Best Shift Scheduling Software for Restaurants

Last Updated on September 30, 2025 by Ewen Finser

Creating accessible, user-friendly schedules for restaurants can be one of the most time-consuming tasks for managers and business owners, so choosing a tool to help automate this can be a considerable cost and time saver.
When it comes to scheduling software, it’s essential to choose a tool that is the right fit for your restaurant and needs. With a range of scheduling software available currently, consider which additional features are essential for your business to avoid having multiple systems. Some restaurants may need integrated payroll features, whereas others may need more tooling to help manage labor laws, for example.
We’ve created a roundup of our top tools for scheduling and what we like about each platform.

Some of the features to look for in shift scheduling software for restaurants: 

• Overall ease-of-use – With high turnover roles, you won’t have time to spend hours upskilling new employees. Look for tools that are easy to use, relatively intuitive, and enable users to learn their way around the software tool quickly. 
• Solid mobile app – a reliable mobile app is critical. With the majority of restaurant roles being non-desk-based, it’s essential that your team can access their schedules on the move.
• Multi-location functionality – If you have more than one location or if your restaurant may be expanding, you’ll want to have the ability to support tracking multiple locations. 
• Time-off and attendance tracking – A great tool should allow you to pull leave, days off, and worked shifts so that you can report on this for employee payroll.
• Ability to integrate with other tools – Some scheduling software tools won’t be able to do it all. With this in mind, you should look for tools that are able to integrate with systems you may need, such as payroll, HR, HRIS, or POS systems that you may use/need to use in the future.
• Shift swapping functionality – Employees should be able to trade or switch shifts with ease on both the software platform and app if needed. Shifts can change in a moment, and having the ability to switch these around easily is a significant value-add. 
• Automated notifications – opt for tools that have automated notifications to ensure your employees are reminded of upcoming shifts, new schedule updates, and other essential updates like shift swaps or time off. I like tools that go the extra mile and notify employers of late clock-ins or missed shifts to ensure that this can be managed as it happens. 

Quick overview of our top scheduling software picks: 

	Platform	Best for	Free trial	Pricing
1	Sling	Small to medium-sized restaurants that need a simple tool.	Yes – 15-day free trial available	Free plan (limited to 30 users).Paid plans range from $2-$4 per user per month.
2	7Shifts	Restaurants that need data-driven forecasting and schedule management.	Yes – 14-day free trial available	Free plan (limited to 15 users). Paid plans range from $44.99 – $149.99 per location per month.
3	Connecteam	Best all-in-one scheduling app for SMBs	Yes – 14-day free trial available	Free plan (limited to 10 users). Paid plans range from $35 – $119 per month.Custom pricing for enterprise organizations
4	Homebase	Best schedule and payroll management app for hourly workers	Yes – 14-day free trial available	Free plan (limited to 10 users). Paid plans range from $30 – $120 per location per month.
5	Deputy	Best for compliance and regulation-focused businesses	Yes – 31-day free trial available	No Free plan Paid plans range from $5.50-$10 per user per month.

Let’s take a deep dive into our software shortlist:  

1. Sling – Best lightweight and simple tool 

Sling is an excellent choice for restaurants that need a straightforward tool that is intuitive and easy to use. It has a free tier, so it’s a good fit for smaller businesses that need an affordable option that can scale as their business does.

Why Sling is a good fit for restaurant schedule management:

• Overall, Sling is really easy to use, so it’s an excellent option for lean teams that don’t have time to spend on lengthy upskilling processes. 
• Shift scheduling is easy to do, and once schedules are published, notifications can be sent to employees, notifying them instantly. 
• Time sheets and time clocking can be run from within the app; this is ideal for on-site employees who need to track shift hours.
• Built-in communication tools and chats help keep teams aligned and able to provide in-app updates if there are issues that arise. 
• You can set up custom newsfeeds or a restaurant-wide communication channel if needed to keep teams aligned. 
• Labor cost management can be managed ahead of time, as expected restaurant shifts can be calculated as they’re scheduled. 

Cons:

• Limited to specific countries only – this means it’s not an ideal tool for global teams. 
• Lacks advanced analytics and forecasting compared to other tools.

Pricing:

• Sling has three tiers to choose from, including a free plan available for up to 30 users. 
• The Premium Plan starts at $2.00 per user per month and includes everything in the free plan plus mobile time tracking, overtime tracking, labor cost management, and more.
• The Business Plan starts at $4.00 per user per month and includes everything in the Premium plan, along with reporting, kiosk time tracking, PTO management, and more.
• Pricing above is for monthly billing; Sling offers a small discount for annual billing.

