Shiftbase vs Skello (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shiftbase grades higher than Skello: 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
Shiftbase grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Shiftbase
Dutch shift scheduling, time clock and absence app, free to 15 staff
Skello
Staff scheduling, time clocking and payroll prep for field teams
Which one is for you
Pick Shiftbase if
- Fits if you pay surcharges for nights, Sundays and public holidays and run payroll through Nmbrs, AFAS or DATEV
- Works for teams of up to 15 who want a free rota instead of a spreadsheet
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you pay in dollars, as prices are in euros or pounds only
- Tight if you stay free and need clock-ins, as the free plan only takes typed hours and has 1 department
- Pricey if you need several integrations, since App Center+ is €20 a month on top outside Enterprise
- Watch out: each staff member past the plan's count adds €3.60 to €5.40 a month, and labor targets need Premium
- Skip it if you might cancel early, as yearly plans are paid up front with no refund and monthly plans need a month's notice
Pick Skello if
- Fits if you run a shop, restaurant or clinic in France and want rules like RTT and DPAE built in
- Works for teams that want scheduling and clocking from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're outside France, because the legal rules follow French employment law
- Not for you if you want a clear per-head price, as the basis isn't stated
- Tight if you need forecasting and auto-scheduling, which start on Max tiers
- Watch out: the Business plan for 200 to 10,000 employees has no price
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAShiftbaseGood | 2.0GPASkelloFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CFrom EUR 59 for clocking, EUR 79 for scheduling and EUR 107 for Planning Max, with the basis (site or head) not stated. A 10% annual discount is offered. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | DA 14-day trial on every plan; the page doesn't say whether a card is needed. |
| Features | 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. | BCompliant scheduling, clocking, absences, payroll prep and employee files. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core job. |
| Ease of use | CWe have no App Store rating on record for it. Schedules need departments, teams and surcharge rules set up before they pay off. | CNo store rating on record. Legal rules and payroll prep take configuring. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWeb with an employee app on the listing. No integrations are named and no desktop app. |
| Best for | European shift teams with surcharges | French and European shift 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: Shiftbase and Skello. How we grade
Price against what you get
Shiftbase starts at about $30.16 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Skello starts at about $65.91 a month and scores 2.3.
Shiftbase scores higher and starts $35.75 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, 5 score higher than Shiftbase for less, and 12 score higher than Skello 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
- Shiftbase also covers reports.
- Skello also covers payroll.
At a glance
| Shiftbase | Skello | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic) | €59 per month and up (Standard Clocking), basis not stated |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the paid plans, no card details needed | 14-day free trial on every plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Shiftbase B.V. | Skello |
| Price read from | shiftbase.com | skello.io |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Skello
- Prices are in euros and shown as a starting figure; the page does not say what the monthly amount is based on, such as site or headcount.
- The Business plan for 200 to 10,000 employees has no published price.
- Several features, including the Smart Planner and unlimited document storage, depend on the plan tier.
- Legal rules built in, such as RTT and DPAE, follow French employment law.
Key features
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.
Skello
- Compliant scheduling
- Week, month and day views with regulatory alerts set from the collective agreement, schedule locking and templates.
- Smart scheduling
- Planning Max and Duo Max forecast staffing needs and create schedules automatically; Smart Planner is an optional extra on lower tiers.
- Time clocking
- Staff clock in on a tablet or mobile with geolocation, and hours worked are tracked for payroll.
- Absences and counters
- Leave and absence management with paid-leave, RTT, overtime and annualized-hours counters.
- Payroll preparation
- Payroll variables are calculated automatically; a separate payroll service starts at €20 a month per employee.
- Employee files
- Contracts, documents and the staff register are stored per employee, with automatic payslip distribution on higher tiers.
Plans
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).
Skello
Standard Clocking€59
per month and up
Tablet and mobile clocking with geolocation, hours tracking and employee records. Clocking Max starts at €89.
Scheduling Standard€79
per month and up
Compliant schedules, absence tracking, payroll variables and a mobile app.
Planning Max€107
per month and up
Standard plus staffing forecasts, automatic schedule creation, e-signed timesheets and unlimited AI assistant.
Duo Standard€99
per month and up
Scheduling and clocking together. Duo Max adds forecasts, automatic scheduling and AI assistant from €129.
BusinessCustom
For 200 to 10,000 employees: HR system connections, priority support and training.
Ways to pay less
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.
Skello
- Annual discount
10% off with an annual commitment
The pricing page states a 10% discount on the Scheduling, Clocking and Duo plans with an annual commitment.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Shiftbase or Skello?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shiftbase is cheaper to start with: about $30.16 a month, against about $65.91 a month for Skello. Shiftbase starts at €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic), and Skello starts at €59 per month and up (Standard Clocking), basis not stated.
Which has a free plan, Shiftbase or Skello?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Shiftbase has a free plan. Skello does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Shiftbase and Skello run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Shiftbase 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.