Connecteam vs Homebase: flat fee per 30 users or a price per location
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Connecteam Reviews · Updated November 1, 2026
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.
Pick Homebase if you run one location with a lot of hourly staff, or if you want payroll run inside the same app. Its Essentials plan is $24 a month per location (billed annually) with no cap on employees, and its payroll add-on files taxes for you. Restaurants that pool tips from a POS also get its Tip Manager; we found no tip pooling in Connecteam.
Pick Connecteam if your people work across several sites or out in the field, or if you want forms, checklists, training courses, and team chat in the same app as the time clock. Its price is flat for the first 30 users and does not go up per location (Advanced covers up to 10 geofenced sites), and teams of 10 or fewer get every hub free. The trade-offs: no built-in payroll, no phone support, and reviewers say the useful features sit in higher tiers.
Connecteam vs Homebase at a glance
| Compared on | Connecteam | Homebase |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per hub, flat for the first 30 users, then per extra user. Operations hub: Basic $29, Advanced $49, Expert $99 a month billed annually ($35, $59, $119 monthly) | Per location, unlimited employees. Essentials $24, Plus $56, All-in-One $96 a month billed annually ($30, $70, $120 monthly) |
| Free plan | Small Business Plan: up to 10 users, all hubs, no payroll integration. Limited plan: up to 30 users, basic features | Basic: 1 location, up to 10 employees |
| Free trial | 14 days of Expert, no credit card | 14 days of All-in-One, no credit card; drops to Basic afterwards |
| Payroll | Integrations only (Gusto, QuickBooks, Xero, Paychex Flex, ADP, PrismHR, MYOB) | Built-in full-service US payroll add-on: $49 a month + $6 per employee paid, first 6 months free |
| Training and forms | Courses and quizzes (HR & Skills hub); unlimited forms and checklists on every Operations tier | No training courses found; checklists through the Task Manager add-on ($13 per location) |
| Team chat | Personal and group chat on every plan, including Limited | Real-time messaging on every plan; channels, announcements, and read receipts from Essentials |
| GPS and geofence | GPS stamps on Basic; geofence on Advanced (10 sites) and Expert (unlimited); location tracked only while clocked in | Location-based clock-in on Essentials and up; photo capture on tablets |
| Trustpilot, like for like | Collected through a link Connecteam shares: 4.67 (49 reviews, Sep 21 to 29, 2026). Unprompted: 1 review, too few | Invited: 4.22 (93 reviews). Unprompted: 3.86 (7 reviews). Jul 14 to Sep 30, 2026 |
| Capterra | 4.6 (5,322 reviews) | 4.6 (1,156 reviews) |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-11-01. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
What Connecteam and Homebase cost for a 15- and a 40-person team
The two companies count differently. Connecteam charges per hub, with one price for the first 30 users and a per-user fee after that. Homebase charges per location and lets you add as many employees as you like. So the answer depends on how many sites you have more than on headcount.
Assumptions
- One location. Each extra Homebase location adds its plan price again.
- Headcount includes managers; we count everyone who logs in as a user.
- Published list prices on 2026-11-01, before tax, with no promotions. The first figure is the monthly cost on annual billing; the figure in brackets is month-to-month.
- The job: scheduling, a mobile time clock with a location check, and team chat. Connecteam needs its Operations hub for this (chat comes with the Limited access to the Communications hub that every paid hub includes). Geofencing starts at Advanced; Basic records GPS stamps only.
| Plan | 15 people | 40 people | How we got it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecteam Operations Basic | $29 ($35) | $37 ($45) | Flat to 30 users, then $0.80 ($1.00) per extra user: $29 + 10 × $0.80 |
| Connecteam Operations Advanced | $49 ($59) | $74 ($89) | $49 + 10 × $2.50; monthly $59 + 10 × $3.00 |
| Homebase Essentials | $24 ($30) | $24 ($30) | One location, unlimited employees |
| Homebase All-in-One | $96 ($120) | $96 ($120) | Needed for onboarding, e-sign, HR, and labor cost tools |
| Homebase payroll add-on | $139 | $289 | $49 + $6 per employee paid, after 6 free months, if everyone is paid that month |
At one site, Homebase Essentials is the cheaper way to get scheduling and a location checked time clock, at both sizes. The picture changes with more sites. Three locations on Homebase Essentials cost $72 a month billed annually ($90 monthly), about the same as Connecteam Advanced at $74 for 40 people. That tier covers up to 10 geofenced sites, 3 time clocks, and 6 schedules. Under 10 people, both are free. Our Connecteam pricing breakdown and free vs paid guide cover the tiers in more detail.
“We have more than 23 members so we do not qualify for the basic service.”Christine Gonzalves, Trustpilot, Jul 2026
“Learning curve for some features and the 3 category pricing gets expensive for companies larger than 10 users.”Brendan A., Capterra, Jun 2026
Payroll: Homebase runs it, Connecteam hands off to a provider
This is the clearest difference. Homebase sells full-service US payroll that can “make direct payments and automatically file taxes”, using the hours from its own time clock. It costs $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid, on any plan, and the first 6 months are free. Right now Homebase also gives 6 months of its Plus plan to customers who add payroll.
