Best Deputy Alternatives for Small Teams (2026)
Deputy is powerful but expensive for small teams. Here are 7 alternatives that cost less, do the job, and skip the enterprise bloat.
Diego Cárdenas
Founder of Turnozo
Deputy is a solid scheduling tool. It handles complex rotas, compliance tracking, and integrations with payroll systems. For enterprise teams with 100+ employees, it earns its price.
But most small teams do not need all that. If you have 5, 10, maybe 20 people and you are paying $6-12 per user per month for features you never touch, it is worth looking at what else is out there.
Here are 7 alternatives worth considering, what each one does well, and where each one falls short.
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| Tool | Price | Scheduling | Time tracking | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnozo | $2.47/user/mo | Yes | Yes (GPS, geofencing) | 30-day trial |
| Homebase | Free - $24.95/user/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes (1 location) |
| 7shifts | Free - $34.99/location/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes (1 location, 30 employees) |
| Sling | Free - $4/user/mo | Yes | Paid tier only | Yes (basic) |
| Connecteam | Free - $29/mo + $0.50/user | Yes | Yes | Yes (5 users) |
| When I Work | $2.50 - $8/user/mo | Yes | Paid tier only | 14-day trial |
| Planday | From $2.99/user/mo | Yes | Yes | 30-day trial |
1. Turnozo
Best for: Small teams that want scheduling + time tracking without paying enterprise prices.
Turnozo does two things well: shift scheduling and time tracking. Drag-and-drop weekly schedule, employee availability visible before you build the rota, open shifts with automatic notifications, shift swaps with manager approval, and mobile clock-in with GPS verification and geofencing.
The pricing is simple. $2.47 per employee per month. Every feature included. No tiers, no add-ons, no "contact us for pricing." You see what you pay before you sign up.
What it does well:
- All features at one price (scheduling, time tracking, timesheets, availability, open shifts, swaps)
- GPS clock-in with geofencing for mobile teams
- Clean mobile app for employees
- Schedule templates you can reuse week to week
- 30-day free trial, no credit card
Where it falls short:
- No payroll integration yet
- No built-in labor cost forecasting
- Smaller company, less brand recognition than Deputy
Pricing: $2.47/user/month. All features included. 30-day free trial.
2. Homebase
Best for: Single-location businesses that want a free starting point.
Homebase offers a generous free tier for one location with basic scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging. It is a popular choice for restaurants and retail shops that need the basics without spending anything upfront.
The catch is that the free tier gets limiting fast. Overtime alerts, early clock-in prevention, and labor cost controls all require paid plans. The jump from free to the next tier ($24.95/user/month for the full suite) is steep.
What it does well:
- Free plan covers basics for one location
- Built-in hiring and onboarding tools
- Payroll integration (own payroll product)
- Team messaging included
Where it falls short:
- Gets expensive once you outgrow free tier
- Multi-location requires paid plan
- Cancellation process has drawn complaints (check Reddit)
- Interface feels cluttered compared to newer tools
Pricing: Free (1 location, limited features). Essentials $24.95/user/mo. Plus $59.95/user/mo.
3. 7shifts
Best for: Restaurants specifically.
7shifts is built for restaurants and it shows. Tip pooling, labor cost percentage tracking, POS integrations with Toast and Square, and demand-based scheduling suggestions. If you run a restaurant and scheduling is your main pain point, 7shifts is purpose-built for it.
The downside is the restaurant focus. If you run a cleaning company, gym, or retail store, the features you are paying for will not match your workflow. Also, pricing is per location, not per user, which can work for or against you depending on your setup.
What it does well:
- Restaurant-specific features (tips, labor cost %, POS integration)
- Demand-based scheduling suggestions
- Strong free tier (1 location, up to 30 employees)
- Manager logbook for shift notes
Where it falls short:
- Restaurant-only. Not a fit for other industries
- Laid off 19% of staff in 2024 (worth monitoring)
- Per-location pricing gets expensive for multi-site operations
- Some advanced features require Enterprise tier (no public pricing)
Pricing: Free (1 location, 30 employees). Entrée $34.99/location/mo. The Works $76.99/location/mo. Enterprise: contact sales.
4. Sling
Best for: Teams already using Toast POS.
Sling (now owned by Toast) offers a solid free tier with scheduling, time-off management, and team messaging. The free plan is genuinely usable, which is rare. Time tracking requires the Premium plan at $2/user/month, and the Business plan at $4/user/month adds labor cost management.
The Toast acquisition means deep POS integration if you are already in that ecosystem. If you are not, Sling is still a competent scheduler but the integration advantage disappears.
