Homebase vs 7shifts
Two popular picks for shift-based teams. Homebase leans general hourly SMB (retail, QSR, services) with a real free starter plan. 7shifts leans restaurant-first labor control once you pay for POS depth. Below is public-feature research — not a sales deck.
Prices and plan names change. Figures below come from public vendor pages and secondary summaries as of September 2026. Anything soft is labeled check live.
| Dimension | Homebase | 7shifts |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per location / month | Per location / month |
| Free plan | Basic — $0, 1 location, up to 10 employees (official) | Comp — free forever for small teams (commonly cited up to ~30 employees; check live) |
| Paid starts | Essentials $30/location/mo ($24 annual); Plus $70; All-in-One $120 | Paid tiers commonly listed ~$35–$40/location/mo entry, then higher Pro/Premium bands check live on 7shifts.com |
| Best for | Single-location retail / café / QSR wanting schedule + clock + optional payroll | Restaurants staffing to sales, tip pools, and FOH/BOH roles |
| Time clock | Yes — basic clock on free; GPS, photo, longer timesheet retention on paid | Full time clocking typically on paid plans; free Comp is scheduling/comms heavy check live |
| Team messaging | Team communication on Essentials+ | Included (basic on Comp; richer on paid) |
| POS integrations | Yes, including Square; available even on Basic for core connections | Deep restaurant POS list (Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, etc.) — usually paid tiers for forecasting |
| Payroll | Add-on: ~$39/mo + $6/active employee (official) | Available on higher tiers / as product add — check live |
| Labor vs sales | Labor cost tools stronger on All-in-One / higher plans | Core selling point — sales-driven forecasting when POS is connected |
| Trial | 14-day All-in-One trial (no card) | Commonly 14-day paid-plan trial, then Comp or paid check live |
Quick verdict
Choose Homebase if…
- You’re one location and want a usable free start (≤10 people).
- You care about clock-ins early, not tip pooling depth.
- You may add Homebase Payroll later without switching vendors.
- Your world is retail, services, or general QSR — not a full Toast stack.
Choose 7shifts if…
- You’re a restaurant and labor % of sales is a weekly KPI.
- You need tip management and restaurant POS forecasting.
- You’re fine paying per location once Comp’s limits bite.
- FOH/BOH roles, logbooks, and hospitality workflows matter more than a free clock.
Pricing — what managers actually feel
Both charge per location, which is friendly when you have 25–40 hourly people at one site. It gets expensive when you open many small sites with few employees each — that’s when per-user tools (When I Work, Sling, Deputy) often win the spreadsheet.
Homebase is clearer on the public page: $0 / $30 / $70 / $120 per location, with annual discounts ($24 / $56 / $96). Payroll is an explicit add-on.
7shifts publishes tiered restaurant plans (free Comp plus paid bands). Third-party writeups in 2026 list entry paid plans around the mid-$30s to ~$40/mo per location, with higher Pro/Premium tiers for forecasting, tips, and compliance. Treat those dollars as directional until you confirm on 7shifts’ live pricing or quote.
Features that matter on the floor
Scheduling & coverage
Both handle availability, open shifts, and mobile schedules. Homebase’s free Basic is enough to stop using a group text for a tiny team. 7shifts Comp is similarly “get off the whiteboard” for small restaurants — then paid unlocks budgeting and auto-scheduling tied to demand.
Time clock & payroll readiness
Homebase includes a real clock path from day one (basic on free; GPS/photo and longer timesheet history on paid). That’s a practical advantage if buddy-punching or late punches are your current fire. 7shifts’ full time-clock story is stronger once you’re on a paid plan and/or using their punch tools with POS — confirm current Comp inclusions before assuming free clock-ins.
Messaging
7shifts includes team communications on Comp. Homebase’s richer team communication sits on Essentials and up. If free + chat is non-negotiable, verify Homebase Basic’s messaging limits on the live compare matrix — don’t assume parity.
POS & labor intelligence
This is where 7shifts usually wins for restaurants: connect Toast/Square/Clover (and others), pull sales, and schedule against labor targets. Homebase integrates with major POS systems too (including on Basic for core connections), but the product narrative is broader SMB, not “restaurant labor OS.”
Honest trade-offs
- Homebase free employee cap (10) — official Basic limit. Outgrow it fast on a busy weekend crew.
- Homebase per-location math — great at one store; painful at 8 thin locations.
- 7shifts free Comp — good for scheduling; expect to pay for the features that cut labor cost.
- 7shifts restaurant focus — strength in F&B; less of a default if you run pure retail with no tips.
- Neither replaces good management — software won’t fix chronic understaffing or broken wage rates.
Who should not pick either
If you need a forever-free clock for 25 people, look at Sling’s free scheduling (clock still paid) or accept a paid Homebase Essentials flat fee. If you’re multi-country / compliance-heavy mid-market, shortlist Deputy and run a proper trial. If you hate per-location billing, price out When I Work per seat.
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