Connecteam has no payroll of its own. Paid plans export approved hours to Gusto, QuickBooks, Xero, Paychex Flex, ADP, PrismHR, or MYOB, so you keep paying a separate provider. The free Small Business Plan leaves the payroll integration out. Reviewers who want one app for hours and pay notice this, and some report export gaps with custom pay codes.
“I wish it included direct payroll, and invoicing within the app so that we could pay our employees directly from the time sheets they submit”Shane C., Capterra, Jun 2026
“Laura took time to work through our very complex payroll tax payments for Q1 and provided us the information we needed!”Tammy in Tampa, Trustpilot, Aug 2026
“Due to the lack of help I was confused on an off cycle payroll run so taxes were removed from my account twice.”Denise, Trustpilot, Sep 2026
Beyond scheduling: what else each app covers
Homebase is built around scheduling, the time clock, payroll, and hiring. Job posts and applicant tracking are free, and onboarding packets, e-sign, document storage, and HR advice come with All-in-One. We found no training courses on Homebase, and checklists come through the $13 per location Task Manager add-on.
Connecteam puts more of the day-to-day in one app: unlimited forms and checklists on every Operations tier, courses and quizzes, a knowledge base, recognition, surveys, and an announcements feed. The HR & Skills hub is priced separately from the Operations hub, and reviewers complain that the features they want sit one tier up. If you have staff at several job sites, read how its location tracking works too: some employees object to the 2026 requirement to set location access to “Always”, though Connecteam says it records location only while someone is clocked in.
“With Connecteam, I have my work schedule, tasks, messages, and time tracking all within one app.”Baybee S., G2, Feb 2026
“Homebase is so easy to learn and use! I can't believe how fast and easy it was for our whole team and us to get up and running.”Ben L, Trustpilot, Sep 2026
Connecteam vs Homebase reviews, compared like for like
An overall Trustpilot score mostly shows whether a company asks customers for reviews, so we split each sample by how the reviews were collected. Among reviews gathered through the company's own links, Connecteam's 49 most recent average 4.67 and Homebase's 93 most recent invited reviews average 4.22. The windows differ: nine days in September 2026 for Connecteam, eleven weeks for Homebase. Homebase's 7 unprompted reviews average 3.86; our Connecteam sample held one unprompted review, so there is no fair comparison on that side. On Capterra both sit at 4.6. Our Trustpilot and Capterra pages quote the critical reviews as well as the good ones, and the methodology explains how we pull them.
Where Homebase wins
- Cheaper at a single location: Essentials is $24 a month billed annually for unlimited employees, against $49 for Connecteam's geofencing tier.
- Built-in US payroll with tax filing ($49 a month + $6 per employee paid, first 6 months free). Connecteam only integrates with payroll providers.
- Tip Manager ($25 per location) pulls tips from the POS and calculates the pool. We found no tip pooling in Connecteam.
- Free hiring tools: job posts and applicant tracking on every plan.
- Phone help. Homebase reviewers describe calls with support agents; Connecteam offers no phone support.
- Sales-forecast scheduling, overtime alerts, and labor cost tools on All-in-One.
Still deciding? See the best Homebase alternatives, how Homebase compares with When I Work, or start a 14-day Connecteam trial with no credit card.
Connecteam vs Homebase FAQ
Is Connecteam or Homebase cheaper?+
For one location, Homebase is cheaper. Its Essentials plan is $24 a month billed annually ($30 monthly) per location with unlimited employees, while Connecteam's Operations hub costs $29 a month for the first 30 users on Basic and $49 on Advanced, the tier with geofencing. At 40 people on one site, Homebase Essentials is still $24 and Connecteam Advanced is $74. With three or more locations the gap closes, because Homebase charges each location separately.
Does Connecteam have payroll like Homebase?+
No. Homebase sells built-in, full-service US payroll as an add-on for $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid, with the first 6 months free. Connecteam has no built-in payroll. It exports hours to payroll providers such as Gusto, QuickBooks, Xero, Paychex Flex, ADP, PrismHR, and MYOB, and its free Small Business Plan does not include the payroll integration.
Are Connecteam and Homebase free for small teams?+
Both have a free plan capped at 10 people. Homebase Basic covers 1 location and up to 10 employees with weekly scheduling. Connecteam's Small Business Plan covers up to 10 users with all three hubs, minus the payroll integration. Connecteam also has a free Limited plan for up to 30 users with basic features.
Which has better reviews, Connecteam or Homebase?+
Both hold 4.6 on Capterra (Connecteam from 5,322 reviews, Homebase from 1,156). On Trustpilot, comparing reviews each company collected through its own links, Connecteam's 49 most recent average 4.67 (Sep 21 to 29, 2026) and Homebase's 93 most recent invited reviews average 4.22 (Jul 14 to Sep 30, 2026). Homebase's 7 unprompted reviews average 3.86; Connecteam had only one unprompted review in the sample, too few to compare.