SignUpGenius vs When I Work (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, When I Work grades higher than SignUpGenius: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
SignUpGenius grades higher on value for money and the free plan. When I Work grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SignUpGenius
Online sign-up sheets for volunteers, events and group shifts
When I Work
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock
Which one is for you
Pick SignUpGenius if
- Fits if you need a volunteer or event sign-up sheet people can fill in without an account
- Works for schools and clubs that can put up with ads on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need paid-staff rostering, because there is no time clock or payroll
- Tight if you want ad-free sign-ups: 1 on Silver and 10 on Gold
- Pricey if you send lots of messages, as texts and emails are capped on each paid plan
- Watch out: Enterprise pricing is not published, and waitlists need Gold at $22.49
Pick When I Work if
- Fits if building the schedule eats your Sunday evenings
- Works for call centers and retail stores sharing part-timers across locations
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need the time clock, since it adds $1.50 to $2 a user on every plan
- Skip it if you want a free plan to stay on, as there's only a 14-day trial
- Not for you if you need an API, webhooks or single sign-on without paying for Premium at $8 a user
- Watch out: the page doesn't say whether prices are monthly or yearly, and its FAQ says the clock is included when the plans charge extra
- Watch out: payroll runs through partners, and scheduling rules, role permissions and custom reports need Pro at $5 a user
How we grade them
| 2.4GPASignUpGeniusFair | 2.8GPAWhen I WorkGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BFree plan with unlimited sheets. Silver is $8.99 a month billed annually, which is below the category's middle of $24. | 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 | BUnlimited sign-up pages, confirmation and reminder emails and email support are free for good. One person can live on it, but the sheets carry ads. | 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 | CSign-up pages, reminders, waitlists, calendar sync and payments. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job than rostering: no clock, no cost tracking, no payroll. | 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 | CNo store rating on record. Building each sheet is the work, so it's not zero-setup. | A4.79 from 57,666 App Store ratings. Swapping or picking up a shift is a couple of taps for staff. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing, with no integrations named. | 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 | volunteer and event sign-up sheets | 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: SignUpGenius and When I Work. How we grade
Price against what you get
SignUpGenius starts at $8.99 a month and scores 2.0 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 $6.49 a month lower. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, 10 score higher than SignUpGenius 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
- SignUpGenius also covers templates, calendar, forms and ticketing.
- When I Work also covers auto-scheduling, team chat, time clock and time off.
At a glance
| SignUpGenius | When I Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8.99 per month, billed annually ($11.99 billed monthly) | $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking) |
| Free plan | Unlimited sign-up pages in multiple formats, automatic confirmation and reminder emails, group management tools and email support. Sign-ups carry ads. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial with every feature, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | SignUpGenius Inc. | When I Work, Inc. |
| Price read from | signupgenius.com | wheniwork.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SignUpGenius
- Sign-ups on the Free plan show ads; ad-free sheets are limited to 1 on Silver and 10 on Gold.
- It is a sign-up sheet tool, with no time clock, labor cost tracking or payroll export.
- Text invites and monthly email sends are capped on each paid plan.
- Enterprise pricing is not published.
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
SignUpGenius
- Self-serve slot sheets
- Organizers list shifts or tasks and participants choose their own; recurring events can be duplicated.
- Reminders and invites
- Confirmation and reminder emails go out automatically; paid plans add text invites and updates with monthly caps.
- Waitlists and administrators
- Waitlist management starts on Gold, which also allows 10 administrators; Platinum raises that to 20.
- Calendar sync
- Silver and above sync sign-ups to a calendar and can lock a sheet once it is full.
- Payments and tickets
- The same account can collect payments, sell event tickets, take dues and fees, and gather waivers.
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
SignUpGenius
Free$0
Unlimited sign-up pages, automatic confirmation and reminder emails, recurring event duplication and email support.
Silver$8.99
per month, billed annually ($11.99 billed monthly)
1 ad-free sign-up, 2 custom questions, calendar sync, 150 text and 2,500 emails per month.
Gold$22.49
per month, billed annually ($29.99 billed monthly)
10 ad-free sign-ups, 10 administrators, waitlists and 500 texts and 10,000 emails per month.
Platinum$44.99
per month, billed annually ($59.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited ad-free sign-ups, 20 administrators, custom URLs and portal pages, phone support.
EnterpriseCustom
Full branding control, a dedicated account manager, SSO and sign-ups embedded on your own website.
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
SignUpGenius
- Annual discount
Save with annual billing
The pricing page shows Silver at $8.99 a month paid annually against $11.99 billed monthly, and similar savings on Gold and Platinum.
When I Work
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SignUpGenius or When I Work?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SignUpGenius starts at $8.99 per month, billed annually ($11.99 billed monthly), and When I Work starts at $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, SignUpGenius or When I Work?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SignUpGenius has a free plan. When I Work does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do SignUpGenius and When I Work run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only When I Work 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.