7shifts vs Rotaready Evo (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 1.8.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
7shifts grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money 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
Rotaready Evo
Rota, HR and time tracking software for hospitality teams
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 Rotaready Evo if
- Fits if you run a restaurant, bar or hotel and want rotas tied to forecasts and budgets
- Works for a hospitality group that is happy to get a quote
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a posted price, as the pages show a calculator and quote buttons only
- Not for you if you are outside hospitality, as the product page does not address other industries
- Watch out: the managed payroll bureau costs extra
- Watch out: it is now presented as Rotaready Evo on The Access Group's site
How we grade them
| 3.0GPA7shiftsVery good | 1.8GPARotaready EvoWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 is shown. The pricing page offers a calculator and quote buttons for three tiers, so nothing sits against the $5.65 middle. |
| 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. | FNo free plan and no trial on record, so you pay before you use 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. | CRotas, forecasting and budgeting, time and attendance, HR records, wellbeing insights and an API. A managed payroll bureau is an extra-cost option, and the pages speak only to hospitality. |
| 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. Rotas, staff and forecasts have to be set up first. |
| 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 plus iOS and Android apps, with an API listed. |
| Best for | restaurant scheduling tied to sales | rota planning for hospitality |
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 Rotaready Evo. How we grade
Where they differ
- 7shifts also covers team chat, payroll and applicant tracking.
- Rotaready Evo also covers employee records.
At a glance
| 7shifts | Rotaready Evo | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | The Access Group |
| Price read from | 7shifts.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 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.
Rotaready Evo
- Prices are not shown: the pricing page offers a calculator and Get a quote buttons for Pro, Pro + Forecasting and Premium.
- It is built for hospitality; the product page does not address other industries.
- A fully managed payroll bureau is listed as an extra-cost option.
- Rotaready is now presented as Rotaready Evo, a brand of The Access Group, and its pages sit on the Access Group site.
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.
Rotaready Evo
- Rota scheduling
- A drag-and-drop rota editor with live labor cost calculations, working-time rules, shift swaps, approvals and a rota assistant that suggests who to put on each open shift.
- Forecasting and budgeting
- Sales forecasts draw on weather, reservations and notable events; the Pro + Forecasting and Premium plans carry the forecasting feature set.
- Time and attendance
- Clock in by GPS, PIN or photo, match attendance to shifts, flag issues automatically and export timesheets to payroll.
- HR records
- Employee records, holiday allowances, absence, unlimited document storage and legal e-signatures, with onboarding through the app.
- Wellbeing insights
- Employees give feedback at the end of each shift, and managers see sentiment by location, manager and shift.
- Integrations and API
- Integrations with EPOS, reservations, payroll, applicant tracking and property management systems, plus an open API, webhooks and SSO.
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.
Rotaready Evo
Pricing could not be confirmed. See theaccessgroup.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.
Rotaready Evo
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, 7shifts or Rotaready Evo?
As of Nov 12, 2026, 7shifts starts at $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials), and Rotaready Evo has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, 7shifts or Rotaready Evo?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only 7shifts has a free plan. Rotaready Evo does not.
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.