Homebase vs RosterElf (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Homebase if

• Fits if you run one shop or restaurant with 10 staff or fewer
• Works for owners who want labor costs next to the sales from their till

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you add payroll, which is $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid on every plan
• Tight if you have several sites, as each address needs its own plan
• Skip it if you need PTO accruals on the $24 plan, since they start on Plus at $56
• Watch out: Tip Manager is $25 and Task Manager $13 a month per location, background checks $30 each, Hiring Assistant from $99
• Watch out: the free plan keeps timesheets for 90 days, and onboarding paperwork and the API need All-in-One at $96

Pick RosterElf if

• Fits if you run an Australian team and need award rules on a low per-user price
• Works for businesses that already run payroll in Xero or MYOB

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want annual billing for a small team, as it needs at least 10 seats
• Not for you if you want payroll run inside the app, since it exports to Xero or MYOB
• Watch out: admins and managers are billed as active users
• Watch out: billing is in Australian dollars plus GST, and the Flex plan for volunteers is not in the plan table

Homebase

• Plans are priced per location: each separate address needs its own plan, and the free Basic plan covers only one location and up to 10 employees.
• Payroll is an add-on on every plan at $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid.
• Other add-ons cost extra: Tip Manager $25 and Task Manager $13 a month per location, background checks $30 each, Hiring Assistant from $99 a month.
• PTO accrual policies need Plus; onboarding paperwork, HR advisors and API access need All-in-One.

RosterElf

• Billed in Australian dollars plus GST, per active employee, including admins and managers.
• Annual billing needs at least 10 seats; monthly billing needs at least 3 active staff. Enterprise pricing starts above 250 employees.
• Payroll is exported to Xero or MYOB rather than run inside RosterElf.
• A Flex plan at $10.60 per rostered staff member a month, for volunteer and event teams, is not in the plan table.

Homebase

Weekly schedule builder

Managers build the week around availability and time-off requests, and staff trade, cover or claim open shifts. Plus adds an AI scheduling assistant.

Time clock on any device

Staff clock in on tablets, computers, POS terminals such as Clover and GoDaddy, or the mobile app with location checks, and tablets can take a photo at each clock-in.

Timesheets to payroll

Timesheets follow your overtime and break rules and sync to Gusto, ADP RUN, QuickBooks Online or Square Payroll, or feed Homebase's own payroll add-on.

Team messaging

Messenger channels, announcements and shift notes, with confirmation when employees have seen the schedule or read a message.

Hiring and onboarding

Job openings go out to online job boards, and All-in-One sends onboarding packets with W-4, I-9 and direct deposit forms for e-signature.

Labor cost controls

All-in-One alerts managers before overtime, blocks early clock-ins, clocks staff out at shift end and reports labor against sales pulled from the POS.

RosterElf

Rostering

Roster templates, staff availability, open shifts, shift swaps, break planning and labour cost forecasting, with roster warnings.

Time and attendance

Clock in with GPS and photo proof, or on a tablet time clock, with timesheet approvals and live attendance.

Award interpretation

Applies award rates to each shift and exports payroll-ready hours to Xero or MYOB.

HR Hub

Employee profiles, digital onboarding and contracts, policies, certificates and a document store, on the HR and Full Suite plans.

Team communication

Team messaging, staff notifications, shift notes, tasks and a newsfeed inside the staff app.

Analytics

Reports across rosters, wages, attendance and leave.

Homebase

• Basic$0

  One location and up to 10 employees: basic scheduling and time tracking, a POS integration, timesheets kept 90 days.

• Essentials$24

  per location / month, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)

  Unlimited employees. Adds shift trades and open shifts, availability, location-based mobile clock-in, payroll integrations and team messaging.

• Plus$56

  per location / month, billed annually ($70 billed monthly)

  Adds an AI scheduling assistant, PTO policies with accruals, departments and manager permissions. Shown at $0 for 6 months with the payroll offer.

• All-in-One$96

  per location / month, billed annually ($120 billed monthly)

  Adds onboarding paperwork with e-signatures, HR advisors and a custom handbook, overtime alerts, sales-based scheduling and API access.

RosterElf

• HRA$3

  per user / month + GST, billed annually (A$4 billed monthly)

  HR tools only: employee profiles, digital onboarding, contracts, policies, certificates and leave.

• CoreA$6

  per user / month + GST, billed annually (A$8 billed monthly)

  Rostering, time and attendance, award interpretation, Xero and MYOB exports, team chat, shift swaps and leave.

• Full SuiteA$7

  per user / month + GST, billed annually (A$10 billed monthly)

  Everything in Core plus the HR Hub, digital onboarding and contracts and the Workwise AI compliance assistant.

Homebase

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  Annual billing brings Essentials, Plus and All-in-One to $24, $56 and $96 per location a month against $30, $70 and $120 monthly, or $72 to $288 a year saved.

• Other savings

  6 months free on Plus and Payroll for new customers

  New customers who set up payroll by December 15, 2026 and run it by January 20, 2027 get Plus free for 6 months and payroll free for 6 months for up to 50 employees.

• Other savings

  Payroll at $29 a month for teams of 5 or fewer

  Teams of up to 5 who start payroll in the same window get 6 months free, then $29 a month plus $6 per employee paid instead of $49, while they stay at 5 or fewer.

RosterElf

• Annual discount

  Up to 30% off with annual billing

  Annual billing saves up to 30%: Full Suite drops from A$10 to A$7, and Core and HR by 25%. Annual plans need at least 10 seats.