Deputy Pricing in 2026: What You'll Actually Pay (and 7 Cheaper Alternatives)
If your Deputy renewal landed in October 2025 with a price you weren't expecting, you're not alone. Deputy raised its plans across the board and migrated existing customers to the new pricing. For a 25-person team on Deputy Core, the monthly bill now sits around £130 — before any add-ons. This guide walks the actual 2026 numbers, then compares seven alternatives at the same team size, with no marketing fluff: which ones are genuinely cheaper, which ones have hidden costs, and which one matches your business.
What Deputy actually costs in 2026
The Lite, Core and Pro plans
Deputy's three published plans:
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $5/user/month | Scheduling only, basic features |
| Core | $6.50/user/month | Scheduling + time & attendance |
| Pro | $9/user/month | Adds advanced compliance, integrations |
Minimum spend: £20/month UK, $30/month US. Minimum 5 users on annual plans. No free plan. 31-day free trial.
What gets added on
The published prices aren't the final bill. Common add-ons:
- HR add-on: $2/user/month
- Analytics+: $1.50/user/month
- Messaging+: $1.95/user/month
A team using all three add-ons pays roughly $5.45/user/month on top of the base plan.
A real bill for a 25-person team
For 25 staff on Deputy Core (£6.50/user, with HR add-on at £2/user):
- Base: 25 × £6.50 = £162.50/month
- HR add-on: 25 × £2 = £50/month
- Total: £212.50/month, ~£2,550/year
Without any add-ons, just Core: £162.50/month, ~£1,950/year.
The October 2025 price increase, explained
In October 2025, Deputy restructured pricing across all plans. Existing customers were migrated to the new rates, with renewal notices going out in the weeks following. The market response was visible — Deputy alternatives search volume rose sharply through Q4 2025 and remains elevated into 2026.
For businesses that signed up at the previous rates, the increase was felt most acutely in three places: 25–50 person teams (where the per-user maths bites hardest), seasonal businesses (where headcount swings amplify the increase), and UK accounts (where currency and US-anchored pricing combined poorly).
If your renewal landed in this window, you're the audience this guide is written for.
7 Deputy alternatives — honest comparison
1. rota.biz — flat-rate
€29/month for up to 30 staff. €79/month unlimited staff and locations. No per-user pricing. UK-native, with Working Time Regulations baked in. Best for SMBs in hospitality, retail, salons, cleaning, and care who want predictable monthly costs and don't need US payroll integrations.
Trade-off: newer platform, smaller integrations ecosystem than Deputy.
2. When I Work — mobile-first, US-led
From $2.50/user/month. Strong mobile app, employee self-service shift swaps, clean UI. Trade-off: US-first compliance (no UK WTR baked in), per-user pricing scales with growth. For 25 staff: ~£80–100/month.
3. Homebase — free tier, US payroll only
Free for one location, limited features. Essentials ~£24.95/location, Plus ~£59.95/location. Trade-off: per-location pricing punishes multi-site. US payroll only. For 3 locations on Plus: ~£180/month.
4. Connecteam — deskless focus, hub pricing
Free for under 10 users. Three separate hubs (Operations, Communications, HR) at $29/$49/$99 per hub for the first 30 users. Trade-off: most businesses need 2–3 hubs, taking the real cost to £60–150/month. Pricing is deliberately opaque.
5. Sling — free tier, post-Toast drift
Free (basic), Premium ~$2/user/month, Business ~$4/user/month. Acquired by Toast (restaurant POS) in 2023. Trade-off: roadmap shifting to restaurant ecosystem; non-restaurant users feel deprioritised.
6. RotaCloud — UK-built, employee bands
UK-native, scales by employee bands rather than per-user. £10/month for 1–5 employees up. Trade-off: approaches per-user equivalent at higher headcounts. T&A is a £4.50/month add-on. Closest structural competitor for UK SMBs.
7. Findmyshift — flat rate, light feature set
£22/month flat for unlimited employees. Free for ≤5 employees. Trade-off: dated UI, basic feature set, slower innovation. Cheaper than rota but less depth.
Total cost of ownership comparison (25 staff, single location)
| Tool | Monthly cost | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|
| rota | €29 | Flat rate |
| Findmyshift | £22 | Flat rate (lighter features) |
| Sling Premium | ~£40 | Per-user |
| RotaCloud | ~£45–55 | Employee band |
| Homebase Plus | £59.95 | Per location |
| Connecteam (2 hubs) | ~£60–98 | Per hub + per-user after 30 |
| When I Work | ~£80–100 | Per-user |
| Deputy Core | ~£130 | Per-user |
Total cost of ownership comparison (50 staff, 3 locations)
| Tool | Monthly cost | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|
| rota | €79 | Flat rate |
| Homebase Plus | ~£180 | Per location |
| When I Work | ~£200–250 | Per-user |
| Deputy Core | ~£260 | Per-user |
Over a year, €79/month vs. £260/month = £2,172 saved. That's enough to hire a part-time staff member.
Which alternative fits which business
- You're on Deputy and the renewal stings: rota (flat rate) or RotaCloud (UK band model)
- You're a US-based small team: When I Work or Homebase free tier
- You run a deskless field team: Connecteam, but watch the hub maths
- You're a restaurant tied to Toast POS: Sling integrates natively
- You want the cheapest paid option, light features: Findmyshift
- You're UK multi-location SMB: rota's £79 unlimited-locations plan
How to migrate off Deputy
Deputy lets you export your data — staff records, schedule history, timesheets — through their settings panel. Most alternatives offer guided migration:
- Export Deputy data (Settings > Data Export, allow 24 hours)
- Pick your replacement and start a free trial
- Import staff and locations
- Rebuild current week's schedule manually (it's 30 minutes)
- Run both systems for one pay cycle as a sanity check
- Cancel Deputy at the next renewal date
On rota, a 25-person team pays €29 a month. Flat. No per-user. No tier upsell. See the side-by-side at rota.biz.
FAQs
Why did Deputy raise its prices in October 2025?
Deputy restructured pricing tiers and migrated existing customers to higher rates. The company hasn't published a detailed rationale.
How much does Deputy cost for 25 staff in 2026?
Deputy Core for 25 users: roughly £162.50/month base, rising to £212.50/month with the HR add-on.
What is the cheapest Deputy alternative for UK businesses?
Findmyshift at £22/month flat is the cheapest paid option for UK businesses. rota at £29/month offers more depth and active development for £7/month more.
Does Deputy have a free plan?
No. Deputy offers a 31-day free trial but no permanent free tier.
Can I export my Deputy data to switch to another tool?
Yes. Deputy provides data export through Settings. Most alternatives offer guided migration.
Is When I Work cheaper than Deputy for small teams?
Yes. When I Work starts at $2.50/user vs Deputy's $5–6.50, but US-anchored compliance is a trade-off for UK businesses.
What's the best Deputy alternative for restaurants specifically?
7shifts is restaurant-only and POS-integrated. Sling integrates with Toast. For non-restaurant hospitality, rota or RotaCloud are stronger fits.
