Shiftbase vs When I Work
We give Shiftbase a 2.6 GPA and When I Work a 2.8, out of 4.0. Shiftbase grades higher on the free plan. When I Work grades higher on 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.
Shiftbase
Dutch shift scheduling, time clock and absence app, free to 15 staff
When I Work
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAShiftbaseGood | 2.8GPAWhen I WorkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CEssentials is $2.50 a user a month, so 15 staff pay $37.50 for scheduling, the middle of this category for a team that size. Add the time clock and it's $4 a user, or $60. The page doesn't say whether these are monthly or yearly rates. |
| 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. | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial with every feature and no credit card needed, which covers a couple of schedule cycles. |
| 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. | BAuto-scheduling from availability, templates, multi-week and multi-location schedules, forecasting, shift trades, messaging and payroll exports, with a time clock as an add-on. That's the whole 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. | A4.79 from 57,666 App Store ratings. Swapping or picking up a shift is a couple of taps for staff. |
| 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with payroll partners such as Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and OnPay, plus Zapier. API keys need Premium, and there's no desktop app. |
| Best for | European shift teams with surcharges | auto-filled schedules for hourly 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 When I Work. How we grade
Price against what you get
Shiftbase starts at about $30.26 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. When I Work starts at $2.50 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
When I Work scores higher and starts $27.76 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, 5 score higher than Shiftbase for less, and none scores higher than When I Work 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 starts at €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic). When I Work starts at $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking).
- Shiftbase has a free plan. When I Work does not, though it has a free trial.
- Shiftbase also covers reports and employee records.
- When I Work also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
At a glance
| Shiftbase | When I Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic) | $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking) |
| 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 with every feature, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Shiftbase B.V. | When I Work, Inc. |
| Price read from | shiftbase.com | wheniwork.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
When I Work
- Restaurants, retail stores and call centers scheduling hourly staff
- Managers who want shifts filled automatically from availability
- Multi-location businesses sharing staff between sites
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.
When I Work
- The time clock, breaks and attendance are an add-on that raises each plan by $1.50 to $2 per user a month, though the page's FAQ says every plan includes them.
- The pricing page offers monthly or annual billing but does not say which basis the listed prices use.
- API keys, webhooks and SAML single sign-on need the Premium plan.
- Payroll runs through partners; Rippling, the preferred partner, offers When I Work customers six months free.
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.
When I Work
- Auto-scheduling
- Managers enter the coverage they need and the app assigns shifts from employee availability and qualifications in one click.
- Templates and multi-week schedules
- Saved templates such as a weekend rush or holiday plan are reused to build schedules weeks ahead, across several locations.
- Shift trades and OpenShifts
- Employees swap or pick up open shifts from the app, and managers approve or decline each request before the schedule updates.
- Time clock on any device
- With the time tracking add-on, staff clock in from phones, tablets or terminals, with GPS or geofencing, break tracking and overtime tracking tied to the schedule.
- Team messaging
- Managers and staff message individuals or the whole team in the app without sharing phone numbers.
- Payroll exports
- Approved hours go to payroll services including Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and OnPay.
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).
When I Work
Essentials$2.50
per user / month ($4 with time tracking and attendance)
Unlimited users. Auto-scheduling, multi-week and multi-location schedules, templates, forecasting, messaging, OpenShifts and swaps.
Pro$5
per user / month ($7 with time tracking and attendance)
Adds scheduling rules, role permissions, labor sharing, custom forecasting units, custom reports and callout reporting.
Premium$8
per user / month ($10 with time tracking and attendance)
Adds API keys, webhooks and SAML single sign-on.
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.
When I Work
No public discounts listed.
