Deputy vs RotaCloud
We give Deputy a 2.6 GPA and RotaCloud a 2.4, out of 4.0. Deputy grades higher on ease of use. RotaCloud grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
RotaCloud
UK rota planning with leave tracking and an add-on clocking-in app
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADeputyGood | 2.4GPARotaCloudFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CStandard is £40 a month at 11 to 20 employees, or £400 a year paid yearly, so 15 staff cost about £33 a month. Prices are in pounds only. That's near the middle of this category, and clocking in costs £18 a month more at that size. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a trial of up to 31 days with no credit card needed. That's a long, fair look, though after it you pay for every user. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial with no payment details needed. Long enough to run a month of real rotas before you pay. |
| 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. | BRota templates, labor costs as you plan, holiday, TOIL and absence tracking, shift swaps and reports on Standard. Pro adds labor forecasting against sales and budget caps. Clocking in, timesheets and payroll exports are a paid add-on. |
| 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 App Store rating to go on, as its app has too few ratings on record. Rotas are built by drag and drop from templates, but teams, roles and leave rules need setting up first. |
| 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android. It connects to Sage, PayCaptain, Staffology, Breathe, People HR, Tevalis, Google Calendar and Zapier, and has an API. Mostly UK payroll and HR tools. |
| Best for | shift teams that must follow labor laws | UK care, hospitality and retail rotas |
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 RotaCloud. How we grade
Price against what you get
Deputy starts at $5 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. RotaCloud starts at about $13.22 a month and scores 2.7.
Deputy scores higher and starts $8.22 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, none scores higher than Deputy for less, and 3 score higher than RotaCloud 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
- Deputy starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (Lite). RotaCloud starts at £10 per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly (Standard).
- Deputy also covers auto-scheduling and payroll.
- RotaCloud also covers reports and employee records.
At a glance
| Deputy | RotaCloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually (Lite) | £10 per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly (Standard) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of up to 31 days, no credit card required | 30-day free trial, no payment details required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Deputy | RotaCloud |
| Price read from | deputy.com | rotacloud.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Deputy
- Hospitality, retail and healthcare employers scheduling hourly staff
- Businesses that must follow break rules and Fair Workweek laws
- Multi-location operators that want demand forecasts and wage budgets
RotaCloud
- UK care homes, vets and dental practices planning staff rotas
- Employers tracking holiday, TOIL and sickness beside the rota
- Small teams that want to add clocking in only if they need it
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.
RotaCloud
- Prices are shown in pounds sterling only; the site gives no dollar price.
- Clocking in and timesheets are a Time & Attendance add-on, priced by the same headcount bands: £4.50 a month for up to 5 employees, £18 at 11 to 20 and £45 at 41 to 50.
- Text message notifications are a further add-on: £2 a month for up to 5 employees, £8 at 11 to 20 and £20 at 41 to 50; email and push are included.
- There is no free plan, and businesses with more than 500 employees need a custom quote.
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.
RotaCloud
- Drag-and-drop rotas
- Rotas are built by drag and drop with templates and copying tools across unlimited sites and departments, and shared by email and push notifications.
- Availability and shift swaps
- Staff set recurring availability patterns, swap shifts and check the rota in the free iOS and Android apps.
- Labor cost control
- Daily, weekly and monthly labor costs show while the rota is planned; Pro adds labor forecasting as a share of sales and budget caps.
- Holiday and absence
- Holiday requests, time off in lieu and sickness are tracked beside the rota, and Pro lets managers set rules for when leave can be requested.
- Clocking in and timesheets
- With the Time & Attendance add-on, staff clock in on their phones within a geofence or at a fixed terminal, and timesheets, lateness flags and payroll exports follow.
- Payroll, HR and care integrations
- Connects to Sage, PayCaptain and Staffology payroll, Breathe and People HR, calendar apps, Zapier and care management systems.
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.
RotaCloud
Standard£10
per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly
Rotas, templates, labor costs, holiday, TOIL and absence tracking, shift swaps and reports. By headcount band: £20 at 6 to 10 employees, £40 at 11 to 20, £100 at 41 to 50.
Pro£15
per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly
Adds bulk edits, labor forecasting against sales, budget caps, documents, leave rules, a logbook and enforced 2FA. £30 at 6 to 10 employees, £60 at 11 to 20, £150 at 41 to 50.
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.
RotaCloud
- Annual discount
2 months free with yearly billing
Paying yearly costs ten times the monthly price, for example £100 a year for Standard at up to 5 employees instead of £120.
