Employee scheduling software priced per user costs roughly $2.00 to $9.00 per employee per month in 2026, with When I Work publishing $2.50, $5.00, and $8.00 per user per month [1], Deputy publishing $5.00, $6.50, and $9.00 [2], and Sling publishing $2.00 and $4.00 on monthly billing [6]. A large part of the market charges per location instead, roughly $24 to $150 per location per month, which is where Homebase [3] and 7shifts [5] sit. Free tiers are real but capped by headcount rather than by feature: Homebase covers one location and up to 10 employees [3], Connecteam covers 10 users across all its hubs [4], 7shifts covers 15 employees at one location [5], ZoomShift covers 20 [8], and Sling covers 30 [6]. Enterprise workforce management platforms such as Legion [10] and Workday [11] publish no rate card at all and price each deployment by quote.
\n","summary":"Per-user scheduling tools run about $2.00 to $9.00 per employee per month. Per-location tools run about $24 to $150 per location per month. Free tiers are capped by headcount, from 10 employees at Homebase and Connecteam up to 30 at Sling. Time tracking, payroll, and tip pooling are usually separate line items, and enterprise workforce management is quote-only. Worked totals included at 15, 60, and 300 employees.","publishedAt":"2026-07-21T19:27:05.349","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","editorialStatus":"APPROVED","lastReviewedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","nextReviewDueAt":"2026-10-21T00:00:00","templateVersion":"v2","aliases":["How much does employee scheduling software cost per employee?","Employee scheduling software pricing per user","Workforce management software cost per employee per month","What is the average cost of shift scheduling software?","Scheduling app price per employee","How much is When I Work per user?","How much does Deputy cost per user?","Homebase pricing per location","7shifts cost per location per month","Free employee scheduling software limits","Per user vs per location scheduling software pricing","Enterprise workforce management software pricing"],"confidenceScore":88,"confidenceLabel":"High","canonicalUrl":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"contributorOrganizationProfile":{"entityId":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","legalName":null,"description":null,"websiteUrl":null,"imageUrl":null,"slogan":null,"subtitle":null,"facts":[],"coiNote":null,"foundingDate":null,"numberOfEmployeesText":null,"contactPoint":null,"address":null,"headquartersText":null,"organizationType":null},"contributorPerson":{"slug":"answerstack-editorial-team","displayName":"AnswerStack Editorial Team"},"sections":[{"id":"f6c2c40e-eec8-4264-a35f-3a46cd332e19","sectionKey":"cost_overview","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How much does employee scheduling software cost per employee?","introMarkdown":"Per-user scheduling software sits between $2.00 and $9.00 per employee per month at published list rates. When I Work lists $2.50, $5.00, and $8.00 per user per month across Essentials, Pro, and Premium, with unlimited users on every plan and a 14-day trial [1]. Deputy lists $5.00 for Lite, $6.50 for Core, and $9.00 for Pro, excluding tax [2]. Sling, now sold as Sling by Toast, lists $2.00 per user per month for Premium and $4.00 for Business on monthly billing, falling to $1.70 and $3.40 on annual billing [6].\n\n### The per-employee figure only applies to per-user vendors\n\nMany of the tools a shift-based operator will shortlist never charge by headcount. Homebase bills per location, so one site pays $24, $56, or $96 per month on annual billing whether it staffs 12 people or 90 [3]. 7shifts does the same at $39.99, $79.99, and $134.99 per location per month, with unlimited employees on the two upper tiers [5]. Connecteam charges a flat rate for the first 30 users in each product hub and a small per-user rate above that [4]. A per-employee figure derived from these moves every time headcount or site count changes, so per-location vendors get cheaper per head as a single site grows and more expensive per head as sites multiply.\n\n### Scheduling and time tracking are frequently billed apart\n\nThe headline rate often covers scheduling by itself. When I Work presents time tracking and attendance as a toggle that adds cost on top of each published plan price [1]. Buddy Punch runs the same split from the other side, selling time tracking as the core product from $4.99 per user per month on annual billing plus a $19 monthly base fee, then adding scheduling for $1.00 per user per month [7].","introHtml":"Per-user scheduling software sits between $2.00 and $9.00 per employee per month at published list rates. When I Work lists $2.50, $5.00, and $8.00 per user per month across Essentials, Pro, and Premium, with unlimited users on every plan and a 14-day trial [1]. Deputy lists $5.00 for Lite, $6.50 for Core, and $9.00 for Pro, excluding tax [2]. Sling, now sold as Sling by Toast, lists $2.00 per user per month for Premium and $4.00 for Business on monthly billing, falling to $1.70 and $3.40 on annual billing [6].
\nMany of the tools a shift-based operator will shortlist never charge by headcount. Homebase bills per location, so one site pays $24, $56, or $96 per month on annual billing whether it staffs 12 people or 90 [3]. 7shifts does the same at $39.99, $79.99, and $134.99 per location per month, with unlimited employees on the two upper tiers [5]. Connecteam charges a flat rate for the first 30 users in each product hub and a small per-user rate above that [4]. A per-employee figure derived from these moves every time headcount or site count changes, so per-location vendors get cheaper per head as a single site grows and more expensive per head as sites multiply.
