Homebase is generally better for single-location small businesses because of its free plan and built-in payroll. When I Work is better for multi-location businesses since it charges per employee rather than per location. For teams up to 10 that want simple scheduling and time tracking, Turnozo is €9.99/month on Essential, with every feature included.
Yes. Homebase offers a free Basic plan for one location with up to 10 employees. It includes basic scheduling, time tracking, and employee management. Paid plans start at $30/location/month, or $24 on annual billing, for more advanced features.
When I Work charges per user: $2.50/user/month for Essentials scheduling only, or $4 with time tracking. Pro is $5/user/month, or $7 with time tracking. Premium is $8/user/month, or $10 with time tracking. Seats are billed in bundles of 5 or 10.
Yes. Most scheduling apps let you set up a new schedule within a day. The main work is re-inviting your team members. Tools like Turnozo are designed for quick setup. Most teams are running within 10 minutes.
The biggest difference is the pricing model and feature focus. Homebase charges per location and includes built-in payroll and hiring tools, making it more of an all-in-one HR platform. When I Work charges per employee and focuses more heavily on scheduling features like auto-scheduling and shift templates.
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Homebase is better than When I Work for most single-location small businesses because the free plan includes basic scheduling and time tracking. When I Work is better when scheduling complexity matters more than price: rotating roles, shift templates, open shifts, and stronger multi-location scheduling controls.
If you're looking for scheduling software, there's a good chance you've narrowed it down to two names: Homebase and When I Work.
They're both established products. And the internet is full of comparison articles that don't actually help you choose because they're written by one of the two companies or a generic review site that hasn't touched either product.
This is a different kind of comparison. I'll walk you through what each tool actually does well, where each one falls short, how the pricing really works (it's more complicated than the pricing pages suggest), and whether either one is actually the best fit for your team, or if there's a third option worth considering.
Homebase vs When I Work Cost Calculator
Annual USD comparison for equivalent features. Turnozo's EUR prices are converted at €1=$1.14; Homebase and When I Work prices are listed in USD.
TurnozoBest value
$1,023/year
Save $177 vs most expensive
Homebase (Plus)
$840
When I WorkMost expensive
$1,200
Compare annual costs for 25 employees after EUR-to-USD conversion and When I Work's 5-seat rounding.
Single-location businesses that want scheduling + time tracking included
Teams that need deeper scheduling controls
Pricing model
Per location
Per employee
Free plan
Yes (1 location, up to 10 employees)
No, trial only
Scheduling
Good
Excellent
Time tracking
Included
Paid add-on
Payroll
Built-in (add-on)
No (third-party integration)
Hiring tools
Yes
No
Ease of use
Very easy
Easy (slight learning curve)
Customer support
24/7 email + phone/chat M-F
Ticketing system, 7 days/week
Capterra rating
4.6/5 (892 reviews)
4.5/5 (997 reviews)
Quick answer: choose Homebase if you want the cheaper all-around option for one location. Choose When I Work if your manager pain is schedule complexity, not cost. Choose neither if you only need lightweight scheduling and daily clock-in for a small team; Turnozo is simpler, with Essential at €9.99/month for up to 10 employees and one location, with every feature included.
Scheduling features
This is what you're here for, so let's start here.
When I Work: The scheduling powerhouse
When I Work has a real edge in scheduling (I go deeper in my standalone When I Work review). It's clearly where they've invested the most. You get:
Auto-scheduling that builds schedules based on availability, roles, and labor targets
Schedule templates you can save and reuse week to week
Instant notifications when schedules change, on both the manager and employee sides
Shift swapping that employees can initiate from the app
Open shift posting where you publish available shifts and employees claim them
Availability management built directly into the scheduling workflow
The auto-scheduling is genuinely useful if you have a lot of employees and complex rotation patterns. You set the rules once, and the system generates a schedule you can then fine-tune.
Homebase: Gets the job done
Homebase's scheduling works well for most small businesses, but it's more basic. You get drag-and-drop scheduling, shift templates, and notifications. The Plus plan is $70/location/month, or $56 on annual billing.
Where Homebase falls behind is in the details. It lacks some scheduling niceties that When I Work includes by default, such as task scheduling, calendar sync, and deeper shift management tools.
That said, for a coffee shop or retail store with 10-15 employees and straightforward shift patterns? Homebase scheduling is perfectly fine.
