Deputy vs Rotaready Evo (2026): which should you pick?

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 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rotaready Evo

Pricing could not be confirmed. See theaccessgroup.com.

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.

Rotaready Evo

No public discounts listed.