\nThe headline rate often covers scheduling by itself. When I Work presents time tracking and attendance as a toggle that adds cost on top of each published plan price [1]. Buddy Punch runs the same split from the other side, selling time tracking as the core product from $4.99 per user per month on annual billing plus a $19 monthly base fee, then adding scheduling for $1.00 per user per month [7].
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":10},{"id":"346def9e-98e5-4071-9eb2-affad20ac97f","sectionKey":"vendor_price_table","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"What do the major scheduling vendors charge?","introMarkdown":"Every figure below came from the vendor's own live pricing page on July 21, 2026. Annual-billing rates are shown in parentheses.","introHtml":"Every figure below came from the vendor's own live pricing page on July 21, 2026. Annual-billing rates are shown in parentheses.
\n","outroMarkdown":"Vendors aimed at single-site hourly teams cluster under $5.00 per user per month or under $50 per location per month, and vendors aimed at multi-site enterprises stop publishing prices entirely.","outroHtml":"Vendors aimed at single-site hourly teams cluster under $5.00 per user per month or under $50 per location per month, and vendors aimed at multi-site enterprises stop publishing prices entirely.
\n","contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["When I Work [1]","Per user","$2.50 Essentials","$8.00 Premium","None, 14-day trial"]},{"cells":["Deputy [2]","Per user","$5.00 Lite","$9.00 Pro","None, $30 monthly minimum"]},{"cells":["Sling [6]","Per user","$2.00 Premium ($1.70)","$4.00 Business ($3.40)","30 users"]},{"cells":["ZoomShift [8]","Per active team member","$2.50 Starter ($2.00)","$5.00 Premium ($4.00)","20 users, 1 location"]},{"cells":["Homebase [3]","Per location","$30 Essentials ($24)","$120 All-in-One ($96)","10 employees, 1 location"]},{"cells":["7shifts [5]","Per location","$44.99 Essentials ($39.99)","$149.99 Premium ($134.99)","15 employees, 1 location"]},{"cells":["Connecteam [4]","Base rate plus per user above 30","$35 per hub ($29) for 30 users","$119 per hub ($99) plus $4.20 each","10 users, all hubs"]},{"cells":["Buddy Punch [7]","Per user plus $19 base","$5.99 Starter ($4.99)","$13.99 Advanced ($12.99)","None, 14-day trial"]},{"cells":["Jibble [9]","Free core time tracking","Free forever","Not published","Unlimited users"]},{"cells":["Legion [10]","Quote only","Not published","Not published","None"]},{"cells":["Workday [11]","Quote only","Not published","Not published","None"]}],"columns":["Vendor","Pricing model","Entry paid rate","Top published tier","Free tier cap"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":20},{"id":"8d97ff19-0b5c-4ab2-b122-fdd8c3153cbf","sectionKey":"pricing_models","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Which pricing models are you actually choosing between?","introMarkdown":"Four structures cover almost every vendor in this category, and the structure changes your total far more than the sticker rate does.\n\n### Per user per month\n\nThis is the most common model and the easiest to forecast, because the bill is headcount multiplied by a fixed rate. When I Work, Deputy, Sling, ZoomShift, and Buddy Punch all work this way [1][2][6][8][7]. Check who the vendor counts as a user first, since ZoomShift bills any manager, team member, or employee occupying an active spot [8], so back-office staff who never take a shift still land on the invoice.\n\n### Per location per month\n\nHomebase and 7shifts charge a flat rate per site with no per-employee component at all [3][5], so a 40-person restaurant and a 12-person coffee bar pay the same $56 or $79.99 for the same tier. That makes average headcount per site the number worth modeling, not total headcount.\n\n### Base rate plus overage\n\nConnecteam charges a flat rate for the first 30 users in each hub and then a per-user rate above that, varying by hub and tier: $0.80 on Operations Basic annually, $2.50 on Advanced, and $4.20 on Expert [4]. Buddy Punch adds a $19 monthly base fee to every per-user plan [7]. Price the tier at your real headcount, because the overage rate is where a 200-person deployment separates from a 30-person one.\n\n### Quote only\n\nEnterprise vendors publish no rate card. Legion routes every pricing conversation to a demo request and sells labor planning, schedule optimization, time and attendance, and employee engagement as separate modules [10]. Workday does the same, with contact-sales as the only path to a number [11]. Deputy moves to a quoted Enterprise plan above its published tiers [2]. Ask for the per-employee rate, the minimum committed headcount, and the term in writing.\n\n### Annual billing discounts\n\nAnnual prepayment cuts the rate by a published percentage: 18% at Connecteam [4], up to 18% at Buddy Punch [7], 15% at Sling [6], and 10% at 7shifts [5]. Homebase quantifies it per plan instead, at $72, $168, and $288 saved per year [3]. The trade is cash timing against rate, and it rarely pays off if your headcount swings seasonally.","introHtml":"Four structures cover almost every vendor in this category, and the structure changes your total far more than the sticker rate does.
