Deputy vs Skello (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Deputy grades higher than Skello: 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, ease of use and platforms. Skello grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features.
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
Skello
Staff scheduling, time clocking and payroll prep for field 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 Skello if
- Fits if you run a shop, restaurant or clinic in France and want rules like RTT and DPAE built in
- Works for teams that want scheduling and clocking from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're outside France, because the legal rules follow French employment law
- Not for you if you want a clear per-head price, as the basis isn't stated
- Tight if you need forecasting and auto-scheduling, which start on Max tiers
- Watch out: the Business plan for 200 to 10,000 employees has no price
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADeputyGood | 2.0GPASkelloFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CFrom EUR 59 for clocking, EUR 79 for scheduling and EUR 107 for Planning Max, with the basis (site or head) not stated. A 10% annual discount is offered. |
| 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. | DA 14-day trial on every plan; the page doesn't say whether a card is needed. |
| 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. | BCompliant scheduling, clocking, absences, payroll prep and employee files. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core 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. Legal rules and payroll prep take configuring. |
| 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. | CWeb with an employee app on the listing. No integrations are named and no desktop app. |
| Best for | shift teams that must follow labor laws | French and European shift 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: Deputy and Skello. 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. Skello starts at about $65.91 a month and scores 2.3.
Deputy scores higher and starts $60.91 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, none scores higher than Deputy for less, and 12 score higher than Skello 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 also covers auto-scheduling.
- Skello also covers employee records.
At a glance
| Deputy | Skello | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5 per user / month, billed annually (Lite) | €59 per month and up (Standard Clocking), basis not stated |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of up to 31 days, no credit card required | 14-day free trial on every plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Deputy | Skello |
| Price read from | deputy.com | skello.io |
| 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.
Skello
- Prices are in euros and shown as a starting figure; the page does not say what the monthly amount is based on, such as site or headcount.
- The Business plan for 200 to 10,000 employees has no published price.
- Several features, including the Smart Planner and unlimited document storage, depend on the plan tier.
- Legal rules built in, such as RTT and DPAE, follow French employment law.
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.
Skello
- Compliant scheduling
- Week, month and day views with regulatory alerts set from the collective agreement, schedule locking and templates.
- Smart scheduling
- Planning Max and Duo Max forecast staffing needs and create schedules automatically; Smart Planner is an optional extra on lower tiers.
- Time clocking
- Staff clock in on a tablet or mobile with geolocation, and hours worked are tracked for payroll.
- Absences and counters
- Leave and absence management with paid-leave, RTT, overtime and annualized-hours counters.
- Payroll preparation
- Payroll variables are calculated automatically; a separate payroll service starts at €20 a month per employee.
- Employee files
- Contracts, documents and the staff register are stored per employee, with automatic payslip distribution on higher tiers.
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.
Skello
Standard Clocking€59
per month and up
Tablet and mobile clocking with geolocation, hours tracking and employee records. Clocking Max starts at €89.
Scheduling Standard€79
per month and up
Compliant schedules, absence tracking, payroll variables and a mobile app.
Planning Max€107
per month and up
Standard plus staffing forecasts, automatic schedule creation, e-signed timesheets and unlimited AI assistant.
Duo Standard€99
per month and up
Scheduling and clocking together. Duo Max adds forecasts, automatic scheduling and AI assistant from €129.
BusinessCustom
For 200 to 10,000 employees: HR system connections, priority support and training.
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.
Skello
- Annual discount
10% off with an annual commitment
The pricing page states a 10% discount on the Scheduling, Clocking and Duo plans with an annual commitment.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Deputy or Skello?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Deputy starts at $5 per user / month, billed annually (Lite), and Skello starts at €59 per month and up (Standard Clocking), basis not stated. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Deputy or Skello?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Deputy nor Skello has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Deputy and Skello 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.