Best for
Best for restaurants, from a single cafe to multi-location groups and franchises, that schedule front and back of house against sales and labor laws.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Shift Scheduling Comparison
7shifts vs. Zoho Shifts
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small and mid-sized businesses that want shift scheduling and a mobile time clock at a low per-user price, starting on a free plan.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | 7shifts | Zoho Shifts |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free for 1 location and up to 15 employees Comp is the free plan. The paid plans are Essentials (up to 30 employees, unlimited locations), Pro and Premium (unlimited employees and locations), paid monthly or annually; companies that joined before July 2, 2025 keep the earlier plans Entrée, The Works and Gourmet. | Free up to 25 users; Basic from $1 / user / month Basic and Standard require a minimum of 10 users, so Basic starts at $10 a month and Standard at $2 per user, $20 a month. Billed yearly, Basic is $10 and Standard $20 per user per year, two months off. Prices are also shown in INR, EUR and GBP; pay as you go, with no contract. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with access to the features of The Works plan, no credit card needed; afterwards the free Comp plan or a paid plan | 30-day free trial, no credit card required; free plan for up to 25 users |
| Users | Quick-service and full-service restaurants, cafes and coffee shops, bars and breweries, pizzerias, bakeries, juice bars, pubs, caterers, franchises and multi-location groups | Businesses that staff shifts; the vendor names restaurants, retail, healthcare, professional services, assisted living and universities and schools |
| API | Yes, a REST API at api.7shifts.com/v2 with OAuth for partners, webhooks and a read-only MCP server; API access depends on the plan | Yes, a REST API with OAuth 2.0 authentication, from the Basic plan |
| Hosting | Cloud, on the web with a free mobile app and the 7punches time clock app | Cloud, in the browser, with mobile apps for iOS and Android |
| Shift planning and templates | Drag-and-drop schedule builder with availability and time off shown while planning, unlimited customisable templates per role, season or location, any published schedule reusable as a template, and auto-fill of shifts from past schedules and availability | Drag-and-drop scheduling with shift templates, copying schedules from earlier weeks, multiple locations, teams and departments as separate schedules, and break scheduling on every plan; Basic adds advanced scheduling, schedule templates, recurring shifts, job sites, skills management and custom access levels |
| Shift swaps and open shifts | Shift Pool lets employees offer up shifts or pick up open ones, with manager approval on every change, and shows which staff are available to cover sick, late or no-show shifts | On Basic, open shifts employees can pick up, and shift swap, offer and drop between relevant and qualified co-workers |
| Availability and time off | Employees submit availability changes and time-off requests in the app, managers approve them from anywhere, and PTO and sick time are tracked for scheduling and payroll | Time off requests on every plan; Basic adds availability preferences and time off management, and Standard adds time off accrual based on hours worked |
| Time clock and attendance | Clocking in and out with the 7punches app on a smartphone or a tablet at the restaurant, break and approaching-overtime notifications, timesheet approval, punch audit reports of missed clock-ins and timesheet edits, and a live view of who is clocked in | On Standard, clock-in from the mobile app or a shared device running the Shifts Kiosk app, timesheet management that staff can edit, break tracking, time clock rules and reports, GPS tagging and geofencing; attendance shows in real time who is working, on a break or late, with notifications for missed clock-ins and clock-outs |
| Labour cost and forecasting | AI sales forecasting from historical sales and labor data to predict staffing needs, labor budgets set and tracked while scheduling, and real-time labor against sales once a POS is connected | The vendor describes monitoring staffing expenses while schedules are created; Standard adds shift premiums and custom overtime rules, and reports cover logged hours, time off and availability |
| Breaks, overtime and labour rules | Real-time alerts for local labor law violations while scheduling, required breaks set up and enforced, overtime alerts, fair workweek support for California, DC, Nevada, New York and Philadelphia, scheduling restrictions for minors under 16 and 18, tracking of expired certifications, and tip credit calculations and reporting | Break scheduling on every plan; Standard adds break tracking, time clock rules and custom overtime rules, and the vendor states that wages and overtime pay are calculated according to the region's labour laws |