\nThis is the most common model and the easiest to forecast, because the bill is headcount multiplied by a fixed rate. When I Work, Deputy, Sling, ZoomShift, and Buddy Punch all work this way [1][2][6][8][7]. Check who the vendor counts as a user first, since ZoomShift bills any manager, team member, or employee occupying an active spot [8], so back-office staff who never take a shift still land on the invoice.
\nHomebase and 7shifts charge a flat rate per site with no per-employee component at all [3][5], so a 40-person restaurant and a 12-person coffee bar pay the same $56 or $79.99 for the same tier. That makes average headcount per site the number worth modeling, not total headcount.
\nConnecteam charges a flat rate for the first 30 users in each hub and then a per-user rate above that, varying by hub and tier: $0.80 on Operations Basic annually, $2.50 on Advanced, and $4.20 on Expert [4]. Buddy Punch adds a $19 monthly base fee to every per-user plan [7]. Price the tier at your real headcount, because the overage rate is where a 200-person deployment separates from a 30-person one.
\nEnterprise vendors publish no rate card. Legion routes every pricing conversation to a demo request and sells labor planning, schedule optimization, time and attendance, and employee engagement as separate modules [10]. Workday does the same, with contact-sales as the only path to a number [11]. Deputy moves to a quoted Enterprise plan above its published tiers [2]. Ask for the per-employee rate, the minimum committed headcount, and the term in writing.
\nAnnual prepayment cuts the rate by a published percentage: 18% at Connecteam [4], up to 18% at Buddy Punch [7], 15% at Sling [6], and 10% at 7shifts [5]. Homebase quantifies it per plan instead, at $72, $168, and $288 saved per year [3]. The trade is cash timing against rate, and it rarely pays off if your headcount swings seasonally.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":30},{"id":"29c56cef-725d-4598-bf5b-4c04ccdd57c0","sectionKey":"free_tiers","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Which free tiers are genuinely usable, and where do they stop?","introMarkdown":"Five of the vendors above run free tiers that are capped by headcount rather than crippled on core scheduling, which makes them a real answer for very small teams rather than a demo.\n\nSling has the highest cap in the group. Shift scheduling is free for up to 30 users and includes time-off requests, open shifts, and private messaging [6]. Mobile time tracking and labor cost management sit behind the $2.00 Premium tier, so a 25-person team that only needs published schedules and messaging can run on Sling indefinitely at no cost.\n\nZoomShift is free up to 20 users on Essentials, covering the schedule, team communication, automatic reminders, and unlimited positions, but restricting you to one location and to scheduling two weeks ahead [8]. Teams that publish a month out will hit that limit before they hit the user cap.\n\n7shifts offers its Comp plan free for a single location with up to 15 employees, covering basic scheduling, announcements, and availability and time-off requests [5]. Time clocking begins at the paid Essentials tier, so this suits a small restaurant that already has a point-of-sale clock.\n\nConnecteam's Small Business plan is free for life for up to 10 users and, unusually, includes all hubs and all features rather than a reduced set [4]. Teams of 10 to 30 users can fall back to a limited plan after the 14-day trial rather than jumping straight to paid [4].\n\nHomebase Basic is free for one location and up to 10 employees, with basic scheduling, basic time tracking, and point-of-sale integration [3]. Jibble sits apart by making its core time tracking free forever with unlimited users [9], which is why it often appears in shortlists as a free time clock paired with a separate scheduling tool.\n\nThe cap is a cliff rather than a slope, because hiring an eleventh employee at Homebase moves you from $0 to $24 per location per month on annual billing [3] and the same step at Connecteam moves you to a paid hub [4].","introHtml":"Five of the vendors above run free tiers that are capped by headcount rather than crippled on core scheduling, which makes them a real answer for very small teams rather than a demo.
\nSling has the highest cap in the group. Shift scheduling is free for up to 30 users and includes time-off requests, open shifts, and private messaging [6]. Mobile time tracking and labor cost management sit behind the $2.00 Premium tier, so a 25-person team that only needs published schedules and messaging can run on Sling indefinitely at no cost.
\nZoomShift is free up to 20 users on Essentials, covering the schedule, team communication, automatic reminders, and unlimited positions, but restricting you to one location and to scheduling two weeks ahead [8]. Teams that publish a month out will hit that limit before they hit the user cap.
\n7shifts offers its Comp plan free for a single location with up to 15 employees, covering basic scheduling, announcements, and availability and time-off requests [5]. Time clocking begins at the paid Essentials tier, so this suits a small restaurant that already has a point-of-sale clock.
\nConnecteam's Small Business plan is free for life for up to 10 users and, unusually, includes all hubs and all features rather than a reduced set [4]. Teams of 10 to 30 users can fall back to a limited plan after the 14-day trial rather than jumping straight to paid [4].
\nHomebase Basic is free for one location and up to 10 employees, with basic scheduling, basic time tracking, and point-of-sale integration [3]. Jibble sits apart by making its core time tracking free forever with unlimited users [9], which is why it often appears in shortlists as a free time clock paired with a separate scheduling tool.
