7shifts alternatives, matched to why you're switching
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Connecteam Reviews · Updated September 30, 2026 · Checked November 1, 2026 · Grounded in 100 recent 7shifts reviews
Disclosure: this site reviews Connecteam and earns a commission if you sign up for it through our links. Connecteam is one option below, and we say where it isn't the right fix.
Why restaurants look past 7shifts
Most 7shifts reviewers like the schedule. The trouble starts with the tools that touch money. In our pull of 50 recent Trustpilot reviews, the 19 unprompted ones average 1.16 out of 5, and most of them are about payroll taxes, tip pools, surprise charges or refunds. The 31 reviews 7shifts invited average 3.61. Compare that with Connecteam, whose 49 most recent Trustpilot reviews, collected through a link Connecteam shares, average 4.67. Connecteam had only one unprompted review in its sample, too few to compare against 7shifts' 19.
“But turning on their payroll and tip pool features was an absolute operational disaster.”James Saliba, Trustpilot, Sep 2026
The second theme is price. 7shifts shrank its free Comp plan to 20 employees in June 2025 and then to 15, and G2 reviewers describe features moving to higher plans.
“7shifts recently took out some key features we used to have and put them behind another pay level.”Verified User in Hospitality, G2, Apr 2025
The third is support. Several unprompted reviewers say they could only reach a chatbot when a bill or payroll run went wrong.
“You just get pushed off to automated chatbots, and good luck getting a real human on the phone to process a refund when they overcharge you.”Dan, Trustpilot, Aug 2026
Match the 7shifts alternative to your reason for leaving
| Compared on | Best alternative | Check before switching |
|---|---|---|
| Price per location adds up across sites | Connecteam: $29 a month billed yearly for the first 30 users, any number of locations | Chat, HR and training are separate hubs, each with its own price. Extra users past 30 cost more. |
| You need more than restaurant scheduling | Connecteam: forms, checklists, courses, documents with e-sign | Document e-sign starts on Advanced, and many tools need the Expert tier ($99 a month billed yearly). |
| Payroll or tip-pool errors | Connecteam with your own payroll provider (Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex and others) | Connecteam runs no payroll and lists no tip pooling. You export hours to a payroll service. |
| You want payroll in the same app | Homebase | Payroll is $49 a month plus $6 per employee after six free months. |
| You want a person on the phone | Homebase (live chat and phone from Essentials) | Connecteam offers chat support only, starting with an AI assistant. |
| You want free scheduling for a bigger team | Sling (free up to 30 users) | The free plan has no time clock, and Android reviewers report crashes. |
| You rely on sales-based labor forecasting | Deputy (Core plan) | No free plan, and a $30 monthly minimum on monthly billing. |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-09-30. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
The 5 best 7shifts alternatives
Connecteam
Flat price for 30 users, plus HR and trainingOn Trustpilot, the most recent reviews Connecteam collected through a link it shares average 4.67 from 49 reviews (Sep 21 to 29, 2026). 7shifts' invited reviews in our pull average 3.61 from 31. Pricing works differently too: 7shifts charges per location ($39.99 a month billed annually for Essentials, capped at 30 employees), while Connecteam's Operations Hub is a flat $29 a month billed yearly for the first 30 users, whatever the number of locations. It adds forms, checklists, courses and document e-signing, which 7shifts either sells separately or doesn't publish a price for. On the downside, Connecteam has no built-in payroll and lists no tip pooling, its own reviewers complain about features locked behind higher tiers, and support starts with an AI chat with no phone line.
Full Connecteam vs 7shifts comparison →Homebase
Built-in payroll and a phone lineHomebase also prices per location with unlimited employees on paid plans ($24 a month billed annually for Essentials, $30 monthly). Its payroll is full service and costs $49 a month plus $6 per paid employee after six free months. Its pricing page lists live chat and phone support from Essentials up, which answers the most common 7shifts support complaint. Onboarding, e-sign and HR tools sit on the top All-in-One plan ($96 a month billed annually).
