The 7shifts Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about 7shifts in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
7shifts
The Insider’s Guide
Restaurant scheduling, time clock, tips and payroll, per location
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among shift scheduling apps, read from 7shifts’s own pages.
Made by 7shifts · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from 7shifts’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on 7shifts’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.0
GPA, above 10 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade
7shifts is a scheduling and team management platform built for restaurants. Managers build schedules against labor targets and POS sales forecasts, staff trade shifts and clock in on tablets, phones or the POS, and higher plans add labor-law compliance, tip pooling, payroll, hiring and training. Plans are priced per location with a cap on employees, and one location with up to 15 staff is free.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about 7shifts, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Staff see shifts, hours and wages in the app and can trade or claim shifts there.
- 1
Best for restaurant scheduling tied to sales
Outside restaurants, though, a lot of it won't matter to you.
- 2
Paid plans start at $39.99 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials).
- 3
There is a free plan
Comp plan, free for one location with up to 15 employees: basic scheduling, shift trades and open shifts, availability and time-off requests, and one-way announcements.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Schedules built on sales forecasts
Labor targets are set against projected sales pulled from the POS and the weather forecast, and higher plans add hourly forecasts, labor recommendations and auto-built schedules.
- 6
Shift trades in the free app
Staff see schedules, hours and wages in the mobile app, and can offer up, trade or claim open shifts and send availability and time-off requests.
- 7
Time clock on POS and tablets
Time clocks run on tablets, computers, phones and POS devices, staff are prompted to declare tips, and Pro blocks clock-ins away from the restaurant.
- 8
A 3.0 GPA, above 10 of 12
That is against the other shift scheduling apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace 7shifts you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
7shifts at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial of the Pro plan, no credit card needed
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- 7shifts
- Category
- Shift Scheduling
- Our grade
- 3.0 GPA, very good
- Store rating
- 4.8 on the App Store, 30,338 ratings
The report card
Best for restaurant scheduling tied to sales
7shifts is built for restaurants and it shows: labor targets set against till sales, tip pooling, labor-law tools and payroll in one place. One location with up to 15 staff can use the Comp plan free. Outside restaurants, though, a lot of it won't matter to you.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Essentials is $39.99 per location a month billed yearly, for up to 30 employees, so 15 staff at one site pay $39.99. That's a little above the middle of this category. The free Comp plan also covers one site of up to 15, without the time clock. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Comp is free for one location and up to 15 employees, with scheduling, shift trades, open shifts, availability and time-off requests. No time clock, but a small restaurant can really run its rota on it. |
| Features | B | Schedules set against POS sales forecasts, trades and open shifts, clock-ins on tablets, phones or the POS, labor-law compliance, tip pooling, payroll, hiring and training. For a restaurant that's the whole job and then some. |
| Ease of use | A | 4.8 from 30,338 App Store ratings. Staff see shifts, hours and wages in the app and can trade or claim shifts there. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone and Android, with restaurant tills like Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed and TouchBistro, and payroll like ADP, Gusto and Paychex. No desktop app. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who 7shifts is for
- Great if you run a restaurant, cafe or bar and plan labor against sales
- Handy when you pool tips and want them split from till sales and punches
- Good for a single restaurant with 15 staff or fewer, on the free Comp plan
Who it is not for
- Not for you if you don't run a restaurant, as most of it is built around one
- Pricey if you add tips, logbook and tasks, at $49.99, $14.99 and $12.99 per location
- Tight if a location has more than 30 staff, as Essentials stops there
Good to know
Good for
- Restaurants, cafes and bars scheduling front- and back-of-house staff
- Operators who want labor targets tied to POS sales
- Single-location restaurants with up to 15 staff, on the free Comp plan
Worth knowing
- Plans are priced per location and capped by headcount: Essentials covers up to 30 employees and Pro up to 60 at each location.
- 7shifts Payroll is US-only at $39.99 per location a month plus $6 per employee paid; Premium includes the base fee but not the per-employee charge.
- Add-ons cost extra per location a month: Tip Management $49.99, Manager Log Book $14.99 and Task Management $12.99. Onboarding packages are $2.99 each.
- Integrations center on restaurant POS systems such as Toast, Square, Clover and Lightspeed, and payroll services such as ADP, Gusto and Paychex.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$39.99
A month to start. There is a free plan too
7shifts has a free plan. Paid plans start at $39.99 per location / month, billed annually (Essentials).
That's a little above the middle of this category.
Comp
$0
One location and up to 15 employees: basic scheduling, availability and time-off requests, one-way announcements.
Essentials
$39.99
per location / month, billed annually ($44.99 billed monthly)
Up to 30 employees. Adds schedule templates and breaks, team messaging with SMS reminders, a basic time clock and custom permissions.
Pro
$79.99
per location / month, billed annually ($89.99 billed monthly)
Up to 60 employees. Adds PTO accruals, labor compliance and cost tools, clock-in limits by location and the Manager Log Book. Marked best value.
Premium
$134.99
per location / month, billed annually ($149.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited employees. Adds tip and task management, training, labor forecasts and 7shifts Payroll, which still costs $6 per employee paid.
The free plan
Comp plan, free for one location with up to 15 employees: basic scheduling, shift trades and open shifts, availability and time-off requests, and one-way announcements.
Trying it first
14-day free trial of the Pro plan, no credit card needed
Read from 7shifts.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save about 10% with annual billing
Annual billing brings Essentials, Pro and Premium to $39.99, $79.99 and $134.99 per location a month, against $44.99, $89.99 and $149.99 billed monthly.
Stated on 7shifts.comOther savings
First 3 months of 7shifts Payroll free
First-time payroll buyers get three months of payroll fees waived after their first pay run, which must happen by January 30, 2027; some self-serve purchases are excluded.
