Turnozo vs Planday: Better for Small Teams? (2026)

Let's talk about the elephant in the room.

Planday and Turnozo charge almost the exact same price. Planday Starter: €2.49/user/month. Turnozo: €2.47/user/month.

Two cents apart. So how do you choose?

Here's the honest breakdown. what each tool actually gives you, where they differ, and who should pick what.

Quick Comparison

Pricing: Almost Identical. Until You Need More

At first glance, it's a coin flip. But zoom in.

Turnozo: €2.47/user/month. everything included.

• Scheduling, time tracking, timesheets, availability, shift swaps, GPS clock-in, calendar sync. all of it. One price. No tiers.

Planday Starter: €2.49/user/month. basic features only.

• Scheduling and basic time tracking. That's it.
• Want leave management? Plus plan: €4.49/user/month
• Want integrations and API access? Plus plan: €4.49/user/month
• Want advanced payroll reporting? Plus plan: €4.49/user/month
• Minimum 5 users on any plan

The math for a 15-person team:

If you only need basic scheduling, they're neck-and-neck. The moment you need leave management, integrations, or proper reporting, Planday costs 2x more.

The Xero Factor

Planday was acquired by Xero in 2021 for around $183M. It's now "Planday from Xero."

What that means for you:

The good:

• Financial stability. Planday isn't going anywhere
• Xero integration is excellent (if you use Xero for accounting)
• More resources for development

The not-so-good:

• Product decisions serve Xero's strategy, not just scheduling users
• Feature requests go through corporate prioritization
• The product has gotten more complex over time (more features ≠ better)
• Support responses can feel... corporate

Turnozo is independent. Built by a small team, for small teams. When you email support, you're talking to someone who built the product. Feature requests don't get lost in a corporate backlog.

This isn't a "big company bad" argument. It's about alignment. A tool built for enterprise-scale organizations will always feel heavy when all you need is to schedule 12 employees.

Features: Side by Side

Scheduling

Both tools handle scheduling well. Drag-and-drop, shift templates, recurring schedules. standard stuff.

Planday's edge: Revenue forecasting and demand-based scheduling on Pro plan. Useful for multi-location businesses tracking sales per labor hour.

Turnozo's edge: Simpler interface, faster to learn. Most managers are scheduling within 10 minutes of signing up. No training needed.

Time Tracking

Planday: Basic clock-in/out on Starter. Detailed time tracking with break management on Plus.

Turnozo: Full time tracking on every plan. GPS clock-in, break tracking, timesheet generation. One tap to clock in from the mobile app.

Availability & Leave

Planday: Leave management is Plus-only (€4.49/user/month). Starter doesn't include it.

Turnozo: Availability management included. Employees submit when they can work, you build the schedule around it.

Communication

Planday: Built-in team messaging on all plans.

Turnozo: Push notifications for schedule changes. No built-in chat (we think your team already has WhatsApp/Slack. you don't need another messaging app).

Integrations

Planday: POS integrations, payroll systems, Xero (obviously). But most integrations require the Plus plan.

Turnozo: Calendar sync (Google, Apple, Outlook), timesheet export. We're focused on doing scheduling and time tracking really well rather than being a platform.

Mobile App

Both have mobile apps for iOS and Android. Both let employees view schedules, clock in/out, and request changes.

Planday's app has more features (matches their broader platform). Turnozo's app is faster and simpler (matches our philosophy).

Who Should Pick What

Pick Turnozo if:

• You have a small team (5-50 people)
• You want all features at one price. no tier anxiety
• You value simplicity over feature count
• You need scheduling + time tracking and nothing else
• You want to be set up in under an hour
• You don't use Xero for accounting

Pick Planday if:

• You have 20+ employees across multiple locations
• You need revenue-based scheduling (forecasting demand)
• You use Xero for accounting (the integration is excellent)
• You need built-in team messaging
• You're OK paying more for advanced features (Plus plan)
• You need auto-scheduling (Pro plan, custom pricing)

Maybe pick neither if:

• You need a free plan → look at Homebase or Connecteam
• You need heavy compliance features → look at Deputy
• You need full HR suite → Planday Pro or a dedicated HR platform

The Honest Take

Planday is a solid product. It's been around since 2004, it's backed by Xero, and it works.

This is one matchup. For the full landscape, see our complete scheduling software comparison.

But it's built for a different scale. Their ideal customer has 50-200 employees, multiple locations, and needs revenue forecasting tied to scheduling. If that's you, Planday is great.

Turnozo is built for the café owner with 8 employees. The cleaning company with 15 workers. The retail shop with 20 part-timers. Teams where the manager IS the scheduler, and they need something that works without a training manual.

Same price point. Different philosophies. Different teams.

Screenshots

Planday

Planday pricing. Starter, Plus, and Pro tiers. Prices hidden behind cookie banner but start at €2.49/user/month.

Planday homepage. "from Xero" branding prominent.

Turnozo

Visit turnozo.com to see our interface. No cookie banners, no corporate maze. Just the product.

Try Both

Seriously. Both offer 30-day free trials. Sign up for both, run them side by side for a week, and pick the one your team actually uses.

We're confident you'll find Turnozo faster to set up and easier to use. But don't take our word for it. try it free.

---

Related reading:

• 7 Best When I Work Alternatives for 2026
• Turnozo vs Homebase vs 7shifts: An Honest Comparison