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

Pick Nursegrid if

• Fits if you run a care team and want scheduling and swaps at a flat per-person rate
• Works for teams with PRN and contract staff mixed in with full-timers

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need a time clock, payroll or forecasting, as none is listed
• Not for you if you have more than about 250 staff, which is the size it describes
• Pricey if you have a big headcount, because every PRN and contract person is billed too
• Watch out: the trial has no stated card policy

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

Nursegrid

• The vendor describes it for teams of up to about 250 staff; larger organizations are outside what the page covers.
• Pricing is per staff member, so the monthly bill follows headcount including PRN and contract staff.
• The page lists scheduling and swaps only; it does not mention time clocks, payroll or labor-cost forecasting.

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.

Nursegrid

Schedule creation and sharing

Managers set up a worksite, departments and shift types, then build and share schedules from staff preferences and availability.

Self-scheduling

Staff can choose shifts and see gaps in the schedule, so open shifts are visible and can be picked up.

Swaps and giveaways

Staff trade shifts among themselves, and the manager approves or denies each change.

Mobile app updates

Schedule changes are sent in real time to the Nursegrid mobile app that staff use for their calendar.

All staff types

Covers full-time, part-time, PRN and contract staff within one schedule.

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.

Nursegrid

• Nursegrid Manager$5

  per staff member / month

  One flat rate for full-time, part-time, PRN and contract staff; the page gives 25 staff as $125 a month.

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.

Nursegrid

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.