Planday vs Tanda (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Planday grades higher than Tanda: 2.6 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
Planday 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.
Planday
Rota planning, punch clock and payroll reports for shift-based teams
Tanda
Rostering, timesheets, payroll and HR for Australian hourly teams
Which one is for you
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
Pick Tanda if
- Fits if you run an Australian hourly business that wants rosters and payroll together
- Works for hospitality and retail teams under Australian awards
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're outside Australia, because awards and STP are built around Australian rules
- Not for you if you want to try it free first, as the page lists no trial
- Watch out: single modules have no published price
- Watch out: the page doesn't name the currency
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPlandayGood | 2.0GPATandaFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | C$12.80 per user a month plus GST for the all-in-one bundle, which includes payroll and HR. That sits in the middle of the category. Single modules are quote-only. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 30-day trial of Plus with no credit card needed, long enough to build a few real rotas. | FNo free plan and no free trial on the pricing page. |
| Features | 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. | BRostering, award interpretation, an app with clock-ins, payroll from timesheets, leave and HR. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core job. |
| Ease of use | B4.55 from 4,271 App Store ratings, below the top-rated apps in this category. | CNo store rating on record. Award rules and payroll are set up per business. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50, Paychex and Personio among its connections, and an API on Plus. No desktop app. | BWeb with an employee app, plus MYOB, Reckon, Sage 50, Lightspeed, Oracle Micros and others. No desktop app on the listing. |
| Best for | rotas for restaurants, hotels and care teams | hourly teams in Australia |
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: Planday and Tanda. How we grade
Price against what you get
Planday starts at $2.99 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tanda starts at $12.80 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Planday scores higher and starts $9.81 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than Planday for less, and 3 score higher than Tanda 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
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
- Tanda also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
At a glance
| Planday | Tanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users) | $12.80 per user / month, plus GST, for the all-in-one bundle |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Planday | Tanda |
| Price read from | planday.com | tanda.com.au |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Tanda
- The pricing page shows one bundle price and asks you to request prices for each module separately.
- Prices are shown in dollars plus GST on the Australian site; the page does not name the currency.
- Award interpretation and STP filing are built around Australian rules, so the payroll side is not aimed at other countries.
- No free plan or free trial is stated on the pricing page.
Key features
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.
Tanda
- Rostering
- Build rosters from templates, typical hours or drag and drop, and see who is working, for how long and at what cost. Validations flag overtime and qualification risks.
- Award interpretation
- An award interpreter works out pay and entitlements from the hours staff actually work, and break rules can be set to match an award's requirements.
- Employee app and clock-ins
- Staff receive rosters, accept or swap shifts, apply for leave and clock in with GPS from their phones. Managers get alerts for late arrivals and missed breaks.
- Payroll from timesheets
- Pay runs are created from timesheets, and the payroll page says STP filing can be done from within the account.
- Leave management
- Staff request leave and unavailability in the app; managers review requests in a calendar next to public holidays and other time off.
- HR and hiring
- Onboarding, contracts, policies and an applicant tracking feature (Tanda Hire) are part of the same system.
Plans
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.
Tanda
All in One$12.80
per user / month, plus GST
Workforce management, payroll and HR bundled. Each module can also be priced on its own on request.
Single modulesCustom
Workforce Management, Payroll or HR sold separately; the page gives no price and asks you to request one.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Planday or Tanda?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Planday is cheaper to start with: $2.99 a month for each person, against $12.80 a month for each person for Tanda. Planday starts at $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users), and Tanda starts at $12.80 per user / month, plus GST, for the all-in-one bundle.
Which has a free plan, Planday or Tanda?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Planday nor Tanda has a free plan. Planday has a free trial.
Which platforms do Planday and Tanda run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Planday 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.