Sling by Toast vs When To Work (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Sling by Toast if

• Fits if you have up to 30 staff and want scheduling for nothing
• Works for restaurants already on Toast or Square that build schedules weeks ahead

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need a time clock on the free plan, as clocking in starts on Premium
• Skip it if your payroll isn't Toast, since that's the only payroll link it names
• Pricey if you want the shared kiosk clock, PTO or wage reports, which need Business at $3.40 a user
• Too light for teams past 30 on the free plan, which stops at 30 users
• Watch out: Sling is owned by Toast, and Toast customers buy it through the Toast Shop, not Sling's pricing page

Pick When To Work if

• Fits if you manage a team of up to 10 and want one price with no feature tiers
• Works for seasonal businesses that can pause the account in the off-season

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you need a built-in time clock
• Tight if your team is bigger, as the price grows with the employee count
• Watch out: the page calls current rates reduced introductory pricing, with no end date
• Watch out: payment is by credit card or check, in US dollars

Sling by Toast

• The Free plan stops at 30 users and has no time clock; time tracking, labor costs and overtime tracking start on Premium.
• The kiosk clock, PTO tracking and payroll-ready hours and wage reports need the Business plan.
• Integrations are mostly restaurant point-of-sale systems: Toast, Square, Harbortouch, Restaurant Manager and POSiTouch, with timesheet export to Toast Payroll.
• Sling is now owned by Toast, and Toast customers buy it through the Toast Shop rather than on Sling's pricing page.

When To Work

• The price depends on the maximum number of employees: the pricing page shows $38 a month for up to 10 and recalculates for larger teams.
• It does not provide a time clock; the FAQ points to exports for time clock and payroll programs.
• The pricing page calls the current rates reduced introductory pricing and gives no end date.
• The page states payment is by credit card or check, in US dollars.

Sling by Toast

Schedules and templates

Managers build schedules months ahead from shift and weekly templates, around staff unavailability, with day parts, custom tags and several slots per shift.

Auto-assigning shifts

Sling can assign open shifts automatically, and mandatory meal and rest breaks are added to the shifts they apply to.

Shift offers, swaps and alarms

Employees offer shifts to coworkers, swap shifts and pick up available ones, and alarms remind them of upcoming shifts by push or SMS.

Time clock and labor costs

Paid plans add clock-in from phones, and Business adds a shared kiosk. Labor costs and overtime are tracked as the schedule is built and compared with sales.

Messaging and newsfeed

Private and group messages, announcements and newsfeed pages aimed at chosen groups of staff.

Task management

Tasks can be assigned to a shift or to an employee and tracked from the app.

When To Work

Drag-and-drop scheduling

Schedules are built by drag and drop from reusable templates, with spreadsheet-style list, calendar and multi-location views.

AutoFill

A one-click AutoFill fills open shifts.

Requests and trades

Managers approve time-off requests and shift trades or pickups; employees can pick up open shifts.

Messages and alerts

Email, text and shift alerts keep staff informed, and managers can send urgent alerts from the app.

Free mobile app

The mobile app is free for managers and employees, with iOS and Android store links on the vendor's site.

Pause for the off-season

The vendor says an account can be suspended for the off-season at no cost while keeping employee data and past schedules.

Sling by Toast

• Free$0

  Up to 30 users: shift scheduling, time-off requests, available shifts, long-term scheduling, news sharing and private messaging.

• Premium$1.70

  per user / month, billed annually ($2 billed monthly)

  Adds mobile time tracking, labor costs compared against sales, overtime tracking, group messaging and calendar sync.

• Business$3.40

  per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)

  Adds a shared-device kiosk time clock, hours and wage reports, no-show and sick call-out tracking, and PTO management. Recommended.

When To Work

• 1 month$38

  per month for up to 10 employees

  All features, all managers and employees included. The price grows with the employee count entered on the page.

• 3 months$100

  for 3 months, up to 10 employees, paid in advance

  The page shows a $14 saving against three monthly payments.

• 6 months$164

  for 6 months, up to 10 employees, paid in advance

  The page shows a $64 saving against six monthly payments.

• 1 year$273

  for 1 year, up to 10 employees, paid in advance

  The page shows a $183 saving against twelve monthly payments.

Sling by Toast

• Annual discount

  Save 15% with annual billing

  Annual billing brings Premium to $1.70 and Business to $3.40 per user a month, against $2 and $4 billed monthly.

When To Work

• Annual discount

  Save by paying ahead

  For up to 10 employees the page shows $100 for 3 months, $164 for 6 months and $273 for a year against $38 a month, saving $14, $64 and $183.