The Planday Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Planday 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.
Planday
The Insider’s Guide
Rota planning, punch clock and payroll reports for shift-based teams
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among shift scheduling apps, read from Planday’s own pages.
Made by Planday · 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 Planday’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Planday’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
2.6
GPA, above 5 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade
Planday is workforce management software for shift-based businesses in hospitality, retail, care and hotels. Managers build rotas from templates and staff availability, employees clock in with a geolocated punch clock and swap shifts in the app, and approved hours feed payroll reports and integrations. It is priced per user, with a minimum team size on each plan.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Planday, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Good, though a step behind the best-rated apps in this category.
- 1
Best for rotas for restaurants, hotels and care teams
Planday builds rotas around staff availability, warns you when a shift breaks your working-time rules, and turns approved hours into payroll reports.
- 2
Paid plans start at $2.99 a month for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users).
- 3
You can try it first
30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Rota templates and availability
Rotas are built from templates around the availability staff share, with warnings when a shift breaks your working-time rules. Pro adds auto-scheduling.
- 6
Geolocated punch clock
Staff clock in and out on their phones only from approved places, or at a kiosk station using the Planday Kiosk app, and managers see who is late across locations.
- 7
Employee app
Employees view their schedule, swap or hand over shifts, apply for open shifts, request time off and see their earnings in the iOS and Android app.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 5 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 Planday you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Planday at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Planday, since 2004
- Category
- Shift Scheduling
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
- Store rating
- 4.5 on the App Store, 4,271 ratings
The report card
Best for rotas for restaurants, hotels and care teams
Planday builds rotas around staff availability, warns you when a shift breaks your working-time rules, and turns approved hours into payroll reports. Starter is cheap per head at $2.99. Just know that leave management, payroll links and the API all sit on Plus, which adds a $30 monthly fee.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Starter is $2.99 a user a month, billed in bundles of five, so 15 staff are three bundles: $44.85 a month, with no yearly rate listed. That's the dear end of normal here. Plus, which has leave and payroll links, is $30 plus $4.49 a user, so $97.35 for 15. |
| Free plan and trial | C | No free plan. There's a 30-day trial of Plus with no credit card needed, which is plenty of time to build a few real rotas. |
| Features | B | Rota templates built around availability, working-time warnings, a geolocated punch clock, shift swaps in the staff app, and wage costs set against revenue. Across its plans that's the whole job, with auto-scheduling only on the custom-priced Pro. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.55 from 4,271 App Store ratings. Good, though a step behind the best-rated apps in this category. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone and Android, with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50, Paychex and Personio among its connections, and an API on Plus. 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 Planday is for
- Great if you run restaurants, bars or hotels and want wage costs next to revenue
- Handy when managers need a warning before a rota breaks working-time rules
- Good for care providers and retailers paying staff through Xero or Sage
Who it is not for
- Tight if you're on Starter and need leave tracking, as that waits for Plus
- Pricey if you want auto-scheduling, which only comes on Pro, priced by quote
- Not for you if you have fewer than 5 staff, as Starter bills at least 5 users
Good to know
Good for
- Restaurants, bars and hotels running rotas across several sites
- Care providers and retailers that must follow working-time rules
- Teams that want payroll-ready hours flowing into Xero or Sage
Worth knowing
- Users are billed in bundles of five, so 23 users are charged as 25. Starter needs at least 5 users and Plus at least 10.
- Plus adds a monthly subscription fee on top of the per-user price; the page data sets it at 30 in the visitor's currency, and Pro is priced by quote.
- Leave and absence management, payroll integrations and the API need Plus; auto-scheduling needs Pro.
- Each SMS sent through Planday and any onboarding help cost extra, and no prices are published for either.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$2.99
A month to start, for each person
Planday is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $2.99 per user / month (Starter, minimum 5 users).
Starter
$2.99
per user / month
Minimum 5 users. Scheduling, simple time tracking, working-time rule warnings, basic payroll reports, team messaging and live chat support.
Plus
$30
per month, plus $4.49 per user
Minimum 10 users. Adds advanced scheduling, leave and absence, payroll and revenue integrations, API access, employee records and documents.
Pro
Custom
For larger organizations: auto-scheduling, custom planning metrics, configurable structure, custom roles, phone support and custom setup.
Trying it first
30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required
Read from planday.com on Oct 18, 2026.