\nThe cap is a cliff rather than a slope, because hiring an eleventh employee at Homebase moves you from $0 to $24 per location per month on annual billing [3] and the same step at Connecteam moves you to a paid hub [4].
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":40},{"id":"e2dec662-c045-486a-83d8-0a7abbd27bfd","sectionKey":"worked_examples","sectionType":"table_section","heading":"What does this cost at 15, 60, and 300 employees?","introMarkdown":"The scenarios below use published list rates on annual billing where a vendor discounts it, with no add-ons: a 15-person single-site cafe, a 60-person restaurant group across three locations, and a 300-person operator across eight locations.","introHtml":"The scenarios below use published list rates on annual billing where a vendor discounts it, with no add-ons: a 15-person single-site cafe, a 60-person restaurant group across three locations, and a 300-person operator across eight locations.
\n","outroMarkdown":"The spread inside each scenario is wider than the spread between scenarios. At 15 people the same job costs $0 or $75 per month depending only on which pricing model you picked, and Deputy's $30 monthly minimum applies to any account small enough to fall below it [2]. At 300 people the per-location vendors give the lowest per-head rate because 37 or 38 employees share each site licence, while the per-user vendors scale linearly to $2,400 or $2,700 [1][2]. That ordering flips as average headcount per site drops, since eight locations of 10 people each would still cost $768 at Homebase All-in-One [3] but only $640 at When I Work Premium [1].","outroHtml":"The spread inside each scenario is wider than the spread between scenarios. At 15 people the same job costs $0 or $75 per month depending only on which pricing model you picked, and Deputy's $30 monthly minimum applies to any account small enough to fall below it [2]. At 300 people the per-location vendors give the lowest per-head rate because 37 or 38 employees share each site licence, while the per-user vendors scale linearly to $2,400 or $2,700 [1][2]. That ordering flips as average headcount per site drops, since eight locations of 10 people each would still cost $768 at Homebase All-in-One [3] but only $640 at When I Work Premium [1].
\n","contentJson":{"rows":[{"cells":["15-person cafe, 1 site","Sling Free, under the 30-user cap [6]","$0","$0"]},{"cells":["15-person cafe, 1 site","7shifts Comp, at the 15-employee cap [5]","$0","$0"]},{"cells":["15-person cafe, 1 site","Homebase Essentials, annual [3]","$24.00","$1.60"]},{"cells":["15-person cafe, 1 site","When I Work Essentials [1]","$37.50","$2.50"]},{"cells":["15-person cafe, 1 site","Deputy Lite [2]","$75.00","$5.00"]},{"cells":["60 staff, 3 locations","Connecteam Ops Advanced, annual [4]","$124.00","$2.07"]},{"cells":["60 staff, 3 locations","Homebase Plus, annual [3]","$168.00","$2.80"]},{"cells":["60 staff, 3 locations","7shifts Pro, annual [5]","$239.97","$4.00"]},{"cells":["60 staff, 3 locations","Deputy Core [2]","$390.00","$6.50"]},{"cells":["300 staff, 8 locations","Homebase All-in-One, annual [3]","$768.00","$2.56"]},{"cells":["300 staff, 8 locations","7shifts Premium, annual [5]","$1,079.92","$3.60"]},{"cells":["300 staff, 8 locations","Connecteam Ops Expert, annual [4]","$1,233.00","$4.11"]},{"cells":["300 staff, 8 locations","When I Work Premium [1]","$2,400.00","$8.00"]},{"cells":["300 staff, 8 locations","Deputy Pro [2]","$2,700.00","$9.00"]}],"columns":["Scenario","Vendor and plan","Monthly total","Per employee per month"]},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":50},{"id":"edda4ae8-ad7d-488d-abac-745e33ec9e1a","sectionKey":"hidden_costs","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"Which costs do buyers routinely miss?","introMarkdown":"Five line items sit outside the headline rate and account for most of the gap between a quoted price and a first invoice.\n\n### Minimum monthly spend\n\nDeputy applies a minimum of $30 per month per invoice on its monthly Lite, Core, and Pro plans, effective September 1, 2025 [2], so a five-person team on Lite pays $30 rather than $25. An operator running six thin locations on separate invoices pays several minimums at once.\n\n### Platform base fees on top of per-seat pricing\n\nBuddy Punch charges a $19 monthly base fee in addition to every per-user rate [7], which turns a 10-person Starter account from $49.90 into $68.90 per month on annual billing. Base fees fade at scale and hit small teams hardest, so compute the total at your headcount rather than reading the per-user figure alone.\n\n### Module add-ons\n\nAdd-ons are where published rates diverge from real spend. Buddy Punch sells scheduling at $1.00 per user per month, real-time GPS at $2.00, and onboarding and task tools at $4.00 [7]. 7shifts sells Tip Management at $49.99 per month per location plus $1 per instant payout transaction, and its Manager Log Book at $14.99 per month per location [5]. Homebase sells Tip Manager at $25 and Task Manager at $13 per month per location, plus background checks at $30 each [3].\n\n### Payroll as a separate product\n\nPayroll is rarely bundled. Homebase adds it from $39 per month plus $6 per month per employee paid [3], and Buddy Punch charges $8.00 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee [7]. On a 60-person operation that adds several hundred dollars a month.\n\n### Feature gates that force a tier jump\n\nThe upgrade is usually triggered by one capability rather than by headcount. Single sign-on sits on When I Work Premium at $8.00 [1], on Deputy Pro at $9.00 [2], and on Buddy Punch Advanced [7]. If your security team requires SAML, your effective floor is the top tier regardless of team size.","introHtml":"Five line items sit outside the headline rate and account for most of the gap between a quoted price and a first invoice.