| Payroll export and integration | Approved punches and tips exported to the existing payroll provider, or paid through 7shifts Payroll, with tip pooling fed by synced sales and time data and on-demand pay offered alongside | On Standard, timesheets and the pay rates assigned to each employee or designation are reviewed and exported to payroll software, with pay periods set weekly, bi-weekly or monthly |
| Team messaging and notifications | Direct and group messaging with attachments, one-way announcements with read receipts, automated reminders for shifts, breaks and tasks, a manager log book, task management, shift feedback and training videos sent through the app | Built-in messenger with direct messages, group chats and announcement channels, email and push notifications on every plan, and shift reminders on Basic |
| Platforms and mobile app | Web app, a free mobile app for managers and employees, and the 7punches time clock app on a smartphone or a tablet at the location | Web app, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and the Shifts Kiosk app that turns a tablet or mobile device into a shared time clock |
| Integrations and API | Integrations with POS, payroll, analytics, hiring, back office and training tools; a REST API at api.7shifts.com/v2 for sales, time punches, employees, schedules and reports, with webhooks, an embed SDK, OAuth for partners with endpoint access tied to the plan, and a public read-only MCP server | REST API from the Basic plan, authenticated with OAuth 2.0 and scoped per resource, covering employees, shifts, timesheets, time off requests, availability, schedules, positions and job sites; schedules sync with Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| MCP-ready | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Not stated | Chat, Email helpdesk |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Not stated |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | Not stated | Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Apple Calendar |
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The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price 7shifts Free for 1 location and up to 15 employees Zoho Shifts Free up to 25 users; Basic from $1 / user / month
- Free trial 7shifts 14-day free trial with access to the features of The Works plan, no credit card needed; afterwards the free Comp plan or a paid plan Zoho Shifts 30-day free trial, no credit card required; free plan for up to 25 users
- Hosting 7shifts Cloud, on the web with a free mobile app and the 7punches time clock app Zoho Shifts Cloud, in the browser, with mobile apps for iOS and Android
- AI features 7shifts Yes Zoho Shifts No
- MCP-ready 7shifts Yes Zoho Shifts No
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
7shifts
Strengths
- Free Comp plan for one location and up to 15 employees
- 14-day free trial with no credit card needed
- Fair workweek support for California, DC, Nevada, New York and Philadelphia
- Scheduling, time clocking, tip pooling and payroll in one platform
- Public MCP server and a documented REST API with webhooks
Limitations
- Built for restaurants; the product pages, templates and tip features address food service
- Comp is limited to one location and Essentials to 30 employees
- The MCP server is read-only and exposes GET endpoints only
- API endpoint access for partner integrations depends on the customer's plan
Zoho Shifts
Strengths
- Free plan for up to 25 users with scheduling, team messaging and the mobile apps
- 30-day free trial with no credit card required
- Pay-as-you-go subscription with no contract
- REST API included from the Basic plan
Limitations
- Paid plans require a minimum of 10 users
- Clocking in, timesheets and payroll export need the Standard plan
- The pricing page names a payroll export but no specific payroll integration
Plans
Pricing
7shifts
- Comp Free 1 location and up to 15 employees.
- Essentials Not stated Up to 30 employees and unlimited locations.
- Pro Not stated Unlimited employees and locations.
- Premium Not stated Unlimited employees and locations.
Zoho Shifts
- Free $0 Up to 25 users. Basic scheduling, multiple locations, team messaging, break scheduling, time off requests, schedule reports, shift templates, iOS and Android apps, email and push notifications, chat and email support.
- Basic $1 / user / month Minimum 10 users, so from $10 a month; $10 per user per year billed yearly. Adds unlimited users, open shifts, job sites, schedule templates, recurring shifts, shift reminders, shift swap, offer and drop, availability preferences, custom access levels, skills management, time off management and REST API access.
- Standard $2 / user / month Minimum 10 users, so from $20 a month; $20 per user per year billed yearly. Adds time tracking, mobile and kiosk clock-in, timesheets, time clock rules and reports, break tracking, custom overtime rules, shift premiums, GPS tagging, geofencing, payroll export and time off accrual.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
7shifts
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Zoho Shifts
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
7shifts https://www.7shifts.com · checked against the official source on 2026-11-05
Zoho Shifts https://www.zoho.com/shifts/ · checked against the official source on 2026-11-06
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.