Homebase vs When I Work

Verdict

Homebase is our pick for a small restaurant, shop or salon at one location that wants a free start, per-location pricing and payroll, hiring and tips tools under the same login. When I Work is our pick for a team that wants a per-user scheduling app built around shift swaps, OpenShifts, GPS clock-in and payroll integrations. For a restaurant-specific alternative, see 7shifts.

Both cover staff scheduling and the time-clock side of field team management. The decisive facts are your headcount, how many locations you run, and whether you want payroll from the same vendor.

Choose Homebase if

• You want to start free. The Basic plan covers one location with basic scheduling and time tracking and point-of-sale integration, limited to a small number of employees.

• You want payroll, hiring and tip tools as add-ons: payroll is available on all plans, with Tip Manager, background checks, a task manager and hiring tools sold separately.

• You want the time clock to verify punches by PIN, photo or GPS and geofencing, with missed punches and overtime flagged automatically.

• You want built-in payroll with tax filing and direct deposit, plus hiring, onboarding and compliance tools, from the same vendor.

• You want a price that does not grow with each hire. Paid plans are priced per location with unlimited employees.

Choose When I Work if

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

• You want GPS clock-in with geofencing to confirm staff are on site, which it offers through its time and attendance add-on.

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

• You want in-app messaging so managers do not need staff members' personal phone numbers.

Is Homebase free to use?

Yes, for a small team. Homebase's Basic plan is free for one location and includes basic scheduling and time tracking with point-of-sale integration, but it caps the number of employees and limits timesheet history.

Paid tiers add unlimited employees, advanced scheduling and time tracking, team communication, and at the higher levels an AI scheduling assistant, PTO controls, onboarding and HR compliance tools. Payroll is separate from every plan. See the pricing table on Homebase pricing for figures.

Is Homebase a good scheduling app?

For a one-location hourly business, yes. It combines a free entry plan, scheduling, a time clock and optional payroll and hiring under one subscription, and paid tiers include live support channels while the free plan relies on app and AI chat support.

Its limits are the employee cap on the free plan and the fact that advanced scheduling is a paid feature. Read the full Homebase review for the details.

How does When I Work compare on price structure?

When I Work uses per-user pricing on three plans, Essentials, Pro and Premium, with unlimited users and a free trial that needs no credit card. Essentials covers auto scheduling, multi-location support, templates, forecasting, messaging, shift swapping and payroll and POS integrations. Pro adds custom rules, role permissions and custom reporting, and Premium adds API access, webhooks and SSO.

Time and attendance is a toggleable add-on, so budget for it if you need clocking. The two models cross over: per-location pricing favors a larger team at one site, while per-user pricing favors a small team spread over several sites. See When I Work and its pricing table.

Side by side

Limits to know

Homebase's free plan limits employees and timesheet history, and several features are separate add-ons. When I Work's time clock and GPS tools are an add-on, and the pages we checked list payroll integrations rather than payroll of its own.

We could not confirm contract terms beyond the cancel-anytime statement on When I Work's pricing page.

Which businesses each suits

A single-site cafe, retail shop or salon with a handful of staff that wants a free start tends to fit Homebase. A multi-site team, or one already using a payroll provider that When I Work integrates with, tends to fit When I Work. For a field crew with vehicles, see also Deputy vs When I Work.