Employee Scheduling Software
Best Employee Scheduling Software for Restaurants
Restaurants schedule many part-time and young workers around volatile demand.
- products that fit
- 7
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What matters for restaurants
Minor-labor rules
The scheduler should flag hours limits for workers under 18.
Fair workweek compliance
Where fair workweek laws apply, the tool should track advance notice and calculate premiums for late schedule changes.
Role and station scheduling
Coverage depends on the mix of front and back of house roles.
Sales-based labor targets
Managers compare labor cost to forecast sales.
Our top picks
- Best overall
Highest LeadChange Score here (7.5/10), with 9 of 11 core employee scheduling capabilities verified.
From $2.50/employee/mo
- Best value
Lowest published list cost at 25 employees ($50/mo) among products scoring at or above the median.
From $2/employee/mo
Employee scheduling software for restaurants, ranked
Ranked by LeadChange Score from verified facts. Prices are published list prices, each linked to its source.
When I Work
Best for Hourly, shift-based teams in restaurants, retail and healthcare
When I Work is a mobile-first scheduling and time-tracking tool for hourly, shift-based teams, priced publicly from $2.50 per user per month with no setup fee or contract. It is focused on scheduling and time, so payroll runs through integrations, and there is no free plan.
Sling
Best for Shift-based teams in restaurants and retail
Scheduling, time tracking and team messaging for shift-based small and mid-sized businesses, with a free plan for up to 30 users. Paid tiers are $2 and $4 per user per month, and kiosk time tracking, reports and PTO management sit on the Business tier.
- Pricing model
- Per user
Homebase
Best for Small hourly teams in restaurants and retail
Homebase is built for small hourly businesses such as restaurants and retail that want scheduling, time tracking and payroll in one app, starting with a free plan. Pricing is per location, so cost rises with location count and add-ons.
- Pricing model
- Tiered plans
- SOC 2 Type II
- Yes
7shifts
Best for Independent restaurants and franchisees
7shifts is an HR platform built for restaurants, from independents to enterprise groups, with a free plan for single locations of up to 15 employees and per-location pricing rather than per-employee fees. Scheduling and time clocking are the core; payroll is US only and billed as a separate add-on.
- Pricing model
- Tiered plans
ZoomShift
Best for Small hourly teams replacing spreadsheet schedules
ZoomShift is a low-cost scheduling and time clock tool for small hourly teams, with a free plan up to 20 users and paid plans at $2 or $4 per active team member per month. Overtime warnings and geofenced clock-in sit on the $4 Premium plan.
- Pricing model
- Per user
Workforce.com
Best for Hospitality, retail, hotel and social care operators wanting scheduling, HR and payroll in one system
Workforce.com combines scheduling, time and attendance, HR and payroll in one platform for shift-based hospitality, retail, hotel and social care teams. Pricing is quote-only, and the public REST API with webhooks and 150+ integrations suit teams that want to connect POS and payroll data.
- Pricing model
- Quote only
QuickBooks Time
Best for Businesses already running QuickBooks Online
Time tracking and scheduling for small and mid-sized businesses, with GPS geofencing, a time kiosk and native QuickBooks sync. The pricing page states plans require QuickBooks Online, and costs rise from $20 plus $10 per user to $40 plus $12 per user for GPS mileage and project tracking.
- Pricing model
- Base fee + per employee
Find your fit
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Popular comparisons
How we research
This ranking of employee scheduling software for restaurants reweights the LeadChange Score: capability coverage 35%, pricing transparency & value 15%, integrations & API 10%, security & compliance 15%, fit & support 15%, and data confidence 10%. Only products with a verified fact showing they serve this segment are listed.
- verified data points
- 13
- sources
- 9
Segment requirements
Minor-labor rules, fair workweek compliance, role and station scheduling, and sales-based labor targets
Changelog
First published.
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Data sources
Every value on this page links to its source below. Primary sources are the vendor's or authority's own pages.
- When I Work pricing page · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- Toast pricing page · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- When I Work website · primary source, checked Oct 6, 2026
- Homebase pricing page · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- Homebase website · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- 7shifts pricing page · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- ZoomShift pricing page · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- Workforce.com pricing page · secondary source, checked Oct 5, 2026
- Intuit pricing page · primary source, checked Oct 5, 2026