The Shiftbase Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Shiftbase 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.
Shiftbase
The Insider’s Guide
Dutch shift scheduling, time clock and absence app, free to 15 staff
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among shift scheduling apps, read from Shiftbase’s own pages.
Made by Shiftbase B.V. · 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 Shiftbase’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Shiftbase’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
Shiftbase is a Dutch workforce management app for restaurants, hotels, retail, care and other shift teams in Europe. Managers drag shifts onto a schedule, staff clock in on a phone, computer or shared tablet, and leave, labor costs and payroll exports sit alongside. A limited plan is free for up to 15 employees, and paid plans are a monthly fee that covers a set number of staff.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Shiftbase, taken from its own pages and our grades.
We have no App Store rating on record for it.
- 1
Best for European shift teams with surcharges
Shiftbase is a Dutch scheduling app that knows European payroll: surcharges for Sundays and public holidays, leave balances, and exports to Nmbrs, AFAS and DATEV.
- 2
Paid plans start at about $30.26 a month
As its pricing page puts it: €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic).
- 3
There is a free plan
Free plan for up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams: drag-and-drop scheduling, hours entered by hand and approved by managers, employee profiles and news messages.
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Drag-and-drop scheduling
Shifts are dragged onto employees, staff share availability, swap shifts and claim open ones, and Premium adds skill-based scheduling, required shifts and a flexpool.
- 6
Clock-in and kiosks
From Basic, staff clock in on mobile, desktop or a shared tablet kiosk; Premium allows unlimited kiosks and limits clock-ins to a GPS radius.
- 7
Absence and leave
Leave requests, approvals, sickness and balances are handled in the app, with surcharges for Sundays, public holidays and, on Premium, night rates.
- 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
The plain part of Shiftbase you could make: time off, employee records and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Shiftbase at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial of the paid plans, no card details needed
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Shiftbase B.V.
- Category
- Shift Scheduling
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for European shift teams with surcharges
Shiftbase is a Dutch scheduling app that knows European payroll: surcharges for Sundays and public holidays, leave balances, and exports to Nmbrs, AFAS and DATEV. It's free for up to 15 people. The catch is that most of its integrations need an add-on at €20 a month.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Basic is €27 a month billed yearly for 6 employees, plus €3.60 for each extra, so 15 staff pay €59.40. Prices are in euros or pounds only. That's in the dearer quarter of this category, and most payroll links need App Center+ on top. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Free for up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams, with drag-and-drop scheduling and staff profiles. There's no clock-in, only hours typed in by hand, but a small team can run its rota on it. |
| Features | B | Drag-and-drop schedules, swaps and open shifts, clock-in on phone, desktop or kiosk, leave with balances and surcharges, and payroll exports. Premium adds labor cost targets and skill-based scheduling. That's the whole job. |
| Ease of use | C | We have no App Store rating on record for it. Schedules need departments, teams and surcharge rules set up before they pay off. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone and Android, with Nmbrs, AFAS, DATEV, Personio and Lightspeed, though most need the App Center+ add-on at €17.50 a month billed yearly. 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 Shiftbase is for
- Great if you pay surcharges for nights, Sundays and public holidays
- Handy when you run payroll through Nmbrs, AFAS or DATEV
- Good for teams of up to 15 who want a free rota instead of a spreadsheet
Who it is not for
- Not for you if you pay in dollars, as prices are in euros or pounds only
- Tight if you stay free and need clock-ins, as the free plan only takes typed hours
- Pricey if you need several integrations, since App Center+ is €20 a month on top
Good to know
Good for
- Hospitality, retail and care teams in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK
- Small teams of up to 15 that want a free schedule instead of a spreadsheet
- Businesses that pay surcharges for nights, Sundays and public holidays
Worth knowing
- Prices are shown in euros or pounds only; there is no dollar price.
- Each paid plan includes a set number of employees; every extra one costs €3.60 to €5.40 a month billed yearly (€4 to €6 monthly).
- Most payroll, POS and HR integrations and API tokens need the App Center+ add-on at €20 a month (€17.50 yearly), except on Enterprise. Basic includes three free integrations.
- The Free plan has no clock-in, only hours typed in by hand. Yearly plans are paid up front and not refunded; monthly plans have one month's notice.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
~$30.26
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Shiftbase has a free plan. Paid plans start at €27 per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (Basic).
That's in the dearer quarter of this category, and most payroll links need App Center+ on top.
Free
€0
Up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams: scheduling, manual time entry, employee profiles and team news.
Basic
€27
per month for up to 6 employees, billed yearly (€30 billed monthly)
Adds availability, swaps and open shifts, clock-in on phone, desktop or one kiosk, absence management and payroll export. Extra staff €3.60 each (€4 monthly).
Premium
€64.80
per month for up to 12 employees, billed yearly (€72 billed monthly)
Adds labor cost targets and budgets, skill-based scheduling, geofenced clock-in and unlimited kiosks. Extra staff €4.50 each (€5 monthly).
Enterprise
€302.40
per month for up to 48 employees, billed yearly (€336 billed monthly)
Adds App Center+, API access, custom integrations and a success manager. Sold through a demo. Extra staff €5.40 each (€6 monthly).
The free plan
Free plan for up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams: drag-and-drop scheduling, hours entered by hand and approved by managers, employee profiles and news messages.
Trying it first
14-day free trial of the paid plans, no card details needed
Read from shiftbase.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save 10% with yearly billing
Yearly billing takes 10% off every paid plan and extra employee, for example Basic at €27 instead of €30 a month.
