# 7shifts vs Homebase: Pricing, Hidden Costs, Better Fit 7shifts vs Homebase in 2026: pricing, per-location costs, hidden upgrade traps, and which tool fits restaurants and multi-location teams better. Source: https://turnozo.com/blog/turnozo-vs-homebase-vs-7shifts Published: 2026-02-11 Updated: 2026-04-16 Category: comparisons Tags: turnozo, homebase, 7shifts, comparison, scheduling-software, alternatives If you're comparing **7shifts vs Homebase**, the real decision usually comes down to this: - Do you want restaurant-specific tools like POS-linked labor forecasting? - Do you want a free starting point that gets expensive once you add locations or features? - Or do you just want scheduling + time tracking without per-location pricing games? That is why this page focuses first on **7shifts vs Homebase** and their real pricing trade-offs. Turnozo is here as a simpler benchmark for what the cost looks like when you do not use a tiered, per-location model. I built Turnozo, so I'm biased. I'll be straightforward about where the others are better. You can verify everything here by checking each product's pricing page. I reviewed each tool's live pricing, feature set, and public documentation to compare what you actually pay once you need scheduling, time tracking, and shift management. Here's what matters. --- > **Calculator: Real Cost: Scheduling + Time Tracking:** Interactive element available in the full article. ## Quick Comparison | | **Turnozo** | **Homebase** | **7shifts** | | ------------------------- | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | | **Starting price** | €2.47/user/mo | Free (basic) | Free (very limited) | | **Full-feature price** | €2.47/user/mo | $59.95/location/mo | $76.99/location/mo | | **Pricing model** | Per employee | Per location | Per location | | **All features included** | Yes | No (4 tiers) | No (4 tiers) | | **Time tracking** | Included | Included (basic on free) | Included | | **GPS clock-in** | ✅ | Paid plans only | ✅ | | **Geofencing** | ✅ | Paid plans only | Paid plans | | **Shift swaps** | ✅ | Plus plan ($59.95/mo) | ✅ | | **Open shifts** | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | **Calendar sync** | ✅ (Google, Apple, Outlook) | ❌ | ✅ | | **Auto-scheduling** | ❌ | Paid plans | ✅ (Entrée+) | | **Team messaging** | Push notifications | ✅ | ✅ | | **Hiring tools** | ❌ | ✅ (job posts, applicant tracking) | ❌ | | **POS integration** | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ (Toast, Square, Clover) | | **Tip management** | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | **Payroll integrations** | ❌ | ✅ (Gusto, ADP, Paychex) | ✅ (ADP, Gusto, Paychex) | | **Free trial/plan** | free plan | Free plan | Free plan (1 location, limited) | | **Best for** | Small teams, any industry | Free start + hiring ecosystem | Restaurants specifically | --- ## Pricing: What You Actually Pay ### Turnozo: €2.47/employee/month ![Turnozo pricing and scheduling overview](/blog/screenshots/turnozo-homepage.png) One plan. Everything included: scheduling, time tracking, GPS clock-in, geofencing, timesheets, availability management, shift swaps, open shifts, calendar sync, mobile app. No tiers. No per-location fees. No add-ons. | Team Size | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | | ------------ | ------------ | ----------- | | 10 employees | ~$27 | ~$324 | | 20 employees | ~$54 | ~$648 | | 50 employees | ~$135 | ~$1,620 | ### Homebase: Free to $99.95/location/month ![Homebase employee scheduling software](/blog/screenshots/homebase-homepage.png) Homebase charges per location, not per employee. This is great if you have one location with 40 employees. Less great if you have three locations with 5 employees each. | Plan | Monthly/Location | What You Get | | -------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | **Basic** | Free | Basic scheduling, time clock, 1 location | | **Essentials** | $24.95 | + Overtime alerts, performance tracking | | **Plus** | $59.95 | + Shift swaps, departments, labor controls | | **All-in-One** | $99.95 | + HR tools, compliance, document storage | The pricing trap: **shift swaps require Plus ($59.95/mo).** Most teams need shift swaps. That makes the real starting price for a usable Homebase experience $59.95/month for most businesses. | Team Size | Free Plan | Essentials (1 loc) | Plus (1 loc) | Plus (2 locs) | | ------------ | --------- | ------------------ | ------------ | ------------- | | 10 employees | $0 | $24.95 | $59.95 | $119.90 | | 20 employees | $0 | $24.95 | $59.95 | $119.90 | | 50 employees | $0 | $24.95 | $59.95 | $119.90 | Notice the per-location model: 10 employees and 50 employees pay the same at one location. That's great for large single-site teams. For multi-location businesses, costs double or triple. **Common complaint on Reddit:** Homebase's [cancellation process is frustrating](https://www.reddit.com/search/?q=homebase+cancel). Multiple users report