A Deputy alternative that doesn’t bill per head

Deputy is powerful, but it prices per user on top of a £20/month UK minimum, so the bill grows every time you hire. WagePilot gives a small UK team the same essentials for a flat £29/month per site, and the bill stays there however many people you take on.

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The bill, side by side

Here's what a clocking-in team of ten typically pays. WagePilot is flat per site with staff never charged per head. Hiring never moves the bill, so the price only changes if you open another venue.

WagePilot

Flat

£29 /site, per month

Unlimited staff · clock-in and payroll export included.

Hiring never moves it

Deputy

from £20/mo

Per user + £20/mo UK minimum · team of 10.

Priced per their model above

Indicative entry-level figures for a clocking-in team of ten, as of June 2026. Tiers change. Always check current pricing. We compare on pricing model, not a "cheapest" claim.

See the full flat pricing

WagePilot vs Deputy, line by line

The honest head-to-head: where WagePilot is the better fit, and where it isn't.

Feature	WagePilot	Deputy
Pricing model	Flat per site, never per head	Per user, £20/mo minimum
Cost for a team of 10	£29 (1 site)	from £20/mo, rising
Geofenced clock-in	Included	Included
Live labour-cost board	Live, ticking total	Reporting-led
UK holiday accrual (12.07%)	Built in	Supported
Runs payroll	No, exports to yours	No, exports to yours
Best for	UK SMEs, 2–50 staff	Larger / multi-site ops

Prices and features as of June 2026. Tiers change, so always check current figures. We compare on pricing model, not a "cheapest" claim.

Why teams pick WagePilot

A flat £29/month per site, with no £20 minimum and no per-user creep
A genuinely live labour-cost board, not just after-the-fact reports
UK-native holiday accrual and audited timesheets out of the box

When Deputy might suit you better

If you run a large or multi-site operation that needs deep shift-bidding, demand forecasting and enterprise integrations, Deputy’s heavier feature set may justify the per-user cost. WagePilot is built for small UK teams that want the essentials without the per-head bill.

Worked cost example: a café that grows

The same business over a year: 10 staff on one site, then 25, then a second site and 40 staff. What WagePilot costs at each step, and how Deputy’s bill moves.

Month 1: 10 staff, 1 site: WagePilot £29 a month
Month 6: 25 staff, 1 site: WagePilot £29 a month
Month 12: 40 staff, 2 sites: WagePilot £58 a month
Deputy over the same year: Per user above a monthly minimum, so it rises with each hire and each site
Clock-in (GPS, QR, kiosk) on WagePilot: Included on every plan

WagePilot figures are its published October 2026 prices. The rival line describes its pricing model only, not a quote: tiers and add-ons change, so check their current pricing for your team. WagePilot estimates pay for your payroll; it does not run payroll.

The cost as you grow

Per-seat pricing means every hire nudges the bill up. With WagePilot it stays flat. Here's the gap as the team grows.

See full pricing

What you'd pay as your team grows: a typical per-seat tool vs WagePilot's flat price
Your team	Typical per-seat tool	WagePilot
3 staff	~£12/mo	Free · 1 site
25 staff	~£100/mo	£29 · 1 site
50 staff	~£200/mo	£29 · 1 site
80 staff	~£320/mo	£58 · 2 sites
150 staff	~£600/mo	£87 · 3 sites
200 staff	~£800/mo	£145 · 5 sites

Per-seat figures assume a typical ~£4/user/month all-in rate (many tools sit £3–£6/user). Indicative, for illustration.

Compare with other tools

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WagePilot vs Deputy: your questions

Is WagePilot cheaper than Deputy for a small team?

For a clocking-in team of around ten on one site, usually yes: Deputy applies a £20/month UK minimum and then prices per user, so the bill rises with every hire, while WagePilot is a flat £29/month per site and never charges per head (and one small site is free). The gap widens as you grow: at 25 staff a per-seat tool is around £100/month and WagePilot is still £29. Figures are indicative as of June 2026, so always check current pricing.

Does WagePilot have geofenced clock-in like Deputy?

Yes. Geofenced GPS clock-in with a QR fallback is included on every WagePilot plan, with location checked only at clock-in/out (never continuously). With Deputy it is also included, but on top of per-user pricing.

Can I move from Deputy without a migration project?

Yes. WagePilot is a same-day setup: add your sites, team and rates, and publish a rota the same afternoon. There is no card needed to start and no data-migration project. You can run it alongside Deputy while you switch.

Can I run WagePilot alongside Deputy while I switch?

Yes. Start on the Free plan with no card, add your team and rates, and run a week in parallel with Deputy to compare hours. Staff join with a code on their own phone; there is nothing to install. Cancel the old tool once the numbers match.

Does WagePilot run payroll, tax or payslips?

No. WagePilot is pre-payroll: it records hours, holiday and breaks and produces estimated gross pay with minimum wage checks, then exports approved hours as a CSV for Xero, Sage, BrightPay, QuickBooks or your accountant. Tax, NI and payslips stay in your payroll software.

What happens to the bill when I hire for summer?

With WagePilot, nothing: staff are never charged per head, so a site stays £29 a month on Core whether you have 10 people or 40. Deputy prices per user above its UK minimum, so seasonal hires add to the bill. Check Deputy’s current pricing for your numbers.

Switch from Deputy in an afternoon

No migration project, no card to start. Add your team and publish a rota today.

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