Stated on shiftbase.comNonprofit
Discount for charities and non-profits
Charities and non-profits get a discount that depends on team size and plan, through a proposal from the sales team.
Stated on shiftbase.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
Dutch shift scheduling, time clock and absence app, free to 15 staff. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, reports, shift scheduling, time clock, employee records, time off.
Premium adds labor cost targets and skill-based scheduling.
- Drag-and-drop scheduling
- Shifts are dragged onto employees, staff share availability, swap shifts and claim open ones, and Premium adds skill-based scheduling, required shifts and a flexpool.
- Clock-in and kiosks
- From Basic, staff clock in on mobile, desktop or a shared tablet kiosk; Premium allows unlimited kiosks and limits clock-ins to a GPS radius.
- Absence and leave
- Leave requests, approvals, sickness and balances are handled in the app, with surcharges for Sundays, public holidays and, on Premium, night rates.
- Labor cost targets
- Premium sets labor cost or hours budgets per team and day, shows whether the schedule stays inside them, and has a KPI dashboard and AI revenue forecasts.
- Payroll export
- Contract versus worked hours, surcharges and leave payouts export as Excel or CSV, or go to payroll systems such as Nmbrs, AFAS and DATEV through the App Center.
- Employee records and news
- One profile per person with contact and emergency details, plus news messages to the whole team; the HR Pro add-on generates and e-signs contracts.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Nmbrs
- AFAS Software
- DATEV
- Personio
- Lightspeed
- Zenchef
- Tebi
- Datafox
Shiftbase is made by Shiftbase B.V.
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
Shiftbase'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 free plan and trial (B, above 7 of 12) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at about $30.26 a month, against a middle price of $5.65 for the category: 11 of the 12 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 13 shift scheduling apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Shiftbase’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 2 of 12
- BFree plan and trialAbove 7 of 12
- BFeaturesAbove 4 of 12
- CEase of useAbove 0 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. Shiftbase 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
The plain part of Shiftbase you could make: time off, employee records and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It costs $363.07 a year.
What you could make
- Time off, employee records and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- 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, Nmbrs, AFAS Software and DATEV among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Shiftbase’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
Planday, Deputy, RotaCloud, Shiftie and When I Work
The 5 tools Shiftbase is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Planday
Free trial · from $2.99/mo
Rota planning, punch clock and payroll reports for shift-based teams.
- Shiftbase has a free plan. Planday does not, though it has a free trial.
- Shiftbase also covers reports.
- Planday also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
- 2.6GPA
Deputy
Free trial · from $5/mo
Shift scheduling, time clock and labor-law tools for hourly teams.
- Shiftbase has a free plan. Deputy does not, though it has a free trial.
- Shiftbase also covers reports and employee records.
- Deputy also covers auto-scheduling and payroll.
- 2.4GPA
RotaCloud
Free trial · from £10/mo
UK rota planning with leave tracking and an add-on clocking-in app.
- Shiftbase has a free plan. RotaCloud does not, though it has a free trial.
- 2.0GPA
Shiftie
Free trial · from £2.75/mo
UK rota and time clock web app with one per-employee plan.
- Shiftbase has a free plan. Shiftie does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Shiftbase lists iOS and Android apps.
- 2.8GPA
When I Work
Free trial · from $2.50/mo
Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock.
- Shiftbase has a free plan. When I Work does not, though it has a free trial.
- Shiftbase also covers reports and employee records.
- When I Work also covers auto-scheduling and team chat.
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 Shiftbase free?
Shiftbase has a free plan. Free plan for up to 15 employees, 1 department and 5 teams: drag-and-drop scheduling, hours entered by hand and approved by managers, employee profiles and news messages.
How much does Shiftbase cost?
Shiftbase lists 4 plans. Free: €0.
What platforms does Shiftbase work on?
Shiftbase is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Shiftbase offer any discounts?
Shiftbase publicly lists the following: Save 10% with yearly billing; Discount for charities and non-profits.
Does Shiftbase have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Shiftbase is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Shiftbase have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Shiftbase is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Shiftbase open source?
Shiftbase is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Shiftbase have an API?
Yes. Shiftbase offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Shiftbase integrate with?
Shiftbase's listing names Nmbrs, AFAS Software, DATEV, Personio, Lightspeed, Zenchef, Tebi and Datafox.
Does Shiftbase have a free trial?
Yes. 14-day free trial of the paid plans, no card details needed.
Who makes Shiftbase?
Shiftbase is made by Shiftbase B.V.
What are the alternatives to Shiftbase?
The closest alternatives to Shiftbase in our directory are Planday, Deputy, RotaCloud, Shiftie and When I Work.
How does Shiftbase compare with other shift scheduling apps?
Shiftbase's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 5 of the 12 other shift scheduling apps we grade, and level with 2.
Is Shiftbase good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Shiftbase C for value for money. Its paid plans start at about $30.26 a month, against a middle price of $5.65 for the category: 11 of the 12 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Shiftbase?
The plain part of Shiftbase you could make: time off, employee records and reports.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Shiftbase’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 Shiftbase's own pages on 18 October 2026. 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 Shiftbase B.V. Prices change, so check shiftbase.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
- Shiftbase, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/shiftbase
- 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, "Shiftbase: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/shiftbase
Know someone choosing between shift scheduling apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/shiftbase/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded shift scheduling apps after Shiftbase, 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 Shiftbase’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. Shiftbase is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Shiftbase B.V. Prices and plans change: check shiftbase.com before you buy.