Deputy Lite starts at $5/user/month with basic scheduling and time tracking. Core is $6.50/user/month for auto-scheduling and advanced compliance. Pro is $9/user/month. Add-ons for HR ($2/user), Messaging+ ($1.95/user), and Analytics+ ($1.50/user) push costs higher. There's also a $30/month minimum spend on monthly plans.
No. Deputy offers a 31-day free trial but no permanent free tier. After the trial, you must choose a paid plan starting at $5/user/month. The minimum monthly spend is $30, so even a tiny team pays at least $30/month.
The most common complaints from users: customer support has degraded significantly (especially on weekends), the app doesn't work offline, pricing increased with the new plan structure, and the $30/month minimum spend catches small teams off guard. Several users on Capterra and G2 report support being 'absolutely disgraceful these days.'
Deputy was built for enterprise-scale operations with complex compliance needs. Small businesses (under 25 employees) often find they're paying for features they never use, like demand forecasting and labor optimization. Turnozo Essential is €9.99/month for up to 10 employees and one location (centro), with every feature included; Pro is €2.99/employee/month from employee 11 or the second location (centro), billed across the whole workforce.
No. Deputy requires an internet connection for all features, including clocking in to shifts. This is a significant limitation for businesses operating in areas with poor connectivity, like construction sites, rural locations, or basements. Several reviewers flag this as a dealbreaker.
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Deputy has been around since 2008. Founded in Sydney, it has grown into one of the bigger names in workforce management, serving businesses across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and beyond.
The pitch: scheduling, time tracking, compliance tools, and team communication in one platform. Over 1 million shift workers use it. Ratings sit at 4.6 on Capterra and 4.6 on G2. On paper, it checks every box.
But Deputy recently restructured its pricing, splitting features across three tiers and adding a $30/month minimum spend. That changes the math for a lot of small businesses. And the user reviews from the past year tell a more complicated story than the ratings suggest.
This review covers what Deputy does well, where it falls short, what it actually costs at different team sizes, and who should look elsewhere.
Deputy vs Alternatives: Annual Cost
Compare real costs based on your team size. Deputy prices are for plans with scheduling + time tracking + compliance.
Turnozo (Essential + Pro)Best value
$897/year
Save $1,803 vs most expensive
Homebase Plus ($70/loc)
$840
When I Work ($4/user)
$1,200
Deputy Lite ($5/user)
$1,500
Deputy Core ($6.50/user)
$1,950
Deputy Pro ($9/user)Most expensive
$2,700
For 25 employees, Deputy Core (the plan most teams need) runs $1950/year. Turnozo costs $897/year for the same core features. That is $1053 saved per year.
Deputy homepage showing scheduling and workforce management features
The scheduling interface is genuinely good. Deputy uses a drag-and-drop weekly calendar. You click a cell, create a shift, and assign it to an employee. The layout is clean, spacing is generous, and colors are consistent. It handles multiple locations with separate schedules, and the "copy schedule" feature saves time for teams with repeating patterns. For complex multi-location businesses, this is where Deputy shines.
Auto-scheduling saves time on large teams. Deputy's Core plan includes an AI-powered auto-scheduler that fills shifts based on employee availability, skills, and labor rules. For a restaurant group with 100+ staff across multiple locations, this is a real time-saver. Most competitors either don't offer this or charge significantly more for it.
Compliance tools are thorough. Deputy tracks overtime, mandatory breaks, Fair Workweek rules, and custom pay rules. It flags violations before you publish a schedule. For businesses in regulated industries (healthcare, hospitality in jurisdictions with predictive scheduling laws), this is valuable. The Core plan adds advanced compliance features, and the Pro plan extends it further with custom access levels.
Integrations are extensive. Deputy connects to payroll systems (ADP, Gusto, Paycor, QuickBooks), POS platforms, and HR tools. The Paycor integration is deep enough that Deputy offers a combined payroll add-on ($8/user/month + $49 base fee). For businesses already using these tools, Deputy slots in without replacing anything.
Biometric clock-in. Deputy supports facial recognition for clock-ins on the Core plan and above. Useful for kiosk setups where buddy punching is a concern. This is a genuine differentiator, since most competitors rely on PIN or GPS only.
Where Deputy falls short
Deputy pricing plans showing Lite, Core, and Pro tiers
The pricing structure is confusing
Deputy recently restructured from two plans (Scheduling and Time & Attendance at $4.50 each, or Premium at $6) to three tiers: Lite ($5), Core ($6.50), and Pro ($9).
The Lite plan covers "basic" scheduling and time tracking. But "basic" means no auto-scheduling, no advanced compliance, no biometric clock-in, and no timesheet auto-approval. Most teams that need more than a simple schedule will land on Core.
