Deputy alternatives for UK small businesses: five rota apps compared on price

TL;DR: The cheapest paid Deputy alternative for most UK teams is Findmyshift, at £21 a month for up to 20 staff or £31 for up to 100, on prices checked on 2 November 2026. RotaCloud Standard is £60 a month for 21 to 30 employees and Planday Starter £2.99 per user, while Connecteam and Sling have free plans. Deputy Lite is £3.60 per user a month billed monthly, excluding taxes.

Key takeaways

• The best Deputy alternatives for UK teams are Findmyshift, RotaCloud, Planday, Connecteam and Sling, and all five cost less than Deputy Lite for a 30-person team on monthly billing.
• Deputy charges per user: Lite is £3.60 a month billed monthly or £3.25 billed yearly, excluding taxes, with a £20 minimum monthly spend on monthly plans.
• For a 30-person team, three years of Deputy Lite on monthly billing comes to £3,888 before taxes.
• Findmyshift is the cheapest paid alternative, at £21 a month for up to 20 staff and £31 for up to 100.
• RotaCloud and Planday cost less per person than Deputy Lite for most team sizes, but clocking in is an add-on on RotaCloud and leave management needs Planday Plus.
• Deputy is still strong for auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and multi-site groups, so compare the plan you would actually use.

What are the best Deputy alternatives in the UK?

The best Deputy alternatives for UK small businesses are Findmyshift, RotaCloud, Planday, Connecteam and Sling. Findmyshift is the cheapest paid option, RotaCloud suits teams that want banded pricing with phone support, Planday suits hospitality, and Connecteam and Sling have free plans for small teams.

We checked every price on each company’s pricing page on 2 November 2026, in a browser located in the UK, on monthly billing. Deputy shows its prices excluding taxes, and Connecteam and Sling show theirs in US dollars, so check the live page before you sign up.

App and plan	How it charges	Price for 30 staff a month	Free option
Deputy Lite	Per user	£108, excluding taxes	Free trial
Findmyshift Business	Per team	£31 for up to 100 staff	Free for 5 staff
RotaCloud Standard	By employee band	£60 for 21 to 30 employees	30-day trial
Planday Starter	Per user	£89.70	30-day trial
Connecteam Operations Basic	First 30 users, then per user	$35	Free for up to 10 users
Sling Premium	Per user	$60	Scheduling free for up to 30 users

For a wider comparison, including what each rota app costs for a 15-person team, see our guide to the best rota app for UK small businesses. We compare the same rota apps against RotaCloud and Planday in our guides to RotaCloud alternatives and Planday alternatives.

Why compare Deputy alternatives?

The main reason is how Deputy charges. It bills for every person on the rota, so the cost grows with each hire, and its UK prices exclude taxes. A £20 minimum monthly spend applies on monthly plans. Teams that only need rotas, swaps and holiday requests may also find they pay for automation they do not use.

The other reason is fit. Deputy is built for scale, with auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and location hierarchies. A single café or a small practice may get the same week planned faster in a simpler app.

What does Deputy cost as your team grows?

On monthly billing, Deputy Lite costs £3.60 per user a month and Core £4.75, excluding taxes, according to Deputy’s UK pricing page on 2 November 2026. Paying yearly brings them to £3.25 and £4.25. For a 30-person team that is £108 a month on Lite, or £3,888 over three years.

Team size	Lite, monthly billing	Core, monthly billing	Lite over three years
10 staff	£36	£47.50	£1,296
30 staff	£108	£142.50	£3,888
50 staff	£180	£237.50	£6,480
100 staff	£360	£475	£12,960

Lite includes rotas, timesheets, time clocking, labour law compliance, shift swaps and automated leave accruals. Core adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, biometric time clocking and wage and labour budgets. Pro is £7.25 per user a month on monthly billing and adds custom access levels, pay centres and single sign-on.

What do the alternatives cost over three years?

Over three years on monthly billing, a 30-person team would pay £3,888 on Deputy Lite, £3,229 on Planday Starter, £2,160 on RotaCloud Standard and £1,116 on Findmyshift Business, before any add-ons. Connecteam Operations Basic would cost $1,260 and Sling Premium $2,160.

App and plan, 30 staff	A month	Over three years
Deputy Lite, excluding taxes	£108	£3,888
Planday Starter	£89.70	£3,229
RotaCloud Standard	£60	£2,160
Findmyshift Business	£31	£1,116
Connecteam Operations Basic	$35	$1,260
Sling Premium	$60	$2,160

Paying yearly is cheaper on most of these apps, and clocking in, extra managers or a higher plan add to the totals. Price the plan you would actually use, at the team size you expect in a year.

What should a Deputy alternative do for a UK business?

A Deputy alternative should still warn you when a rota breaks UK working time rules, send shifts to staff phones, and handle swaps, holiday and clocking in. Check these during the free trial with a real week of shifts, not a demo rota.

• Working time warnings. Breaks, 11 hours between shifts, weekly hours and the stricter limits for staff under 18.
• A staff app. Shifts, reminders, swaps and holiday requests on each person’s phone.
• Clocking in and timesheets. Included in the plan, or priced as an add-on you have counted.
• Leave management. Allowances and approvals, including holiday for irregular hours workers.
• Payroll export. Approved hours sent to your payroll software or your accountant.
• Data export. Rotas, timesheets and leave records you can take with you if you leave.