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
Rota planning, punch clock and payroll reports for shift-based teams. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, auto-scheduling, team chat, shift scheduling, time clock, employee records, time off.
Across its plans that's the whole job, with auto-scheduling only on the custom-priced Pro.
- Rota templates and availability
- Rotas are built from templates around the availability staff share, with warnings when a shift breaks your working-time rules. Pro adds auto-scheduling.
- Geolocated punch clock
- Staff clock in and out on their phones only from approved places, or at a kiosk station using the Planday Kiosk app, and managers see who is late across locations.
- Employee app
- Employees view their schedule, swap or hand over shifts, apply for open shifts, request time off and see their earnings in the iOS and Android app.
- Payroll reports and integrations
- Approved hours, overtime and absence become payroll reports, and Plus connects them to payroll systems such as Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50 and Paychex.
- Staff cost and revenue reports
- Reports set wage costs against revenue and forecasts, so managers can see where a rota is over- or under-staffed.
- Messenger and newsfeed
- Managers message staff in the app or by SMS and post updates to a newsfeed; in-app messaging is included, while each SMS is charged.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Xero
- QuickBooks Online
- Sage 50
- Paychex
- TriNet
- Personio
- Tenzo
- Tipjar
Planday is made by Planday, and has been around since 2004.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
5/12
Other shift scheduling apps it is graded above
Planday's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 5 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 6 of 12) and worst on free plan and trial (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $2.99 a month for each person, against a middle price of $5.65 for the category: 3 of the 12 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 13 shift scheduling apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Planday’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 12
- CFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 12
- BFeaturesAbove 4 of 12
- BEase of useAbove 6 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. Planday 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 Planday you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $35.88 a year.
What you could make
- Time off and employee records: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- 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 scheduler that rearranges your day as things move.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
- It plugs into other products, Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage 50 among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Planday’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
Deputy, RotaCloud, Shiftbase, When I Work and 7shifts
The 5 tools Planday is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Deputy
Free trial · from $5/mo
Shift scheduling, time clock and labor-law tools for hourly teams.
- Planday also covers team chat and employee records.
- Deputy also covers payroll.
- 2.4GPA
RotaCloud
Free trial · from £10/mo
UK rota planning with leave tracking and an add-on clocking-in app.
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
- RotaCloud also covers reports.
- 2.6GPA
Shiftbase
Free plan · from €27/mo
Dutch shift scheduling, time clock and absence app, free to 15 staff.
- Shiftbase has a free plan. Planday does not, though it has a free trial.
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
- Shiftbase also covers reports.
- 2.8GPA
When I Work
Free trial · from $2.50/mo
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock.
- Planday also covers employee records.
- 3.0GPA
7shifts
Free plan · from $39.99/mo
Restaurant scheduling, time clock, tips and payroll, per location.
- 7shifts has a free plan. Planday does not, though it has a free trial.
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and employee records.
- 7shifts also covers payroll and applicant tracking.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
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 Planday free?
No, Planday is a paid product, but you can try it first. 30-day free trial of the Plus plan, no credit card required.
How much does Planday cost?
Planday lists 3 plans. Starter: $2.99 per user / month.
What platforms does Planday work on?
Planday is available on Web, iOS and Android.
How is Planday rated?
Planday's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4,271 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Planday have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Planday is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Planday have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Planday is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Planday open source?
Planday is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Planday have an API?
Yes. Planday offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Planday integrate with?
Planday's listing names Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage 50, Paychex, TriNet, Personio, Tenzo and Tipjar.
Who makes Planday?
Planday is made by Planday. It dates from 2004.
What are the alternatives to Planday?
The closest alternatives to Planday in our directory are Deputy, RotaCloud, Shiftbase, When I Work and 7shifts.
How does Planday compare with other shift scheduling apps?
Planday's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 5 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade, and level with 2.
Is Planday good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Planday C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $2.99 a month for each person, against a middle price of $5.65 for the category: 3 of the 12 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Planday?
To replace Planday you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Planday’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 Planday's 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 Planday. Prices change, so check planday.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
- Planday, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/planday
- 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, "Planday: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/planday
Know someone choosing between shift scheduling apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/planday/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded shift scheduling apps after Planday, 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
- 7shifts Insider's GuideRestaurant scheduling, time clock, tips and payroll, per location3.0 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 Planday’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. Planday is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Planday. Prices and plans change: check planday.com before you buy.