When I Work

Who it's for

When I Work fits a service business that wants scheduling, time tracking and team messaging together from the start, with messaging built into every tier rather than priced as an extra. It suits an owner evaluating tools seriously enough to use a full-access trial, rather than one who wants to run on a free tier indefinitely.

It also markets specifically to a wide range of shift-based industries, including restaurants, retail, healthcare, hospitality and field services, which overlaps directly with the trades and service businesses this site covers.

Tiers at a glance

Who should look elsewhere

A business that wants a permanent free plan rather than only a time-limited trial should look at Sling first, since its free tier covers real scheduling and messaging for a capped team size on an ongoing basis. See Sling.

A business that wants payroll available as a direct add-on inside the same scheduling platform, rather than only a payroll integration that exports data to a separate provider, is closer to what Deputy offers. See Deputy.

A business that has outgrown thirty or so employees and specifically wants HR features layered on top of scheduling should compare Deputy's HR add-on directly, since When I Work's tiers focus on scheduling, time tracking, reporting and integration access rather than HR administration.

What it does well

Team messaging is included in every tier rather than gated as a paid add-on, so a business does not need to upgrade just to get group communication working alongside scheduling.

The trial gives full access to scheduling, time tracking and messaging with no credit card required, which lets an owner test the whole product before deciding on a tier rather than a limited demo.

Shift trading is built in, letting staff swap or pick up open shifts directly while a manager keeps approval control, which cuts back-and-forth over covering a shift.

Payroll integrations connect scheduled and worked hours to payroll providers, including a preferred payroll partner relationship, so hours flow into a pay run rather than being re-entered by hand.

Limits to know

There is no ongoing free plan, only a time-limited trial, so a business that wants to run scheduling at no cost indefinitely will need to look elsewhere once the trial period ends.

Advanced scheduling rules, role permissions and custom reporting are reserved for the middle and top tiers, so a business on the entry tier that needs finer control over pay rules or reporting has to upgrade.

API access, webhooks and single sign-on are limited to the top tier, which matters for a business that wants to build its own integrations or enforce SSO login for a larger team.

What to check on pricing

When I Work's exact per-user rates for Essentials, Pro and Premium, the current trial length, and which specific reporting or integration features sit on each tier change periodically. Confirm current figures on the pricing table on this page and on the When I Work pricing page rather than relying on a fixed number here.

Alternatives and when they fit

• Sling if you want an ongoing free plan rather than only a trial, and your team fits within its free-tier user cap.
• Deputy if you want payroll offered as a direct add-on inside the same scheduling platform, with three clearly tiered paid plans.
• Homebase if you want scheduling and time tracking paired with hiring and onboarding tools rather than a scheduling-first tool with tiered add-ons.

How we reviewed it

We checked When I Work's pricing page directly for its three tiers, the trial length and access, and which features are reserved for the Pro and Premium tiers. We separately reviewed its features page for scheduling, time tracking, messaging, shift trading and reporting capabilities, its integrations page for the payroll and business-operations tools it connects with, and its homepage for the industries it markets to and its stated user base. We did not rely on any third-party review site for feature claims in this review, and we did not restate specific dollar or percentage figures shown on those pages in the text above.