# Zip Schedules review (2026): is it worth $19 a month? > Employee scheduling with per-location pricing, aimed at restaurants Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Zip Schedules is employee scheduling software that markets itself mainly to restaurants. Managers build schedules, handle shift swaps, time-off and availability requests, and watch labor budgets, while staff use a free iPhone and Android app. Pricing is a flat monthly fee per location, set by headcount. - **Category:** Shift Scheduling - **Made by:** Zip Schedules - **Website:** https://zipschedules.com - **Runs on:** Web, iOS, Android - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a trial first, as none is mentioned. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Zip Schedules is a paid product, starting at $19 per location / month for 1-20 employees. - **Pricing model:** Paid - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 1-20 employees | $19 per location / month for 1-20 employees | Scheduling, communication tools, templates, shift swap, time-off and availability requests, multi-location support, labor budgeting and the iPhone and Android apps. | | 21-50 employees | $39 per location / month for 21-50 employees | The same feature list as the smaller tier, for locations with 21 to 50 employees. | | Enterprise | Custom | For locations with more than 50 employees; the page offers a demo instead of a price. | Read from https://zipschedules.com/pricing.html on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Zip Schedules before buying. ## Key features - **Schedule building:** Managers check staff availability and build schedules from templates, with alerts for schedule changes and reminders. - **Employee requests:** Shift swaps, time-off requests and availability changes are handled in one request queue. - **Labor budgeting:** Forecasting tools and budget alerts help schedule the right number of staff, and overtime is flagged automatically. - **Labor law settings:** The vendor says it tracks timesheet data, certifications and schedule-change records and offers settings for minimum wage rules. - **Free mobile app:** Managers and employees use iPhone and Android apps to view schedules, send broadcast messages and approve requests. - **Multiple locations:** Every plan lists multi-location support, with the price counted per location. ## Good for - Restaurants and small shops with one or a few locations - Managers who want a low flat monthly price per site - Teams that handle swaps and time-off requests in one app ## Worth knowing - Price depends on headcount per location: $19 up to 20 employees, $39 for 21 to 50, and custom above 50. - The pricing page does not mention a free trial. - The site's footer reads 2023, and its 404 page carries the name Altametrics, so check that the product is actively maintained. - No integrations are listed on the pages we read. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Zip Schedules charges $19 a month per location for up to 20 employees, with schedules, swaps and labor budgeting. But no trial or integrations are listed, and the site shows signs it may not be maintained. - **Value for money: B.** $19 a month per location for 1 to 20 employees, $39 for 21 to 50. A five-person team pays under $4 a head. - **Free plan and trial: F.** No free plan and no trial on the pricing page. - **Features: C.** Schedule building, swaps, time-off requests, labor budgeting and labor law settings. But no time clock and no integrations are listed. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. Setting up locations and templates is the work. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web plus iPhone and Android apps and multi-location support. No desktop app and no integrations. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Zip Schedules's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among shift scheduling apps - Zip Schedules's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 17 of the 49 other shift scheduling apps we grade, and level with 8. - It stands best on value for money (B, above 38 of 49) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $19 a month for each person, against a middle price of $16.76 for the category: 15 of the 28 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 7 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/shift-scheduling ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** The plain part of Zip Schedules you could make: time off, calendar and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 3 things listed below take a company, not a weekend. It costs $228 a year. - You could make: Time off, calendar and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: A rota the whole staff sees on their phones, with swaps and alerts. - You could not: A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Shift scheduling, Time off, Calendar, Reports ## Alternatives - [7shifts](https://toolgpa.com/tools/7shifts): Restaurant scheduling, time clock, tips and payroll, per location. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/7shifts-vs-zipschedules) - [When I Work](https://toolgpa.com/tools/when-i-work): Staff scheduling with auto-fill, shift trades and an add-on time clock. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/when-i-work-vs-zipschedules) - [Homebase](https://toolgpa.com/tools/homebase): Small-business scheduling, time clock and payroll, priced per location. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/homebase-vs-zipschedules) - [Sling by Toast](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sling): Free shift scheduling for up to 30 users, with paid time clock tiers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/sling-vs-zipschedules) - [Schedulefly](https://toolgpa.com/tools/schedulefly): Restaurant staff scheduling priced by headcount, all features included. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/schedulefly-vs-zipschedules) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://zipschedules.com/pricing.html - https://zipschedules.com - https://zipschedules.com/features.html - https://zipschedules.com/mobile.html Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/zipschedules Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).