difficulty canceling subscriptions and unexpected charges after cancellation. Worth noting before you commit to a paid plan. ### 7shifts pricing in 2026: Free to $150/location/month ![7shifts restaurant scheduling software](/blog/screenshots/7shifts-homepage.png) 7shifts raised prices in late 2025. The Works went from $69.99 to $76.99/location. Their tiers are restaurant-industry focused: | Plan | Monthly/Location | What You Get | | ------------- | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | **Comp** | Free | Basic scheduling, 1 location, 30 employees max | | **Entrée** | $29.99 | + Time clock, daily reports, POS integration | | **The Works** | $76.99 | + Tip pooling, auto-scheduling, labor budgeting | | **Gourmet** | $150 | + Labor optimization, custom integrations | | Team Size | Comp (free) | Entrée (1 loc) | The Works (1 loc) | The Works (3 locs) | | ------------ | ------------ | -------------- | ----------------- | ------------------ | | 10 employees | $0 | $29.99 | $76.99 | $230.97 | | 20 employees | $0 | $29.99 | $76.99 | $230.97 | | 50 employees | N/A (30 max) | $29.99 | $76.99 | $230.97 | **Important context:** 7shifts [laid off 19% of staff in January 2024](https://betakit.com/7shifts-cuts-19-percent-of-staff-in-new-layoffs-to-start-2024/). This raised questions about the company's financial trajectory. They're still operating and the product works well, but it's worth knowing if you're making a long-term commitment. ### The real pricing comparison For a **20-person team** needing scheduling + time tracking + shift swaps: | Tool | Monthly Cost | Notes | | ----------------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------- | | **Turnozo** | **Free (≤10) / ~$54** | Everything included | | **Homebase** (Plus) | **$59.95** | Per location. Need shift swaps. | | **7shifts** (Entrée) | **$29.99** | No tip mgmt or labor budgeting | | **7shifts** (The Works) | **$76.99** | Full restaurant features | For a **20-person team across 2 locations**: | Tool | Monthly Cost | | -------------------- | --------------------- | | **Turnozo** | **Free (≤10) / ~$54** | | **Homebase** (Plus) | **$119.90** | | **7shifts** (Entrée) | **$59.98** | Turnozo's per-employee model scales linearly. Location-based pricing doubles with two sites. --- ## Feature Deep Dive ### Scheduling **7shifts has the most powerful scheduling engine.** Auto-scheduling based on availability, labor targets, and sales forecasts. If you run a restaurant where Friday dinner needs 12 staff and Tuesday lunch needs 4, 7shifts auto-generates the schedule using POS data. That's genuinely powerful and saves hours per week for busy restaurant managers. **Homebase has solid scheduling with good extras.** Auto-scheduling on paid plans, open shifts, and a clean drag-and-drop interface. Where Homebase stands out is the ecosystem: job posting, applicant tracking, onboarding, and payroll all connected to your schedule. New hires flow from the job post into the schedule seamlessly. **Turnozo is the fastest to build a schedule manually.** Drag-and-drop with availability overlay and instant conflict detection. I built a full 2-week schedule for 15 people in about 8 minutes. No auto-scheduling, which means you have full control but also full responsibility. For managers who want to decide who works when (not an algorithm), this is a feature. ### Time Tracking **Turnozo:** One-tap GPS clock-in from mobile. Geofencing available. Automatic timesheets with overtime flagging. All included. Worked reliably on both iOS and Android in testing. **Homebase:** Time clock included on all plans (even free), but the free version is basic: no GPS, no overtime alerts, no break tracking. Paid plans add geofencing, overtime controls, and break management. The paid time tracking is solid. **7shifts:** GPS clock-in via mobile app or through POS terminal integration (employees clock in through Toast/Square at the register). Tip tracking built in. Break compliance tracking for jurisdictions that require it. The POS clock-in is a restaurant-specific advantage that no other tool matches. ### Shift Management **Turnozo:** Employee-initiated shift swaps with manager approval. Open shift broadcasting to qualified employees. First to accept gets the shift. Simple and effective. **Homebase:** Shift swaps require the Plus plan ($59.95/mo). On the free and Essentials plans, swaps require manual manager intervention (text/call coordination). This is a significant limitation since shift swaps are a daily reality for most teams. **7shifts:** Shift trading and drop shifts included from the Entrée plan. Employees can post shifts for trade, and qualified coworkers can pick them up. Works well in restaurant environments where covering shifts is constant. ### Beyond Scheduling **Homebase is the broadest platform.