The verdict on scheduling
When I Work wins this round. If scheduling is your primary concern and you have complexity to manage (multiple roles, rotating patterns, lots of part-timers), When I Work gives you more tools.
Time tracking
Homebase: Included on every plan
Time tracking is baked into Homebase from the free plan up. Employees clock in and out from their phone, a shared tablet, or a computer. You get GPS verification, break tracking, and timesheet exports. It's not the most sophisticated time tracking on the market, but it's solid and it's included in your subscription.
When I Work: Costs extra
When I Work uses a paid time-tracking toggle. Essentials is $2.50/user/month for scheduling only, or $4/user/month with time tracking. For a 25-person team, that is $37.50/month more than the scheduling-only headline.
The time tracking itself is comparable to Homebase: mobile clock-in, GPS, break tracking, and timesheets. The features are similar. The difference is that one costs extra and one does not.
The verdict on time tracking
Homebase wins. Getting time tracking included at no extra cost is a meaningful advantage, especially for small businesses watching every dollar.
Payroll
Homebase: Built-in but not free
Homebase has an integrated payroll system. Timesheets flow directly into payroll, overtime is calculated automatically, and you can run payroll from the same platform. It's convenient.
The catch: payroll is an add-on at $39/month base + $6 per paid employee. For a 20-person team, that's $159/month for payroll alone, on top of your scheduling subscription.
When I Work: Not built in
When I Work doesn't have payroll at all. You'll need a separate payroll provider (Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks, etc.) and connect it via integration. The upside is you might already have a payroll provider you like. The downside is one more tool to manage and potential sync headaches.
The verdict on payroll
Homebase wins if you want everything in one place. If you already have a payroll provider you're happy with, this might not matter to you.
Pricing: the part that decides it
This is where the comparison gets tricky, because these two products use completely different pricing models.
Homebase pricing (per location)
Plan
Monthly cost
Annual billing equivalent
Employees
Basic
Free
Free
Up to 10
Essentials
$30/location
$24/location
Unlimited
Plus
$70/location
$56/location
Unlimited
All-in-One
$120/location
$96/location
Unlimited
Homebase charges per location. If you have one busy restaurant with 40 employees, the Essentials plan is $30/month total on monthly billing, or $24/month on annual billing.
But if you have 3 locations? Now you're at $90/month on monthly Essentials, or $210/month on monthly Plus.
When I Work pricing (per employee)
Plan
Scheduling-only price
With time tracking
Essentials
$2.50/user
$4/user
Pro
$5.00/user
$7/user
Premium
$8.00/user
$10/user
When I Work charges per user. For a small team, this is manageable. A 10-person team on Essentials with time tracking: $40/month. Not bad.
But costs scale linearly with headcount. That same plan for 50 employees: $200/month. And that's before you add Pro features.
The math for your team
Let's run some real scenarios:
Scenario 1: One location, 15 employees
Homebase Essentials: $30/month
When I Work Essentials + time tracking: $60/month
Homebase saves $30/month
Scenario 2: One location, 40 employees
Homebase Essentials: $30/month
When I Work Essentials + time tracking: $160/month
Homebase saves $130/month
Scenario 3: Three locations, 10 employees each
Homebase Essentials: $90/month (3 × $30)
When I Work Essentials + time tracking: $120/month (30 × $4)
Homebase saves $30/month
Scenario 4: Five locations, 8 employees each
Homebase Essentials: $150/month (5 × $30)
When I Work Essentials + time tracking: $160/month (40 × $4)
Homebase saves $10/month
The pattern: Homebase generally wins on price, especially for single-location businesses with larger teams. When I Work becomes more competitive (though rarely cheaper) when you have many locations with very few employees each.
Ease of Use
Homebase: The simpler experience
Homebase gets consistently high marks for being easy to set up and find your way around. The interface is clean, the learning curve is minimal, and most managers can start building schedules within minutes of signing up. For someone who's never used scheduling software before, Homebase is a safe bet.
When I Work: Powerful but slightly steeper curve
When I Work is well-designed, but the depth of its features means there's a bit more to learn. Several user reviews mention a learning curve in the first week or two. Auto-scheduling rules, template setup, and the various scheduling views take some time to click.
Once you're past that initial period, When I Work feels natural. But it's worth knowing that the ramp-up is real.
The verdict on ease of use
Homebase wins for teams that want to start fast with minimal training. When I Work is fine once you learn it, but "fine once you learn it" is a lower bar than "easy from day one."
