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

TL;DR: The cheapest RotaCloud alternative for most UK teams is Findmyshift, at £31 a month for up to 100 staff with time clocking included, on prices checked on 2 November 2026. RotaCloud Standard is £60 a month for 21 to 30 employees, and its Time and Attendance add-on takes that to £87. Planday Starter is £89.70 a month for 30 staff with time tracking, and Deputy Lite £108 before taxes.

Key takeaways

• The best RotaCloud alternatives for UK teams are Findmyshift, Deputy, Planday, Connecteam and Sling, and all five include clocking in or time tracking on the plan we priced.
• RotaCloud charges by employee band, and the count includes you, your admins and your managers. Standard is £40 a month for 11 to 20 employees and £60 for 21 to 30 on monthly billing.
• Clocking in is an add-on on RotaCloud: Time and Attendance adds £27 a month for 21 to 30 employees, which takes Standard to £87.
• Findmyshift is the cheapest paid RotaCloud alternative, at £31 a month for up to 100 staff with time clocking and time off included.
• Planday Starter costs about the same as RotaCloud with clocking in, at £89.70 a month for 30 staff, but holiday management needs Planday Plus.
• RotaCloud is still a good choice if your headcount sits well inside a band, you want phone support on every plan, or you pay yearly and get two months free.

What are the best RotaCloud alternatives in the UK?

The best RotaCloud alternatives for UK small businesses are Findmyshift, Deputy, Planday, Connecteam and Sling. Findmyshift is the cheapest paid option, Deputy suits growing teams that want clocking in on every plan, 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 and again on 3 November, 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	Clocking in
RotaCloud Standard	By employee band	£60 for 21 to 30 employees	Add-on, £27 a month
Findmyshift Business	Per team	£31 for up to 100 staff	Included
Deputy Lite	Per user	£108, excluding taxes	Included
Planday Starter	Per user, in bundles of five	£89.70	Included
Connecteam Operations Basic	First 30 users, then per user	$35	Included
Sling Premium	Per user	$60	Included

We compare the same rota apps against Deputy and Planday in our guides to Deputy alternatives and Planday alternatives, and for a 15-person team in our guide to the best rota app for UK small businesses.

Why compare RotaCloud alternatives?

RotaCloud prices by employee band, so the bill moves in steps instead of with each hire. A team of 20 pays £40 a month on Standard, and the 21st person takes it to £60. Because the count includes you, your admins and your managers, a pub with 18 staff and three managers already sits in the 21 to 30 band.

The second reason is clocking in. RotaCloud Standard covers rotas, holiday, time off in lieu, sickness, shift swaps and labour costs, but Time and Attendance is a separate add-on. If your staff will clock in on their phones, price RotaCloud with the add-on before you compare it with anything else.

RotaCloud also has no free plan. It offers a 30-day free trial with no payment details, while three of the RotaCloud alternatives here, Findmyshift, Connecteam and Sling, have free plans for small teams.

What does RotaCloud cost as your team grows?

RotaCloud is rota software priced by employee band. On monthly billing, Standard costs £20 a month for 6 to 10 employees, £40 for 11 to 20, £60 for 21 to 30 and £100 for 41 to 50, according to RotaCloud’s pricing page on 2 November 2026. Time and Attendance adds £9, £18, £27 and £45 a month for the same bands. Paying yearly costs ten months’ price for twelve.

Team size, including managers	Standard a month	With Time and Attendance	With clocking in over three years
10 people	£20	£29	£1,044
20 people	£40	£58	£2,088
30 people	£60	£87	£3,132
50 people	£100	£145	£5,220
100 people	£200	£290	£10,440

Standard includes holiday, time off in lieu, sickness, shift swaps, labour costs, reporting, integrations, and free live chat and phone support. Pro costs half as much again, £90 a month for 21 to 30 employees, and adds labour forecasting against sales, budget caps, document storage and rules for leave requests. Above 500 employees, RotaCloud quotes a custom price.

What do the alternatives cost over three years?

Over three years on monthly billing, a 30-person team with clocking in would pay £3,888 on Deputy Lite, £3,229 on Planday Starter, £3,132 on RotaCloud Standard with Time and Attendance and £1,116 on Findmyshift Business. 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 with Time and Attendance	£87	£3,132
RotaCloud Standard without clocking in	£60	£2,160
Findmyshift Business	£31	£1,116
Connecteam Operations Basic	$35	$1,260
Sling Premium	$60	$2,160

Without clocking in, RotaCloud Standard is the cheapest of the pound-priced plans after Findmyshift. With it, RotaCloud and Planday Starter cost almost the same for 30 staff, at £87 and £89.70 a month, and Deputy Lite costs £108 before taxes. Paying yearly lowers most of these totals, so price each rota app on the billing you would actually choose.

What should a RotaCloud alternative do for a UK business?

A RotaCloud alternative should do what RotaCloud Standard already does for UK teams: holiday, sickness, shift swaps and labour costs, with shifts on every phone. Then check the two things RotaCloud does not include on Standard: clocking in, and a free plan for a small team.

• Holiday and time off. Allowances, approvals and holiday for irregular hours workers, on the plan you price.
• Clocking in. Included in the plan, or an add-on you have counted.
• Working time rules. Breaks, 11 hours of rest between shifts and the stricter limits for staff under 18.
• Support you can reach. RotaCloud includes live chat and phone support on every plan, so check what the alternative offers on yours.
• 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.

