Fourth vs When I Work (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, When I Work grades higher than Fourth: 2.8 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
When I Work grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
When I Work
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock
Free trial · from $2.50/mo
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 When I Work if
- Fits if building the schedule eats your Sunday evenings
- Works for call centers and retail stores sharing part-timers across locations
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need the time clock, since it adds $1.50 to $2 a user on every plan
- Skip it if you want a free plan to stay on, as there's only a 14-day trial
- Not for you if you need an API, webhooks or single sign-on without paying for Premium at $8 a user
- Watch out: the page doesn't say whether prices are monthly or yearly, and its FAQ says the clock is included when the plans charge extra
- Watch out: payroll runs through partners, and scheduling rules, role permissions and custom reports need Pro at $5 a user
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFourthFair | 2.8GPAWhen I WorkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CEssentials is $2.50 a user a month, so 15 staff pay $37.50 for scheduling, the middle of this category for a team that size. Add the time clock and it's $4 a user, or $60. The page doesn't say whether these are monthly or yearly rates. |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial with every feature and no credit card needed, which covers a couple of schedule cycles. |
| 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. | BAuto-scheduling from availability, templates, multi-week and multi-location schedules, forecasting, shift trades, messaging and payroll exports, with a time clock as an add-on. That's the whole job. |
| 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. | A4.79 from 57,666 App Store ratings. Swapping or picking up a shift is a couple of taps for staff. |
| 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, iPhone and Android, with payroll partners such as Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and OnPay, plus Zapier. API keys need Premium, and there's no desktop app. |
| Best for | restaurant groups that want rotas tied to POS sales | auto-filled schedules for hourly 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: Fourth and When I Work. How we grade
Where they differ
- Fourth also covers reports and payroll.
- When I Work also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
In commonWebShift schedulingTime clockTime off
At a glance
| Fourth | When I Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial with every feature, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Fourth | When I Work, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | wheniwork.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 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.
When I Work
- The time clock, breaks and attendance are an add-on that raises each plan by $1.50 to $2 per user a month, though the page's FAQ says every plan includes them.
- The pricing page offers monthly or annual billing but does not say which basis the listed prices use.
- API keys, webhooks and SAML single sign-on need the Premium plan.
- Payroll runs through partners; Rippling, the preferred partner, offers When I Work customers six months free.
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.
When I Work
- Auto-scheduling
- Managers enter the coverage they need and the app assigns shifts from employee availability and qualifications in one click.
- Templates and multi-week schedules
- Saved templates such as a weekend rush or holiday plan are reused to build schedules weeks ahead, across several locations.
- Shift trades and OpenShifts
- Employees swap or pick up open shifts from the app, and managers approve or decline each request before the schedule updates.
- Time clock on any device
- With the time tracking add-on, staff clock in from phones, tablets or terminals, with GPS or geofencing, break tracking and overtime tracking tied to the schedule.
- Team messaging
- Managers and staff message individuals or the whole team in the app without sharing phone numbers.
- Payroll exports
- Approved hours go to payroll services including Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and OnPay.
Plans
Fourth
Pricing could not be confirmed. See fourth.com.
When I Work
Essentials$2.50
per user / month ($4 with time tracking and attendance)
Unlimited users. Auto-scheduling, multi-week and multi-location schedules, templates, forecasting, messaging, OpenShifts and swaps.
Pro$5
per user / month ($7 with time tracking and attendance)
Adds scheduling rules, role permissions, labor sharing, custom forecasting units, custom reports and callout reporting.
Premium$8
per user / month ($10 with time tracking and attendance)
Adds API keys, webhooks and SAML single sign-on.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Fourth or When I Work?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Fourth has no price we could confirm, and When I Work starts at $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking).
Which has a free plan, Fourth or When I Work?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Fourth nor When I Work has a free plan. When I Work has a free trial.
Which platforms do Fourth and When I Work run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only When I Work 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.