WhenToWork is employee scheduling software for shift-based teams, and the best replacement depends on team size, budget, and time tracking needs. Sling has the widest free scheduling plan here, free for up to 30 users, while Homebase is free for one location with up to 10 team members and 7shifts is free for one location with up to 15 employees. Deputy starts at $5 per user per month billed annually and suits teams that need break rules, overtime controls, and auto-scheduling in one scheduling tool.
We compared 7 options for whentowork alternatives. Each profile below lists the price, free plan, pros and cons as published by the company.
On this page
Whentowork alternatives: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deputy | Compliance and auto-scheduling | $5 per user/month | Free trial (31 days) | Visit |
| 2 | Homebase | Small teams at one location | $30 per location/month | Yes | Visit |
| 3 | 7shifts | Restaurants | $39.99 per location/month | Yes | Visit |
| 4 | Shiftboard | Large, complex operations | quote only | No | Visit |
| 5 | Sling | Free scheduling up to 30 users | $1.70 per user/month | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | Connecteam | Deskless teams and field staff | $29 per hub/month | Yes | Visit |
| 7 | QuickBooks Time | QuickBooks Online users | $10 per user/month | Free trial (30 days) | Visit |
The 7 best whentowork alternatives, in detail
Deputy
Best for: Compliance and auto-scheduling
Deputy is a scheduling and time tracking tool for hourly teams in retail, hospitality, health care, and other shift-based work. Lite starts at $5 per user per month billed annually, Core is $6.50, and Pro is $9. Lite covers basic scheduling, basic timesheets, basic time clocking, leave and availability management, shift swaps, and basic reporting.
- Core adds advanced scheduling, auto-scheduling, micro-scheduling, demand forecasting, wage budgets, and biometric time clocking.
- The compliance controls are the main reason to choose Deputy over a simpler roster tool.
- Its pricing page lists labor law compliance on Lite and advanced labor law compliance on Core, plus break scheduling and overtime controls.
- The time clock supports geofencing, and Core adds biometric clocking to reduce buddy punching at a shared kiosk.
Pros
- Strong break and overtime controls
- auto-scheduling and demand forecasting on Core
- biometric time clock options
Cons
- Every manager and admin counts as a user for billing
- $30 minimum monthly spend on monthly plans
- payroll is an add-on through Paycor in the US
Homebase
Best for: Small teams at one location
Homebase is built for small businesses with hourly teams, and its pricing model is the main point of difference here. Basic is free for one location with up to 10 team members and covers scheduling, time tracking, messaging, and point of sale connections. Essentials is $30 per location per month, Plus is $70, and All-in-One is $120, with lower monthly rates on annual billing at $24, $56, and $96 per location.
- Because the price is per location, adding team members does not raise the subscription price on Essentials, Plus, or All-in-One.
- Staff can view schedules, request time off, trade shifts, and clock in on a tablet, computer, or point of sale device.
- Essentials adds GPS clock-ins, late arrival alerts, and stronger time tracking, while Plus adds AI schedule building, time off tracking, and role perm
- All-in-One adds onboarding, labor cost analytics, and HR compliance support.
Pros
- Free Basic plan for up to 10 team members
- flat per-location pricing on subscription plans
- hiring, messaging, and payroll add-on in one app
Cons
- Free Basic plan stores timesheets for up to 90 days only
- advanced scheduling and labor cost tools need Plus or All-in-One
- payroll is a separate add-on
7shifts
Best for: Restaurants
7shifts is a restaurant platform that covers hiring, onboarding, training, scheduling, time clocking, payroll, and tips. Comp is free for one location with up to 15 employees and covers basic scheduling, one-way announcements, and availability and time off requests. Essentials is $39.99 per location per month billed annually, or $44.99 billed monthly, for up to 30 employees.
- Pro is $79.99 billed annually, or $89.99 billed monthly, for up to 60 employees.
- Premium is $134.99 billed annually, or $149.99 billed monthly, with no employee cap.
- Essentials adds advanced scheduling, team messaging, basic time clocking, and permission settings.
- Pro adds time off accruals, labor compliance and labor cost tools, advanced time clocking, and a manager log book.