\nDeputy applies a minimum of $30 per month per invoice on its monthly Lite, Core, and Pro plans, effective September 1, 2025 [2], so a five-person team on Lite pays $30 rather than $25. An operator running six thin locations on separate invoices pays several minimums at once.
\nBuddy Punch charges a $19 monthly base fee in addition to every per-user rate [7], which turns a 10-person Starter account from $49.90 into $68.90 per month on annual billing. Base fees fade at scale and hit small teams hardest, so compute the total at your headcount rather than reading the per-user figure alone.
\nAdd-ons are where published rates diverge from real spend. Buddy Punch sells scheduling at $1.00 per user per month, real-time GPS at $2.00, and onboarding and task tools at $4.00 [7]. 7shifts sells Tip Management at $49.99 per month per location plus $1 per instant payout transaction, and its Manager Log Book at $14.99 per month per location [5]. Homebase sells Tip Manager at $25 and Task Manager at $13 per month per location, plus background checks at $30 each [3].
\nPayroll is rarely bundled. Homebase adds it from $39 per month plus $6 per month per employee paid [3], and Buddy Punch charges $8.00 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee [7]. On a 60-person operation that adds several hundred dollars a month.
\nThe upgrade is usually triggered by one capability rather than by headcount. Single sign-on sits on When I Work Premium at $8.00 [1], on Deputy Pro at $9.00 [2], and on Buddy Punch Advanced [7]. If your security team requires SAML, your effective floor is the top tier regardless of team size.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":60},{"id":"96d0f853-0157-4917-8d97-249564009f67","sectionKey":"contributor_perspective","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"How this answer was researched","introMarkdown":"Every price in this answer was read directly from the vendor's own live pricing page on July 21, 2026, rather than carried over from earlier drafts or third-party pricing trackers. Where a review site and a vendor page disagreed, the vendor page was used and the disagreement was noted rather than smoothed over. The two enterprise vendors named here publish no numbers at all, and that absence is reported as an absence instead of being filled in with an estimate. Pricing in this category changes several times a year, so treat any figure here as accurate on the verification date shown and confirm it before you budget or sign. HR practitioners, operators, and vendors are invited to correct anything that has moved, particularly minimum spends, add-on rates, and free tier caps, which change more often than headline plan prices do.","introHtml":"Every price in this answer was read directly from the vendor's own live pricing page on July 21, 2026, rather than carried over from earlier drafts or third-party pricing trackers. Where a review site and a vendor page disagreed, the vendor page was used and the disagreement was noted rather than smoothed over. The two enterprise vendors named here publish no numbers at all, and that absence is reported as an absence instead of being filled in with an estimate. Pricing in this category changes several times a year, so treat any figure here as accurate on the verification date shown and confirm it before you budget or sign. HR practitioners, operators, and vendors are invited to correct anything that has moved, particularly minimum spends, add-on rates, and free tier caps, which change more often than headline plan prices do.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.","noteHtml":"This answer was written and reviewed by the AnswerStack Editorial Team, which has no commercial stake in the products, companies, or methods discussed. Every claim is cited inline and verified on the dates shown.
\n","sortOrder":70},{"id":"2847ecfa-16da-42d7-821a-07ee65c7800a","sectionKey":"limits_and_disambiguation","sectionType":"markdown_section","heading":"What the per-employee number does not tell you","introMarkdown":"A per-employee rate describes the subscription line and nothing else, which is why two operators quoting the same $4.00 per head can end the year thousands of dollars apart.\n\n### Scheduling software is not the same product as workforce management\n\nThe tools priced at $2.00 to $9.00 per user handle schedules, shift swaps, availability, and in most cases a time clock [1][2][6]. Enterprise workforce management covers demand forecasting, labor optimization against a budget, and absence management as separate platform modules, which is how Legion structures its product line [10] and how Workday organizes its suite [11]. A $2.50 scheduling seat and an enterprise labor optimization deployment are different categories of software.\n\n### Published rates are list rates\n\nEvery number in this answer is a rate card figure. Quote-only vendors negotiate on committed headcount and term, and even published-price vendors run promotions, which is one reason independent trackers and vendor pages drift apart. Zapier's May 2026 comparison lists Sling paid plans from $2.70 per user per month while Sling's own page shows $2.00 on monthly billing [12][6]. Take the vendor page as the source of record.\n\n### Implementation effort sits outside the subscription\n\nNone of the vendors above publishes an implementation fee at the small-business tiers, but the internal cost of building rules, importing rosters, and training managers lands on your team rather than on the invoice. Enterprise deployments usually carry explicit implementation charges that only appear in the quote.\n\n### Free is a starting point rather than a fixed state\n\nThe free tiers described above are capped at 10 to 30 users [3][4][5][6][8]. They hold until headcount, a second location, or one gated feature crosses the line. Model the cost at the headcount you expect in 12 months rather than the one you have today.","introHtml":"A per-employee rate describes the subscription line and nothing else, which is why two operators quoting the same $4.00 per head can end the year thousands of dollars apart.
