55 from 4,271 App Store ratings. Good, though a step behind the best-rated apps in this category. |
| 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50, Paychex and Personio among its connections, and an API on Plus. No desktop app. |
| Best for | restaurant scheduling tied to sales | rotas for restaurants, hotels and care teams |
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 Planday. How we grade
Price against what you get
7shifts starts at $39.99 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Planday starts at $2.99 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
7shifts scores higher, and starts $37 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, none scores higher than 7shifts for less, and 1 scores higher than Planday for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- 7shifts starts at $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials). Planday starts at $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users).
- 7shifts has a free plan. Planday does not, though it has a free trial.
- 7shifts also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and employee records.
At a glance
| 7shifts | Planday | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials) | $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users) |
| 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 | 30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | 7shifts | Planday |
| Price read from | 7shifts.com | planday.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
7shifts
- Restaurants, cafes and bars scheduling front- and back-of-house staff
- Operators who want labor targets tied to POS sales
- Single-location restaurants with up to 15 staff, on the free Comp plan
Planday
- Restaurants, bars and hotels running rotas across several sites
- Care providers and retailers that must follow working-time rules
- Teams that want payroll-ready hours flowing into Xero or Sage
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.
Planday
- Users are billed in bundles of five, so 23 users are charged as 25. Starter needs at least 5 users and Plus at least 10.
- Plus adds a monthly subscription fee on top of the per-user price; the page data sets it at 30 in the visitor's currency, and Pro is priced by quote.
- Leave and absence management, payroll integrations and the API need Plus; auto-scheduling needs Pro.
- Each SMS sent through Planday and any onboarding help cost extra, and no prices are published for either.
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.
Planday
- Rota templates and availability
- Rotas are built from templates around the availability staff share, with warnings when a shift breaks your working-time rules. Pro adds auto-scheduling.
- Geolocated punch clock
- Staff clock in and out on their phones only from approved places, or at a kiosk station using the Planday Kiosk app, and managers see who is late across locations.
- Employee app
- Employees view their schedule, swap or hand over shifts, apply for open shifts, request time off and see their earnings in the iOS and Android app.
- Payroll reports and integrations
- Approved hours, overtime and absence become payroll reports, and Plus connects them to payroll systems such as Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50 and Paychex.
- Staff cost and revenue reports
- Reports set wage costs against revenue and forecasts, so managers can see where a rota is over- or under-staffed.
- Messenger and newsfeed
- Managers message staff in the app or by SMS and post updates to a newsfeed; in-app messaging is included, while each SMS is charged.
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.
Planday
Starter$2.99
per user / month
Minimum 5 users. Scheduling, simple time tracking, working-time rule warnings, basic payroll reports, team messaging and live chat support.
Plus$30
per month, plus $4.49 per user
Minimum 10 users. Adds advanced scheduling, leave and absence, payroll and revenue integrations, API access, employee records and documents.
ProCustom
For larger organizations: auto-scheduling, custom planning metrics, configurable structure, custom roles, phone support and custom setup.
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.
Planday
No public discounts listed.