2. 7Shifts – Best tool for data-driven teams & businesses 

7Shifts is purpose-built for the restaurant industry and is an excellent option for businesses that service the bakery, bar, cafe, pizzeria, quick service, and franchise industries. 7Shifts has an easy-to-manage interface and offers standardized schedule management and AI-powered forecasting, which helps teams keep labor costs under control.

Why 7Shifts is a good fit for restaurant schedule management:

• Easy drag-and-drop scheduling – 7Shifts’ schedule management is easy to manage with several templates available to use and drag-and-drop functionality, helping teams build schedules quickly and with ease. 
• Labor cost management & compliance – 7Shifts analyzes previous schedules and trends to help you plan and assign the correct number of staff to ensure you’re optimizing your schedule at the right time for your restaurant. This is a great value add for organizations that are looking to maintain compliance with the assistance of warnings, which notify you if you’re over-scheduled shifts as they happen.

Cons:

• It can be costly for small restaurants or cafes with limited staff 
• The mobile app is less stable than other tools
• The platform can be glitchy. Intermittent downtime can lead to issues and unexpected scheduling mishaps.

Pricing:

7Shifts has a 14-day free trial as well as a free plan available, which allows up to 15 employees. The free plan includes basic scheduling, communication, and time off requests. 

7Shifts has three paid tiers to choose from:

• The Essentials starts at $44.99 per location per month. This plan includes everything in the free plan plus communication tools, basic time clocking, and more. This plan is limited to 30 employees. 
• The Pro Plan starts at $89.99 per location per month and includes everything in the  Essentials plan, along with more advanced PTO management, advanced time clocking, employee performance management, and more. 
• The Premium Plan starts at $149.99 per location per month and includes everything in the  Pro Plan, along with tip and task management, advanced labor forecasting, and insights. 
• Pricing above refers to monthly billing; 7Shifts offers discounts for annual billing.

3. Connecteam – Best all-in-one scheduling app

Connecteam’s app is a great all-in-one tool that’s best suited for small to medium-sized businesses that need additional features outside of just schedule management.
Connecteam can be used to manage tasks, operations, HR, and more.

Why Connecteam is a good fit for restaurant schedule management:

• Customised restaurant staff management software & onboarding: Connecteam has designed and built software specifically with restaurants in mind. You can customise the onboarding and training processes, which means that teams can communicate and streamline operations more effectively.
• AI-powered industry-tailored schedule creation: I like Connecteam’s AI features, which will take auto-schedule shifts according to currently unassigned shifts and create your roster for you. Connecteam uses AI to match skills, roles, certifications or qualifications, and experience to available shifts, taking into account employee preferences too, which makes creating schedules more efficient when needing to consider role and experience-defined shifts.
• Intuitive schedule creation: Schedules can be easily created with drag and drop functionalities and then managed and viewed on the mobile app, ensuring employees don’t miss critical updates. I really like that they have a “read-only” schedule view, which means this can be shared with managers or employees who need to view information, which helps to avoid accidental changes. 

Cons:

• Requires an internet connection to work (no offline functionality available).  
• Although it packs a lot of features, it can be overwhelming for users and requires a steeper learning curve than other tools. 

Pricing:

• Connecteam has a 14-day free trial and a free plan. The free plan allows up to 10 employees. The free plan includes multiple features. 

Connecteam has four paid tiers to choose from:

• The Basic plan starts at $35 per month. This plan includes everything in the free plan as well as payroll integration, basic scheduling, clocking in/out, and unlimited checklists and tasks. This plan is limited to 30 employees with a charge per additional employee. 
• The Advanced Plan starts at $59 per month and includes everything in the Basic plan, along with more advanced time clock features and 10 Geofence sites, additional scheduling features, and more. This plan is limited to 30 employees with a charge per additional employee.
• The Expert Plan starts at $119 per month and includes everything in the Advanced Plan, along with unlimited shift attachments, Geofence sites, auto-assign features, and more. This plan is limited to 30 employees with a charge per additional employee.
• The Enterprise Plan has customized pricing plans based on your business requirements and includes a wide range of advanced features.
• Pricing above refers to monthly billing with small discounts offered for annual billing plans. 

