The flat-price alternative to per-seat rota tools
Most rota apps charge per user and add a fee for the time clock. We charge a flat price per site and you are never charged per head. Here's an honest, dated look at how that stacks up, including where a rival might suit you better.
Flat per site vs per seat, side by side
What a clocking-in team of ten typically pays. Some rivals are genuinely free at the smallest sizes; flat pricing wins the moment you'd be paying per head.
| Tool | Pricing model | Team of 10 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WagePilot | Flat per site, never per head | £29 | From £29/month for one site on Core, with unlimited staff, unlimited sites and every essential included, clock-in among them, plus payroll export, team messages and tips and tronc. Pro is £59 a site for the deeper tools (cross-site analytics, rota automation, HR documents, branding), not for getting bigger. Adding people never costs more; the price only moves if you open another venue (and one site with up to 3 staff is free). |
| Deputy | Per user + £20 UK minimum | from £20 | Bills UK customers in GBP, but a £20/month minimum spend means even small teams hit a floor, then it climbs per user as you hire. |
| RotaCloud | Per-employee band + add-on | ~£25+ | UK-built and fair, but geofenced clock-in is a paid add-on and the price steps up through employee bands as you grow. |
| When I Work | Per user + clock-in add-on | ~£31 | US-first scheduling priced per user, with the time clock as a paid add-on on top (roughly £3–£4 per user all-in). |
| Planday (Xero) | Per user, 5-user minimum | ~£30 | GBP-native and Xero-owned, but per-user with minimums. A clocking-in team of 10 typically starts around £30/mo. |
| Connecteam | Free ≤10, then per hub | free ≤10 | Genuinely free up to 10 users, then a per-hub plan as you grow, a different bet, with no UK holiday or payroll-export focus. |
Indicative entry-level prices checked against each provider's public pricing pages, June 2026. Pricing and tiers change. Always check current figures. We compare on pricing model (flat vs per-seat), not a "cheapest" claim.
Per-seat pricing punishes you for growing
Whichever per-user tool you're weighing up, the shape is the same: the bill climbs every time you hire, and several charge again for the time clock. WagePilot never charges per head and staff are never charged for, so the price only moves if you open another site. The day you switch, your bill stops climbing.
Run your own numbersIndicative only: assumes a typical per-seat tool at ~£4/user/mo (most sit £3–£6). No named competitor.
Detailed comparisons
Switching from a specific tool? Here's how WagePilot lines up against it, feature by feature, including where the rival might genuinely suit you better.
WagePilot vs Deputy
Deputy is per user + £20/mo uk minimum. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs RotaCloud
RotaCloud is per-employee band + clock-in add-on. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs When I Work
When I Work is per user + time-clock add-on. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Planday
Planday is per user, 5-user minimum. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Connecteam
Connecteam is free ≤10, then per hub. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Findmyshift
Findmyshift is flat team-size tiers. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs 7shifts
7shifts is per location, paid tiers (us-first). See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Homebase
Homebase is free tier, then per location (us-first). See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Bizimply
Bizimply is per employee / per location. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Sling
Sling is per user (time clock on paid tiers). See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs BrightHR
BrightHR is per employee, hr suite bundle. See the full breakdown.
WagePilot vs Rotaready
Rotaready is sales-led quote, per employee or plan. See the full breakdown.
See it for yourself
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