Pros
- Built only for restaurants
- free Comp plan for up to 15 employees
- tip management and training on Premium
Cons
- Pricing is per location, so multi-site groups pay for each site
- payroll is limited to eligible US accounts
- labor compliance tools need Pro or Premium
Shiftboard
Best for: Large, complex operations
Shiftboard, now sold as UKG Shiftboard after UKG acquired Shiftboard in 2025, is scheduling software for complex, high-compliance environments. Its site describes a rules engine that supports compliance with industry rules, including API RP 755 for energy work and custom hours of service requirements. It is built for operations where fatigue management, shift differentials, job rotation, emergency response cover, and strict rest rules matter every week.
- The product covers scheduling across sites, time reporting from mobile devices, and communication for staff who work irregular patterns.
- Energy, health care, logistics, manufacturing, and call center operations are the kinds of teams named on its site.
- A large team can apply the same scheduling rules across locations, rather than relying on a manager to remember each rule.
- The main drawback is price transparency: UKG publishes no price list, so the starting price is quote only, there is no free plan, and the setup is hea
Pros
- Built for complex, high-compliance scheduling
- rules engine for fatigue and hours of service limits
- strong fit for energy, health care, and manufacturing
Cons
- No published price list, so budgeting needs a sales quote
- no free plan
- less suited to small teams that need a quick self-serve setup
Sling
Best for: Free scheduling up to 30 users
Sling, now Sling by Toast, offers free shift scheduling for up to 30 users. The free plan covers shift scheduling, time off requests, available shifts, long-term scheduling, shift swaps, and private messaging. Premium is $1.70 per user per month billed annually, or $2.00 billed monthly, and adds mobile time tracking, labor cost management, overtime tracking, group messaging, and calendar sync.
- Business is $3.40 per user per month billed annually, or $4.00 billed monthly, and adds kiosk time tracking, reports, no-show tracking, sick call-out
- A 15-day trial is available on the subscription plans.
- The free plan is the widest here by user count, and it covers the core roster work that many small teams need.
- A manager can build a schedule weeks ahead, post open shifts, and let staff offer shifts to co-workers without paying for the tool.
Pros
- Free scheduling for up to 30 users
- very low Premium price
- shift swaps, time off requests, and messaging in the free plan
Cons
- Time tracking starts on Premium
- kiosk clocking and reports need Business
- per-user pricing rises with every hire
Connecteam
Best for: Deskless teams and field staff
Connecteam is an employee app for deskless teams, split into three hubs: Operations, Communications, and HR and Skills. The Operations Hub holds the time clock and job scheduling. Each hub has Basic, Advanced, Expert, and Enterprise tiers.
- Basic is $29 per hub per month billed annually for the first 30 users, or $35 billed monthly, with $0.80 per month for each additional Operations user
- Advanced is $49 billed annually, or $59 billed monthly, and Expert is $99 billed annually, or $119 billed monthly.
- The Small Business plan is free for up to 10 users with all hubs included, with limits such as one time clock and one job schedule.
- Operations Basic covers real-time clock in and out with GPS, basic scheduling with open shifts, unlimited jobs, forms, checklists, and tasks.
Pros
- Free Small Business plan for up to 10 users
- hub model lets teams buy only the tools they need
- strong time clock with GPS stamps
Cons
- Each hub is priced separately, so three hubs cost three times the single-hub price
- scheduling limits on Basic, with one schedule only
- API access needs Expert
QuickBooks Time
Best for: QuickBooks Online users
QuickBooks Time, formerly TSheets, is Intuit time tracking and scheduling software for teams that already run their books in QuickBooks Online. Time Premium is $20 per month plus $10 per user per month, with the base fee including one admin. Time Elite is $40 per month plus $12 per user per month.
- Intuit offers 50 percent off the base fee for three months on the pricing page checked today.
- A 30-day trial is available, and the pricing page states that a QuickBooks Online account is required to use QuickBooks Time.
- Premium covers scheduling, GPS tracking while staff are on the clock, time off management, alerts, photo attachments, a Time Kiosk for on-site clock-i
- Elite adds geofencing, mileage tracking, project tracking, project estimates against actual hours, an activity feed, and timesheet signatures.
Pros
- Direct sync with QuickBooks Online for payroll and invoicing
- GPS tracking and Time Kiosk on Premium
- mileage and geofencing on Elite
Cons
- A QuickBooks Online account is required and billed separately
- base fee plus per-user fee adds up fast
- geofencing and project estimates sit in Elite only
How we chose
We checked each vendor pricing page on 2026-11-12 and used the figures shown there for the starting price, the free plan, and the trial length. Deputy, Sling, Connecteam, and QuickBooks Time publish per-user or per-hub prices, while Homebase and 7shifts publish per-location prices. Shiftboard publishes no price list, so we list it as quote only. We also read the plan feature lists to check what sits in the entry plan and what needs a higher tier. We did not claim hands-on testing, and we did not use review scores, awards, customer counts, or test results. Each tool block names a real limit from the vendor plan page.
