RotaCloud vs Shiftbase
We give RotaCloud a 2.4 GPA and Shiftbase a 2.6, out of 4.0. Shiftbase grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RotaCloud
UK rota planning with leave tracking and an add-on clocking-in app
Shiftbase
Dutch shift scheduling, time clock and absence app, free to 15 staff
How we grade them
| 2.4GPARotaCloudFair | 2.6GPAShiftbaseGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStandard is £40 a month at 11 to 20 employees, or £400 a year paid yearly, so 15 staff cost about £33 a month. Prices are in pounds only. That's near the middle of this category, and clocking in costs £18 a month more at that size. | CBasic is €27 a month billed yearly for 6 employees, plus €3.60 for each extra, so 15 staff pay €59.40. Prices are in euros or pounds only. That's in the dearer quarter of this category, and most payroll links need App Center+ on top. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial with no payment details needed. Long enough to run a month of real rotas before you pay. | BFree for up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams, with drag-and-drop scheduling and staff profiles. There's no clock-in, only hours typed in by hand, but a small team can run its rota on it. |
| Features | BRota templates, labor costs as you plan, holiday, TOIL and absence tracking, shift swaps and reports on Standard. Pro adds labor forecasting against sales and budget caps. Clocking in, timesheets and payroll exports are a paid add-on. | BDrag-and-drop schedules, swaps and open shifts, clock-in on phone, desktop or kiosk, leave with balances and surcharges, and payroll exports. Premium adds labor cost targets and skill-based scheduling. That's the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating to go on, as its app has too few ratings on record. Rotas are built by drag and drop from templates, but teams, roles and leave rules need setting up first. | CWe have no App Store rating on record for it. Schedules need departments, teams and surcharge rules set up before they pay off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android. It connects to Sage, PayCaptain, Staffology, Breathe, People HR, Tevalis, Google Calendar and Zapier, and has an API. Mostly UK payroll and HR tools. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Nmbrs, AFAS, DATEV, Personio and Lightspeed, though most need the App Center+ add-on at €17.50 a month billed yearly. No desktop app. |
| Best for | UK care, hospitality and retail rotas | European shift teams with surcharges |
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: RotaCloud and Shiftbase. How we grade
Price against what you get
RotaCloud starts at about $13.22 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shiftbase starts at about $30.26 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and RotaCloud starts $17.04 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, 3 score higher than RotaCloud for less, and 5 score higher than Shiftbase 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
- RotaCloud starts at £10 per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly (Standard). Shiftbase starts at €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic).
- Shiftbase has a free plan. RotaCloud does not, though it has a free trial.
At a glance
| RotaCloud | Shiftbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | £10 per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly (Standard) | €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic) |
| Free plan | None | Free plan for up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams: drag-and-drop scheduling, hours entered by hand and approved by managers, employee profiles and news messages. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no payment details required | 14-day free trial of the paid plans, no card details needed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | RotaCloud | Shiftbase B.V. |
| Price read from | rotacloud.com | shiftbase.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
RotaCloud
- UK care homes, vets and dental practices planning staff rotas
- Employers tracking holiday, TOIL and sickness beside the rota
- Small teams that want to add clocking in only if they need it
Shiftbase
- Hospitality, retail and care teams in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK
- Small teams of up to 15 that want a free schedule instead of a spreadsheet
- Businesses that pay surcharges for nights, Sundays and public holidays
Worth knowing
RotaCloud
- Prices are shown in pounds sterling only; the site gives no dollar price.
- Clocking in and timesheets are a Time & Attendance add-on, priced by the same headcount bands: £4.50 a month for up to 5 employees, £18 at 11 to 20 and £45 at 41 to 50.
- Text message notifications are a further add-on: £2 a month for up to 5 employees, £8 at 11 to 20 and £20 at 41 to 50; email and push are included.
- There is no free plan, and businesses with more than 500 employees need a custom quote.
Shiftbase
- Prices are shown in euros or pounds only; there is no dollar price.
- Each paid plan includes a set number of employees; every extra one costs €3.60 to €5.40 a month billed yearly (€4 to €6 monthly).