Then there are the add-ons:
HR: $2/user/month for onboarding, document management, and surveys
Messaging+: $1.95/user/month for advanced team communication
Analytics+: $1.50/user/month for custom reports and audit tools
A 25-person team on Core with HR and Messaging+ pays $10.45/user/month, or $3,135/year. That is not cheap for scheduling and time tracking.
The $30/month minimum is a quiet dealbreaker
Starting September 2025, Deputy introduced a minimum monthly spend of $30 on Lite, Core, and Pro plans. A team of 4 on Lite would normally pay $20/month. Instead, they pay $30. That is $7.50/user for a plan advertised at $5/user.
For teams with 6+ employees this does not matter. But Deputy markets itself to small businesses, and a hidden floor price is the kind of thing that erodes trust.
Customer support has deteriorated
This is the most consistent theme in recent reviews. A Capterra reviewer from April 2025 wrote: "I've used Deputy for almost as long as it has been around, and the customer service is absolutely disgraceful these days. You can't get support for account finance issues during weekends."
Another Capterra reviewer was blunter: "The customer support from Deputy is honestly some of the worst I've ever encountered."
Multiple G2 and GetApp reviews from 2025 flag slow response times, canned answers, and lack of follow-up. One r/smallbusiness commenter summed it up: "Great product when it works, but when something breaks on a Friday night, you're on your own until Monday."
The Pro plan includes 24/7 live chat, but Lite and Core users are limited to email and self-service articles. For a tool that manages your workforce operations, that gap matters.
No offline functionality
Deputy requires an internet connection for everything, including clocking in. If your employees work in areas with spotty connectivity (construction sites, rural areas, basements, outdoor events), they cannot clock in until they reconnect.
One reviewer on GetApp noted: "I don't think Deputy is the right option for businesses that operate from remote locations without stable internet connections."
This is a fundamental limitation for certain industries.
The Android tablet app is incomplete
Deputy's iOS app and iPad kiosk app are full-featured. The Android tablet app is not. Feature parity across platforms is something teams assume exists, and it doesn't here. If your kiosks run Android tablets, check the feature matrix before committing.
Who Deputy is built for
Deputy makes the most sense for:
Mid-to-large teams (50+ employees) across multiple locations where auto-scheduling and compliance automation save significant time
Businesses in regulated industries where Fair Workweek compliance, predictive scheduling laws, and break tracking are legally required
Teams already using Deputy's integration partners (ADP, Gusto, Paycor, QuickBooks) who want a scheduling layer that plugs directly into payroll
Operations with kiosk-based clock-ins that need biometric facial recognition to prevent buddy punching
Who should look elsewhere
Deputy is probably not the right fit if:
You have fewer than 25 employees. The per-user costs add up without the scale benefits. A 15-person team on Core pays $1,170/year for features most small teams never touch. Turnozo Essential is €9.99/month for up to 10 employees and one location (centro); Pro is €2.99/employee/month from employee 11 or the second location (centro), billed across the whole workforce.
You need offline clock-in. If your team works in areas without reliable internet, Deputy's requirement for connectivity is a dealbreaker. Consider apps with offline sync.
You want simple scheduling without the complexity. Deputy's strength is its depth. If you just need a weekly schedule, shift swaps, and time tracking, you are paying for auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, and labor optimization you will never use. Simpler tools do the basics for less.
Budget is tight. At $6.50/user/month (Core), Deputy costs 2-3x more than alternatives that cover the same core features.
Deputy vs the alternatives
Here is how Deputy's Core plan ($6.50/user) stacks up against alternatives with equivalent features (scheduling + time tracking + GPS). We compare the tier from each tool that includes all three, not the cheapest plan:
4 quick questions to see if Deputy matches your needs, or if you should look elsewhere.
Question 1 of 425%
How many employees do you schedule?
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The bottom line
Deputy is a capable workforce management platform. The scheduling interface is polished, auto-scheduling works, compliance tools are thorough, and the integration ecosystem is mature. For businesses with 50+ employees, complex compliance needs, and existing payroll integrations, it delivers real value.
But the recent pricing restructure, the $30/month minimum, degrading customer support, and no offline mode make it harder to recommend for small teams. If you are running a 15-person restaurant or a 20-person retail store, you are paying enterprise prices for features you will never use.
The market has moved. Turnozo Essential is €9.99/month for up to 10 employees and one location (centro), with every feature included. Pro keeps the same feature set for larger teams for €2.99/employee/month from employee 11 or the second location (centro), billed across the whole workforce.
Deputy works. But for most small teams, there are better options that cost less and do the job.