\nThe tools priced at $2.00 to $9.00 per user handle schedules, shift swaps, availability, and in most cases a time clock [1][2][6]. Enterprise workforce management covers demand forecasting, labor optimization against a budget, and absence management as separate platform modules, which is how Legion structures its product line [10] and how Workday organizes its suite [11]. A $2.50 scheduling seat and an enterprise labor optimization deployment are different categories of software.
\nEvery number in this answer is a rate card figure. Quote-only vendors negotiate on committed headcount and term, and even published-price vendors run promotions, which is one reason independent trackers and vendor pages drift apart. Zapier's May 2026 comparison lists Sling paid plans from $2.70 per user per month while Sling's own page shows $2.00 on monthly billing [12][6]. Take the vendor page as the source of record.
\nNone of the vendors above publishes an implementation fee at the small-business tiers, but the internal cost of building rules, importing rosters, and training managers lands on your team rather than on the invoice. Enterprise deployments usually carry explicit implementation charges that only appear in the quote.
\nThe free tiers described above are capped at 10 to 30 users [3][4][5][6][8]. They hold until headcount, a second location, or one gated feature crosses the line. Model the cost at the headcount you expect in 12 months rather than the one you have today.
\n","outroMarkdown":null,"outroHtml":null,"contentJson":{},"configJson":{},"noteMarkdown":null,"noteHtml":null,"sortOrder":80}],"citations":[{"title":"When I Work Pricing","url":"https://wheniwork.com/pricing","excerpt":"When I Work pricing starts at just $2.50 per user per month for single-location teams, and $5 per user per month for multi-location businesses.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Essentials $2.50, Pro $5.00, Premium $8.00 per user per month; unlimited users; 14-day free trial; time tracking and attendance sold as a toggled add-on; SAML and SSO on Premium","domain":"wheniwork.com","publisherName":"When I Work"},{"title":"Deputy Pricing: Compare Our Plans","url":"https://www.deputy.com/pricing","excerpt":"There is a minimum monthly spend of USD $30/AUD $30/GBP 20 per month per invoice on our monthly Lite, Core & Pro plans from September 1, 2025.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Lite $5.00, Core $6.50, Pro $9.00 per user per month excluding tax; $30 monthly minimum per invoice from September 1, 2025; billed upfront or in monthly installments; Enterprise by contact only; SSO on Pro","domain":"deputy.com","publisherName":"Deputy"},{"title":"Homebase Pricing","url":"https://joinhomebase.com/pricing/","excerpt":"$0 / location / month for 1 location, up to 10 employees","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Basic free for 1 location and up to 10 employees; Essentials $30 monthly or $24 annual, Plus $70 or $56, All-in-One $120 or $96 per location per month; annual savings of $72, $168, $288; payroll from $39 per month plus $6 per employee paid; Tip Manager $25, Task Manager $13, background checks $30, j","domain":"joinhomebase.com","publisherName":"Homebase"},{"title":"Connecteam Pricing Plans","url":"https://connecteam.com/pricing/","excerpt":"The most powerful solution for small businesses, all hubs and all features, entirely free for up to 10 users","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Small Business plan free for life for up to 10 users with all hubs and features; Operations Hub Basic $29 annual or $35 monthly, Advanced $49 or $59, Expert $99 or $119 per month for the first 30 users; additional users $0.80, $2.50, $4.20 per month; yearly billing saves 18%; 14-day free trial; limi","domain":"connecteam.com","publisherName":"Connecteam"},{"title":"7shifts vs When I Work, with the full 7shifts plan and price table","url":"https://www.7shifts.com/compare/7shifts-vs-wheniwork/","excerpt":"Comp: Free, For single locations, Up to 15 employees. Essentials $44.99 / $39.99 Per month/location, Up to 30 employees.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Comp free for single locations up to 15 employees; Essentials $44.99 monthly or $39.99 annual, Pro $89.99 or $79.99, Premium $149.99 or $134.99 per month per location; 10% annual saving; Tip Management $49.99 per month per location plus $1 per instant payout transaction; Manager Log Book $14.99 per ","domain":"7shifts.com","publisherName":"7shifts"},{"title":"Sling Pricing","url":"https://getsling.com/pricing/","excerpt":"Shift scheduling with Sling is free for up to 30 users.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Free plan for up to 30 users including shift scheduling, time-off requests, available shifts, long-term scheduling and private messaging; Premium $2.00 monthly or $1.70 annual; Business $4.00 or $3.40 per user per month; annual billing saves 15%; 15-day free trial","domain":"getsling.com","publisherName":"Sling"},{"title":"Buddy Punch Pricing","url":"https://buddypunch.com/pricing/","excerpt":"$4.99/user/mo plus $19 base fee per month. 14 days free, no credit card required.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Starter $4.99 annual or $5.99 monthly, Pro $6.99 or $7.99, Advanced $12.99 or $13.99 per user per month, each plus a $19 monthly base fee; annual saves up to 18%; 14-day free trial; add-ons for scheduling $1, real-time GPS $2, onboarding and tasks $4, data retention $2; payroll $8 per user per month","domain":"buddypunch.com","publisherName":"Buddy Punch"},{"title":"ZoomShift Pricing","url":"https://www.zoomshift.com/pricing","excerpt":"An Active Team Member Spot refers to the number of Active Team Members you want to utilize ZoomShift. This includes Managers, Team Members, and Employees.