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
Shift Scheduling Comparison
When I Work 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 | When I Work | Zoho Shifts |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 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. | lower value 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, no credit card required | 30-day free trial, no credit card required; free plan for up to 25 users |
| Team size | Priced per user per month, unlimited users on every plan | Not stated |
| Users | Hourly and shift-based teams in restaurants, retail, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, call centres, franchises, events and non-profits | Businesses that staff shifts; the vendor names restaurants, retail, healthcare, professional services, assisted living and universities and schools |
| API | Yes, API key access and webhooks on the Premium plan | Yes, a REST API with OAuth 2.0 authentication, from the Basic plan |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device terminal | Cloud, in the browser, with mobile apps for iOS and Android |
| Shift planning and templates | Auto scheduling, multi-week and multi-location scheduling and reusable custom schedule templates from Essentials; Pro adds advanced scheduling, scheduling rules and role permissions | 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 | OpenShifts and shift swapping from Essentials, with managers keeping final approval; Pro allows overlapping OpenShifts | On Basic, open shifts employees can pick up, and shift swap, offer and drop between relevant and qualified co-workers |
| Availability and time off | 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 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 | 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 | 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 | Forecast tools from Essentials track scheduled against budgeted hours, with labour costs in the scheduling view; Pro adds custom unit forecasting and labour sharing | 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 | Overtime and maximum-hours alerts while scheduling and when an OpenShift or trade would add overtime, plus break logging on the time clock | 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 | Payroll and point-of-sale integrations from Essentials, among them Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and OnPay, which take the approved timesheets | 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 | In-app team messaging from Essentials, with notifications to managers about time-off requests and staff nearing their hours | 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, plus iOS and Android apps; the time clock runs on mobile, web, tablet or a dedicated terminal | 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 | 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 | 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 |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Chat | more entries Chat, Email helpdesk |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Not stated |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries Rippling, Gusto, Square Payroll, Paychex, QuickBooks Online, OnPay, SimplePay, GoCo, ResaleAI, Zapier | Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Apple Calendar |
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
- Starting price When I Work From $2.50 / user / month Zoho Shifts Free up to 25 users; Basic from $1 / user / month
- Free trial When I Work 14-day free trial, no credit card required Zoho Shifts 30-day free trial, no credit card required; free plan for up to 25 users
- Hosting When I Work Cloud (SaaS), with iOS and Android apps and a shared-device terminal Zoho Shifts Cloud, in the browser, with mobile apps for iOS and Android
- Support When I Work Chat Zoho Shifts Chat, Email helpdesk
- Users When I Work Hourly and shift-based teams in restaurants, retail, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, call centres, franchises, events and non-profits Zoho Shifts Businesses that staff shifts; the vendor names restaurants, retail, healthcare, professional services, assisted living and universities and schools
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
When I Work https://wheniwork.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-16
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.