Fourth vs Rotaready Evo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Fourth grades higher than Rotaready Evo: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Fourth grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Rotaready Evo
Rota, HR and time tracking software for hospitality teams
Paid
Which one is for you
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
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
| 2.0GPAFourthFair | 1.8GPARotaready EvoWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price on the page: every product page routes to a demo. With nothing on record, that sits in the middle by default. | 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 | FNothing free is confirmed. The scheduling page advertises 1 year of HotSchedules free, but shows no terms, so we can't count it. | FNo free plan and no trial on record, so you pay before you use it. |
| Features | 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. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. It's a managed suite with several products and regions, so expect some setup rather than a quick start. | CNo store rating on record. Rotas, staff and forecasts have to be set up first. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, with an API listed. |
| Best for | restaurant groups that want rotas tied to POS 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: Fourth and Rotaready Evo. How we grade
Where they differ
- Fourth also covers reports and payroll.
- Rotaready Evo also covers employee records.
In commonWebAI featuresShift schedulingTime clockTime off
At a glance
| Fourth | Rotaready Evo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Fourth | The Access Group |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
Fourth
Pricing could not be confirmed. See fourth.com.
Rotaready Evo
Pricing could not be confirmed. See theaccessgroup.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Fourth or Rotaready Evo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Fourth has no price we could confirm, and Rotaready Evo has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Fourth or Rotaready Evo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Fourth nor Rotaready Evo has a free plan.
Which platforms do Fourth and Rotaready Evo run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Rotaready Evo 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.