Deputy vs Fourth (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Deputy grades higher than Fourth: 2.6 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Deputy grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. Fourth grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Deputy
Shift scheduling, time clock and labor-law tools for hourly teams
Which one is for you
Pick Deputy if
- Fits if you have to follow break rules or Fair Workweek scheduling laws
- Works for teams that want staff to swap shifts and find their own cover
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have 15 or more hourly staff, since every person, managers included, is a paid user
- Skip it if you might shrink, as annual plans can't drop users or plans mid-term and there's no refund
- Tight if you pay monthly with a small team, because there's a $30 monthly minimum
- Watch out: US payroll is $8 a user plus $49 a month on yearly Core or Pro, HR is $2 a user, and texts are 1 cent each
- Not for you if you want auto-scheduling or face-unlock kiosks on Lite, as they start on Core at $6.50 a head
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
| 2.6GPADeputyGood | 2.0GPAFourthFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DLite is $5 a person a month billed yearly, so 15 staff come to $75 a month, and managers count as users too. For a team that size that's in the dearest tenth of this category. Auto-scheduling and face-unlock kiosks wait on Core at $6.50 a head. | 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 | CNo free plan, but a trial of up to 31 days with no credit card needed. After it you pay for every user, managers included. | 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 from templates with breaks, shift swaps, clock-ins from phones, browsers, watches or a kiosk, labor-law checks as you build, and timesheets that flow to payroll. That's the whole job, with auto-scheduling and demand forecasts on Core. | 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 | A4.79 from 5,849 App Store ratings. Staff get their shifts, swaps and clock-ins on the phone, which is where most of the use happens. | 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, plus payroll and till links such as Gusto, ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks, Xero and Square, and a public API. No desktop app, so it stops at a B. | 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 | shift teams that must follow labor laws | 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: Deputy and Fourth. How we grade
Where they differ
- Deputy also covers auto-scheduling.
- Fourth also covers reports.
At a glance
| Deputy | Fourth | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually (Lite) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of up to 31 days, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Deputy | Fourth |
| Price read from | deputy.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Deputy
- Monthly plans carry a minimum spend of $30 a month, and every admin, manager and supervisor counts as a paid user.
- US payroll by Paycor is an add-on for annual Core and Pro plans: $8 per user a month plus a $49 monthly base fee. HR is $2 per user a month.
- Annual plans cannot be moved to a lower plan or fewer users during the term, and cancelling early brings no refund.
- Text messages sent through Deputy, such as published schedules, cost 1 cent per 160 characters in the US.
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
Deputy
- Shift planning and swaps
- Schedules are built from templates with paid and unpaid breaks. Staff can confirm shifts, pick up open ones, swap or offer shifts and find a replacement.
- Auto-scheduling and forecasting
- From the Core plan, Deputy builds and fills shifts from demand and staff availability, and compares forecast sales and wages against actuals.
- Clock-in apps and geofencing
- Staff clock in from the mobile apps, a browser, a watch or a shared tablet kiosk. Geofences block clock-ins away from the site, and Core adds face-unlock kiosks.
- Timesheets to payroll
- Clock-ins become timesheets that managers approve, or that Core approves automatically, and then go to payroll systems such as Gusto, ADP, Paychex or Xero.
- Labor-law compliance
- Rules for breaks, overtime, Fair Workweek scheduling and custom pay rates are checked as shifts are built and worked.
- Team messaging and Shift Pulse
- A news feed and messaging reach staff in the app, and Shift Pulse asks each worker for feedback when a shift ends.
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
Deputy
Lite$5
per user / month, billed annually ($5.50 billed monthly)
Basic scheduling, timesheets and time clock, shift swaps, leave and availability, labor-law checks, basic reports and team messaging.
Core$6.50
per user / month, billed annually ($7.25 billed monthly)
Adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, wage budgets, face-unlock kiosk clock-ins and timesheet auto-approval. Marked most popular.
Pro$9
per user / month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
Adds custom access levels, location hierarchies, pay centers, SSO, a sandbox and 24/7 live chat, with Analytics+ and Messaging+ included.
Fourth
Pricing could not be confirmed. See fourth.com.
Ways to pay less
Deputy
- Annual discount
About 10% off with annual billing
Annual plans cost $5, $6.50 and $9 per user a month against $5.50, $7.25 and $10 billed monthly; the page labels the saving 10%.
- Nonprofit
Special pricing for charities on request
Charities, not-for-profits and community organizations can ask Deputy about special pricing; no figure is published.
- Other savings
6 months free on Pro and Payroll until November 30, 2026
New US businesses that sign up by November 30, 2026 and buy both Pro and Deputy Payroll on a 12-month term get six billing months free.
Fourth
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Deputy or Fourth?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Deputy starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (Lite), and Fourth has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Deputy or Fourth?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Deputy nor Fourth has a free plan. Deputy has a free trial.
Which platforms do Deputy and Fourth run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Deputy 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.