Best for
Best for retailers and other multi-site operators who plan shift teams centrally against demand forecasts and labour budgets.
Shift Scheduling Comparison
Rotageek vs. When I Work
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for hourly teams that need a published rota and a GPS time clock whose hours go straight into payroll.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Rotageek | When I Work |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not stated Prices are not published; Rotageek offers a demo and a package tailored to the business. | From $2.50 / user / month Essentials $2.50, Pro $5 and Premium $8 per user per month, each with unlimited users. Time tracking and attendance is offered as an add-on toggle on every plan. |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Team size | Not stated | Priced per user per month, unlimited users on every plan |
| Users | Shift teams across multiple locations; the vendor names retail, entertainment and leisure, care homes and hospices, and facilities management | Hourly and shift-based teams in restaurants, retail, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, call centres, franchises, events and non-profits |
| API | Yes, a REST API with Swagger documentation and signed webhooks, plus CSV exchange by secure file transfer | Yes, API key access and webhooks on the Premium plan |
| Hosting | Cloud on Microsoft Azure; the vendor states that UK and European customer data is held in Europe | Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device terminal |
| Shift planning and templates | Drag-and-drop rota building with saved shifts and rotating patterns, copying a week to future weeks, contracted and maximum hours totalled as shifts are added, multi-week and store-by-store views, activities within shifts linked to skills, and drafts hidden from staff until a manager approves them; the Auto Scheduling add-on drafts rotas to cover targets, rules and budgets | Auto scheduling, multi-week and multi-location scheduling and reusable custom schedule templates from Essentials; Pro adds advanced scheduling, scheduling rules and role permissions |
| Shift swaps and open shifts | Staff swap shifts with colleagues or drop them for cover in the app, dropped and open shifts go only to staff with the right skills and no clashing shift, and each site chooses manager approval or automatic approval of agreed swaps | OpenShifts and shift swapping from Essentials, with managers keeping final approval; Pro allows overlapping OpenShifts |
| Availability and time off | Availability and shift preferences sent from the app, leave types with fixed or accrued allowances in hours or days, blocked key dates and percentage caps per role, time off in lieu, and leave approvers set by role and site | Availability, time-off requests, qualifications and shift preferences in one place; managers approve or decline requests on web or mobile, and auto scheduling fills shifts from availability and qualifications |
| Time clock and attendance | Clocking in on the iOS and Android app, a web timeclock on approved shared devices, or third-party terminals such as Grosvenor, TimeMoto and Sign In App, with site boundaries, optional photos, break clocking, reasons for early or late clock-ins, and timesheets matched to planned shifts | Clock-in from mobile, web, tablet or a dedicated terminal, with GPS captured on every punch, geofencing that limits clock-in to the work location, photo clock-ins for identity verification, break logging, real-time overtime alerts, manager approval of timesheets and an edit log for the audit trail |
| Labour cost and forecasting | Labour budgets in hours or money per location or task with live variance while the rota is built and against hours worked, dynamic schedule costing, and with the Forecasting add-on demand predicted in 15, 30 or 60-minute slots from footfall, transactions, orders or check-ins | Forecast tools from Essentials track scheduled against budgeted hours, with labour costs in the scheduling view; Pro adds custom unit forecasting and labour sharing |
| Breaks, overtime and labour rules | Warnings on shifts that break working time rules on rest, shift length, days worked and breaks, set per person, site, contract or age, with hours left against each maximum; the vendor states that rules warn rather than block a rota | Overtime and maximum-hours alerts while scheduling and when an OpenShift or trade would add overtime, plus break logging on the time clock |
| Payroll export and integration | Signed-off hours coded for basic, overtime and other pay by pay rules, sent to the payroll system by API, FTP or file in a layout agreed with the payroll team, with an optional payroll sign-off step | Payroll and point-of-sale integrations from Essentials, among them Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and OnPay, which take the approved timesheets |
| Team messaging and notifications | Messages to one, some or all staff received in the mobile app, and push and email notifications when a new or changed shift is approved | In-app team messaging from Essentials, with notifications to managers about time-off requests and staff nearing their hours |
