Connecteam free vs paid: what the two free plans include and leave out
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Connecteam Reviews · Updated September 30, 2026 · Checked November 1, 2026 · Checked against Connecteam's pricing page and help center
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.
Connecteam has two free plans. The Small Business Plan is for teams of up to 10 users and includes nearly every feature, geofences and GPS breadcrumbs included. What it leaves out is payroll integration, the AI chat agent, and more than one schedule or time clock. A team of 10 or fewer that is happy to enter hours into payroll by hand can run on it.
The Limited plan is free for up to 30 users but much thinner: no GPS stamps, no timesheet export, and timesheets visible for 30 days only. A team of 11 to 30 that wants GPS clock-in or payroll sync needs at least the paid Operations Hub. The paid price is flat for the first 30 users per hub, starting at $29 a month billed yearly.
Connecteam Small Business Plan vs Limited plan at a glance
| Compared on | Small Business Plan | Limited plan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0, no expiration date | $0, no expiration date |
| User limit | Up to 10, active and archived users combined | Up to 30 |
| Hubs | All three: Operations, Communications, HR & Skills | Basics of each hub |
| Time clocks and schedules | 1 time clock, 1 schedule | 1 time clock, 1 schedule |
| GPS location stamps | Yes | No |
| Geofences | Unlimited | No |
| GPS breadcrumbs during shifts | Yes | No |
| Exportable timesheets | Yes | No; timesheets visible for the last 30 days only |
| Payroll integration | Not included | Not included |
| Auto-scheduling | Yes | No |
| Open shifts employees can claim | Yes | No |
| Jobs to track time against | Unlimited | Up to 5 |
| Courses | Unlimited, with quizzes | Up to 3, one section each, no quizzes |
| Time-off policies with balances | 9 | 0 |
| E-sign documents | Up to 10 | No |
| Onboarding packs | 2 | No |
| AI agent in chat | No | No |
| API access | No | No |
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.
What the Connecteam free plan leaves out
Connecteam markets the Small Business Plan as “all hubs and all features”, with an asterisk pointing to the full plan grid. Reading that grid column by column, the Small Business Plan matches the paid Expert plan on most rows. These are the gaps:
- Payroll integration. Paid Operations Hub plans sync hours to payroll providers. On the free plan, you export timesheets and enter them yourself.
- One schedule and one time clock. Advanced allows up to 6 schedules and 3 time clocks, Expert 12 and 6. Connecteam's help center says staying within one of each is a condition of the free plan.
- AI features in chat. The AI agent that answers questions from your company's resources, in-chat AI translation, and automatic translation of updates are not included.
- Reporting and API. No activity analytics dashboard and no API access; automated time clock reports are capped at 3.
- Smaller caps. Knowledge base storage is 500MB per knowledge base, onboarding is 2 packs, and pay rates can't be set per resource.
Security extras such as SSO, two-factor authentication for admins, and the mobile app lock are Enterprise features, so they are missing from every plan below it, free or paid.
What happens at 11 users
Connecteam's help center says that once you add your 11th user, you need to choose a plan (Small Business Plan FAQ). The count includes archived users, so a business with turnover can reach 10 while only a handful of people are active. Downsizing back under 10 doesn't move you back automatically; you switch to the Small Business Plan yourself from the upgrade page.
From there you have two routes. Teams of up to 30 can drop to the free Limited plan and lose most of the tools in the table above. Or you pay per hub, and each hub is billed on its own:
- Operations Hub only, Basic: $29 a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) for up to 30 users. You get GPS clock-in, payroll integration, and basic scheduling, plus the Limited tier of the other two hubs.
- Operations Hub Advanced, for geofences and repeating shifts: $49 a month yearly ($59 monthly).
- Expert on all three hubs, the closest match to what the free plan gave you: $99 x 3 = $297 a month billed yearly, or $3,564 a year.
Past 30 users, each extra user costs $0.80 to $5.00 a month on the Operations Hub and $0.50 to $3.60 on the other two, depending on tier and billing. Full numbers are on our Connecteam pricing page.
What reviewers say about the jump from free to paid
Small teams praise the free plan, and the complaints start at the 10-user line. The recurring points in our pulls are the cost of matching the free plan with three paid hubs, and archived users counting toward the limit.
“I have fewer than ten workers and use the free plan, which is a huge bonus.”Marie Gregory, Trustpilot, Sep 2026
“Learning curve for some features and the 3 category pricing gets expensive for companies larger than 10 users.”Brendan A., Capterra, Jun 2026
“I don't like Connecteam limits the free version to 10 users (old + new) and the paid version with all the same features (we use everything offered) is out of the price range of a small business.”Teresa B., Capterra, Aug 2025
Connecteam trial and refund terms
Paid plans start with a 14-day free trial of the Expert plan with no credit card required. At the end you subscribe, move to the free Limited plan (up to 30 users), or use the Small Business Plan if you have 10 users or fewer. Connecteam's help center says companies that sign up with 1 to 10 employees are placed on the Small Business Plan straight away (The Small Business Plan).
Refunds, from the pricing page FAQ: monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time, with no refunds for pre-paid amounts. Annual subscriptions get a prorated refund if cancelled within the first 30 days. There is no promo code and no money-back guarantee.
See Connecteam plansFree alternatives if you are over the limit
If you have 11 to 30 people and only need scheduling, Sling's free plan covers shift scheduling for up to 30 users, without a time clock. Jibble's free plan covers time tracking for unlimited users, without team chat. Homebase and 7shifts have free tiers for one location (up to 10 and 15 employees). We compare them in the best employee scheduling apps and in Connecteam alternatives.
Connecteam free vs paid FAQ
Is Connecteam really free?+
Yes, with limits. The Small Business Plan is $0 with no end date for up to 10 users and covers all three hubs, but it leaves out payroll integration and the AI chat agent, and allows one time clock and one schedule. The Limited plan is also free, for up to 30 users, with basic features only.
What happens when you add an 11th user to Connecteam's free plan?+
Connecteam's help center says that once you add the 11th user you need to choose a paid plan. Archived users count toward the 10, so a team with staff turnover can hit the limit with fewer than 10 active people. Teams of up to 30 can move to the free Limited plan instead, which has fewer features.
Does Connecteam's free plan include payroll?+
No. Connecteam has no built-in payroll on any plan, and the Small Business Plan also leaves out the payroll integration that paid Operations Hub plans include (Gusto, QuickBooks, Paychex, Xero, and ADP are named on the pricing page). On the free plan you export timesheets and enter hours in your payroll tool yourself.
Does Connecteam give refunds?+
Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled at any time, but Connecteam grants no refunds for pre-paid amounts. Annual subscriptions get a prorated refund if cancelled within the first 30 days. There is no money-back guarantee beyond that.