Homebase alternatives and caveats →Sling
Free scheduling for up to 30 usersSling (owned by Toast) schedules up to 30 users for free and charges $1.70 to $3.40 per user a month billed annually for time tracking and more. A 7shifts reviewer asked the company to copy Sling's schedule design. The caveat is the mobile app: Sling's 100 newest Google Play reviews average 2.66, with repeated reports of crashes and missed notifications. Sling has no built-in payroll.
Sling alternatives and caveats →Deputy
Demand forecasting per user, not per locationDeputy covers the labor forecasting 7shifts saves for Premium: demand forecasting and auto-scheduling start on its Core plan at $6.50 per user a month billed annually. It has no free plan, monthly plans carry a $30 minimum spend, and its payroll (run by Paycor, US only) needs an annual Core or Pro plan. Its 20 unprompted Trustpilot reviews in our pull average 1.25.
Deputy alternatives and caveats →When I Work
Low per-user price for schedulingWhen I Work starts at $2.50 per user a month for scheduling, with time tracking as a $1.50 to $2 add-on. For a restaurant with a small staff at several sites, per-user pricing can cost less than 7shifts' per-location fee. It sends payroll customers to Rippling. Its pricing page doesn't say whether the listed prices are annual or monthly rates.
When I Work alternatives and caveats →
When to stay with 7shifts
Stay if you run restaurants and use the restaurant-specific tools. 7shifts has tip management, POS integrations that feed sales into the schedule, an hourly labor forecast on Premium, and its own payroll. None of the general-purpose tools on this list match all of that in one product. Its Capterra rating (4.7) is also a notch above Connecteam's (4.6). If the schedule works and payroll runs cleanly for you, moving staff to a new app costs more than it saves.
If price, support or the scope of the product is the problem, Connecteam is the alternative with the strongest recent reviews here, and it's free for up to 10 users. Read the full Connecteam vs 7shifts comparison or check Connecteam's pricing before you decide.
Try Connecteam freeHow we sourced this: on September 30, 2026 we pulled the 50 most recent 7shifts reviews from Trustpilot and 50 from G2. Trustpilot labels each review by how it was collected; we counted “Organic” reviews as unprompted and every invitation type as invited. Connecteam's figures come from its 50 most recent Trustpilot reviews, pulled the same day. We don't compare G2 sample averages because the two samples were collected differently. Prices come from each vendor's own pages on the same date. Quotes are verbatim. See our methodology.
7shifts alternatives FAQ
What are the best 7shifts alternatives?+
Connecteam if you want one flat price for up to 30 users plus training, forms and documents, and you're happy to keep payroll with a separate provider. Homebase if you want built-in payroll and phone support. Sling for free scheduling up to 30 users, Deputy for demand forecasting, and When I Work for low per-user scheduling.
What do 7shifts reviews say?+
We pulled 50 Trustpilot and 50 G2 reviews of 7shifts on September 30, 2026. Of the Trustpilot reviews, 31 were invited by 7shifts and average 3.61 (April 2023 to June 2026); 19 were unprompted and average 1.16 (October 2024 to September 2026). The unprompted reviews center on payroll and tip-pool errors, billing and refund disputes, and chatbot support. Reviewers still praise the scheduling tool itself.
Is Connecteam better than 7shifts?+
For teams that want more than restaurant scheduling, often yes: Connecteam's link-collected Trustpilot reviews average 4.67 against 3.61 for 7shifts' invited reviews, and it adds training, forms and documents. For a restaurant that wants tip pooling, POS-driven sales forecasting and payroll in one product, 7shifts does things Connecteam doesn't. On Capterra, 7shifts rates 4.7 and Connecteam 4.6.
Does 7shifts publish pricing?+
Yes, per location. Its own compare pages list Essentials at $39.99 a month billed annually ($44.99 monthly, up to 30 employees), Pro at $79.99 and Premium at $134.99, marked as new-customer pricing subject to change. The free Comp plan covers one location and up to 15 employees. Payroll is priced separately.