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Essentials free up to 20 users, one location, scheduling two weeks ahead; Starter $2.50 monthly or $2.00 annual; Premium $5.00 or $4.00 per active team member per month; 14-day free trial; definition of an active team member as managers, team members and employees","domain":"zoomshift.com","publisherName":"ZoomShift"},{"title":"Jibble time tracking, free plan","url":"https://www.jibble.io/","excerpt":"Free forever, Unlimited users","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Core time tracking free forever with unlimited users; paid tier prices are not published, and Jibble no longer hosts a separate pricing page","domain":"jibble.io","publisherName":"Jibble"},{"title":"Legion Workforce Management platform","url":"https://legion.co/","excerpt":"Schedule Demo","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"No published pricing; demo request is the only pricing path; modules include labor planning, schedule optimization, time and attendance, and an employee engagement suite","domain":"legion.co","publisherName":"Legion Technologies"},{"title":"Workday Workforce Management overview","url":"https://www.workday.com/en-us/products/workforce-management/overview.html","excerpt":"Contact Sales. Workforce Management Overview. Products: Scheduling & Labor Optimization, Time & Attendance, Absence Management, Extended Workforce Management.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"PRIMARY","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"No published pricing for workforce management; contact sales is the only path; product line separates scheduling and labor optimization, time and attendance, absence management, and extended workforce management","domain":"workday.com","publisherName":"Workday"},{"title":"The best employee scheduling software in 2026","url":"https://zapier.com/blog/best-employee-scheduling-software/","excerpt":"The most recent update, with contributions from Mike Floeck, was in May 2026.","quoteText":null,"sourceRole":"INDEPENDENT","verifiedAt":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","supportsText":"Independent corroboration of free tier caps and entry prices across the category; lists Sling paid plans from $2.70 per user per month, which differs from Sling's own current page","domain":"zapier.com","publisherName":"Zapier"}],"revisions":[],"relatedAnswers":[{"id":"0938ef3a-2c97-4115-8e09-90ad9ea39603","slug":"how-does-time-and-attendance-software-track-hours","question":"How does time and attendance software track hours and stop time theft / buddy punching?","publishedAt":"2026-07-21T19:33:28.008","confidenceScore":88,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"e1a1da3c-52a8-4e99-88ad-d08ef17d7c3f","slug":"hr-technology","label":"HR Technology","description":"ATS, HRIS, payroll, and workforce management"},"topic":{"slug":"workforce-management","label":"Workforce Management","description":"Employee Scheduling, Time & Attendance, Workforce Management, Leave & Absence Management, Employee Monitoring","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Punch capture, a pay-rules engine, and an audit trail are the mechanics. Geofencing, device binding, photo capture, and biometric matching are the controls, and each one fails somewhere different. Fingerprint and face clock-ins trigger biometric privacy statutes in Illinois, Texas, and Washington. General information, not legal advice.","url":"/q/how-does-time-and-attendance-software-track-hours"},{"id":"2e819b59-f323-410a-b70d-98db2ba40087","slug":"there-free-employee-scheduling-software-or-can-i-just","question":"Is there free employee scheduling software, or can I just use an Excel / Google Sheets template?","publishedAt":"2026-07-21T19:09:49.003","confidenceScore":88,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"e1a1da3c-52a8-4e99-88ad-d08ef17d7c3f","slug":"hr-technology","label":"HR Technology","description":"ATS, HRIS, payroll, and workforce management"},"topic":{"slug":"workforce-management","label":"Workforce Management","description":"Employee Scheduling, Time & Attendance, Workforce Management, Leave & Absence Management, Employee Monitoring","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Free scheduling tools cover a real set of businesses: one location, a roster in the low teens, and no complicated overtime. Homebase caps its free plan at 10 employees and 90 days of timesheet storage, Connecteam at 10 users, ZoomShift at 20, and Sling at 30 without a time clock. A spreadsheet stays legal and workable for a stable roster. Both routes get costly once headcount, shift swapping, overtime exposure, or predictive scheduling rules enter the picture.","url":"/q/there-free-employee-scheduling-software-or-can-i-just"},{"id":"c30bae55-729e-4379-a393-1d4fcb0d0fb9","slug":"whats-the-best-employee-scheduling-wfm-software","question":"What's the best employee scheduling / WFM software for a small business (or my industry)?","publishedAt":"2026-07-21T19:09:46.718","confidenceScore":84,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"e1a1da3c-52a8-4e99-88ad-d08ef17d7c3f","slug":"hr-technology","label":"HR Technology","description":"ATS, HRIS, payroll, and workforce management"},"topic":{"slug":"workforce-management","label":"Workforce Management","description":"Employee