Updated: May 2026 | All Reviews
Quick verdict: 7shifts is the best for restaurants and hospitality. When I Work offers the simplest free plan for small teams. Deputy excels for retail and shift-based businesses. Homebase is the best all-in-one for hourly teams. And Gusto handles the payroll side — paying employees based on their scheduled and clocked hours.
Rating: 4.5/5 — 7shifts was built specifically for the restaurant industry. Manager logbook, tip pooling, and labor cost tracking are built-in features that general scheduling tools lack. The drag-and-drop scheduler is fast, and the mobile app lets staff swap shifts, request time off, and view schedules. Free plan supports up to one location. Paid plans start at $79.99/month per location for the Essentials plan.
Rating: 4/5 — When I Work offers a generous free plan for up to 10 employees. Scheduling, time clock, and basic reporting are included at no cost. The interface is clean and easy to use — create a shift, assign it, and notify the team in minutes. Paid plans start at $2.50/user/month for the Standard plan with time-off management and shift trading.
Rating: 4.5/5 — Deputy handles complex scheduling with rotating shifts, availability-based auto-scheduling, and compliance with wage laws across countries. The mobile time clock with GPS verification ensures employees clock in from the right location. The AI-powered forecasting predicts staffing needs based on historical sales data. Plans start at $3.50/user/month.
Rating: 4.5/5 — Homebase combines scheduling, time clocks, POS integration, and team communication in one platform. Free plan covers one location with unlimited employees for scheduling and time tracking. Paid plans start at $24.95/month per location for the Essentials plan. Homebase also offers hiring and onboarding tools, making it a complete employee management solution for small businesses.
Once your schedules are set and hours are tracked, you need to actually pay your team. Gusto integrates with Deputy and When I Work to sync hours directly into payroll — no manual data entry, no spreadsheet errors, no missed overtime calculations. Gusto handles federal and state tax filings, W-2s, and contractor 1099s automatically. Plans start at $40/month plus $6 per person.
Use ClickUp to track employee onboarding, training checklists, shift preferences, and compliance documents alongside your scheduling workflow. ClickUp's HR templates help you centralize employee records, time-off requests, and performance reviews — giving you one source of truth for all people operations.