What it does well:
- Generous free tier with real scheduling features
- Good task management alongside scheduling
- Labor cost budgeting (Business tier)
- Toast POS integration
Where it falls short:
- Time tracking not on free tier
- Toast ownership means the roadmap priorities may shift toward restaurants
- Mobile app reviews are mixed
- Reporting is basic compared to Deputy
Pricing: Free (basic scheduling). Premium $2/user/mo. Business $4/user/mo.
5. Connecteam
Best for: Teams under 10 that want an all-in-one platform.
Connecteam tries to be everything: scheduling, time tracking, communication, training, forms, checklists. For very small teams (under 10 employees), the free tier covers most of what you need. The breadth of features is impressive.
The problem is the same as every all-in-one tool. It does many things adequately but few things excellently. The scheduling specifically is functional but not as refined as dedicated scheduling tools. And once you pass 10 employees, pricing scales in ways that catch people off guard.
What it does well:
- Free for up to 10 users (full features)
- Training and onboarding modules built in
- Digital forms and checklists
- GPS time tracking
Where it falls short:
- Jack of all trades, master of none
- Pricing jumps significantly past 10 users
- Interface can feel overwhelming
- Customer support response times vary
Pricing: Free (up to 10 users). Basic $29/mo + $0.50/user. Advanced $49/mo + $1.50/user. Expert $99/mo + $3/user.
6. When I Work
Best for: Mid-size teams that need a proven, reliable scheduler.
When I Work has been around since 2010 and it shows in the polish. The scheduling interface is clean, shift trading is well-designed, and the mobile app is solid. It is the default recommendation in many small business communities for a reason.
The drawback is pricing. Time and attendance is a separate, more expensive plan. And "more expensive" means $8/user/month for what competitors bundle into their base price. For a 20-person team, that is $160/month.
What it does well:
- Mature, reliable platform (15+ years)
- Clean scheduling interface
- Good shift trading for employees
- Integrations with major payroll providers
Where it falls short:
- Time tracking costs extra ($4-8/user/mo)
- Getting expensive relative to newer alternatives
- No free tier (just 14-day trial)
- Customer support has become slower as the company has grown
Pricing: Essentials $2.50/user/mo (scheduling only). Pro $5/user/mo. Premium $8/user/mo (includes time tracking).
7. Planday
Best for: European businesses that need compliance-aware scheduling.
Planday is a Danish company now owned by Xero, the accounting platform. It handles EU labor law nuances (working time directives, rest periods, maximum hours) better than most US-built alternatives. If you operate in Europe and compliance is a concern, Planday understands your world.
The Xero integration is the headline feature for existing Xero users. Timesheets flow directly into payroll without manual exports.
What it does well:
- EU labor law compliance built in
- Xero integration for payroll
- Revenue forecasting vs labor costs
- Multi-location management
Where it falls short:
- More expensive than simpler alternatives
- Xero-centric (less useful without Xero)
- Interface feels dated compared to newer tools
- Customer support is EU hours only
Pricing: Starter $2.99/user/mo. Plus $4.99/user/mo. Pro: contact sales.
How to choose
Pick Turnozo if you want scheduling and time tracking at one price, your team is under 50 people, and you do not need payroll integration yet. It is the simplest and cheapest full-featured option.
Pick Homebase if you run a single location and want to start free. Just know the paid tiers are expensive.
Pick 7shifts if you run a restaurant. The industry-specific features justify the price.
Pick Sling if you use Toast POS and want tight integration. The free tier is genuinely good for basic scheduling.
Pick Connecteam if you have under 10 employees and want one app for everything (scheduling, training, communication).
Pick When I Work if you want a proven platform and do not mind paying more for reliability and maturity.
Pick Planday if you are in Europe, use Xero, and need compliance-aware scheduling.
For more comparisons, see our complete scheduling software guide and our breakdown of When I Work alternatives and Homebase alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Deputy starts at $6/user/month for scheduling only, with time tracking costing extra. For a 15-person team, that's $90-150/month. Several alternatives offer both scheduling and time tracking for under $50/month. Deputy also locks features behind higher tiers, so you often pay more than the advertised price.
Turnozo at $2.47/user/month is the cheapest paid option with both scheduling and time tracking included. Sling offers a free tier for basic scheduling (no time tracking). Homebase has a free tier for one location but limits features significantly.
Most scheduling tools let you export employee lists as CSV. You will need to rebuild your schedule templates, but that typically takes under an hour for a small team. Some tools like Turnozo offer white-glove setup where the team imports your data for you.
No. Deputy offers a 31-day free trial but no permanent free tier. After the trial, pricing starts at $6/user/month for scheduling only. Time and attendance is a separate plan at $6/user/month, or $12/user/month for both.
7shifts is purpose-built for restaurants with tip management and labor cost forecasting. Turnozo and Homebase are strong general options that work well for restaurants at a lower price point. Sling (owned by Toast) integrates directly with Toast POS systems.
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