Scheduling, Time & Attendance, Workforce Management, Leave & Absence Management, Employee Monitoring","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Scheduling software fit is set by your operating model, not your headcount. Restaurants need a POS connection for labor forecasting, retail needs demand forecasting and cross-location staffing, care settings need license checks and census-driven ratios, and construction needs GPS with job costing. Free tiers from Homebase and Connecteam cap at 10 people. The enterprise tier from Legion, Workday, and UKG is a different class of purchase with no published pricing.","url":"/q/whats-the-best-employee-scheduling-wfm-software"},{"id":"bec6eefc-d558-4900-8ae2-342cbf2c196a","slug":"what-is-workforce-management-software","question":"What is workforce management software and what does it actually do?","publishedAt":"2026-07-21T19:09:44.176","confidenceScore":90,"confidenceLabel":"High","industry":{"id":"e1a1da3c-52a8-4e99-88ad-d08ef17d7c3f","slug":"hr-technology","label":"HR Technology","description":"ATS, HRIS, payroll, and workforce management"},"topic":{"slug":"workforce-management","label":"Workforce Management","description":"Employee Scheduling, Time & Attendance, Workforce Management, Leave & Absence Management, Employee Monitoring","schemaKind":null},"contributor":{"id":"ec39deab-44fe-48d8-9029-fefe993ab85a","slug":"answer-stack","displayName":"AnswerStack","websiteUrl":null},"snippet":"Workforce management software runs hourly and shift-based labor: demand forecasting, schedule building and publishing, shift swaps and open shifts, time and attendance capture, break and overtime rules, and the export of approved hours to payroll. It sits apart from payroll and from an HRIS because hours are a legal record, not only a payroll input. This answer walks the schedule-to-payroll workflow, the compliance rules the software has to encode, and the parts that still rest on manager judgment and accurate demand data.","url":"/q/what-is-workforce-management-software"}],"contributorStats":{"verifiedAnswers":224,"openDisputes":0},"schemaJson":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Question","name":"How much does workforce management / employee scheduling software cost per employee?","text":"How much does workforce management / employee scheduling software cost per employee?","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-much-does-workforce-management-employee-scheduling-software-cost","answerCount":1,"datePublished":"2026-07-21T19:27:05.349","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Workforce Management"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"HR Technology"}],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Employee scheduling software priced per user costs roughly $2.00 to $9.00 per employee per month in 2026, with When I Work publishing $2.50, $5.00, and $8.00 per user per month [1], Deputy publishing $5.00, $6.50, and $9.00 [2], and Sling publishing $2.00 and $4.00 on monthly billing [6]. A large part of the market charges per location instead, roughly $24 to $150 per location per month, which is where Homebase [3] and 7shifts [5] sit. Free tiers are real but capped by headcount rather than by feature: Homebase covers one location and up to 10 employees [3], Connecteam covers 10 users across all its hubs [4], 7shifts covers 15 employees at one location [5], ZoomShift covers 20 [8], and Sling covers 30 [6]. Enterprise workforce management platforms such as Legion [10] and Workday [11] publish no rate card at all and price each deployment by quote.","url":"https://www.answerstack.io/q/how-much-does-workforce-management-employee-scheduling-software-cost","upvoteCount":0,"datePublished":"2026-07-21T19:27:05.349","dateModified":"2026-07-21T00:00:00","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"AnswerStack Editorial Team","worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"AnswerStack"},"url":"https://www.answerstack.io/contributors/answer-stack"},"citation":[{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"When I Work Pricing","url":"https://wheniwork.com/pricing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Deputy Pricing: Compare Our Plans","url":"https://www.deputy.com/pricing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Homebase Pricing","url":"https://joinhomebase.com/pricing/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Connecteam Pricing Plans","url":"https://connecteam.com/pricing/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"7shifts vs When I Work, with the full 7shifts plan and price table","url":"https://www.7shifts.com/compare/7shifts-vs-wheniwork/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Sling Pricing","url":"https://getsling.com/pricing/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Buddy Punch Pricing","url":"https://buddypunch.com/pricing/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"ZoomShift Pricing","url":"https://www.zoomshift.com/pricing"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Jibble time tracking, free plan","url":"https://www.jibble.io/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Legion Workforce Management platform","url":"https://legion.co/"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Workday Workforce Management overview","url":"https://www.workday.com/en-us/products/workforce-management/overview.html"},{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"The best employee scheduling software in 2026","url":"https://zapier.com/blog/best-employee-scheduling-software/"}]}}}