- Most payroll, POS and HR integrations and API tokens need the App Center+ add-on at €20 a month (€17.50 yearly), except on Enterprise. Basic includes three free integrations.
- The Free plan has no clock-in, only hours typed in by hand. Yearly plans are paid up front and not refunded; monthly plans have one month's notice.
Key features
RotaCloud
- Drag-and-drop rotas
- Rotas are built by drag and drop with templates and copying tools across unlimited sites and departments, and shared by email and push notifications.
- Availability and shift swaps
- Staff set recurring availability patterns, swap shifts and check the rota in the free iOS and Android apps.
- Labor cost control
- Daily, weekly and monthly labor costs show while the rota is planned; Pro adds labor forecasting as a share of sales and budget caps.
- Holiday and absence
- Holiday requests, time off in lieu and sickness are tracked beside the rota, and Pro lets managers set rules for when leave can be requested.
- Clocking in and timesheets
- With the Time & Attendance add-on, staff clock in on their phones within a geofence or at a fixed terminal, and timesheets, lateness flags and payroll exports follow.
- Payroll, HR and care integrations
- Connects to Sage, PayCaptain and Staffology payroll, Breathe and People HR, calendar apps, Zapier and care management systems.
Shiftbase
- Drag-and-drop scheduling
- Shifts are dragged onto employees, staff share availability, swap shifts and claim open ones, and Premium adds skill-based scheduling, required shifts and a flexpool.
- Clock-in and kiosks
- From Basic, staff clock in on mobile, desktop or a shared tablet kiosk; Premium allows unlimited kiosks and limits clock-ins to a GPS radius.
- Absence and leave
- Leave requests, approvals, sickness and balances are handled in the app, with surcharges for Sundays, public holidays and, on Premium, night rates.
- Labor cost targets
- Premium sets labor cost or hours budgets per team and day, shows whether the schedule stays inside them, and has a KPI dashboard and AI revenue forecasts.
- Payroll export
- Contract versus worked hours, surcharges and leave payouts export as Excel or CSV, or go to payroll systems such as Nmbrs, AFAS and DATEV through the App Center.
- Employee records and news
- One profile per person with contact and emergency details, plus news messages to the whole team; the HR Pro add-on generates and e-signs contracts.
Plans
RotaCloud
Standard£10
per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly
Rotas, templates, labor costs, holiday, TOIL and absence tracking, shift swaps and reports. By headcount band: £20 at 6 to 10 employees, £40 at 11 to 20, £100 at 41 to 50.
Pro£15
per month for up to 5 employees, billed monthly
Adds bulk edits, labor forecasting against sales, budget caps, documents, leave rules, a logbook and enforced 2FA. £30 at 6 to 10 employees, £60 at 11 to 20, £150 at 41 to 50.
Shiftbase
Free€0
Up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams: scheduling, manual time entry, employee profiles and team news.
Basic€27
per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (€30 billed monthly)
Adds availability, swaps and open shifts, clock-in on phone, desktop or one kiosk, absence management and payroll export. Extra staff €3.60 each (€4 monthly).
Premium€64.80
per month for up to 12 employees, billed yearly (€72 billed monthly)
Adds labor cost targets and budgets, skill-based scheduling, geofenced clock-in and unlimited kiosks. Extra staff €4.50 each (€5 monthly).
Enterprise€302.40
per month for up to 48 employees, billed yearly (€336 billed monthly)
Adds App Center+, API access, custom integrations and a success manager. Sold through a demo. Extra staff €5.40 each (€6 monthly).
Ways to pay less
RotaCloud
- Annual discount
2 months free with yearly billing
Paying yearly costs ten times the monthly price, for example £100 a year for Standard at up to 5 employees instead of £120.
Shiftbase
- Annual discount
Save 10% with yearly billing
Yearly billing takes 10% off every paid plan and extra employee, for example Basic at €27 instead of €30 a month.
- Nonprofit
Discount for charities and non-profits
Charities and non-profits get a discount that depends on team size and plan, through a proposal from the sales team.
