Deputy vs Planday

Deputy8.4Visit Planday8.2Visit

Higher score Deputy #3 in Availability Management 8.4/10 31-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 2 features Visit Deputy

vs

Planday #4 in Availability Management 8.2/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 2 features Visit Planday

• Deputy fits best

  Businesses needing affordable workforce scheduling

• Planday fits best

  Teams needing rota and shift management

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Side by side

Feature	Deputy 8.4/10 Visit ↗	Planday 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.4	8.2
Ranking	#3 in Availability Management	#4 in Availability Management
Best for	Businesses needing affordable workforce scheduling	Teams needing rota and shift management
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$5/user/mo	£2.99/user/mo
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	31 days	30 days
Free trial length	31 days · no card needed	30 days · no card needed
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Mobile
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Support	Email, Live chat, Tickets, Docs · 24/7	Email, Live chat, Phone, Docs
Integrations	11 integrations	8 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Deputy 0/2 · Planday 0/2
Booking page	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Availability rules	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Resource types	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Calendar sync	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Locations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Native integrations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Collects availability and time-off requests alongside manager approvals. Employees can claim open shifts, swap shifts, or offer them to others. Integrates with payroll, HR, and point-of-sale systems.	Employees can share availability, request open shifts and swap shifts. Reusable schedule templates, time tracking and leave management cover core rota work. Starter starts at £2.99 per user monthly; a 30-day trial is available.
Cons	There is no free plan; paid plans start at $5 per user monthly. Auto-scheduling and demand forecasting are listed under Core, not Lite. Pro is needed for custom access levels and single sign-on.	There is no free plan. Plus pricing is not shown, and Pro is custom-priced. Auto-scheduling is limited to the Pro plan.
Our verdict	Deputy brings scheduling and workforce management tools together for businesses with shift-based teams. Its features include employee availability submissions, time-off requests and approvals, open shifts, shift swaps, time tracking, and… Read the review →	For businesses with hourly and shift-based employees, Planday brings rota creation, time tracking, leave management and staff communication into one workforce-management product. Managers can build schedules from reusable templates, while… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Deputy — where it wins

  • Collects availability and time-off requests alongside manager approvals.
  • Employees can claim open shifts, swap shifts, or offer them to others.
  • Integrates with payroll, HR, and point-of-sale systems.

  Where it doesn't

  • There is no free plan; paid plans start at $5 per user monthly.
  • Auto-scheduling and demand forecasting are listed under Core, not Lite.
  • Pro is needed for custom access levels and single sign-on.

• Planday — where it wins

  • Employees can share availability, request open shifts and swap shifts.
  • Reusable schedule templates, time tracking and leave management cover core rota work.
  • Starter starts at £2.99 per user monthly; a 30-day trial is available.

  Where it doesn't

  • There is no free plan.
  • Plus pricing is not shown, and Pro is custom-priced.
  • Auto-scheduling is limited to the Pro plan.

• Deputy8.4/10 · 31-day trial

  Deputy brings scheduling, availability, time off, and time tracking together.

  Visit DeputyFull verdict →
• Planday8.2/10 · 30-day trial

  A rota and workforce tool with availability, shift swaps and time tracking from £2.99 per user monthly.

  Visit PlandayFull verdict →