When I Work Alternatives: What to Look For, and When to Stay Put
30 October 2026 · The Rosterly team · 4 min read
The main When I Work alternatives for small shift-based teams are Deputy, 7shifts and Rosterly. Deputy suits teams that need award interpretation, 7shifts suits restaurants that want POS-driven labor targets, and Rosterly suits growing teams that want one flat price instead of a per-user bill. Stay on When I Work if you rely on its native apps, integrations or API.
When I Work is a long-established scheduling app with a large user base. Teams usually look elsewhere for one of three reasons: the bill grows with every hire, they need something it doesn't do, or they want something simpler. This post walks through each reason and which alternative fits.
What When I Work offers today
When we checked its pricing page on 17 October 2026, When I Work listed:
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Plans: Essentials at $2.50 per user per month (single location), Pro at $5 (multi-location) and Premium at $8.
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Trial: 14 days with every feature, no credit card.
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Included: time tracking and attendance on each plan; scheduling, team messaging, shift swaps and payroll and POS integrations on Essentials.
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Higher tiers: advanced scheduling rules and custom reporting on Pro; API access, webhooks and SSO on Premium.
That's a strong product. Before switching, be clear about which of these you'd be giving up.
Reason 1: the bill grows with every hire
Per-user pricing is fair when your headcount is stable. It stings when you hire for summer, add casuals or open a second site that needs Pro. A team of 40 on Pro at $5 per user is $200 a month before tax, and each new hire adds another $5.
Alternatives that change the maths:
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Rosterly charges one flat price per workspace: A$29, A$59 or A$119 a month for up to 10, 25 or 60 staff.
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7shifts charges per location with employee limits, which works well for one or two restaurants.
Award interpretation and penalty rates (Australia). Deputy's plans include award interpretation, which matters if you'd otherwise calculate penalty rates by hand. See Rosterly vs Deputy.
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Restaurant-specific tools. 7shifts offers labour targets from POS sales data, tip management on add-ons and a free plan for a single small restaurant. See Rosterly vs 7shifts.
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A free plan. When I Work doesn't list one, while Sling is free for up to 30 users for scheduling and messaging. See Rosterly vs Sling.
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Skills checked before assignment. Rosterly checks a shift's skill and each person's leave before anyone is assigned, and before a cover request is even sent.
Reason 3: you want something simpler
Some teams use a fraction of what they pay for. If you mostly need a roster, swaps with approval, leave requests, a time clock and an export for payroll, a simpler tool can be faster for managers and easier for staff. Count how many features you actually used last month.
What to check in any alternative
Whichever way you lean, test the replacement on the same points:
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Monthly cost now and at your headcount in a year.
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Whether swaps keep the original person rostered until a manager approves.
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Skills and leave checks before assignment.
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How staff access their shifts: app, browser or both.
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What format approved hours export in, and whether your payroll accepts it.
If you do move, the safest pattern is the same whichever tool you pick:
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Export or screenshot your current roster and a recent timesheet so you have a reference.
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Add your people, roles and skills to the new tool, and rebuild one typical week.
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Run both side by side for a week. Build next week in the new tool first and check it against the old one.
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Invite staff in small groups, starting with a senior team member who can help others.
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Pick a go-live date, publish from the new tool and stop editing the old one.
Keep your When I Work account until your first payroll run from the new tool has gone through cleanly.
When to stay on When I Work
Switching has a cost: setup, retraining and a few weeks of change. Stay put if:
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your staff rely on a native iPhone app today
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you use the payroll or POS integrations and would otherwise retype hours
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you need API access, webhooks or single sign-on
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the per-user bill is fine at your size and the team is happy
Rosterly runs in any browser on phones and computers. It doesn't have built-in payroll or POS integrations; approved hours export to CSV instead. If those matter to you, When I Work may simply be the better fit.