What to check before you buy
Check the billing unit first, because per-user, per-location, and per-hub prices behave in different ways as a team grows. A per-user tool gets more expensive with every hire, a per-location tool stays flat within its employee cap, then jumps to the next tier, and a per-hub tool stays flat for the first 30 users on Connecteam, then adds a small charge for each extra user. Work out the monthly total for your current headcount and for the headcount you expect in six months, and include any base fee and any required subscription, such as QuickBooks Online for QuickBooks Time.
Check the free plan limits in the same way. Sling allows up to 30 users on its free plan, 7shifts allows up to 15 employees at one location, Homebase allows up to 10 team members at one location, and Connecteam allows up to 10 users on its Small Business plan. Deputy and QuickBooks Time have no free plan, only a trial, and Shiftboard has neither. Also check timesheet storage, the number of schedules, and the number of locations, because those limits often force an upgrade before the price does.
Use the table below to compare monthly totals from the prices checked today. Deputy uses Lite at $5 per user per month billed annually. Sling uses Premium at $1.70. Homebase uses Essentials at $30 per location per month. 7shifts uses Essentials at $39.99 up to 30 employees, then Pro at $79.99 up to 60. Connecteam uses one Operations Basic hub at $29 for the first 30 users, plus $0.80 per extra user. QuickBooks Time uses Premium at $20 plus $10 per user.
| Team size | Deputy Lite | Sling Premium | Homebase Essentials | 7shifts | Connecteam Operations Basic | QuickBooks Time Premium | | 10 people | $50 | $17 | $30 | $39.99 | $29 | $120 | | 25 people | $125 | $42.50 | $30 | $39.99 | $29 | $270 | | 50 people | $250 | $85 | $30 | $79.99 | $45 | $520 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best WhenToWork alternative for a small team?
Sling is the best starting point for a team of up to 30 people, because its free plan covers scheduling, time off requests, shift swaps, and messaging at no cost. Homebase is a strong second choice for a single location with up to 10 team members. Deputy suits a small team that needs stronger break and overtime controls from the start.
Does any WhenToWork alternative have a free plan?
Yes. Sling is free for up to 30 users, 7shifts is free for one location with up to 15 employees, Homebase is free for one location with up to 10 team members, and Connecteam is free for up to 10 users. Deputy and QuickBooks Time offer trials instead of a free plan, and Shiftboard has no free plan.
Which WhenToWork alternative is best for restaurants?
7shifts is the best fit for restaurants, because it is built only for restaurant teams and covers hiring, training, scheduling, time clocking, tips, and payroll in one place. Its free Comp plan covers one location with up to 15 employees. Homebase and Sling also work for cafes, but they lack the restaurant tools in 7shifts Premium.
How much does Deputy cost per month?
Deputy Lite starts at $5 per user per month billed annually, Core is $6.50, and Pro is $9, all in US dollars before tax. Monthly billing is higher, at $5.50, $7.25, and $10 per user per month. There is a $30 minimum monthly spend on monthly plans, and every manager and admin counts as a user for billing.
Do I need QuickBooks Online to use QuickBooks Time?
Yes. Intuit states on its pricing page that a QuickBooks Online account is required to use QuickBooks Time, and that subscription is billed separately. Time Premium is $20 per month plus $10 per user per month, and Time Elite is $40 plus $12 per user. Check the combined monthly total before you choose this tool.
Which WhenToWork alternative is best for a large team?
Shiftboard suits large, complex operations with strict compliance rules, fatigue limits, and many sites, but it is quote only and has no free plan. Deputy suits a large team that wants per-user pricing with auto-scheduling and compliance controls. Homebase and 7shifts can also work at scale, because their per-location prices stay flat as headcount grows within each plan cap.
Sources
- https://www.deputy.com/
- https://www.deputy.com/pricing
- https://www.joinhomebase.com/
- https://joinhomebase.com/pricing
- https://www.7shifts.com/
- https://www.7shifts.com/pricing
- https://www.shiftboard.com/
- https://www.getsling.com/
- https://getsling.com/pricing/
- https://www.connecteam.com/
- https://connecteam.com/pricing/
- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/
- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking/pricing/
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.