Deputy vs When I Work

Verdict

Deputy is our pick for an hourly business where compliance is a real risk: break planning, Fair Workweek and labor-law rules, with payroll and HR available from the same vendor. When I Work is our pick for a team that wants lean per-user scheduling built around shift swaps, OpenShifts and GPS clock-in, and that already has a payroll provider. For a free-start alternative, see Homebase vs When I Work.

Both cover staff scheduling and the time-clock side of field team management. The deciding facts are your compliance exposure, your headcount and whether payroll should live in the same tool.

Choose Deputy if

• Compliance is a worry. Deputy lists break planning, Fair Workweek compliance and labor-law compliance among its features.

• You want auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and task management in the same tool, with higher plans adding custom access levels, SSO and live chat support.

• You want payroll and HR as add-ons from the same vendor.

• You run a larger operation or franchise across industries such as retail, healthcare, construction or security.

Choose When I Work if

• You want shift swapping, time-off approvals and OpenShifts to fill gaps, with scheduling based on availability and eligibility.

• You want GPS clock-in with geofencing, available through its time and attendance add-on.

• You want in-app messaging, so managers need not share personal phone numbers.

• You use Gusto, ADP, Rippling or QuickBooks for payroll and want the schedule to feed it.

What is Deputy used for?

Deputy is used to schedule hourly staff, track their time and keep shifts compliant. Its homepage lists scheduling, an employee time clock, timesheets, break planning, Fair Workweek and labor-law compliance, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, task management, communication and HR reporting, with payroll integrations.

It names hospitality, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, education, security, agriculture, call centers and entertainment among its industries, for single locations through franchises. See the Deputy review for more.

How do Deputy and When I Work differ on pricing structure?

Both charge per user, but the add-on logic differs. Deputy sells Lite, Core and Pro plans per user, counts admins and managers as users, states a monthly minimum spend, and sells payroll, HR, Messaging+ and Analytics+ as add-ons, with the last two included in Pro.

When I Work sells Essentials, Pro and Premium per user, with unlimited users and a free trial, and treats time and attendance as a toggleable add-on across all plans.

Compare on your headcount in the pricing tables on Deputy pricing and When I Work, and add the add-ons you really need. A very small team should check Deputy's minimum first.

Does either have payroll?

Deputy does, as an add-on with a per-user charge and a base fee, alongside an HR add-on. When I Work's pages we checked describe integrations with Rippling, ADP, QuickBooks and Gusto instead of native payroll.

If you already pay payroll elsewhere, that difference may not matter; if you want one invoice for scheduling and payroll, it does.

Side by side

Limits to know

Deputy's per-user count includes managers and its monthly minimum can weigh on a tiny team. When I Work's time clock and GPS tools are an add-on, and its pages we checked do not list compliance tools like break planning or Fair Workweek support.

We could not confirm contract terms beyond trial and cancel-anytime statements, and we did not verify either vendor's app-store experience.

Which businesses each suits

A multi-location restaurant, clinic or retailer facing break and scheduling rules tends to fit Deputy. A small team that mostly needs fast schedules, swaps and a location-verified clock-in tends to fit When I Work. A restaurant comparing a restaurant-first tool can also look at 7shifts.