Stated on 7shifts.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Restaurant scheduling, time clock, tips and payroll, per location. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: team chat, payroll, shift scheduling, time clock, applicant tracking, time off.
For a restaurant that's the whole job and then some.
- Schedules built on sales forecasts
- Labor targets are set against projected sales pulled from the POS and the weather forecast, and higher plans add hourly forecasts, labor recommendations and auto-built schedules.
- Shift trades in the free app
- Staff see schedules, hours and wages in the mobile app, and can offer up, trade or claim open shifts and send availability and time-off requests.
- Time clock on POS and tablets
- Time clocks run on tablets, computers, phones and POS devices, staff are prompted to declare tips, and Pro blocks clock-ins away from the restaurant.
- Labor-law compliance
- Pro adds break tracking, overtime notices, compliance warnings and state-based labor law tools with custom attestations.
- Tips and payroll
- Tip Management calculates and splits tip pools from POS sales and time punches, and 7shifts Payroll runs US pay with tax filings and new-hire paperwork.
- Hiring and training
- Jobs post to online job boards with candidate tracking and interview scheduling, and courses can be built from existing documents with AI.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Toast
- Square
- Clover
- Lightspeed
- TouchBistro
- ADP Workforce Now
- Gusto
- Paychex
7shifts is made by 7shifts.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
10/12
Other shift scheduling apps it is graded above
7shifts's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 10 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade.
It stands best on ease of use (A, above 8 of 12) and worst on value for money (C, above 2).
Its paid plans start at $39.99 a month, against a middle price of $5.65 for the category: 12 of the 12 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 13 shift scheduling apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. 7shifts’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 12
- BFree plan and trialAbove 7 of 12
- BFeaturesAbove 4 of 12
- AEase of useAbove 8 of 12
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 1 of 12
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 13 shift scheduling apps. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. 7shifts is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace 7shifts you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.0 is higher than 10 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade. It costs $479.88 a year.
What you could make
- Time off and applicant tracking: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
- Chat that a whole team counts on staying up.
- A rota the whole staff sees on their phones, with swaps and alerts.
- Clocking in from a phone, checked against where and when.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Toast, Square and Clover among them.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. 7shifts’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Homebase, When I Work, Deputy, Sling by Toast and Connecteam
The 5 tools 7shifts is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.2GPA
Homebase
Free plan · from $24/mo
Small-business scheduling, time clock and payroll, priced per location.
- 7shifts also covers applicant tracking.
- Homebase also covers job board posting and employee records.
- 2.8GPA
When I Work
Free trial · from $2.50/mo
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock.
- 7shifts has a free plan. When I Work does not, though it has a free trial.
- 7shifts also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
- When I Work also covers auto-scheduling.
- 2.6GPA
Deputy
Free trial · from $5/mo
Shift scheduling, time clock and labor-law tools for hourly teams.
- 7shifts has a free plan. Deputy does not, though it has a free trial.
- 7shifts also covers team chat and applicant tracking.
- Deputy also covers auto-scheduling.
- 2.8GPA
Sling by Toast
Free plan · from $1.70/mo
Free shift scheduling for up to 30 users, with paid time clock tiers.
- 7shifts also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
- Sling by Toast also covers tasks and auto-scheduling.
- 3.2GPA
Connecteam
Free plan · from $29/mo
Employee app for shifts, time clock, chat and HR, free up to 10 users.
- 7shifts also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
- Connecteam also covers auto-scheduling and forms.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is 7shifts free?
7shifts has a free plan. Comp plan, free for one location with up to 15 employees: basic scheduling, shift trades and open shifts, availability and time-off requests, and one-way announcements.
How much does 7shifts cost?
7shifts lists 4 plans. Comp: $0.
What platforms does 7shifts work on?
7shifts is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does 7shifts offer any discounts?
7shifts publicly lists the following: Save about 10% with annual billing; First 3 months of 7shifts Payroll free.
How is 7shifts rated?
7shifts's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 out of 5 from 30,338 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does 7shifts have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. 7shifts is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does 7shifts have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. 7shifts is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is 7shifts open source?
7shifts is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does 7shifts integrate with?
7shifts's listing names Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, TouchBistro, ADP Workforce Now, Gusto and Paychex.
Does 7shifts have a free trial?
Yes. 14-day free trial of the Pro plan, no credit card needed.
Who makes 7shifts?
7shifts is made by 7shifts.
What are the alternatives to 7shifts?
The closest alternatives to 7shifts in our directory are Homebase, When I Work, Deputy, Sling by Toast and Connecteam.
How does 7shifts compare with other shift scheduling apps?
7shifts's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 10 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade.
Is 7shifts good value for money?
ToolGPA grades 7shifts C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $39.99 a month, against a middle price of $5.65 for the category: 12 of the 12 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of 7shifts?
To replace 7shifts you would be making payroll taxes worked out and filed with the government for you.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from 7shifts’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from 7shifts' own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by 7shifts. Prices change, so check 7shifts.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,068
Tools graded, in 57 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,068
tools graded
57
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- 7shifts, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/7shifts
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "7shifts: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/7shifts
Know someone choosing between shift scheduling apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/7shifts/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded shift scheduling apps after 7shifts, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Shift Scheduling Insider's GuideEvery one of the 13 shift scheduling apps we grade, compared
- Connecteam Insider's GuideEmployee app for shifts, time clock, chat and HR, free up to 10 users3.2 GPA
- Homebase Insider's GuideSmall-business scheduling, time clock and payroll, priced per location3.2 GPA
- Sling by Toast Insider's GuideFree shift scheduling for up to 30 users, with paid time clock tiers2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what 7shifts’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. 7shifts is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by 7shifts. Prices and plans change: check 7shifts.com before you buy.