When I Work Alternatives

Homebase is a scheduling, time clock and team app for hourly teams, with payroll, hiring and tip management sold as add-ons. Managers build the week on a drag-and-drop schedule, employees clock in from their phone or a shared tablet, and timesheets flow into payroll. It covers what When I Work covers (schedules, shift swaps, time tracking, messaging), so the switch changes the bill more than the daily routine.

How the price reads against When I Work: Homebase charges per location, with unlimited employees on paid plans, and a location is each separate physical address, even two shops in the same city. When I Work charges per user: $2.50 per user per month for a single location, $5 for multiple locations or schedules. A shop with 30 employees pays When I Work $75 a month on the single-location plan; Homebase Essentials is $30 a month per location, or $24 billed annually. The gap grows with every hire. A team of 10 or fewer in one location can stay on the free Basic plan, which When I Work does not match: it only offers a 14-day trial.

Watch the add-ons. Payroll is $49 a month base fee plus $6 per employee paid after the first 6 months free (Homebase lists $29 a month for teams of up to 5), and tip management is $25 a month per location. A 30-person team running payroll on Homebase pays $49 + 30 × $6 = $229 a month for payroll alone, so price it against standalone small business payroll software. Check the plan too: overtime alerts, blocking early clock-ins and building the schedule from forecasted sales start on Plus at $70 per location, while the free Basic plan keeps timesheets for 90 days and leaves out payroll integrations. For the wider category, see our best employee scheduling software ranking.

Connecteam is a mobile-first app for teams that do not sit at a desk. It is organized in three hubs: Operations (scheduling, time clock, forms, checklists), Communications (chat, updates, surveys) and HR and Skills (training, documents, time off). Each hub is bought separately, so you only pay for what you use. For a When I Work customer whose staff move between job sites, the GPS time clock and job-level timesheets are the features that change the most.

How the price reads against When I Work: Connecteam charges a flat price for the first 30 users, then a small fee per extra user. Operations Basic is $29 a month billed yearly, $35 billed monthly, for 30 users; each extra user is $0.80 a month on the yearly plan. Thirty employees on When I Work's single-location plan cost $75 a month ($150 on its multi-location plan); on Connecteam Operations Basic, which runs one schedule and one time clock, they cost $29 billed yearly, $35 billed monthly. Forty employees cost $29 + 10 × $0.80 = $37 a month billed yearly. Teams of up to 10 users can use all hubs and features on the free Small Business plan.

Tip: compare hubs before plans. If you only need scheduling and time clock, Operations alone is enough; buying Communications or HR and Skills on top multiplies the bill. The Advanced tier ($49 billed yearly for 30 users) adds auto clock-out, up to 10 geofence sites and repeating shifts; auto-assigning shifts in the schedule only arrives on Expert ($99 billed yearly). Multi-site teams should know that Basic runs a single time clock and schedule. And the free Small Business plan leaves out the payroll integration.

Deputy is workforce management software for shift-based businesses: scheduling, time and attendance, timesheets and team communication, with payroll in the US through a partnership with Paycor. Both tools auto-schedule; Deputy Core adds demand forecasting, micro-scheduling, labor optimization, advanced labor law compliance and biometric clock-ins, so a manager can build a roster around expected sales or foot traffic. It is the usual step up when a business outgrows simple shift grids.

How the price reads against When I Work: both charge per user, and Deputy costs more. On an annual plan, Lite is $5 per user per month, Core $6.50 and Pro $9, billed upfront or in monthly installments; billed monthly, they are $5.50, $7.25 and $10. Thirty employees on Core cost $195 a month on an annual plan, $217.50 billed monthly, against $75 on When I Work's single-location plan, or $150 on its multi-location plan. Monthly Lite, Core and Pro plans carry a minimum spend of $30 per month per invoice, so a team of four on monthly Lite still pays $30. Admins and supervisors count as paid users.

Watch the contract: on an annual plan you can add users, but you cannot change plans or lower the number of employees, and cancelling before the 12 months end brings no refund. Deputy Payroll, enabled by Paycor, adds $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee, for US businesses on annual Core and Pro plans, and the fee varies by business size. If Deputy itself stops fitting later, our guide to switching from Deputy covers the exit. Deputy also connects to automation tools, see our guide to Deputy with Zapier.

Sling is a scheduling and team communication app, now branded Sling by Toast, from the restaurant point-of-sale company Toast. Managers drag shifts onto a weekly grid, employees see their schedule and swap shifts in the app, and announcements reach everyone through the newsfeed. Labor cost tracking, a time clock and task management sit in the same app. Its main draw against When I Work is the free plan, which covers scheduling for teams of up to 30 users.

How the price reads against When I Work: Sling also charges per user, but less. Premium is $2 per user per month, $1.70 billed annually, and Business $4, or $3.40 billed annually. Twenty employees on Premium cost $34 a month billed annually, or $40 billed monthly, against $50 on When I Work's single-location plan. Annual billing saves 15%, and you pay only for active users, with prorated credit when a spot is deactivated.

Tip: the free plan has no time clock. Mobile time tracking, labor cost and overtime tracking start on Premium, and kiosk clock-in, payroll reports and PTO management on Business, so start free only if you need a schedule and a way to message staff. Toast restaurants see Sling plans inside the Toast Shop. Sling connects to automation tools too, as in our guide to Sling with Make.

Buddy Punch is time tracking software first, with scheduling and payroll around it. Employees punch in from a phone, a browser or a kiosk; every plan stamps the GPS location of each punch, and the Real-Time GPS add-on follows staff while they are on the clock. Managers approve timesheets, handle paid time off and export hours to payroll. When I Work also has a time clock, but Buddy Punch puts more controls on punches and timesheet approval, which matters when payroll errors are the reason you are leaving.

How the price reads against When I Work: Buddy Punch adds a base fee. Starter is $4.99 per user per month billed annually, Pro $6.99, Advanced $12.99, each plus a $19 base fee per month; billed monthly, Starter is $5.99, Pro $7.99 and Advanced $13.99. Scheduling is an add-on at $1 per user per month on Starter and included from Pro. Twenty employees on Pro billed annually cost $19 + 20 × $6.99 = $158.80 a month ($178.80 billed monthly), against $50 on When I Work's single-location plan, or $100 on its multi-location plan.

Watch the add-ons: real-time GPS tracking is $2 per user per month on Starter and Pro, advanced reporting $2, and keeping timecard records for 6 years costs $24 per user per year. Buy Pro if you schedule shifts at all: Starter plus the scheduling add-on is $5.99 a user, close to Pro. Payroll runs in the same account for $8 per user plus a $49 base fee a month, with W-2s, 1099s, tax filings and direct deposit. Administrators are free users, while managers and employees count, and a mistaken sign-up is refunded in full within 72 hours on monthly billing or 30 days on annual billing.