7 Connecteam Alternatives That Won't Nickel-and-Dime You

Connecteam is popular for a reason. It packs a lot into one app: scheduling, time tracking, chat, checklists, forms. If you run a 50-person operation and want everything in one place, it works well. (Full breakdown in my Connecteam review.)

But if you have a small team, the pricing model creates a problem.

Connecteam's Small Business plan is free for up to 10 users, with all hubs and features subject to feature limits. Once you outgrow it, Basic costs $29/month on annual billing or $35/month per hub for the first 30 users. At the annual rate, an 11-person team pays $2.64/user/month, while a 30-person team pays about $0.97/user/month for one hub. On annual Basic billing, each user above 30 costs $0.80/month in Operations, $0.50/month in Communications, and $0.50/month in HR.

Add the Communications Hub and HR Hub separately, and the bill grows fast.

This post is for teams that want the core features (scheduling, time tracking, availability) without moving into multiple paid hubs once the team grows past 10 users.

What to look for in a Connecteam alternative

Before diving in, a quick note on what actually matters:

• Pricing transparency. Flat minimums and per-hub fees add up quietly. Look for a clear flat or per-user price with no hidden floor.
• Scheduling and time tracking together. If you split these across two tools, you create more work, not less.
• Mobile experience. Your staff aren't using laptops. The app needs to be fast and simple.
• No forced upsells. If geofencing or shift templates are locked behind a higher tier, that's a problem.

For the full framework, see: What to Look for in Employee Scheduling Software

---

The 7 best Connecteam alternatives

1. Turnozo

Best for: Small teams (5-50) who want scheduling and time tracking without paying for features they don't use.

Pricing: Essential is €9.99/month for up to 10 employees and one location, with every feature included. Pro is €2.99/active employee/month from employee 11 or the second location, billed across the whole workforce. The 14-day Pro trial requires no card. Prices exclude VAT.

For a 10-person team: €9.99/month total. No hub upsells.

What it does: Drag-and-drop weekly scheduling, mobile clock-in with GPS and geofencing, automatic timesheets, availability management, open shift notifications, shift swaps, absence management. Everything you need to run shift-based scheduling.

What it doesn't do: Forms, checklists, internal chat, document management. If you need those, Connecteam is genuinely better for you.

Bottom line: If your main pain point is scheduling and time tracking, Turnozo is a focused alternative. If you also need HR forms and internal communications in the same app, keep looking.

Get started with Turnozo

---

2. Homebase

Best for: Single-location businesses willing to deal with feature limits on the free plan.

Pricing: Free for 1 location with up to 10 employees. Paid plans start at $30/month/location (Essentials), or $24 on annual billing.

What it does: Scheduling, time tracking, hiring tools, payroll add-on, team communication. Covers more HR-adjacent territory than most.

The catch: Free plan is limited on scheduling features. Multi-location businesses pay per location, which gets expensive. And Homebase has earned a reputation for making cancellation difficult.

Bottom line: Option for single-location businesses that fit the free plan. Less compelling once you grow.

See our detailed Homebase comparison and the Homebase vs When I Work breakdown.

---

3. When I Work

Best for: Teams of 5-75 who want a polished scheduling tool with solid mobile experience.

Pricing: Starts at $2.50/user/month for scheduling only. With time tracking, Essentials is $4/user/month. Seats are billed in bundles of 5 or 10.

What it does: Schedule building, shift swaps, availability, time tracking, team messaging. Clean interface, good mobile apps, solid notification system.

The catch: Pricing adds up once time tracking and higher-tier features matter. Some features, like advanced reporting, are locked to higher tiers.

Bottom line: A solid mid-market option. More expensive than Turnozo or Sling, but the UI is polished and the feature set is well-balanced.

See our full When I Work alternatives comparison and Turnozo vs Connecteam vs When I Work.

---

4. Deputy

Best for: Compliance-heavy industries (healthcare, hospitality) that need break tracking and award interpretation.

Pricing: Lite $5/user/month on annual billing or $5.50/user/month on monthly billing. Core $6.50/user/month annually or $7.25/user/month monthly. Pro $9/user/month annually or $10/user/month monthly.

What it does: Scheduling, time tracking, award interpretation (for Australian employment law), break compliance, HR management.

The catch: Gets pricey fast, and monthly invoices have a $30 minimum.

Bottom line: Worth it if compliance is your main headache. Overkill if you just need a reliable schedule and timesheet.

See our Turnozo vs Deputy vs Sling comparison.

---

5. Sling

Best for: Tiny teams on a tight budget who just need basic scheduling.

Pricing: Free for up to 30 users. Paid plans start at $2/user/month.

What it does: Scheduling, basic time tracking on paid plans, shift notifications, task lists.

The catch: The free tier is genuinely limited. Paid plans improve things, but the product is less polished than When I Work or Deputy.

Bottom line: Best free option for scheduling-only needs. If you want time tracking and open shift management, you'll need a paid plan.

---

6. 7shifts

Best for: Restaurants specifically. Built around restaurant workflows.

Pricing: Free for up to 15 employees at 1 location. Paid plans from $44.99/location/month.

What it does: Scheduling, labor cost tracking, tip pooling, sales forecasting integration, applicant tracking. Restaurant-first feature set.

The catch: It's restaurant software. If you're not in food service, the feature set doesn't translate well. Also, 7shifts laid off 19% of staff in early 2024, which is worth knowing.

Bottom line: If you run a restaurant, this is a serious contender. If you run anything else, look elsewhere.

See our Turnozo vs Homebase vs 7shifts comparison.

---

7. Planday

Best for: European businesses with more complex scheduling needs.

Pricing: Around $2-3/user/month depending on plan and region.

What it does: Scheduling, time tracking, payroll reporting, HR features, integrations with payroll providers.

The catch: Built for larger teams (50+). Smaller teams often feel like they're paying for features they can't use. The interface is more complex than most alternatives.

Bottom line: Reasonable choice for European businesses with 30-100+ staff who need payroll integration. Not the simplest option for lean teams.

See our Turnozo vs Planday comparison.

---

Quick comparison

---

How to choose

You have fewer than 20 people and mainly need scheduling and time tracking: Turnozo or Homebase (if single location). The per-user pricing works in your favor, and you don't pay for chat and forms you won't use.

You want everything in one app (scheduling, HR, chat, forms): Connecteam is still the most complete package, especially at larger team sizes. The pricing makes more sense at 25+ people.

You're a restaurant: 7shifts, full stop.

You need compliance features (break tracking, award interpretation): Deputy.

Budget is the priority: Sling free tier or Homebase free tier.

You're in Europe and need payroll reporting: Planday.

If you're currently on Connecteam and thinking about switching, the main questions are: how many employees do you have, and do you actually use the forms/chat/HR features? If the answer to the second question is "not really," you're overpaying.