| Platforms and mobile app | Web app, staff app for iOS and Android with calendar sync, web timeclock on shared devices, and single sign-on with Microsoft Entra ID, Okta and Google | Web, plus iOS and Android apps; the time clock runs on mobile, web, tablet or a dedicated terminal |
| Integrations and API | Public REST API to create and update people, leave and open shifts and pull approved rotas, timesheets and staffing gaps, signed webhooks for rota approval, timesheet sign-off and changes, scheduled CSV imports by secure file transfer, and integrations with HR, payroll, POS, booking and BI systems | Prebuilt payroll and operations connectors for Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online, OnPay, SimplePay, GoCo and ResaleAI, Zapier for anything else, and API key access with webhooks on the Premium plan |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS) | more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Chat | Chat |
| Onboarding | Guided onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | Not stated | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | ELMO, Grosvenor, TimeMoto, Sign In App, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google | more entries Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online, OnPay, SimplePay, GoCo, ResaleAI, Zapier |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Deployment Rotageek Cloud (SaaS) When I Work Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
- Hosting Rotageek Cloud on Microsoft Azure; the vendor states that UK and European customer data is held in Europe When I Work Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device terminal
- AI features Rotageek Yes When I Work No
- Users Rotageek Shift teams across multiple locations; the vendor names retail, entertainment and leisure, care homes and hospices, and facilities management When I Work Hourly and shift-based teams in restaurants, retail, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, call centres, franchises, events and non-profits
- API Rotageek Yes, a REST API with Swagger documentation and signed webhooks, plus CSV exchange by secure file transfer When I Work Yes, API key access and webhooks on the Premium plan
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Rotageek
Strengths
- Dropped and open shifts are offered only to staff with the right skills who are free at that time
- Labour budget and variance shown while the rota is built
- Public REST API with webhooks for approved rotas and signed-off timesheets
- Certified to ISO 27001 and ISO 9001, as stated by the vendor
- Works with existing clocking terminals such as Grosvenor, TimeMoto and Sign In App
Limitations
- Prices are not published
- Auto-scheduling, forecasting, labour modelling and insights are add-ons to the core package
- Working time rules warn on a shift but do not stop a manager approving the rota
- Third-party terminals, forecasts and integrations are set up with the vendor during implementation
When I Work
Strengths
- GPS, geofencing and photo clock-ins tie every punch to the scheduled location
- Auto-scheduling assigns shifts by eligibility, availability and approved time off
- Forecast tools put a sales and hours budget next to the schedule while it is built
- Unlimited users on every plan, from $2.50 per user per month
Limitations
- No client invoicing: the timesheet is built for payroll rather than for billing work
- API key access, webhooks and single sign-on require the Premium plan
- Time tracking and attendance is an add-on toggle rather than part of the plan price
- No free plan, only a 14-day trial
Plans
Pricing
Rotageek
- Digital Scheduling Not stated Core package; Auto Scheduling, Forecasting, Labour modelling and Insights are add-ons. Prices are not published.
When I Work
- Essentials $2.50 Per user per month. Unlimited users, auto scheduling, multi-week and multi-location scheduling, schedule templates, forecast tools, in-app team messaging, OpenShifts and shift swapping, help centre and live chat, and payroll and point-of-sale integrations.
- Pro $5 Per user per month. Everything in Essentials plus advanced scheduling, scheduling rules, role permissions, labour sharing, custom unit forecasting, 24-hour callout reporting, custom reporting, overlapping OpenShifts and timezone toggling.
- Premium $8 Per user per month. Everything in Pro plus API key access, webhooks and SAML single sign-on.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Rotageek
- 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.
When I Work
- 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
Before sending, the author has to confirm three things: that they have used the product themselves, that they work neither for the vendor nor for a competitor, and that nobody is paying them for the review. We also ask whether the vendor invited them to write it. That answer is required, either answer is accepted, and it stays with the review.
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Rotageek https://www.rotageek.com/ · checked against the official source on 2026-11-07
When I Work https://wheniwork.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-16
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.