Test each rota app with a real week of shifts during the free trial, with your managers counted in the price.

Findmyshift: the cheapest RotaCloud alternative

Findmyshift is a rota app that charges one price per team. On 2 November 2026 its Starter plan was £21 a month for up to 20 staff and one manager, and Business £31 a month for up to 100 staff and 100 managers. Time clocking and timesheets come with every plan, including the free one for 5 staff, and time off with every paid plan.

Where it beats RotaCloud: a 30-person team with clocking in pays £31 a month instead of £87, and adding managers does not move you up a band. Where RotaCloud is stronger: phone support comes with every RotaCloud plan, while Findmyshift offers telephone support only on its £62 Enterprise plan. RotaCloud Pro also forecasts labour against sales, which Findmyshift’s plan table does not list.

Deputy: a RotaCloud alternative with clocking in on every plan

Deputy is staff scheduling software that charges per user. On 2 November 2026 its Lite plan was £3.60 per user a month on monthly billing and Core £4.75, excluding taxes, with a £20 minimum monthly spend on monthly plans. Lite includes time clocking, labour law compliance, shift swaps and automated leave accruals.

Where it beats RotaCloud: clocking in comes with every plan, and Core adds auto-scheduling and demand forecasting. Per-user pricing can also work out cheaper just above a band edge: 21 people on Deputy Lite cost £75.60 a month before taxes, against £87 on RotaCloud Standard with Time and Attendance. Where RotaCloud is stronger: at the top of a band, such as 30 people, RotaCloud with clocking in costs £87 against £108 plus taxes on Deputy Lite.

Planday: a RotaCloud alternative for hospitality

Planday is a rota app that charges per user, and anyone with a login counts as a 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. Planday bills in bundles of five, so a team of 23 is billed for 25.

Where it beats RotaCloud: Starter includes time tracking and working time compliance warnings, so 30 staff cost £89.70 a month with no add-on, and Plus adds revenue reporting for restaurants and bars. Where RotaCloud is stronger: holiday and absence management needs Planday Plus, at £149.70 a month for 30 staff, and Planday offers phone call-back support only on its Pro plan.

Connecteam and Sling: free RotaCloud 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, with GPS clocking in included. Sling’s scheduling and time-off requests are free for up to 30 users, and Premium adds mobile time tracking for $2 per user a month.

Where they beat RotaCloud: a small team can plan its rota for nothing, which RotaCloud only allows during its 30-day trial. Where RotaCloud is stronger: prices in pounds, holiday and sickness in one plan, and phone support. On Connecteam, time off sits in a separate HR hub with its own price.

When should you stay with RotaCloud?

Stay with RotaCloud if your headcount sits well inside a band, if you rely on its phone support, or if you use Pro’s labour forecasting against sales and budget caps. Paying yearly also helps: Standard for 21 to 30 employees costs £600 a year, which works out at £50 a month.

Before you leave for one of these RotaCloud alternatives, count the setup time a move takes, and check whether a yearly plan still has months to run.

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

Yes. Findmyshift charges one price for up to 100 staff and Connecteam a flat fee for the first 30 users, and some businesses have a rota app built for them. Our staff rota app is set up around the business that uses it, at one fixed price agreed in writing before any work starts, with no fee per staff member and no employee bands.

We have left it out of the price tables because it is our own product. It is worth a quote when your team keeps crossing bands, or when your rules do not fit an off-the-shelf app. To plan and print a single week instead, our free rota maker runs in your browser with no sign-up.

How do you switch from RotaCloud without missing a shift?

Pick a quiet week, and if you pay yearly, time the move for your renewal. Export your staff list, leave balances and timesheets from RotaCloud first, set up the new rota app with your usual week, then run both for two weeks before you cancel.

1. Export your data from RotaCloud: staff details, leave balances, time off in lieu and timesheets.
2. Set up the new rota app with your roles, sites and 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 RotaCloud as a backup.
6. Cancel RotaCloud at the end of a billing period, after checking its terms.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest RotaCloud alternative?

Findmyshift, at £31 a month for up to 100 staff with time clocking and time off included, 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.

Does RotaCloud count managers in its price?

Yes. RotaCloud asks you to include yourself and all other users, admins and managers when you choose a band, so a new manager moves you up a band the same way a new member of staff does.

Is clocking in included in RotaCloud?

No. Time and Attendance is an add-on priced by band: £18 a month for 11 to 20 employees and £27 for 21 to 30, on monthly billing.

Does RotaCloud have a free plan?

No. RotaCloud offers a 30-day free trial with no payment details. Findmyshift is free for 5 staff, Connecteam for up to 10 users and Sling’s scheduling for up to 30.

Is RotaCloud cheaper than Planday?

For a rota on its own, yes: £60 a month for 30 staff on RotaCloud Standard against £89.70 on Planday Starter. With clocking in they are close, at £87 and £89.70, and once you need holiday management on Planday, Plus costs £149.70.

Want a rota without employee bands?

If you keep paying for a bigger band or an add-on you only half use, compare the plans above during a free trial with your real team size. If none of them fits how your business works, our HR and rota systems service builds a rota app around your roles, sites and UK working time rules, at one fixed price.