Nowsta vs Sling by Toast (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Nowsta if

• Fits if you staff events or hourly shifts and want workers to pick up shifts on their phones
• Works for an agency that wants scheduling and payroll links together

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a price list, as none is published
• Watch out: the site does not say which of sourcing, payroll and vendor management come with which package
• Too light for a manager who wants a manager app, as the listing found is the workers' app
• Not for you if you want to try it first, as the route in is a demo

Pick Sling by Toast if

• Fits if you have up to 30 staff and want scheduling for nothing
• Works for restaurants already on Toast or Square that build schedules weeks ahead

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need a time clock on the free plan, as clocking in starts on Premium
• Skip it if your payroll isn't Toast, since that's the only payroll link it names
• Pricey if you want the shared kiosk clock, PTO or wage reports, which need Business at $3.40 a user
• Too light for teams past 30 on the free plan, which stops at 30 users
• Watch out: Sling is owned by Toast, and Toast customers buy it through the Toast Shop, not Sling's pricing page

Nowsta

• No prices are published; the site sends visitors to schedule a demo and the pricing address redirects to the home page.
• The site does not say which features (sourcing, payroll, vendor management) come with which package.
• The app listing found is named Nowsta Workers, aimed at the workers rather than managers.

Sling by Toast

• The Free plan stops at 30 users and has no time clock; time tracking, labor costs and overtime tracking start on Premium.
• The kiosk clock, PTO tracking and payroll-ready hours and wage reports need the Business plan.
• Integrations are mostly restaurant point-of-sale systems: Toast, Square, Harbortouch, Restaurant Manager and POSiTouch, with timesheet export to Toast Payroll.
• Sling is now owned by Toast, and Toast customers buy it through the Toast Shop rather than on Sling's pricing page.

Nowsta

Shift scheduling

A drag-and-drop builder with reusable templates, AI-powered recommendations to fill open shifts, demand forecasting, and shift swaps and claims.

Time and attendance

Time tracking with geofencing, alerts for clock-in and clock-out, and timesheet approvals.

Payroll integration

Connects to existing payroll and accounting systems to calculate wages, with built-in compliance tools.

Sourcing and onboarding

Supports recruiting and onboarding for hourly, full-time, part-time and contingent workers, including talent ratings.

Worker mobile app

Workers get an all-in-one mobile app with real-time updates and self-service; the app is listed on the App Store and Google Play.

Vendor management

The site lists Vendor Management beside Workforce Management as a separate product area for managing outside staffing vendors.

Sling by Toast

Schedules and templates

Managers build schedules months ahead from shift and weekly templates, around staff unavailability, with day parts, custom tags and several slots per shift.

Auto-assigning shifts

Sling can assign open shifts automatically, and mandatory meal and rest breaks are added to the shifts they apply to.

Shift offers, swaps and alarms

Employees offer shifts to coworkers, swap shifts and pick up available ones, and alarms remind them of upcoming shifts by push or SMS.

Time clock and labor costs

Paid plans add clock-in from phones, and Business adds a shared kiosk. Labor costs and overtime are tracked as the schedule is built and compared with sales.

Messaging and newsfeed

Private and group messages, announcements and newsfeed pages aimed at chosen groups of staff.

Task management

Tasks can be assigned to a shift or to an employee and tracked from the app.

Nowsta

Pricing could not be confirmed. See nowsta.com.

Sling by Toast

• Free$0

  Up to 30 users: shift scheduling, time-off requests, available shifts, long-term scheduling, news sharing and private messaging.

• Premium$1.70

  per user / month, billed annually ($2 billed monthly)

  Adds mobile time tracking, labor costs compared against sales, overtime tracking, group messaging and calendar sync.

• Business$3.40

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

  Adds a shared-device kiosk time clock, hours and wage reports, no-show and sick call-out tracking, and PTO management. Recommended.

Nowsta

No public discounts listed.

Sling by Toast

• Annual discount

  Save 15% with annual billing

  Annual billing brings Premium to $1.70 and Business to $3.40 per user a month, against $2 and $4 billed monthly.