Shift changes go out by text, and at month end you cannot say who actually worked. If you are comparing these two, you probably run an hourly crew in hospitality, retail or field work and have just hired, or are about to hire, past ten people. The fear is that every new person turns into another seat on the bill.
Both tools are affiliate partners of ours: we may earn a commission if you sign up through a button on this page, at no extra cost to you. That is why we also say when to pick neither.
| Connecteam | Deputy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price we read | Free for up to 10 users; per-hub pricing from Basic $29/mo billed yearly ($35 monthly), covers first 30 users (read 22 Oct 2026) | From $5 per user a month on annual billing (Lite), with a $30 monthly minimum per invoice on the monthly plans (read 19 Sep 2026) |
| Entry price | Free up to 10 users; then $29/mo per hub billed yearly, $35 monthly, first 30 users (read 22 Oct 2026) | Lite $5 per user/mo billed yearly, $5.50 monthly (read 19 Sep 2026) |
| How you pay | Per hub (Operations, Communications, HR & Skills); per-user surcharge only from user 31 | Per user per month; $30 minimum per invoice on monthly plans; add-ons per user on top |
| Free plan or trial | Free Small Business Plan up to 10 users; 14-day trial on Expert, no card | Trial of up to 31 days, no card (homepage, 26 Oct 2026); no free plan in our reading |
| Best for | Deskless and frontline crews that need scheduling, a time clock and chat in one app | Hourly shift businesses that need rostering, clocking and labour-law compliance |
| Main catch | Hubs are sold separately, so costs stack once you switch on two or three | Pro is Contact us only; part-month users are billed as full months |
Your whole team is salaried and works at desks with email and Slack. Connecteam is built for the frontline, and salaried staff rarely need Deputy's shift-level clocking.
A general project management tool fits an office team better than either shift app.
100 shift staff on yearly billing, one hub. Connecteam Operations Basic: $29 + 70 × $0.80 = $29 + $56 = $85 a month (read 22 Oct 2026). Deputy Lite: 100 × $5 = $500 a month (read 19 Sep 2026). Add Connecteam's Communications hub on Basic and it becomes $85 + $29 + 70 × $0.50 = $85 + $29 + $35 = $149 a month, still below Deputy Lite.
Small Business Plan, free for up to 10 users. From user 11: Operations Basic at $29 a month billed yearly, or $35 monthly (read 22 Oct 2026).
Start with Connecteam →Core, $6.50 per user a month billed yearly, or $7.25 monthly (read 19 Sep 2026). Our Core trial ran 31 days without a card.
Start with Deputy →You pick a paid plan per hub, or move to the free Limited plan for up to 30 users on each hub, which keeps only the essentials (pricing FAQ, read 22 Oct 2026).
Monthly plans carry a $30 minimum per invoice. Three users on monthly Lite would be 3 × $5.50 = $16.50, but you pay $30. Yearly billing has no such floor.
Connecteam refunds a yearly plan pro rata only within its first 30 days; monthly plans are not refunded. Deputy's billing FAQ says you may cancel a yearly plan early with no refund, and you cannot lower the number of employees during the term.
Connecteam (29 Oct 2026): signup landed on the free plan but required a mobile number before the dashboard. Deputy (24 Oct 2026): the bulk import worked, but the base pay rates we pasted in came through empty. We did not test scheduling or the time clock on either.
Connecteam: connecteam.com/pricing with its comparison table and FAQ, read 22 Oct 2026, and our test of 29 Oct 2026. Deputy: deputy.com/pricing and its billing FAQ read 19 Sep 2026, the homepage read 26 Oct 2026, and our trial test of 24 Oct 2026. Prices change: each one carries the date we read it, and our reviews are re-checked against the vendor pages. How we review.