Deputy Lite lists rotas, timesheets, time clocking, labour law compliance, shift swaps, leave accruals and payroll integrations. The alternatives cover most of the same ground, but some put clocking in or leave management on a higher plan or an add-on.

Findmyshift: the cheapest Deputy alternative

Findmyshift is a rota app that charges one price per team, not per person. On 2 November 2026 its Starter plan was £21 a month for up to 20 team members and one manager, and Business £31 a month for up to 100 team members and 100 managers. Paying yearly brings them to £18 and £28 a month.

Where it beats Deputy: the price does not rise with each hire, so a 30-person team pays £31 a month instead of £108. Where Deputy is stronger: auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and wage budgets. Findmyshift’s free plan covers 5 team members, but only with one week of forward planning.

RotaCloud: a Deputy alternative with banded pricing

RotaCloud is rota software that charges by employee band, with no setup fees and a 30-day free trial that needs no payment details. On 2 November 2026 its Standard plan was £40 a month for 11 to 20 employees and £60 for 21 to 30, and Pro £60 and £90. Live chat and phone support come with every plan.

Where it beats Deputy: a 30-person team pays £60 a month on Standard instead of £108 on Deputy Lite, with holiday, sickness, shift swaps and labour costs included. Where Deputy is stronger: clocking in comes with every Deputy plan, while RotaCloud sells Time and Attendance as an add-on.

Planday: a Deputy alternative for hospitality

Planday is staff scheduling software that charges per user. On 2 November 2026 its Starter plan was £2.99 per user a month with a minimum of 5 users, and Plus £3.99 per user plus a £30 monthly fee, with a minimum of 10 users. Every plan comes with a 30-day free trial and no credit card.

Where it beats Deputy: Starter costs less per person and lists working time rules and compliance warnings, and Plus adds revenue reporting for restaurants and bars. Where Deputy is stronger: leave and absence management only comes with Planday Plus, while Deputy includes automated leave accruals in Lite.

Connecteam and Sling: free Deputy alternatives, priced in dollars

Connecteam’s Small Business Plan is free for up to 10 users, and its Operations Basic plan is $35 a month for the first 30 users on monthly billing, then $1 for each extra user. Sling’s scheduling is free for up to 30 users, and Premium is $2 per user a month on monthly billing.

Where they beat Deputy: a small team can plan its rota for nothing. Where Deputy is stronger: prices in pounds, labour law compliance in every plan, and rotas, timesheets and leave in one product. Check that holiday and time tools in either app match UK rules before you rely on them.

When should you stay with Deputy?

Stay with Deputy if you use what it does best: auto-scheduling from demand forecasts, wage budgets across several sites, biometric clocking in and payroll integrations. Switching takes setup time, so compare the full cost of the plan you would move to, including add-ons and extra managers, before you leave.

Is there a rota app with no fee per staff member?

Yes. Findmyshift charges per team and Connecteam a flat fee for the first 30 users, and some businesses have their own rota app built. Our staff rota app is set up for the business that uses it at one fixed price, agreed in writing before any work starts, with no fee per staff member.

It is our own product, so we have left it out of the price comparison above. It is worth pricing when three years of a per-user plan runs into thousands of pounds, or when your rota has to follow rules an off-the-shelf app cannot. If you only need to plan and print one week at a time, our free rota maker does that in your browser with no sign-up.

How do you switch from Deputy without missing a shift?

Switch in a quiet week, not the week before Christmas. Export your staff list, timesheets and leave balances from Deputy first, set up the new app with your usual shift patterns, then run both side by side for two weeks before you cancel.

1. Export your data from Deputy: staff details, timesheets and leave balances.
2. Set up the new app with roles, sites and your usual week saved as a template.
3. Check the rules for breaks, rest between shifts and weekly hours, using our guide to staff rota rules in the UK.
4. Invite staff and show them how to see shifts, swap and book holiday on their phone.
5. Run both for two weeks, publishing in the new app and keeping Deputy as a backup.
6. Cancel Deputy at the end of a billing period, after checking its notice terms.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest Deputy alternative?

Findmyshift, at £21 a month for up to 20 staff or £31 for up to 100, on prices checked on 2 November 2026. Connecteam is free for up to 10 users and Sling’s scheduling is free for up to 30.

Is RotaCloud cheaper than Deputy?

For most team sizes, yes. RotaCloud Standard is £60 a month for 21 to 30 employees, against £108 for 30 users on Deputy Lite billed monthly. Clocking in is an add-on on RotaCloud and included in every Deputy plan.

Are Deputy’s UK prices shown with VAT?

No. Deputy shows its UK prices excluding all applicable taxes, so VAT is added on top of the per-user price.

Which Deputy alternative suits restaurants and pubs?

Planday Plus adds revenue integration and reporting next to labour costs, and its pricing page features restaurant customers. Findmyshift keeps the cost fixed as you add seasonal staff, which helps in a busy summer or at Christmas.

Is there a free alternative to Deputy?

Yes. Findmyshift is free for 5 staff, Connecteam for up to 10 users and Sling’s scheduling for up to 30. To plan one week at a time, our free rota maker works in the browser with no sign-up.

Want a rota without a per-user bill?

The right rota app is the one your managers use every week at a cost that still makes sense when you hire. If an off-the-shelf app fits, start with a free trial. If none does, our HR and rota systems service builds a rota app around how your business works, with UK working time checks built in.