Papershift vs Planday (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Planday grades higher than Papershift: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Planday grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Papershift
German shift planning, time tracking and absence software
Planday
Rota planning, punch clock and payroll reports for shift-based teams
Which one is for you
Pick Papershift if
- Fits if you run a small team in Germany and want shifts, absences and time tracking together
- Works for a business that can read the German pricing page and pay in euros
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are very small, as every booking adds a EUR 39 monthly base fee
- Skip it if you want shift planning on the cheapest plan, as Core is time tracking and absences only
- Watch out: prices are in euros and exclude VAT, and the page is in German
- Watch out: higher support levels than Basic are sold separately
Pick Planday if
- Fits if you run restaurants, bars or hotels and want wage costs next to revenue
- Works for managers who need a warning before a rota breaks working-time rules
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're on Starter and need leave tracking, payroll links or the API, as they wait for Plus
- Pricey if you want auto-scheduling, which only comes on Pro, priced by quote
- Not for you if you have fewer than 5 staff, as Starter bills at least 5 users and Plus at least 10
- Watch out: users are billed in bundles of five, so 23 users pay for 25, and Plus adds a $30 monthly fee
- Watch out: SMS and onboarding help cost extra, with no published prices, and there's no free plan
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAPapershiftFair | 2.6GPAPlandayGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEUR 3.60 a person a month on yearly billing, excluding VAT, plus a EUR 39 base fee. Shift planning starts at Premium, EUR 5.40. For five people that is well above the category middle. | CStarter is $2.99 a user a month, billed in bundles of five, so 15 staff are three bundles: $44.85 a month, with no yearly rate listed. That's the dear end of normal here. Plus, which has leave and payroll links, is $30 plus $4.49 a user, so $97.35 for 15. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day test account with all features after booking. The page does not say whether a card is needed. There is no free plan. | CNo free plan. There's a 30-day trial of Plus with no credit card needed, long enough to build a few real rotas. |
| Features | CShift planning, automatic assignment, time tracking, absences and payroll prep. The cheapest plan, Core, has no shift planning, so the listing shows a gap. | BRota templates built around availability, working-time warnings, a geolocated punch clock, shift swaps in the staff app, and wage costs set against revenue. Across its plans that's the whole job, with auto-scheduling only on the custom-priced Pro. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Accounts, rules and staff have to be set up first. | B4.55 from 4,271 App Store ratings, below the top-rated apps in this category. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, with five integrations listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50, Paychex and Personio among its connections, and an API on Plus. No desktop app. |
| Best for | German shift and absence planning | rotas for restaurants, hotels and care 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: Papershift and Planday. How we grade
Price against what you get
Papershift starts at about $4.02 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Planday starts at $2.99 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Planday scores higher and starts $1.03 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, 3 score higher than Papershift for less, and 1 scores higher than Planday for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Papershift also covers payroll.
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
At a glance
| Papershift | Planday | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | €3.60 per employee / month, billed yearly (€4 monthly), plus €39 base | $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free test account after booking, all features | 30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Papershift | Planday |
| Price read from | papershift.com | planday.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Papershift
- Prices are in euros, exclude VAT, and the page is in German; the shown totals assume 16 employees.
- Shift planning starts at Premium; Core is time tracking and absences only.
- Every booking carries a €39 monthly base fee that includes Basic support; higher support levels are sold separately.
- For teams of up to 15 there is a separate Papershift Light, and larger companies get an individual Enterprise quote.
Planday
- Users are billed in bundles of five, so 23 users are charged as 25. Starter needs at least 5 users and Plus at least 10.
- Plus adds a monthly subscription fee on top of the per-user price; the page data sets it at 30 in the visitor's currency, and Pro is priced by quote.
- Leave and absence management, payroll integrations and the API need Plus; auto-scheduling needs Pro.
- Each SMS sent through Planday and any onboarding help cost extra, and no prices are published for either.
Key features
Papershift
- Shift planning
- Schedules are built visually and shared online, with multi-location planning, work-time models and break rules in the Premium and Professional packages.
- Automatic shift assignment
- Premium assigns shifts automatically by rules; Professional lists fully automatic filling of the schedule.
- Time tracking
- Staff clock in via smartphone, tablet or browser, with automatic break rules set per employee.
- Absence management
- Absence requests and employee-specific target hours are in every package; Professional adds blackout periods and employee-specific holidays.
- Payroll preparation
- Professional calculates hours and surcharges (night, Sunday, holiday) and exports to DATEV and LODAS for the tax advisor.
- HR records
- Employee profiles with master data, uploaded contracts and documents, tags and qualifications, and EU-hosted storage described as GDPR-compliant.
Planday
- Rota templates and availability
- Rotas are built from templates around the availability staff share, with warnings when a shift breaks your working-time rules. Pro adds auto-scheduling.
- Geolocated punch clock
- Staff clock in and out on their phones only from approved places, or at a kiosk station using the Planday Kiosk app, and managers see who is late across locations.
- Employee app
- Employees view their schedule, swap or hand over shifts, apply for open shifts, request time off and see their earnings in the iOS and Android app.
- Payroll reports and integrations
- Approved hours, overtime and absence become payroll reports, and Plus connects them to payroll systems such as Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50 and Paychex.
- Staff cost and revenue reports
- Reports set wage costs against revenue and forecasts, so managers can see where a rota is over- or under-staffed.
- Messenger and newsfeed
- Managers message staff in the app or by SMS and post updates to a newsfeed; in-app messaging is included, while each SMS is charged.
Plans
Papershift
Core€3.60
per employee / month, billed yearly (€4 monthly), plus €39 base
Digital time tracking, absence management, employee profiles and documents, no shift planning. The page shows €57.60 a month for 16 employees.
Premium€5.40
per employee / month, billed yearly (€6 monthly), plus €39 base
Adds digital shift planning, rule-based automatic shift assignment, work-time models and multi-location planning. €86.40 a month for 16 employees.
Professional€8.10
per employee / month, billed yearly (€9 monthly), plus €39 base
Adds full automation, absence blackout periods, surcharges, DATEV and LODAS export and reports. €129.60 a month for 16 employees.
Planday
Starter$2.99
per user / month
Minimum 5 users. Scheduling, simple time tracking, working-time rule warnings, basic payroll reports, team messaging and live chat support.
Plus$30
per month, plus $4.49 per user
Minimum 10 users. Adds advanced scheduling, leave and absence, payroll and revenue integrations, API access, employee records and documents.
ProCustom
For larger organizations: auto-scheduling, custom planning metrics, configurable structure, custom roles, phone support and custom setup.
Ways to pay less
Papershift
- Annual discount
10% off with yearly payment
The pricing page says paying yearly saves 10% against monthly payment, on a one-year subscription.
Planday
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Papershift or Planday?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Planday is cheaper to start with: $2.99 a month for each person, against about $4.02 a month for each person for Papershift. Papershift starts at €3.60 per employee / month, billed yearly (€4 monthly), plus €39 base, and Planday starts at $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users).
Which has a free plan, Papershift or Planday?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Papershift nor Planday has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.