** Hiring tools (job posts, applicant tracking, offer letters), HR features (document storage, employee onboarding), and payroll processing. If you're currently using separate tools for hiring, scheduling, and payroll, Homebase consolidates them. **7shifts goes deep on restaurant operations.** POS integration, tip pooling, labor cost vs. sales reporting, manager logbook for shift-to-shift communication. These aren't scheduling features, but they're indispensable for restaurant managers. **Turnozo stays focused.** Scheduling, time tracking, timesheets, availability. That's the product. If you need hiring tools, use a hiring tool. If you need payroll, use a payroll tool. Turnozo does scheduling well and doesn't try to be everything. ### Mobile Experience **7shifts** has separate manager and employee apps. The employee app is clean and simple. The manager app is feature-dense with labor reports, schedule editing, and approval workflows. Splitting them was a smart design decision. **Homebase** puts everything in one app: scheduling, time clock, messaging, hiring. It works but can feel crowded. Employees see job listings alongside their shifts, which doesn't always make sense. **Turnozo** is mobile-first. The app is the primary interface. Schedule, clock-in, availability, shift swaps. all in a clean interface. GPS clock-in worked reliably every time in testing. --- ## Pros and Cons Summary ### Turnozo **Pros:** - Cheapest option for multi-location teams - All features included in one price, no tier math - Fastest setup (scheduling in 15 minutes) - Simple and clean interface - Reliable GPS clock-in with geofencing **Cons:** - No built-in team messaging - No payroll integrations (yet) - No auto-scheduling or demand forecasting - No hiring or HR tools - Newer product, smaller user community ### Homebase **Pros:** - Genuinely useful free plan - Hiring + scheduling + payroll in one platform - Strong ecosystem for single-location businesses - Good onboarding experience - Large user community **Cons:** - Shift swaps locked behind $59.95/mo plan - Multi-location pricing stacks quickly - Free plan deliberately limited to push upgrades - Cancellation process is frustrating (documented Reddit complaints) - GPS and advanced time tracking require paid plans ### 7shifts **Pros:** - Best-in-class restaurant scheduling - POS integration with labor forecasting - Tip pooling and compliance tracking - Auto-scheduling based on sales data - Separate manager/employee apps **Cons:** - Overbuilt and overpriced for non-restaurant businesses - Key features locked behind $77-150/mo tiers - 19% staff layoff in Jan 2024 raises trajectory concerns - Free plan extremely limited (basic scheduling only) - Per-location pricing expensive for multi-site operations --- ## The Bottom Line **If you run a restaurant:** 7shifts. Nothing else understands the restaurant workflow as well. The POS integration and labor-vs-sales forecasting genuinely save money. **If you want free-to-start with hiring tools:** Homebase. The free plan is real, and the ecosystem (hiring + scheduling + payroll) is the broadest on this list. Just know that shift swaps cost $59.95/month. **If you want simple scheduling + time tracking at a fair price:** [Turnozo](https://app.turnozo.com/signup?ref=blog_en_turnozo_vs_homebase_vs_7shifts__intent_competitor_comparison&intent=competitor_comparison). One price, everything included, set up in 15 minutes. We don't try to replace your chat app, your hiring tool, or your payroll system. We just make scheduling fast and painless. Try all three. Turnozo has a free plan, Homebase has a free plan, 7shifts has a free plan. Make the decision with real usage, not marketing pages. --- > **IMPORTANT:** > If you're comparing these three, don't compare free plans to full-feature > plans. Compare the tiers that actually give you scheduling, time tracking, and > shift management without workarounds. That's where the real cost shows up. > **Quiz: Which of these 3 actually fits your team?:** Interactive element available in the full article. > **TIP:** > If you're comparing these tools for a 2+ location team, do the monthly math > before you fall for the free plan. Location-based pricing looks cheap until > your second site lands. ## Related reading Turn this page into a shortlist builder, not the end of the research. - [7 Best Homebase Alternatives](/blog/best-homebase-alternatives) if you want more low-cost options - [7 Best When I Work Alternatives](/blog/best-when-i-work-alternatives) if you are comparing the safer legacy picks - [Homebase vs. When I Work: Head-to-Head](/blog/homebase-vs-when-i-work) for the simpler two-tool comparison - [What Scheduling Software Really Costs](/blog/employee-scheduling-software-pricing) if budget is the main filter - [Best Employee Scheduling Software Compared](/blog/best-employee-scheduling-software) for the wider market view > **Turnozo CTA:** > Homebase charges per location. 7shifts charges per location. Turnozo charges > per employee. If you want clean pricing without tier math, get started free.