Customer Support
Homebase
24/7 email support across all plans. Phone and chat support during business hours, Monday through Friday. They also maintain a solid knowledge base with how-to guides.
When I Work
Support is available 7 days a week through a ticketing system. Multiple user reviews mention slower response times, especially on lower-tier plans. They do have a library of training videos and help articles.
The verdict on support
Homebase wins. 24/7 email with phone and chat options beats a ticketing system that can feel slow.
Integrations
Homebase
Integrates with 25+ tools including popular POS systems (Square, Toast, Clover), payroll platforms (Gusto, ADP, Paychex), and job boards. Integrations are available on all plans.
When I Work
When I Work offers integrations with payroll providers and POS systems, but here's the catch: integrations are only available when you add the time and attendance module. That means you're paying extra just to unlock the ability to connect with other tools.
The verdict on integrations
Homebase wins. Integrations on all plans, no add-on required.
Where Each Tool Falls Short
Let's be honest about the weaknesses.
Homebase limitations
Scheduling features are more basic compared to When I Work, especially on lower plans
Payroll is an expensive add-on: $39/month base plus $6 per paid employee
Free plan is limited to 10 employees at one location
No task or project management tools
When I Work limitations
Time tracking costs extra on every plan
No built-in payroll: You need a separate tool
No hiring or onboarding tools
Integrations locked behind paid add-on
Customer support can be slow
Cost scales quickly as your team grows
So which one should you choose?
Choose Homebase if:
You have one location (the free plan is genuinely useful)
You want payroll, hiring, and scheduling in one tool
Simplicity matters more than scheduling power
You're on a tight budget with a larger team at one location
Choose When I Work if:
You have multiple locations and need powerful scheduling
Auto-scheduling is important to your workflow
You already have a separate payroll provider you're happy with
Advanced scheduling features are worth paying more for
Important
The easiest way to get this comparison wrong is to compare Homebase's free
tier with When I Work plus time tracking. Compare the tiers that give you the
features you actually need.
A Third Option Worth Considering
Here's the thing about Homebase vs When I Work: they're both trying to be a lot of things. Homebase is becoming an HR platform. When I Work is building toward enterprise workforce management. Both are accumulating features, complexity, and cost.
If you're a small team, say 5 to 50 employees, and what you actually need is scheduling and time tracking that just works, there's a case for something simpler.
Turnozo was built for exactly this use case. No payroll module. No hiring platform. No enterprise features you'll never touch. Just scheduling and time tracking, done well.
Here's how it stacks up:
Turnozo
Homebase Essentials
When I Work Essentials
Price (20 employees)
~$68.17/mo (€59.80)
$30/location/mo ($24 annual)
$80/mo with time tracking
Scheduling
Drag-and-drop, shift swap
Drag-and-drop
Drag-and-drop, auto-schedule
Time tracking
Included (GPS, one-tap)
Included
$4/user/mo Essentials with time
Shift swaps
Built-in, employee-initiated
Available
Available
Calendar sync
Google, Apple, Outlook
Limited
Yes
Setup time
~10 minutes
~15 minutes
~30 minutes
Per-location fees
No
Yes
No
Free trial
14-day Pro trial, no card
Free plan available
14 days
Turnozo doesn't try to compete with Homebase on HR features or When I Work on enterprise scheduling. It competes on simplicity, speed, and price for small teams that need the basics done really well.
The pricing is predictable. Essential is €9.99/month for up to 10 employees and one location, with every feature included. Pro is €2.99 per active employee per month from employee 11 or the second location, billed across the whole workforce. Prices exclude VAT. No per-location fees.
If that sounds more like what you need than an all-in-one HR platform, it's worth trying. Essential is cancel anytime.
Which one fits your team better?
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The Bottom Line
Homebase and When I Work are both strong products that have earned their user bases. Homebase is the better value for most small businesses, especially single-location teams. When I Work has the edge in scheduling features for more complex operations.
But don't assume those two are your only choices. The scheduling software market has gotten much more competitive, and newer tools like Turnozo are proving that you don't need to pay for a Swiss Army knife when all you need is a sharp blade.
Try the one that matches how your team actually works: not the one with the longest feature list, but the one that solves your specific problem with the least friction.
Tip
The easiest way to screw up this comparison is to price the teaser plans
instead of the plans your team would actually use. If you need shift swaps,
real time tracking, or multiple locations, compare those tiers and ignore the
marketing bait.