4.Homebase – Best schedule and payroll management app for hourly workers 

Homebase is an easy-to-use, intuitive, and strong scheduling app that is an excellent option for small to medium-sized businesses with shift-based or hourly workers.  Homebase does more than just schedule management; it has great integrated AI features, payroll, and automated wage calculation, onboarding, timesheets, and more. Homebase’s timesheet and location-specific Geofencing are another great value add for businesses that need to manage location-based time clocks, shifts, and schedules carefully. 

Why Homebase is a good fit for restaurant schedule management:

• AI-Scheduling Assistant: Creating schedules can be time-consuming. I really like the Homebase AI-powered scheduling features, which create schedules based on employee availability and work history. It takes into account experience and time off to ensure the schedules are created fairly and with ease.

• Notifications: Homebase also notifies you of any scheduling conflicts, and users can quickly swap shifts or request additional shifts from the mobile app. Missed shifts or late clock-ins are also sent as notifications to managers, directly helping employers manage issues at the last minute.

• AI-powered automated wage calculations: When setting up schedules, Homebase calculates wages automatically so that you can forecast ahead of time, ensuring you’re not over- or under-allocated for the week. AI also picks up errors and helps correct timecards where details have been missed, including missed breaks, overtime discrepancies, and more. 

• Automated payroll summaries: Homebase payroll summaries that can feed directly into their integrated payroll system are a great value add for restaurants that need to calculate wages and estimate payroll for a specified timeframe. The integrated payroll feature means that there is no system disparity and a cumbersome integration process. This automated summary helps to reduce manual effort and error, and helps businesses save significant time.

Cons:

• Some employees may be hesitant to enable geo-location on their mobile devices, so this may be a hurdle for potential users. 
• Homebase does not have advanced benefits management features compared to similar tools.

Pricing:

• Homebase has a free trial and a free plan, which is best for small organizations of 1-10 employees. The free plan includes basic time tracking and scheduling. 

There are three paid-for tiers, which are detailed below:

• The Essentials Plan costs $30 per location per month (unlimited employees). The Essentials plan. This plan includes advanced scheduling, time tracking, and POS integration capabilities. 
• The Plus Plan starts at $70 per location per month, which includes everything in Essentials, plus hiring and PTO (paid time off) functionalities. 
• The All-in-One plan starts at $120 per location per month and includes everything in the Plus Plan as well as advanced features like HR and compliance, employee onboarding, labor cost management, and more. 

5.Deputy – Best scheduling tool for compliance-focused teams

Deputy is an excellent restaurant scheduling software platform for businesses that need access to features like automated shift scheduling, integrations with POS or payroll software, and those who are keenly focused on compliance. With automations that help you manage overtime, schedules, and breaks, businesses can stay on top of regulatory requirements with ease.

Why Deputy is a good fit for restaurant schedule management:

• AI-optimized schedule management: Deputy’s AI-driven automated schedule management is an excellent way for small businesses to save time and fill gaps quickly. Deputy identifies open shifts and matches these to employees who can then accept or decline within minutes. 

• Federal & State Labor Law Compliance: Deputy stands out from a lot of similar software in terms of their deep focus on Labor Law and Compliance, which can be managed from within the app. With many states enforcing stricter regulations around breaks, overtime, and time off, organizations must manage these regulations carefully. Deputy helps identify non-compliances, flags any areas for concern, and helps streamline reporting to help restaurants stay compliant.

Cons:

• No free plan available 
• It can be overly complex for smaller restaurants or cafes. 
• Costs can add up quickly if you have a larger workforce that needs access to some of the higher-tier features

Pricing:

• No free plan available, but a full-feature 30-day free trial is available. 

There are three paid-for tiers, which are detailed below:

• The Lite Plan costs $5.50 per user per month. The Lite plan includes basic scheduling, time clocks, labor law compliance, and more. 
• The Core Plan starts at $7.25 per user per month. This plan includes everything in the Lite plan as well as advanced scheduling, auto-approval for timesheets, biometrics time clocking, and more. 
• The Pro Plan starts at $10 per user per month. It includes everything in the Core Plan as well as additional features such as advanced timesheets, custom access levels, analytics, messaging, and more. 

Which tool is right for me? Here are our quick takeaways!

• Multi-location & scaling restaurants: Look at 7Shifts or Connecteam
• Smaller independent restaurants: Choose Homebase or Sling 
• Compliance-focused restaurants: Choose Deputy