When I Work vs ZoomShift
We give When I Work a 2.8 GPA and ZoomShift a 2.4, out of 4.0. When I Work grades higher on features and ease of use. ZoomShift grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
When I Work
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock
ZoomShift
Employee scheduling and time clock, free for up to 20 users
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAWhen I WorkGood | 2.4GPAZoomShiftFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CStarter is $2 per active user a month billed yearly, so 15 staff pay $30 a month with the time clock and timesheets included. For a team that size that's just past the cheapest quarter of this category. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a 14-day trial with every feature and no credit card needed, which covers a couple of schedule cycles. | BEssentials is free for up to 20 users at one location, with schedules up to 2 weeks ahead, messaging, reminders and shift confirmations. No time clock, but a small single-site team can live on it. |
| Features | 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. | CTemplates, availability, swaps and covers, a web and phone time clock, timesheets and a payroll report, with auto-scheduling on Premium. The gap the listing names is payroll: no payroll connections, so hours are exported. |
| Ease of use | A4.79 from 57,666 App Store ratings. Swapping or picking up a shift is a couple of taps for staff. | CWe have no App Store rating on record for it. Schedules need staff, positions and templates set up before the first week goes out. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android. No integrations are named at all, so this B rests on the devices alone. |
| Best for | auto-filled schedules for hourly teams | cheap scheduling with a time clock |
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: When I Work and ZoomShift. How we grade
Price against what you get
When I Work starts at $2.50 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ZoomShift starts at $2 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
When I Work scores higher, and starts $0.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other shift scheduling apps on the chart, none scores higher than When I Work for less, and 1 scores higher than ZoomShift 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
- When I Work starts at $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking). ZoomShift starts at $2 per active user / month, billed annually (Starter).
- ZoomShift has a free plan. When I Work does not, though it has a free trial.
- When I Work also covers team chat.
- ZoomShift also covers applicant tracking.
At a glance
| When I Work | ZoomShift | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $2.50 per user / month (Essentials, without time tracking) | $2 per active user / month, billed annually (Starter) |
| Free plan | None | Essentials plan, free for up to 20 users at one location: schedules up to 2 weeks ahead, team messaging, reminders, shift notes and shift confirmations. No time clock. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with every feature, no credit card required | 14-day free trial with every feature, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | When I Work, Inc. | ZoomShift |
| Price read from | wheniwork.com | zoomshift.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
ZoomShift
- Single-location teams of up to 20 that only need a shared schedule
- Small businesses that want a low per-user price for scheduling and time clock
- Seasonal businesses, since a subscription can be paused for quiet months
Worth knowing
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.
ZoomShift
- The free Essentials plan has no time clock or timesheets, schedules only 2 weeks ahead and covers one location and 20 users.
- Auto-scheduling, overtime warnings and the geofenced time clock need Premium.
- No payroll integrations are named on the site; timesheets are exported and sent to your payroll provider.
- There is no set non-profit or education discount; the vendor says it will discuss a price on request.
Key features
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.
ZoomShift
- Schedules from templates
- Shift and schedule templates, availability and time-off requests, and multi-shift assignment for groups; Premium adds auto-scheduling.
- Shift swaps and covers
- Staff request covers and swap shifts in the app, and changes reach the team by email, text and push notifications.
- Web and mobile time clock
- Employees clock in for assigned shifts from a browser or the iPhone and Android apps, with break and meal tracking, GPS checks and IP address whitelisting.
- Timesheets and payroll reports
- Each finished shift creates a timesheet that managers edit and approve, then a payroll report breaks down hours and gross pay by location, position or person.
- Overtime and attendance controls
- Premium warns about overtime, blocks overlapping shifts and clock-ins that are too early or late, and compares scheduled with worked hours.
- AI applicant screening
- An applicant tracking tool filters candidates by your criteria and runs AI-led first interviews that score each answer.
Plans
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.
ZoomShift
Essentials$0
Up to 20 users and 1 location, scheduling up to 2 weeks ahead, team communication, reminders and shift confirmation.
Starter$2
per active user / month, billed annually ($2.50 billed monthly)
Unlimited users and locations. Adds templates, availability and time off, swaps and covers, time clock, timesheets, PTO and break tracking, payroll report.
Premium$4
per active user / month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly)
Adds auto-scheduling, overtime warnings, conflict prevention, early and late clock-in limits, a geofenced time clock and custom role permissions.
Ways to pay less
When I Work
No public discounts listed.
ZoomShift
- Annual discount
About 20% off with annual billing
Annual billing brings Starter to $2 and Premium to $4 per active user a month, against $2.50 and $5 billed monthly.
